Ashitaka leaves immediately, with only his trusted red elk Yakul and a necklace from his sister, Kaya.
The village elders decide, with much reluctance, that Ashitaka must leave the village before the curse takes full possession of him and travel west in search of his destiny.
The village's peace is shattered by the attack of a terrible demon the village's last remaining prince, Ashitaka, is injured during the fight to kill it, and even worse, the mortally wounded demon is revealed to be a powerful spirit-a giant boar that curses the Emishi with its last breath and reveals that the wound Ashitaka suffered has cursed him as well. Set in Japan during roughly the 16th or 17th century, the story begins in a small village of the Emishi (similar to but not the same as the Ainu), the indigenous inhabitants of Japan, who by this time have mostly been conquered or driven into hiding in remote corners of the country where they can live in some semblance of peace. (Also worth noting that Neil Gaiman adapted the film's English dub.) Mononoke Hime (もののけ姫) is an acclaimed 1997 film from famed Japanese director Hayao Miyazaki, with a rather dark, serious plot and ambience (compared to most of his other works), yet lacking none of the trademark stunning visuals of a Studio Ghibli production.
