Was Ashitaka from ‘Princess Mononoke’ engaged before meeting San?

Warning: The following article contains spoilers for Princess Mononoke.

If you are looking for an exemplary hero from anime, look no further than Prince Ashitaka from Princess Mononoke. He’s handsome, smart, strong, and brave. He’s the sort of person who would be appreciated on a Lord–of–the–Rings-style quest. In fact, the word “honor” almost seems to be engraved on the young Emishi warrior’s forehead.

When Ashitaka crosses paths with and falls hard for “wolf-princess” San near the middle of Princess Mononoke, the undeniable chemistry and poetic beauty of their romance is the stuff of legends. It’s indeed hard to imagine that the exiled young prince won’t keep his word when he earnestly promises to come back to see her as soon as he’s done helping Irontown rebuild.

That being said, all may not be as it seems for Princess Mononoke‘s seemingly innocent love-struck pair, at least according to a certain rumor that Ashitaka is actually a taken man at the start of Princess Mononoke, having left his betrothed back in his native village. Is this true, and if so, how could someone who appears so noble justify pursuing another woman whilst already engaged?

Ashitaka’s relationship status in Princess Mononoke

As it turns out, Ashitaka had an intended, known as Kaya, at the beginning of Princess Mononoke, before becoming afflicted by the demonic boar’s curse and his subsequent exile from his home village. While it’s unclear how their attachment came to be (whether it’s an arranged or a love match), it’s easy to discern that the girl loves him, showing concern during his battle with the demon and rushing to help him when he gets wounded.

Before Princess Mononoke‘s protagonist departs for the outside world, Kaya is the only one to bid him farewell, breaking her tribe’s protocol to do so. As a final act of love, she gifts him an obsidian dagger to remember her by, which he takes with him on his journey, later gifting it to his new love, San.

The responsibility for the confusion regarding Ashitaka and Kaya’s relationship lies at the door of the English-dubbed version, which changes her identity to that of his little sister. According to Princess Mononoke director Hayao Miyazaki, this wasn’t his vision of the two characters. In his interview with Mononoke-hime Theater Program in July 1997 (translated to English by Ryoko Toyama), Miyazaki says that Kaya loves Ashitaka and isn’t his sister, and that her reference to him as “Anisama” (older brother) is simply the way that girls in their tribe address older boys.

Miyazaki further explains: “I thought of Kaya as a girl who is determined to do so [marry Ashitaka]. But Ashitaka chose San.” Also, he throws cold water on the idea of the warrior’s return to Emishi Village after the curse is broken, stipulating that the boy still can’t go back, nor would such a move be pragmatic because of his mission (to find a balance between humans’ and nature’s interests) and San (who would obviously have difficulty living amongst humans.)

In the end, Princess Mononoke‘s hero is pronounced “dead” to his former tribe members by the village’s wise woman, and so his engagement to Kaya is likely subject to the same rules despite her last-minute gift. Hence, he’s not really a cheater, but someone who had to start a new life, which included finding a different relationship. It’s still a rather sad situation, at least for Kaya.