Part 4 Children's Literature of Today: From the 1980s to 1999

4-1Usagi no me [A rabbit's eyes]
Written by Kenjiro Haitani/Illustrated by Tomoko Hasegawa
Rironsha 1974
(Rironsha no daichohen shirizu [Rironsha's full-length novel series])
Call No. Y7-4211
The first work of the author who writes about educational issues related to discrimination and disabilities. This book has been translated and published in China and Korea.

4-2Kiri no muko no fushigi na machi [The marvelous village veiled in mist]
Written by Sachiko Kashiwaba/Illustrated by Kozaburo Takekawa
Kodansha 1975
(Jido bungaku sosaku shirizu [Series of original children's literature])
Call No. Y7-4885
A much-discussed work that breathed life into the fantasy genre by adding a good dose of humor. Was later made into the movie, Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi [Spirited away].

4-3Soreike zukkoke sanningumi [Let's go, funny trio]
Written by Masamoto Nasu/Illustrated by Kazuo Maekawa
POPLAR Publishing 1978
(Kodomo bungakukan [Children's literature])
Call No. Y7-6567
Initially serialized in Rokunen no gakushu [Sixth grader’s studies] as Zukkoke sanjushi [The three funny musketeers], this is the first volume of 50 highly entertaining volumes.

4-4Okashina kin'yobi [Funny Friday]
Written by Toshihide Kunimatsu/Illustrated by Katsumi Oofuru
Kaiseisha 1978
(Kodomo no bungaku [Children's literature])
Call No. Y7-6889
This work, which depicts an incident of child abandonment, was the harbinger of a transformation in children’s literature.

4-5Bokura wa umi e [We'll go out to the sea]
Written by Masamoto Nasu/Illustrated by Akira Antoku
Kaiseisha 1980
(Kaiseisha no sosaku bungaku [Original literature of Kaiseisha])
Call No. Y7-7905
This work tells the story of children who set out to sea in order to escape a harsh reality. It is acknowledge as the first significant work of children’s literature in the 1980s.

4-6Hare tokidoki buta [Fair, then partly piggy]
Written and illustrated by Shiro Yadama
Iwasaki Shoten 1980
(Atarashii sosaku dowa [New original children's stories])
Call No. Y7-8281
A nonsense story about silly things written in a diary that come true. It has been translated and published in China, Thailand, the Netherlands and other countries.

4-7Zubon senchosan no hanashi [Tales of an old sea captain]
Written by Eiko Kadono/Illustrated by Yuji Kamosawa
Fukuinkan Shoten 1981
(Fukuinkan doyobi bunko [Fukuinkan Saturday library])
Call No. Y7-9044
This story depicts a boy’s relationship with an unknown old man and is an early masterwork by the author of Majo no takkyubin [Kiki’s delivery service]. Shown here is the title page.

4-8Tetsugaku no raion: Kudo Naoko shonen shishu [Philosophical lion: The collection of children's poems by Naoko Kudo]
Written by Naoko Kudo/Illustrated by Yoko Sano
Rironsha 1982
(Shi no sampomichi [Promenade of poems])
Call No. Y7-9484
An anthology of poety featuring ironic depictions of feelings of personified animals. Contains poems written during a 20-year period.

4-9Denwa ga natteiru [The telephone is ringing]
Written by Makoto Kawashima/Illustrated by Shuhei Hasegawa
Kokudosha 1985
Call No. Y8-2581
This is an anthology of short stories for children dealing with issues of sexuality. The title story is set in an abnormal society of the near feature, and features an ending that leaves reader to conclude the story for his- or herself. Book design by Akira Uno. Shown here is the title page.

4-10Shonen jidai no gashu [Collected pictures of childhood]
Written by Tadaaki Mori/Illustrated by Hideyuki Fujikawa
Kodansha 1985
(Jido bungaku sosaku shirizu [Series of original children's literature])
Call No. Y8-2978
This anthology comprises stories that depict the darker side of childhood such as the death of a loved one, thereby portraying both the shadow and the light of childhood experience.

4-11Kiiroi baketsu [Yellow bucket]
Written by Miyako Moriyama/Illustrated by Yoshiharu Tsuchida
Akane Shobo 1985
(Akane yonen dowa [Akane young children's literature])
Call No. Y8-2517
A little fox finds a yellow bucket at the edge of a log bridge, and wants to take it home, but unable to do so, just keeps quietly watching for a week. A masterwork of storytelling for young children by Kyo Moriyama.

4-12Hi no o tanjo [Birth of the fire king]
Written by Takaya Hama/Illustrated by Shuji Tateishi
Kaiseisha 1986
(Kaiseisha no sosaku bungaku [Original literature of Kaiseisha])
Call No. Y8-3223
An epic novel of a mythical world, covering five volumes in total.

4-13Gakko usagi wo tsukamaero [Catching the school rabbit]
Written and illustrated by Jun Okada
Kaiseisha 1986
(Sosaku kodomo kurabu [Children's creation club])
Call No. Y8-3825
A realistical portrayal of the personailities of children who are trying to recapture an escaped rabbit.

4-14Boku no oneesan [My older sister]
Written by Shuzo Oka/Illustrated by Shin Kamiya
Kaiseisha 1986
(Kaiseisha no sosaku [Kaiseisha's original])
Call No. Y8-3821
Six stories depicting the human nature of people with disabilities and children from an equal distance. The author was a teacher at a school for handicapped children.

4-15Rudorufu to Ippaiattena [Rudolf the black cat]
Written by Hiroshi Saito/Illustrated by Hanmo Sugiura
Kodansha 1987
(Jido bungaku sosaku shirizu [Series of original children's literature])
Call No. Y8-4348
A dramatic adventure story that humorously depicts the lives and friendships of a group of tough stray cats.

4-16Umi no medaka [Killifish in the sea]
Written by Tatsuya Saragai/Illustrated by Shinta Cho
Kaiseisha 1987
Call No. Y8-4686
This story depicts the lives of the people living in a small apartment through the eyes of a boy who rejects the conventional educations system and refuses to go to school.

4-17Sorairo magatama [Dragon sword and wind child]
Written by Noriko Ogiwara
Tokuma Shoten 1996
Call No. Y9-2910 (First ed. Y8-5599)
A revised edition of a book published by Fukutake shoten in 1988. First book of a trilogy based on early Japanese literature, it is considered one of the first authentic mythical fantasies.

4-18Tsumetai yoru ni [At cold night]
Written by Kaori Ekuni/Illustrated by Machiko Yagyu
Rironsha 1989
(Rironsha no atarashii dowa [New children's stories of Rironsha])
Call No. Y8-6589
An anthology of short stories that are a crossover between children’s stories and adult literature. Includes "Duke" and other stories that provide a fresh depiction of the ambience of the 1980’s.

4-19Ohikkoshi [Moving]
Written by Hiko Tanaka
Fukutake Shoten 1990
(Best choice)
Call No. Y8-7577
The story is told in Kyoto dialect by a six-year-old girl, who describes the changes in lifestyle she and her mother experience after divorce. Shown here is the title page.

4-20Kunugibayashi no Zawazawaso [Apartment Zawazawa in oak woods]
Written by Yoko Tomiyasu/Illustrated by Maki Yasunaga
Akane Shobo 1990
Call No. Y8-7419
A fantasy that depicts both the natural beauty and the supernatural powers, or yokai, of Japan, mixed with social commentary.

4-21Osaru no mainichi [A day in a monkey’s life]
Written and illustrated by Hiroshi Ito
Kodansha 1991
(Dowa ga ippai [Full of children's stories] 20)
Call No. Y8-8299
This story is intended to reassure children who are forced to grow up too soon by depicting an ordinary day in the life of a monkey. Book design by Keiichi Tanaami.

4-22Natsu no niwa: The friends [The friends]
Written by Kazumi Yumoto
Tokuma Shoten 2001
Call No. Y8-N01-315 (First ed. Y8-9223)
A revised edition of a book first published by Fukuinkan Shoten in 1992. It has been translated and published in Switzerland and close to a dozen other countries, winning the Mildred L. Batchelder Award in the United States. Written in a style that appeals to readers of all ages, the story depicts modern attitudes toward war through the eyes of an old man.

4-23Nishi no majo ga shinda [The witch of the west is dead]
Written by Kaho Nashiki
Shogakukan 1996
Call No. Y9-2427 (First ed. KH431-E658)
First published by Nire Shuppan in 1994, this book tells the story of a girl who is refuses to go to school, but finds herself again while spending time outdoors with her British grandmother.

4-24Seirei no moribito [Moribito: Guardian of the spirit]
Written by Nahoko Uehashi/Illustrated by Makiko Futaki
Kaiseisha 1996
(Kaiseisha wandarando [Kaiseisha wonderland] 15)
Call No. Y9-2886
This fantasy, set in a fictitious ancient country, is the first volume of a series written from the perspective of an author who is a cultural anthropologist.

4-25Batteri [Battery]
Written by Atsuko Asano/Illustrated by Makiko Sato
Kyouikugageki 1996
(Kyoiku gageki no sosaku bungaku [Original literature of Kyoiku gageki])
Call No. Y8-M98-6
A six-volume series depicting the mutual trust and commitment of boys who play baseball together.

4-26Bokura no saite no natsu [Our worst summer ever]
Written by Yoko Saso/Illustrated by Naito Yamada
Kodansha 1996
(Wakuwaku raiburari [Wakuwaku library])
Call No. Y9-2804
A unique depiction of one sixth-grade boy's coming of age during a series of summer experiences.

4-27Arumajiro no shippo [The tail of the armadillo]
Written by Joko Iwase/Illustrated by Yoji Watanabe
Akane Shobo 1997
Call No. Y8-M98-193
A story depicting the daily experiences of a sensivite young girl who lives near the American military base in Iwakuni, Yamaguchi.

4-28Iguanakun no ojamana mainichi [Day for day with our troublesome iguana]
Written by Takako Sato/Illustrated by Takehide Harada
Kaiseisha 1997
(Kaiseisha otanoshimi kurabu [Kaiseisha's happy club])
Call No. Y8-M98-178
A story depicting the changes and renewal experienced by a family through the eyes of an eleven-year-old girl with a pet iguana.

4-29Karafuru [Colorful]
Written by Eto Mori
Rironsha 1998
Call No. Y8-M99-92
A boy who committed a grave error in a previous life gets a second chance at life when his spirit is transferred to the body of a junior high school student who commited suicide.

4-30Oni no hashi [A bridge to the other world]
Written by Yu Ito/Illustrated by Daihachi Ota
Fukuinkan Shoten 1998
Call No. Y8-M99-182
This story uses contradictory concepts such as demons and humans or life and death to depict the growth of the poet Ono no Takamura during his boyhood.

4-31Juichigatsu no tobira [The door of November]
Written by Hoko Takadono
Librio Shuppan 1999
Call No. Y8-M99-691
The story of junior-high-school girl’s experience at a western-style boarding house called Juichigatsuso (November house).