San, the strong and memorable wolf princess from Studio Ghibli’s Princess Mononoke, is beloved by fans and voiced by Yuriko Ishida. Surprisingly, recent information shows Ishida wasn’t chosen for the part because of how she sounded – there was another reason entirely.
Studio Ghibli producer Toshio Suzuki recently shared an interesting story during a Tokyo event celebrating the new 4K remaster of Princess Mononoke. He explained that voice actress Masako Ishida wasn’t chosen for her vocal talent, but because Hayao Miyazaki, Ghibli’s co-founder, was particularly impressed with her. Suzuki recalled seeing Miyazaki’s reaction when Ishida greeted the team after voicing Okiyo in Pom Poko. He remembered Miyazaki’s lip twitching with approval, and said that was the deciding factor – she simply fit Miyazaki’s preferences.
San’s Voice Actor From Studio Ghibli’s Princess Mononoke Was Hayao Miyazaki’s ‘Type’
Yuko Ishida was genuinely surprised when she was chosen to voice San in Princess Mononoke. She recalled being shocked when producer Toshio Suzuki unexpectedly visited her agency. She hadn’t expected to be offered the role at all. Although director Hayao Miyazaki approved of her, Ishida found his direction during recording sessions very challenging. She jokingly described it as being constantly kept after ‘school,’ often having to stay long after the other actors had finished. One example of the difficult direction involved the line, ‘Are you going to die?’ Miyazaki wanted her to deliver it as casually as if she were asking, ‘Aren’t you wearing any pants?’ Ishida explained that this request – to remove any emotional drama and reflect San’s direct, almost animalistic way of speaking – was incredibly difficult to achieve.
Even with challenges during its production, Ishida’s work brought the character San to life in a memorable way. Princess Mononoke is still considered one of Studio Ghibli’s greatest achievements, known for its honest depiction of the struggle between the natural world and humankind. The film quickly became a huge success in Japan, both with critics and audiences. Released on July 12, 1997, it attracted 14.2 million viewers and earned 19.3 billion yen. A re-release in 2020 increased those numbers to 15 million viewers and 20.18 billion yen. Notably, Princess Mononoke is currently the ninth highest-grossing film in Japanese history and was the movie that made .
Starting October 24th, this acclaimed film will be shown in IMAX theaters across Japan. This special release, remastered in 4K, is part of a celebration of Studio Ghibli’s 40th anniversary. Fans in North America recently had the opportunity to see the restored version in theaters, with screenings in the United States and Canada in late March 2025. The movie is also available for streaming on HBO Max thanks to a deal between HBO Max and GKIDS earlier this year.
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2025-10-22 20:46