<p>For me, it was old money vs new money. Yubaba keeps rushing to make money, accepts tourists etc. Money became not the means to an end but the end itself. Her bathhouse is modern corporation, Zeniba's house is old school mom and pop store. Chihiro gets her first job in a large corporation, gets treated as disposable, grows up... But it is no way to live, to truly be adult, that is not the true meaning of adulthood. There has to be more to life than money. And it is Zeniba which shows her true grandmotherly kindness and gives her some peace and respite from the story.</p>

<p>In a way, Zeniba is at peace with nature. She takes what she needs from it, but no more than that. Yubaba uses nature to gain money and she only cleans the river god for gold. And Zeniba doesn't do much, maybe because she is retired; in modern world, people don't search for her, her ways are not wanted anymore. Her entrance in the story can be seen as reaction to Yubaba's actions. </p>

<p>"You and your corporate thinking are not all powerful and all good, Yubaba. I will show you the different way to do things. The old way!" Zeniba says with her actions. And it turns out that there is value in old ways, in traditions long forgotten. That is my interpretation at least. They represent old ways to do business and grow up and new ways to do that and you need to understand both to be a complete person and live in modern society which at the same time has long traditions.</p>

<p>Also, an interesting thought and a way of looking at the story:
Sen didn't search for Zeniba until she has seen naked greed of her coworkers, until she has seen them consumed by it. A lesson can be seen as this: As long as you spend all your time at work, you will not see your parents again. If that is what you truly want, then stop working, visit your grandmother and your parents will return to their senses and see you again.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-02-24T18:40:59.100Z
Nice answer. But kamaji tells chihiro that the return trains from swamp bottom, which used to run before, have stopped. What do you think that means?
saga
CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-02-25T08:48:50.503Z
People giving up, maybe? If you consider Zeniba old fashioned and Yubaba the modern world/society (constant search for money while at the same time not giving your children what they need, replacing the loving attention, freedom to learn things on their own and teaching with toys and sweets), then once you leave it, there is no need to get back. The world has changed, once you can't deal with it, you permanently retreat to the swamp, to the familiarity,safety and warmth. You stop fighting to better yourself or society, for good or bad. You retire to Zeniba place, because you can't keep up.
jo1storm
CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-02-25T12:07:24.110Z
jo1storm and what does the seal represent? She'd put a spell on it and said that anyone(haku) who tries to steal  the seal must die. How does boh fit into this picture?
saga
CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-02-25T21:56:47.747Z
Seal... I'd say it represents honor(s) or values. Maybe even respect. In all her search for money, what Yubaba wanted the most was respect of the others. And that is what her sister owned! You cannot steal respect, you have to earn it. Same goes for honor. Try to steal it and you will die dishonored, branded as a thief and shunned from society. Old money Zeniba has respect, because of the way she gained that money, the honorable way. New money Yubaba doesn't have it. Funny thing is, Zeniba doesn't care much about seal. It is not enough for Yubaba to be rich, she wants to be respected too!
jo1storm
CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-02-25T22:22:48.183Z
`Old money Zeniba has respect, because of the way she gained that money, the honorable way. New money Yubaba doesn't have it` but she lives alone. She's seen interacting with just a couple of people.
saga
CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-02-26T05:52:51.303Z
And she still has respect, despite that. Yubaba has something closer to fear than respect and she wants to have it. Could it be considered "seal of approval"?
jo1storm
CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-02-26T11:26:18.337Z
what is boh? What does he represent?
saga
CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-02-26T13:46:45.777Z
A child/new generation that gets pampered with things but whose emotional development stagnates because their parents spoil them and don't take care of their needs. In their search for money, Yubaba/current working adults forgot that the role of parents is to prepare the new generation to be adults, independent individuals. Boh might represent learned helplessness.
jo1storm
CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-02-24T16:10:16.187Z
2018-02-24T16:16:34.460Z
jo1storm
<p>Miyazaki lived through the rapid rise and spectacular fall of the Japanese economy over the past few decades.  Yubaba represents the head of a typical greedy Japanese corporation.  The bathhouse, a very traditional Japanese business, represents Japan itself which grew insatiably greedy with the roaring Japanese economy of the late 80s and early 90s, as symbolized by the bathhouse's over the top extravagance.  Yubaba is a strict domineering boss who treats her employees like slaves and sees customers as little more than a source of money.  She is also a workaholic who neglects the relationships with her son and sister.  Zeniba, who lives a train ride away in the countryside, represents the more traditional rural Japan that became forgotten during the economic boom.  Remember that the train used to run both ways, but not anymore.  Zeniba lives a slower life, and does not neglect her family, employees, or customers.  Compare how Yubaba treats her own son, No Face, and Chihiro vs. how Zeniba treats them.  Zeniba was able to recognize No Face's talents where Yubaba only saw fake gold.  Miyzaki himself is known to be quite the workaholic so there might be a tinge of self reflection in his portrayal of Yubaba, and a tinge of how he thinks things should be in his portrayal of Zeniba.   Studio Ghibli as a company has tried to set itself up to be something better than just another greedy corporation, and Yubaba and Zeniba might also represent the dichotomy that arises between Studio Ghibli's desire to rake in massive box office profit  and the desire to do the right thing.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-12-27T05:57:13.203Z
2018-12-27T05:57:13.203Z
Kyle
<p>Yubaba and Zeniba represent 2 ways of living. One is the capitalistic way which values materialism. The other is living the 'old way', which value relationships.</p>
<p>The train running one way, signifies the decline of the spirit world for reasons not mentioned.</p>
<p>Although Yubaba is the antagonist, she isnt necessarily an evil being. Her bathhouse plays an important role in cleansing the spirits and giving jobs to anyone who wants one.</p>
<p>Zeniba at one point was the antagonist - at the beginning - handing curses left and right, before her true intentions (good intentions) were revealed.</p>
<p>Miyazaki wanted to show these 2 philosophies best embodied by twin characters who are at odds with one another.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-06-27T16:12:04.973Z
2021-07-07T04:49:00.160Z
2021-07-07T04:49:00.160Z
animenix
<p>This is how I interpret the story of <em>Spirited Away</em>:</p>

<ul>
<li>The bathhouse represents the society. People work with each other towards a common goal. Every night, 8 million gods come to the bathhouse and workers serve them, worship them. In a way they deal with them, do business with them. In Asian cultures, fire, air, earth, water, food, etc. are represented as gods, so bathhouse very accurately represents a working society. The 'spell' breaks if they stop working.</li>
<li>Yubaba is the culture. She manages the bathhouse. She is tyrannical and rules over people by taking there real name and giving them a new name.</li>
<li>Chihiro was given a new name by Yubaba, 'Sen', which means 'one thousand', similar to how a person is given a roll number or employee number in an organisation. That number becomes his new identity.</li>
<li>Haku has forgotten his real name. Similar to Islamic terrorism, he's become a slave to the tyrannical culture. He'll do anything the culture tells him to do.</li>
<li>The baby is the belief system of the society. Yubaba is <a href="https://www.google.com/search?q=spirited+away+yubaba+angry+fire&amp;tbm=isch" rel="noreferrer">overly</a> protective of him.</li>
</ul>

<p>One thing I can't understand is, who is Zeniba, Yubaba's twin sister.</p>

<ol>
<li><p>Yubaba and Zeniba are two parts of a whole.</p></li>
<li><p>Yubaba keeps baby locked in a room, afraid that he might get sick because of germs. Zeniba turned baby into a mouse so that he might have a little freedom.</p></li>
<li><p>Zeniba lives in swamp bottom.</p></li>
<li><p>There used to be trains running between bathhouse and swamp bottom in old days, but the return trains from swamp bottom have stopped. Now it's a one-way road towards swamp bottom.</p></li>
<li><p>The tickets to swamp bottom Kamaji gave to Chihiro had been with him for 40 years.</p></li>
<li><p>'Zeni' has <a href="https://shokubutsujin.wordpress.com/2014/08/20/kanji-mumblings-from-spirited-away/" rel="noreferrer">two</a> meanings in Japanese, 'money' and 'ancient'. 'ba' means 'old lady'. The meaning of Zeniba which seems to fit the story is 'ancient old lady.</p></li>
<li><p>Yubaba wanted to steal a seal from Zeniba, which was supposedly very precious.</p></li>
</ol>

<p>So what does Zeniba represent in this story?</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-02-20T17:03:56.510Z
Could you give a reference where 'zeni' means 'ancient'? [jisho](http://jisho.org/search/%E3%81%9C%E3%81%AB) only mentions 'coin', but not 'ancient'.
Aki Tanaka
CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-02-20T17:08:57.213Z
@Aki Tanaka Post edited to include the reference
saga
CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-02-24T04:04:27.663Z
You have linked to a Google search there. What exactly are we supposed to infer from it?
muru
CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-02-24T09:11:16.630Z
@muru it's a reminder for those who have watched the movie.
saga
<spirited-away>
What does Zeniba represent?
# What does Zeniba represent?
Posted by: username_0 on 2018-02-20
This is how I interpret the story of *Spirited Away*:

* The bathhouse represents the society. People work with each other towards a common goal. Every night, 8 million gods come to the bathhouse and workers serve them, worship them. In a way they deal with them, do business with them. In Asian cultures, fire, air, earth, water, food, etc. are represented as gods, so bathhouse very accurately represents a working society. The 'spell' breaks if they stop working.
* Yubaba is the culture. She manages the bathhouse. She is tyrannical and rules over people by taking there real name and giving them a new name.
* Chihiro was given a new name by Yubaba, 'Sen', which means 'one thousand', similar to how a person is given a roll number or employee number in an organisation. That number becomes his new identity.
* Haku has forgotten his real name. Similar to Islamic terrorism, he's become a slave to the tyrannical culture. He'll do anything the culture tells him to do.
* The baby is the belief system of the society. Yubaba is [overly](https://www.google.com/search?q=spirited+away+yubaba+angry+fire&tbm=isch) protective of him.

One thing I can't understand is, who is Zeniba, Yubaba's twin sister.

1. Yubaba and Zeniba are two parts of a whole.
2. Yubaba keeps baby locked in a room, afraid that he might get sick because of germs. Zeniba turned baby into a mouse so that he might have a little freedom.
3. Zeniba lives in swamp bottom.
4. There used to be trains running between bathhouse and swamp bottom in old days, but the return trains from swamp bottom have stopped. Now it's a one-way road towards swamp bottom.
5. The tickets to swamp bottom Kamaji gave to Chihiro had been with him for 40 years.
6. 'Zeni' has [two](https://shokubutsujin.wordpress.com/2014/08/20/kanji-mumblings-from-spirited-away/) meanings in Japanese, 'money' and 'ancient'. 'ba' means 'old lady'. The meaning of Zeniba which seems to fit the story is 'ancient old lady.
7. Yubaba wanted to steal a seal from Zeniba, which was supposedly very precious.

So what does Zeniba represent in this story?
**Tags:** spirited-away
> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: Could you give a reference where 'zeni' means 'ancient'? [jisho](http://jisho.org/search/%E3%81%9C%E3%81%AB) only mentions 'coin', but not 'ancient'.  
> **username_0**: @Aki Tanaka Post edited to include the reference  
> **username_2**: You have linked to a Google search there. What exactly are we supposed to infer from it?  
> **username_0**: @muru it's a reminder for those who have watched the movie.  
---
## 3 answers
### Answer by username_3 on 2018-02-24. Score: 4 | Accepted answer
For me, it was old money vs new money. Yubaba keeps rushing to make money, accepts tourists etc. Money became not the means to an end but the end itself. Her bathhouse is modern corporation, Zeniba's house is old school mom and pop store. Chihiro gets her first job in a large corporation, gets treated as disposable, grows up... But it is no way to live, to truly be adult, that is not the true meaning of adulthood. There has to be more to life than money. And it is Zeniba which shows her true grandmotherly kindness and gives her some peace and respite from the story.

In a way, Zeniba is at peace with nature. She takes what she needs from it, but no more than that. Yubaba uses nature to gain money and she only cleans the river god for gold. And Zeniba doesn't do much, maybe because she is retired; in modern world, people don't search for her, her ways are not wanted anymore. Her entrance in the story can be seen as reaction to Yubaba's actions.

"You and your corporate thinking are not all powerful and all good, Yubaba. I will show you the different way to do things. The old way!" Zeniba says with her actions. And it turns out that there is value in old ways, in traditions long forgotten. That is my interpretation at least. They represent old ways to do business and grow up and new ways to do that and you need to understand both to be a complete person and live in modern society which at the same time has long traditions.

Also, an interesting thought and a way of looking at the story:
Sen didn't search for Zeniba until she has seen naked greed of her coworkers, until she has seen them consumed by it. A lesson can be seen as this: As long as you spend all your time at work, you will not see your parents again. If that is what you truly want, then stop working, visit your grandmother and your parents will return to their senses and see you again.
> **Comments:**
> **username_0** (2018-02-24): Nice answer. But kamaji tells chihiro that the return trains from swamp bottom, which used to run before, have stopped. What do you think that means?  
> **username_3** (2018-02-25): People giving up, maybe? If you consider Zeniba old fashioned and Yubaba the modern world/society (constant search for money while at the same time not giving your children what they need, replacing the loving attention, freedom to learn things on their own and teaching with toys and sweets), then once you leave it, there is no need to get back. The world has changed, once you can't deal with it, you permanently retreat to the swamp, to the familiarity,safety and warmth. You stop fighting to better yourself or society, for good or bad. You retire to Zeniba place, because you can't keep up.  
> **username_0** (2018-02-25): jo1storm and what does the seal represent? She'd put a spell on it and said that anyone(haku) who tries to steal  the seal must die. How does boh fit into this picture?  
> **username_3** (2018-02-25): Seal... I'd say it represents honor(s) or values. Maybe even respect. In all her search for money, what Yubaba wanted the most was respect of the others. And that is what her sister owned! You cannot steal respect, you have to earn it. Same goes for honor. Try to steal it and you will die dishonored, branded as a thief and shunned from society. Old money Zeniba has respect, because of the way she gained that money, the honorable way. New money Yubaba doesn't have it. Funny thing is, Zeniba doesn't care much about seal. It is not enough for Yubaba to be rich, she wants to be respected too!  
> **username_0** (2018-02-25): `Old money Zeniba has respect, because of the way she gained that money, the honorable way. New money Yubaba doesn't have it` but she lives alone. She's seen interacting with just a couple of people.  
> **username_3** (2018-02-26): And she still has respect, despite that. Yubaba has something closer to fear than respect and she wants to have it. Could it be considered "seal of approval"?  
> **username_0** (2018-02-26): what is boh? What does he represent?  
> **username_3** (2018-02-26): A child/new generation that gets pampered with things but whose emotional development stagnates because their parents spoil them and don't take care of their needs. In their search for money, Yubaba/current working adults forgot that the role of parents is to prepare the new generation to be adults, independent individuals. Boh might represent learned helplessness.  
---
### Answer by username_4 on 2018-12-27. Score: 0
Miyazaki lived through the rapid rise and spectacular fall of the Japanese economy over the past few decades. Yubaba represents the head of a typical greedy Japanese corporation. The bathhouse, a very traditional Japanese business, represents Japan itself which grew insatiably greedy with the roaring Japanese economy of the late 80s and early 90s, as symbolized by the bathhouse's over the top extravagance. Yubaba is a strict domineering boss who treats her employees like slaves and sees customers as little more than a source of money. She is also a workaholic who neglects the relationships with her son and sister. Zeniba, who lives a train ride away in the countryside, represents the more traditional rural Japan that became forgotten during the economic boom. Remember that the train used to run both ways, but not anymore. Zeniba lives a slower life, and does not neglect her family, employees, or customers. Compare how Yubaba treats her own son, No Face, and Chihiro vs. how Zeniba treats them. Zeniba was able to recognize No Face's talents where Yubaba only saw fake gold. Miyzaki himself is known to be quite the workaholic so there might be a tinge of self reflection in his portrayal of Yubaba, and a tinge of how he thinks things should be in his portrayal of Zeniba. Studio Ghibli as a company has tried to set itself up to be something better than just another greedy corporation, and Yubaba and Zeniba might also represent the dichotomy that arises between Studio Ghibli's desire to rake in massive box office profit and the desire to do the right thing.
---
### Answer by username_5 on 2021-06-27. Score: 0
Yubaba and Zeniba represent 2 ways of living. One is the capitalistic way which values materialism. The other is living the 'old way', which value relationships.

The train running one way, signifies the decline of the spirit world for reasons not mentioned.

Although Yubaba is the antagonist, she isnt necessarily an evil being. Her bathhouse plays an important role in cleansing the spirits and giving jobs to anyone who wants one.

Zeniba at one point was the antagonist - at the beginning - handing curses left and right, before her true intentions (good intentions) were revealed.

Miyazaki wanted to show these 2 philosophies best embodied by twin characters who are at odds with one another.
---
