Editing Castle in the Sky (section)

=== Trips to Wales ===

{{Multiple image
| align     = right
| direction = vertical
| width     = 200
| image1    = Caer 2.jpg
| alt1      = An ancient stone castle
| image2    = Big Pit National Coal Museum, Blaenavon, Wales June 12, 2015 (49526156446).jpg
| alt2      = A collection of brick-and-mortar structures on a grassy hillside
| footer    = [[Caerphilly Castle]] ''(top)'' and [[Big Pit National Coal Museum|Big Pit Mine]] ''(bottom)'' in southern Wales. Miyazaki drew inspiration from the region for the film.{{sfn|Miyazaki|2016|p=97}}
}}

Miyazaki first visited [[Wales]] on a research trip in 1985, when ''Castle in the Sky'' was in the early stages of production. He decided to take inspiration from the architecture of the region, and as a result, some of the structures seen in the film resemble Welsh mining towns.{{sfn|Miyazaki|2016|p=97}} Miyazaki also witnessed the aftermath of the [[UK miners' strike (1984–85)|coal miners' strike]]. Their ultimate failure to preserve the industry left a lasting impact on Miyazaki, who viewed the event as an attack by those in power on the miners' way of life and the hard-working spirit of the people.{{sfn|Greenberg|2018|p=110}} His experiences are reflected in several supporting characters in the film, who despite laboring through poverty in the mines, enthusiastically protect the protagonists from multiple aggressors. [[Susan J. Napier]] argues that this depiction reveals Miyazaki's yearning for a simpler way of life, and a desire to create a story based on optimism.{{sfn|Napier|2018|p=91}} Animation scholar [[Helen McCarthy]] writes "It seems that ''Castle in the Sky'' also contains echoes of the struggle of the Welsh people for nationhood and freedom."{{sfn|McCarthy|2002|p=96}} Miyazaki would visit Wales once more in 1986, ahead of the release of the film. In 2005, he told ''[[The Guardian]]'' "I admired those men, I admired the way they battled to save their way of life, just as the coal miners in Japan did. Many people of my generation see the miners as a symbol; a dying breed of fighting men. Now they are gone."{{sfn|Brooks|2005}}