Motoko Kusanagi and Imperial Regalia

The scene in which Motoko Kusanagi talks with Batou in the harbor of the New Port City on her boat is rightfully considered as central for the original Ghost in the Shell anime film by Mamoru Oshii. Here the audience gets keys for understanding the whole movie concept. The scene is rich in symbolical meanings that can be perceived in a wide cultural context only.
In the beginning of the scene Motoko slowly floats up to the surface after diving into the depth of the ocean. When she is right below the surface she stops for a moment and it turns that the surface, seen from the depth, works like a glass: for a moment, both Motoko and her mirrored image are in the picture.
This introduction to what follows next provides the context for the whole episode. Indeed, Motoko’s last name is Kusanagi. In a way, she is a symbol of Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi, the sword, which is one of the imperial regalia of Japan, representing valor (see the previous post on Motoko Kusanagi’s name). This sword is closely associated with the ocean’s depth: it was thrown into waters, but was reported to be recovered ashore safely. It is also tightly connected with the idea of a replica, since there was no agreement between the Minamoto and Taira clans as for whether the original Kusanagi sword sank with the emperor Atoku during the battle of Dan-no-ura or was it a replica made under the emperor Sujin. Western audience should realize that Kusanagi sword is no less famous in Japan than Excalibur in Great Britain, and the wars between Minamoto and Taira are known to everyone in Japan the same way as the Wars of the Roses are in Great Britain.
Kusanagi’s reflection in the water surface immediately brings to mind the other Japanese imperial regalia: Yata-no-kagami, the sacred mirror representing wisdom. It also (quite naturally) points to the idea of a replica. When Amaterasu gave it to her grandson Ninigi-no-mikoto, she said: “Think of this sacred mirror as none other than myself.” Both imperial regalia, the sword and the mirror, and what they connote, are as self-evident for the Japanese as the stars and stripes for the Americans.
The connection with the Kusanagi sword is further confirmed in Batou’s dialogue with Motoko. Batou says: “A cyborg who goes diving in her spare time, that can’t be a good sign. When did you start doing this? Doesn’t the ocean scare you? If the floaters stopped working...” Indeed, even though Motoko looks like she might weigh perhaps 130 pounds, her mechanized body actually weighs over 300 pounds. She is much heavier than water and yet she did not sink. Or did she? A few moments later Motoko says: “As I float up towards the surface, I almost feel as though l could change into something else.” As with the Kusanagi sword, the question about Kusanagi cyborg is: Who now talks with Batou: Motoko or her replica? This is the key theme of Motoko Kusanagi’s inner conflict: is she herself or something else? What defines her as a human? A dialogue that follows reveals more about that conflict and hints at the solution provided by Mamoru Oshii in his masterpiece anime film.