She follows the creature into the woods, and comes across a small pool with one of the eggs offered at the shrine. After a brief nap, she drops her house key under the steps, but when she retrieves them, a small fox/pig-like creature, takes her key. One day, she decides to go to a local shrine and pray to Inari for the hand mirror to be returned to her. As she grew older, she forgot about the mirror and eventually lost it. The film is produced using Autodesk Maya 3D software.Īfter losing her mother at a young age, Haruka has treasured the hand mirror she had received from her. The film was nominated for the award for Excellent Animation of the Year at the 33rd Japan Academy Prize. It was produced in commemoration of Fuji Television's 50th anniversary. When light is reflected off this subtly uneven surface onto a wall, the design will reflect differently from the rest of the mirror to reveal its secret image.Oblivion Island: Haruka and the Magic Mirror ( ホッタラケの島〜遥と魔法の鏡〜, Hottarake no Shima: Haruka to Mahō no Kagami ) is a 2009 Japanese computer-animated film directed by Shinsuke Sato.

Although it may seem that a magic mirror has been polished uniformly, there is actually minute unevenness invisible to the eye. The resulting thinner, raised non-image areas deflect light differently than the lower, thicker image areas. These differences are not easily visible to the naked eye. Then, in polishing, the thickness of the reflecting surface is typically buffed down to about 1 mm in thickness, but it can be buffed more deeply in the secret image areas because the metal there is thicker. The secret image areas are made to be thicker than the rest of the mirror. So how does a magic mirror work? The secret image is actually cast into the design on the back of the mirror's reflecting surface. Nor does it have any obvious irregularities on its reflecting surface.

These mirrors with designs on the back became popular among commoners in the Edo period, and the motifs used in these designs became diversified.Ī Japanese magic mirror does not reflect the relief design cast on the back. Later, as the hand mirror (a round mirror with a rectangular protruding handle) came into use, designs became more pictorial, covering the entire back. In ancient times, round mirrors typically had a knob in the center of the back, through which a cord would be strung. Though the earliest mirrors were fashioned after Chinese mirrors, in time mirror makers began to depict Japanese style designs and motifs from the Japanese natural world. During the Heian period (794–1185), the mirror was included as part of the elaborate toiletry sets used by aristocrats. The technology needed to cast metal mirrors was introduced to Japan from China around the Yayoi period (ca. 3rd century BCE–3rd century CE). Mirrors are also admired as artistic objects, as they have intricate pictorial designs on their backs. Within Japanese culture, mirrors are one of the most potent symbols of power, revered as sacred objects representing the gods. Mirrors are usually considered primarily as implements for personal grooming but, in Japan, mirrors were used for far more than reflecting one's image.