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  • Ages 10 and up
  • 21ST CENTURY CLASSICS

Kawatare: Sanzaigaike no kappa-neko

[Kawatare: The Kappa Cat of Sanzaigaike]

Written by Kutsuki Shō
Illustrated by Yamauchi Fujie

Fukuinkan Shoten, 2005. 272 pp. ISBN 978-4-8340-2148-6.

Also published in: n/a

Hassun is a young kappa (water sprite) who lives in Asanuma Pond in Sanzaigaike Park. His family have disappeared, leaving him alone and lonely. One day, the Elder Kappa summons Hassun and orders him to spend the summer in the human world, disguised as a cat, as part of his kappa training.

    Hassun takes the form of a cat and meets fifth-grader Asa and her dog Chesterton. Asa’s mother is dead, and while her father does the best he can for her given his busy job, she is often lonely.

    One day, Hassun eats a kiwi fruit Asa drops on the ground. He becomes unwell and is carried into her house. After this, he has many adventures: he is almost put in the bath, and returns to his kappa form; he leaves the water running while Asa and her father are out; and he plays with toilet paper. Meanwhile, Asa faces the problem of bullying. When she sees through Hassun’s disguise and realizes that he switches back and forth between kappa and cat, she ponders the difference between outward appearance and inner self, and the essence of being, in her youthful way.

    Hassun and Asa become increasingly reliant on each other, but their parting must come eventually. However, the book’s ending is a happy one that leaves the reader relieved, and Asa grows as a person, too. Kawatare skillfully revives the kappa, a traditional Japanese yōkai (supernatural entity), for modern times to explore themes like loneliness, friendship, and family. (SY)
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Kutsuki Shō

Born in Hiroshima Prefecture in 1957. Started writing stories for children out of a desire to  tell the stories of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima. Has won awards including the Sankei Juvenile Literature Publishing Culture Award, the Japan Juvenile Writers Association Prize, and the Shōgakukan Award for Children's Literature. Her works include Higanbana wa kitsune no kanzashi [Cluster Amaryllis Is a Fox’s Hairpin], Kaze no kutsu [Shoes for the Wind], Hikari no utushi-e [Soul-Lanterns], Hachigatsu no hikari [Light in August], Tsukishiro Aofuneyama [Tsukishiro and Mount Aofune], and Sakura-mura wa ōsawagi [Sakura Village Is a Busy Place].

Yamauchi Fujie

Born in Tochigi Prefecture in 1946. Published her first picture book Igirisu no warabe-uta [Nursery Rhymes of England] translated by Kijima Hajime in 1969. Her picture books include Neko to shippo [The Cat and the Tail], Kohitsuji māru [Marl the Lamb], and Kai no ko Puchikyū [Little Shellfish Puchikyū] written by Ibaragi Noriko. Books she has illustrated include Mori no ohanashi [Stories of the Forest] written by Matsui Susan, and Kuroneko no okyakusama [The Cat Visitor] written by Ruth Ainsworth and translated by Ara Konomi.

Translation rights inquiries

Fukuinkan Shoten Publishers, Inc.
6-6-3 Honkomagome, Bunkyo-ku,
Tokyo 113-8686, JAPAN
Email: international-rights@fukuinkan.co.jp
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