A film about the forest

Princess Mononoke was released in 1997, written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki at Studio Ghibli, and it remains one of the most ambitious animated films ever made. Set in a mythic version of fourteenth-century Japan, it follows Ashitaka, a young prince cursed by a raging boar god, who travels west looking for a cure and finds himself caught between Irontown, a town of iron-makers clearing the forest, and the ancient gods who live in it, among them San, a girl raised by wolves.

It is not a simple story of good and evil. Lady Eboshi destroys the forest but shelters lepers and gives outcast women dignified work; San fights for the forest but hates humans. The film asks you to see both sides, and that seriousness, along with Joe Hisaishi's soaring score and some of the most beautiful forests ever painted, is why fans love it so deeply. A Princess Mononoke rug brings that forest into your home. Ours are printed into short velvet, so moss, bark and the soft light of the forest floor come out with real depth, and they go in the washing machine.

San and the wolves

San, the Princess Mononoke of the title, is one of animation's most striking heroines: a fierce girl in a fur cape and a clay mask, with red markings on her face, riding white wolves into battle. Moro, the great wolf goddess who raised her, is just as unforgettable, enormous, ancient and fiercely protective. A design of San with the wolves is the most iconic Mononoke rug, wild and dramatic, ideal for a living room or a large bedroom where it can be the centerpiece.

San's mask

San's mask, a round, clay face with red and black markings, is a perfect symbol on its own: simple, tribal and instantly recognized by fans. On a round rug it becomes a powerful emblem, at home in a room with natural wood, woven textiles and plants. It's one of the subtlest ways to bring the film into a shared space.

The kodama

The kodama, the little white tree spirits whose heads rattle as they turn, are the film's quiet charm. They appear wherever the forest is healthy, sitting on branches and peering out from roots, and they've become one of Ghibli's most beloved images. A kodama rug is gentle, cute and very calm: small white figures on deep green moss. It suits a bedroom, a reading nook or a child's room, and makes a lovely gift for a new home full of plants.

The Forest Spirit

The Forest Spirit, the Shishigami, walks through the forest by day as a deer-like creature with a strange, almost human face and branching antlers, and by night becomes the towering, translucent Nightwalker. Where it steps, flowers bloom and die. It is the film's most mysterious and sacred figure. A Forest Spirit design, the deer at the edge of its pool or the Nightwalker glowing among the stars, is a serene, almost spiritual rug, and a striking choice for a living room.

Ashitaka and Yakul

Ashitaka rides Yakul, a red elk with great curved horns, from his village in the east on a journey he knows he may not return from. Their quiet loyalty to one another is one of the film's warmest threads. A design of the two traveling through the forest or across golden fields is a softer, more contemplative Mononoke rug, a fitting choice for a hallway or a study.

The gods of the forest

• Nago, the boar god whose rage becomes the demon that curses Ashitaka.
• Okkoto, the ancient, blind, white boar god leading his clan into a last battle.
• Moro, the wolf goddess, and her two wolf children.
• The apes who try to replant the forest, and the countless spirits in the trees.

Each brings its own mood: Okkoto's white and gold for a calm room, the boar clan's earthy browns for a rustic one.

Irontown

Irontown, the walled fortress of furnaces and bellows run by Lady Eboshi, is the film's human world: smoke, fire, timber walls and the rhythm of the women working the bellows. Its palette of charcoal, ember orange and wood is very different from the forest's greens, and an Irontown design suits a darker, more industrial room, or a fan who has always found Eboshi as compelling as San.

Joe Hisaishi's music

Joe Hisaishi, Miyazaki's longtime composer, gave Princess Mononoke one of his greatest scores: sweeping orchestral themes, taiko drums for Irontown, and the quiet, aching title song. Fans play it in concert halls and at home, and Ghibli concerts around the world still draw sell-out crowds. A forest or Forest Spirit rug in a music room, beside a piano or a record player, is a quiet tribute to it.

The English version

For many viewers in the United States, Princess Mononoke arrived in 1999 in an English version whose script was adapted by the author Neil Gaiman, with a cast that included Claire Danes as San, Billy Crudup as Ashitaka, Minnie Driver as Lady Eboshi and Gillian Anderson as Moro. It introduced a whole generation of American audiences to Miyazaki, and for some fans those voices are still the ones they hear when they look at San and the wolves.

Seeing both sides

The film's central idea is that Ashitaka refuses to take a side. He respects the forest and its gods, and he respects the people of Irontown, and he tries to see clearly without hatred. That balance is what makes a Princess Mononoke rug feel more meaningful than ordinary nature decor: it's a reminder to live alongside the world rather than against it.

The real forest

The film's forests were inspired by real places, above all the ancient cedar forests of Yakushima, an island off southern Japan whose moss-covered trees are thousands of years old. Miyazaki's team visited to study the light and the moss. Fans travel there today to walk the same trails. A forest scene rug carries something of that real place: an old, green, living world that feels sacred.

Woodblock and ukiyo-e style

Many fan designs reimagine Princess Mononoke in the style of Japanese woodblock prints, ukiyo-e, with flat colors, bold outlines, stylized waves and clouds. A woodblock-style Mononoke rug, San and Moro in indigo and cream, or a kodama among pine branches, is a sophisticated, almost gallery-like piece. It suits Japanese-inspired and Japandi interiors, with low wooden furniture, paper lamps and neutral linen.

Rooms full of plants

Princess Mononoke is a film about nature, and it looks most at home among it. A forest or kodama rug in a room full of houseplants, a sunroom, a plant shelf corner, a bedroom by a window, makes the whole room feel like a clearing in the woods. Keep the rest natural: wood, rattan, linen, terracotta. If you love that look, our botanical rugs and zen and spiritual rugs sit naturally alongside.

Colors

The Mononoke palette is deep and natural: moss and pine greens, bark browns, misty blues, white fur and the single sharp red of San's face markings. That makes these rugs easy to live with. Pair them with warm wood, cream walls and green plants; avoid cold greys and neon, which fight the film's warmth. A single red accent, a cushion, a ceramic, a print, picks up San's markings beautifully.

Sizes and levels

Where	Design idea	Size and level
Living room	San and Moro, or the Forest Spirit	5×7 ft, Premium
Bedroom	Kodama on moss	2.6×3.9 ft beside the bed, Premium
Child's room	Kodama or a gentle forest scene	A 3.9 to 4.6 ft (120 to 140 cm) round, Standard on slippery floors
Study or hallway	Ashitaka and Yakul, or San's mask	2×3 or 3.3×5 ft, Standard

Premium is 7 mm plush velvet on a bamboo and cotton back, softer and warmer. Standard is 5 mm crushed velvet on a non-slip faux leather back, made for chairs, doors and slippery floors.

Studio Ghibli

Princess Mononoke is one of many Ghibli films fans love. Browse our Studio Ghibli rugs for the wider world of Miyazaki and his colleagues, or our Totoro rugs for the forest spirit who's a little gentler.

Gifts

A Princess Mononoke rug is a thoughtful gift for a nature lover, an anime fan or anyone who saw the film at the right moment in their life. If you aren't sure which design to choose, the kodama are the gentlest and the safest. Every rug is printed to order in 1–3 business days and ships from Turkey; US delivery usually takes 2–5 business days after that.

Care

Vacuum on a low setting each week, blot spills with cold water straight away and wash the rug on a gentle, cold cycle when it needs it; let it air dry flat. The design is printed into the fibers, so the forest stays green.

A note on the film

Moro and the wolf clan

San was raised by Moro, an ancient white wolf goddess who is large enough to carry her on her back and fierce enough to stand against Lady Eboshi's guns. Moro's two wolf sons run beside San into battle, and in one of the film's most tender scenes, Moro speaks to Ashitaka about the girl she raised as her own. The boar gods, led by the blind, ancient Okkoto, bring their own tragic pride to the forest's last stand.

A rug of three white wolves running through a dark forest, or Moro resting on a mossy rock under the moon, honors that wild family without showing a single scene. It suits a nature lover's bedroom or a study full of plants.

Padrift is an independent studio. Princess Mononoke and its characters are named to describe what our designs are inspired by; we are not affiliated with, sponsored or endorsed by Studio Ghibli or its distributors.