Japanese Literature discussion

This is the thread for our December discussion of Totto-chan: The Little Girl at the Window a memoir of her childhood by celebrity author, actor, Goodwill Ambassador for UNICEF and World Wildlife Fund advisor, Tetsuko Kuroyanagi. Translated by Dorothy Britton. Totto-chan was originally published in Japan as a series of articles in Kodansha's Young Woman magazine appearing from February 1979 through December 1980, then collected into and published as a book in 1981. The English translation was first available in 1984. Various sites identify Totto-Chan as the bestselling Japanese book of all time.

The author was born in 1933 in Tokyo.

Who plans to read and discuss? If you've read it previously, feel free to share your impressions.

I started reading Totto-Chan last evening and, admittedly, I don't know anything about the author, hadn't heard of her before we selected this as a group read. My first impression is, it's delightful.

Definitely charmed. It reads like what a child would think & do.

Does Kodansha still print this with the notes at the end? My copy has 20 pages of notes explaining some of the English translation in Japanese, for those reading it to practice their English.

Kuroyanagi was born in 1933. This autobiography must start in her first year of school, so 1939? I suspect any impact of the war with China is going to be indirect and subtle, since Totto-chan herself doesn't know what's going on in the world at large.

Bill wrote: "Definitely charmed. It reads like what a child would think & do.

Does Kodansha still print this with the notes at the end? My copy has 20 pages of notes explaining some of the English translation ..."

The notes are in it and they are a high-value add. Actually, I love my copy with the book flaps and good quality paper. It's a pleasure to read, which adds to the experience.

Finished this this morning. It's a heartwarming account that really sounds like the things carefree children would do. I can see why so many people in Japan bought and read it.

I can't help but think that works like the Cat Street manga by Kamio Yoko were inspired by this. Cat Street is about a 'free school' that accepts students who can't make it at regular schools and lets them learn as they see fit.

I’m about 25% finished. Totto-Chan is an adorable book, and it would have taken quite a while for me to get around to this particular TBR.

It “feels” a lot like Anne’s Cradle, a NF biography about the Japanese woman who translated Anne or Green Gables. (I’m on mobile, so I’ll try to add a link later.) I’d wondered who the audience for that one was because the tone seemed…odd—maybe it was imitative?

I've seen fiction on the same theme, but not non-fiction.

The first that comes to mind is the manga Cat Street , about a 'Free School' for high school students who aren't going to a regular high school for various reasons. Odd that there's no English version listed; the author is quite well known in the USA.

Still on mobile, but here it is:

Anne's Cradle: The Life and Works of Hanako Muraoka, Japanese Translator of Anne of Green Gables
Eri Muraoka, Cathy Hirano (Translator)

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5...

It’s an informative book, even though the tone is weird. It’s almost like a kids’ biography? I didn’t review it because I wasn’t sure I wouldn’t end up damning it with faint praise, even though the information was fascinating.

I *did* use it as a source in my podcast episode about JLit around WWII. It turned out to be a great place to learn about literati who weren’t complicit.

https://readjapaneseliterature.com/20...

Another thought on Totto: the expectations for translation have changed a lot in the last 25ish years.

I was thinking in particular about localization about Totto’s ABCs. I imagine that would come out differently today. Anything else come to mind?

One that threw me briefly was when she was trying to help her classmate climb a tree, and she had to replace her ladder with a stepladder. Fortunately, the Japanese words for both were in the notes in back, and the two Japanese words mean: 'a ladder' is two poles with crossbars, and 'a stepladder' has four legs and folds out into an A-shape.

I don't recall if this one translated yukata to kimono, but I've seen that even in more recent books.

Even older books try not to assume knowledge of any Japanese terms and translate or footnote words that by now just about any English speaker will know. Or they translate using words that have otherwise fallen out of English usage, like the old habit of calling a Buddhist monk a 'bonze'; I don't even know where that comes from.

Alison wrote: "I’m about 25% finished. Totto-Chan is an adorable book, and it would have taken quite a while for me to get around to this particular TBR.

It “feels” a lot like Anne’s Cradle, a NF biography abou..."

I thought Anne's Cradle's tone was odd because the author, granddaughter of the subject, just couldn't get any distance from her grandma. It was too reverent, too positive. I still enjoyed it, even with the constant halo.

What book will be read in January? I would like to get a head start. Thanks.

Marcia,

We didn't get a lot of votes this time around, so we decided not to pick a book for January. Instead we'll be opening up a 'January in Japan' thread for people to discuss whatever they're reading.

Thank you!

Just in case anyone is wondering . . . this book is within reach of high intermediate or advanced students of Japanese.

On my last day teaching in Japan a group of my students gave me this book as a present with a purikira picture of them in the back as a memento. I finally got around to reading the book last year and it reminded me of the joy of education and how important it is to our lives.

This little book is an absolute delight. I lived nearby Jyugaoka and the Peacock supermarket (scheduled for demolition itself) stands on the site of the school at the centre of the story. A plaque should be placed there commemorating this gem.