I watched Suzume no Tojimari by Makoto Shinkai last month (November 2022)!

Before watching, it was mystery what Suzume no Tojimari really meant.

But I understood the meaning after watching it!

I’ll introduce you the translation and meaning of Suzume no Tojimari here.

Meaning of Suzume no Tojimari in English

Suzume no Tojimari is written すずめの戸締り (すずめのとじまり) in Japanese.

If I make a direct translation, it’ll be Suzume’s Locking (Shutting) Up.

The Japanese title is composed of two words.

They are Suzume (すずめ) and Tojimari (戸締り).

The word no (の) between Suzume and Tojimari means “Of” in English.

I explain the meaning of each words both in English and in Japanese.

Meaning of Suzume

Suzume (すずめ) is the first name of heroin in Suzume no Tojimari.

Although I’ve never met with someone whose name was Suzume here in Japan before.
So, it’s rare name, I can say.

Heroin’s name Suzume Iwato (岩戸鈴芽) came from Japanese Mythology.

Actually, it was told by the director Makoto Shinkai himself.

I got a brochure as an attendant’s benefit which contained his interview when I went to see the movie and he told so in the interview.

Her name Suzume was took from Ame no Uzume no Mikoto (天鈿女命), who was one of the goddesses in Japanese Mythology.

Ame no Uzume no Mikoto was the goddess who danced in front of Heaven’s Rock Cave called Ama no Iwato (天の岩戸) to lure and make Amaterasu no Omikami open the door.

Amaterasu no Omikami (天照大御神) is the goddess of the sun but she retreated into the cave that the world became dark.

To bring back the sun Ame no Uzume no Mikoto played a key role.

The name “Suzume” named after “Uzume” in Ame no Uzume.

By the way, if you just say Suzume, most Japanese people would imagine a bird called Suzume.

Suzume (すずめ) means Sparrow.

This is just my imagination but I feel like the director also took the image from a sparrow.

Meaning of Tojimari

Tojimari (戸締り) means “Shut up” or “Lock up”.

You need to lock up your house when you leave.

My image of Tojimari is especially for houses, not for buildings or stores.

For buildings or stores, 鍵をかける is used.
鍵をかける also means lock in English but the nuance is a bit different.

So Tojimari is often used among family members.

At night, you need to do Tojimari of your house.
When you leave your house, you need to do Tojimari as well.

What Suzume no Tojimari means?

※ This part includes a little spoiler, so if you are like No Spoiler, please skip this part and I’m glad if you come back after watching the movie

As I explained, Suzume no Tojimari means Suzume’s Locking Up.

But what Suzume lock or shut?

It is the cause of calamity.

Suzume and Sota (another main character) needed to remove the calamity by locking the door.

That’s their main role.

But Suzume also had difficult past which she shut up.
She bottled up feelings of the past.

She also needed to confront it, that is, to open her door and move forward.

Suzume no Tojimari is her story to move forward at the same time.

Summary

Suzume no Tojimari means “Suzume’s Locking (Shutting) Up”.

The name Suzume had something to do with Japanese Mythology.

Suzume no Tojimari is scheduled to release April 2023 in some countries in Europe and in US.

So far (As of 2022), the English title is Suzume no Tojimari, same as Japanese.

I’m curious if they change the English title when it is released.
Because everyone would be what it means if Japanese title is used directly in Roman alphabet.

This time, I was going to write the review of Suzume no Tojimari but decided to write in the next article as it might be a bit long.

Suzume no Tojimari is not released online but you can hear the theme song by Toaka from following link.

I also like the song.

Tags: English, Japanese, Meaning, Suzume no Tojimari Author : Hiroshi