Hayao Miyazaki's How Do You Live? Film Opens in Japan on July 14, 2023

The official Twitter account for Studio Ghibli announced on Tuesday that Hayao Miyazaki's latest feature film, Kimi-tachi wa Dō Ikiru ka, will open in theaters in Japan on July 14, 2023. The film is tentatively titled How Do You Live? in English. Studio Ghibli also revealed a visual for the film.

Miyazaki is credited with the original work, in addition to directing the film and writing the script. Studio Ghibli will reveal other staff members, cast members, and the story for the film at a later date.

Miyazaki derived the film from Genzaburō Yoshino's 1937 novel How Do You Live?. He added that this book is a story that has great meaning to the protagonist of his film.

Algonquin Young Readers released the book in English in October 2021, and it describes the novel:

HOW DO YOU LIVE? begins with fifteen-year-old Copper, who has recently suffered the loss of his father, gazing out over his hometown of Tokyo, watching the thousands of people below, and beginning to ponder life's big questions. How many people are in the world? What do their lives look like? Are humans really made of molecules? The book moves between Copper's story and his uncle's journal entries, in which he gives advice and helps Copper learn pivotal truths about the way the world works. Over the course of a year in his life, Copper, like his namesake Copernicus, embarks on a journey of philosophical enlightenment, and uses his discoveries about the heavens, earth and human nature to determine the best way to live. Yoshino perfectly captures the beauty and strangeness of pre-war Japan – the changing of the seasons, the fried tofu and taiyaki stands, and the lush landscapes, as Copper explores the city on his bike and learns from friends and family what really matters most in life.

Studio Ghibli producer Toshio Suzuki stated in an interview in March 2021 that the animation for the film was half-finished, and added he did not expect the film to release for another three years. Suzuki had stated in an interview in December 2020 that the film will be 125 minutes long.

Miyazaki officially revealed the film in 2017. Suzuki reported in April 2017 that Miyazaki had been drawing the storyboards for the project since July 2016.

Miyazaki's last film, 2013's The Wind Rises, also derived its title as a homage to a literary work, Tatsuo Hori's novel The Wind Has Risen (Kaze Tachinu) — which is itself an apparent homage to a line in Paul Valéry's poem "Le Cimetière Marin." Miyazaki had declared in 2013 that he would "retire from the production of feature-length films," but he then came out of retirement to make How Do You Live?.

Sources: Studio Ghibli's North American Twitter account and Japanese Twitter account, Eiga Natalie