In My Neighbor Totoro, their mother is away from home in a hospital for an unspecified illness. At one point, they believe she may be able to come home if only for a visit, but the sickness gets worse and she is unable to leave the hospital.
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Master Miyazaki's mom suffered tuberculosis - why that type of disease comes in to some of the films.– FattieCommented Jun 15, 2016 at 17:18
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@phantom42: Is there anything more I can add to my answer to improve it for you?– FuzzyBootsCommented Jun 20, 2016 at 12:05
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1 Answer
Tuburculosis as per the FAQ:
It was implied that her illness was tuberculosis. In the novelized version of "Totoro" (illustrated by Miyazaki), it was stated that Mom was suffering from TB. Shichikokuyama Hospital, where she was staying, had a good reputation for treating TB, and that's why they moved there. The house they moved into was originally built a long time ago by a rich city man whose wife was suffering from TB. Granny used to work as a domestic for this lady, but the lady died. That's why the house is somewhat different from the other village houses, more Westernized, with gables.
This is a bit autobiographical: Miyazaki's mother suffered for many years from spinal TB, and she was away from home for a long time.
answered Jun 15, 2016 at 12:31
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3A lot of people have TB in Miyazaki's works. I always wondered why. Thanks for answering the question I never got to ask!– user40790Commented Jun 15, 2016 at 14:42
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5@Axelrod: At the risk of stating the obvious, it's partly also because, in the time periods many of his pieces are placed in, a lot of people had TB. Kind of like why so many people smoke in older movies. :) Commented Jun 15, 2016 at 14:43
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2@Axelrod Beyond what FuzzyBoots said, TB as a disease was romanticized in Japan, which added greatly to it's visibility. A good short essay on TB in Japanese history is here: lang.nagoya-u.ac.jp/~mfukuda/english.html– robbat2Commented Jun 16, 2016 at 1:05
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