As for Totoro, he lives in a tree demarcated by a shimenawa (braided straw rope for shinto). The tree is called shinboku (sacred tree). Shinto is the traditional religion of Japan and some consider many of Hayao Miyazaki's movies—including Totoro—to have Shintoist themes. and interpret Totoro as a kami spirit of the Shinto religion. But Miyazaki says "this movie [Totoro] has nothing to do with that [Shinto] or any other religion."