Finding Your Magic: A World-Renowned Author Reveals Her Secret
KADONO Eiko, the author of children’s literature known around the world for Kiki’s Delivery Service, has created many works in reaction to a childhood experience that was constrained by the harshness of the times. Her works have magically empowered readers across generations and borders, but what was the inspiration behind her works?
KADONO Eiko began writing at the urging of her former university instructor. Her debut work in was based on her experience in Brazil. It was then that she realized the joy of writing.
Kadono decorates her home with witch-themed ornaments she has picked up on her travels across the globe.
Japanese children’s book writer KADONO Eiko believes that “everybody has a magical ability.” She said, “All people have something they’re good at or that they want to do. To find it, you have to do something you like every day. When a person does something they like, they shine and they can lead a life that is vibrant, not boring.”
Kadono’s magical ability is undoubtedly writing stories. When she made her writing debut, her daughter was still little, so she wrote on a drawing b
August is Women in Translation Month (#WITMonth). RJL brings you a list of 31 of the most talented and influential women writing in Japanese after the Meiji Restoration of That’s one biography for every day this month, often with a short story or excerpt to go with it. (I&#;ll be posting shortened bios and free-to-read stories on social media. Take a look at the contact page for how to follow along.)
You’ll also find a lengthy list of “runners up” full of other women available in translation from Japanese, as well as a list of other women’s writing available to read for free.
You can still access RJL’s earlier Women in Translation Month resources, including ’s “31 Days of Japanese Women in Translation”, a resource list of podcast episodes and Youtube videos.
Be sure to listen to RJL’s episodes that center women’s writing:
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1. Ichiyo Higuchi (): Paragon of Modern Japanese Women’s Writing
Ichiyo Higuchi wasn’t the only woman writing in Meiji Japan, but she was one of the best and almost ce
「想像力」は生きる力につながるもの――児童文学作家・角野栄子さんが願っていること
“ここではないどこか”への思いが原点
――5歳のときにお母様を亡くされたことで、子ども時代は寂しい思いをすることが多かったと伺いました。
角野栄子（以下、角野） 5歳という年齢は、“人がいなくなる”ということが分かるようで分からない年齢ですよね。記憶もあいまいですし、「新しいものが好きな人だった」なんて人づてに聞いても、確かめられませんし。事あるごとに「こんなとき、本当のお母さんだったらどんな反応をするのかしら」と想像していました。
そんな空想から、「どこかにほかの世界があるに違いない」とか「ここではないどこかへ行ってみたい」という発想にまでつながっていったような気がします。
父はかわいがってくれたし、新しい母もおだやかな人だったし、食べるのに困るほど貧しかったわけでもないんですよ。でもやっぱり寂しかったのでしょうね。
――後に角野さんは物語作家としてデビューされますが、子ども時代の「ここではないどこかへ行ってみたい」という思いと、物語を書きたいという思いは地続きにあったのでしょうか？
角野 子どものころは、自分が物語を書く人になるなんて思ったこともありませんでした。もちろん、物語というのはおもしろいものだ、という気持ちはありましたよ。物語を読んでいると、ここではない世界の住人になれますしね。でも当時は、寂しさを紛らわせたかっただけなのだと思います。
10代に入ってからは、「あっちに行ったらどんなおもしろいことがあるのかしら」、「どんな素敵な人に出会えるのかしら」というわくわくした気持ちから、違う世界を想像するようになりました。それが物語を書くことにつながったような気はしています。
――“ここではないどこか”を想像するときの気持ちが「寂しさ」から「好奇心」に移り変わったのは、とても大きな変化だったのではないかと思います。
角野 きっかけは終戦ですね。戦争中は「日本は勝つ」という言葉でみんながひとくくりにされていたのですが、終戦を境に世界がぱっと開けたんです。そのとき私は10歳。
このときに私が感じたのは、「これから新しい世界が開けて、おもしろいことが始まるんだ」、「好きな所に行けるようになるんだ」という解放感と期待感。この“わくわく感”が、後の物語につながっていったのでしょう。
角野さんが幼いころの「寂しい気持ちを抑えるための空想」は大人になるにつれて、「まだ見ぬ場所や人との出会い、経験への好奇心」に変わっていった（写真＝北原千恵美）
おもしろくなりそう。それだけを頼りに出発した『魔女の宅急便』
――年、『魔女の宅急便』第1巻が出版されました。年にスタジオジブリによって映画化されたことでより広く知られるよ
The television producer Miyagawa Marina has seen considerable success in her career with NHK, and has a busy schedule to match. But when she got the chance to focus on one of Japan’s most beloved children’s book authors, she leapt at it. The product of this opportunity is a documentary titled Karafuru na majo: Kadono Eiko no monogatari ga umareru kurashi (Colorful Witch: Kadono Eiko Kadono’s Life, Where Her Stories Are Born). It incorporates content filmed for an NHK Educational TV series of the same name, launched in , plus a significant amount of new footage. The movie centers on Kadono’s home life in Kamakura, Kanagawa Prefecture, and her daily routine of writing followed by an evening walk. She also occasionally travels, encountering new sights and people. The camera follows the spirited and colorful year-old around, recording her reflections on her life and work. A particularly fascinating episode she relates concerns the two years Kadano spent in Brazil starting in , which sparked her career as a writer. Following her return, she p
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The Real-Life Fairytale of Kadono Eiko Captured in New Documentary
Kadono Eiko writing. (© Kadokawa)
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