Spirited Away - Ending Explained

The narrative of "Spirited Away" is a classic hero's journey set within the framework of Japanese folklore. After Chihiro's parents are turned into pigs, Haku guides her to the bathhouse run by Yubaba. By signing a contract, her name is stolen and she becomes Sen. Under the tutelage of the worker Lin, Sen learns to work hard, earning her place by cleansing a 'Stink Spirit,' which is revealed to be a polluted River Spirit who rewards her with a magical emetic dumpling.

Meanwhile, Haku is gravely injured while stealing a golden seal from Yubaba's twin sister, Zeniba, under Yubaba's orders. To save him, Chihiro feeds him part of the dumpling, causing him to vomit up both the seal and a black slug that Yubaba was using to control him. Determined to apologize to Zeniba and save Haku, Chihiro embarks on a train journey to Swamp Bottom, accompanied by a now-pacified No-Face and Boh, Yubaba's son, whom Zeniba had turned into a mouse. Zeniba reveals herself to be kind and forgives Chihiro, explaining that Haku's curse can only be broken by love and Chihiro remembering his true name.

On the flight back to the bathhouse on Haku's dragon form, Chihiro remembers a childhood memory of falling into the Kohaku River and being washed safely to shore. She correctly guesses Haku's true identity is the spirit of that river, and by saying his name—Nigihayami Kohakunushi—she breaks Yubaba's spell over him. Upon their return, Yubaba presents Chihiro with a final test: identify her parents from a group of pigs. Drawing on her developed intuition, Chihiro correctly states that none of the pigs are her parents. Her contract dissolves, she becomes Chihiro again, and she is freed. Haku escorts her back to the entrance of the spirit world, promising they will meet again. Chihiro reunites with her parents, who have no memory of the events. As they drive away, a brief glance shows Chihiro's hairband, a gift from her friends in the spirit world, sparkling in the light—the only tangible proof of her extraordinary journey.

One popular alternative interpretation views "Spirited Away" as an allegory for child prostitution. In this reading, the bathhouse (a 'yūya') is a stand-in for a 'yūjo-ya' (brothel) from Japan's Edo period. The girls who work there, like Chihiro (now 'Sen'), have their names taken and are forced into servitude under a powerful 'Yubaba' (literally 'bathhouse hag,' but also a term for a brothel madam). The clients are the spirits or 'kami-sama' ('gods' or 'customers'). This interpretation casts No-Face's obsession with Sen and his offers of gold in a much darker light. While Hayao Miyazaki has not explicitly confirmed this, he has acknowledged that Japan's burgeoning sex industry was on his mind and that he wanted to create a story where a young girl could navigate such a world and emerge unscathed.

Another interpretation posits that the entire experience is a dream or a psychological journey representing Chihiro's anxieties about moving to a new place. The spirit world is a manifestation of her fears of the unknown and the challenges of growing up. Each character she meets represents a facet of her own developing personality or an external pressure she must overcome. Her parents' transformation is her fear of them becoming distant or unrecognizable, and her success in the spirit world is a metaphor for her gaining the confidence to face her new life.