Shiba-wanko, a Shiba-inu dog, and Miike-nyanko, a calico cat, live together in a classic Japanese-style house with the traditional Japanese alcove called a tokonoma . Shiba-wanko is a very gentle and hardworking soul who does all of the cleaning, laundry and cooking in the house. Miike-nyanko is a different type all together, being rather temperamental and not very good with housework. Together, these two learn the manners and customs associated with events such as the proper Japanese way to treat one's guests, preparing for a Japanese New Year and how to enjoy the kimono, the traditional Japanese costume. Each chapter covers a specific topic which has to do with living in "Wa" (the Japanese-style spirit of peace and harmony) throughout the changing seasons.

These tales are full of practical knowledge yet are entertaining, telling of these animals and the people they meet in the course of their lives. A newspaper boy comes to their house to collect payment, but Shiba-wanko treats him like an important guest. So they become good friends. When he's feeling down with a broken heart during the cherry-blossom season, Shiba-wanko invites him to go flower-viewing with her. As he sits under the beautiful blossoms taking part in a Japanese Tea Ceremony, he suddenly realizes his heartache is cured. Sachiko-san, the newspaper boy's grandmother, is a stylish old woman who wears kimonos gracefully and is quite knowlegeable about Kabuki and traditional Japanese patterns. She becomes Shiba-wanko's mentor in these matters. On New Year's Eve, they order Toshikoshi (year-crossing) soba (noodles) from a soba-shop. Shiba-wanko offer the soba-shop owner a cup of tea when he makes his delivery, and they become good friends too. This soba-shop owner has a pair of first-grade twins, a boy and a girl, but for some reason is single. We later learn he has a girlfriend named Yuki-chan. Watching them during the Tanabata and O-bon festivals, we see their love deepen and also worry about the newspaper boy who keeps being thwarted in love time and time again.

The author, Yoshie Kawaura, wanted to avoid writing a typical manners book with the harsh, "You'll be embarrassed if you don't know!" approach, and decided to use animal protagonists. She'd always adored shiba-inu dogs and had been living with a calico cat for many years. These two are depicted in such a vivid and charming way, that you almost can't resist picking up this book. The meticulous illustrations are drawn in great detail. Not just the cherry blossom and Japanese maple scenery, but also the designs on the kimonos, a broom and down to even the smallest items such as the tea cups.  The drawings are simply so beautiful you'll want to take your time poring over them.

These three volumes are comprised of installments from a popular story serialized in the MOE magazine (a monthly magazine on illustration and popular culture) since the August, 2000 issue. An ongoing series, there should be a fourth volume released in which we'll learn more about what's been going on in the romance between the soba shop-owner and Yuki-chan. No doubt there are many people who would like to live a fulfilling and peaceful life like Shibawanko's, undisturbed by the hustle and bustle of modern life and unhampered by worldly concerns.

Yoshie Kawaura is a native of Tokyo who was born in 1963. Before starting this series, she used to design calendars and stationary goods. The author brought her illustrations in to the editorial department at MOE in the hopes of getting them published, and wound up doing this SHIBAWANKO NO KOKORO series. A picture book/music CD of popular children's songs which features these characters was published on March 4, 2005.

(Kyoko Akatsuka)

PENGUIN TANKENTAI
[Penguin Exploration Team]

Text by Hiroshi Saito
Drawings by Jun Takabatake
Kodansha, Price: 1155 yen

(May Takahashi)

The "14 forest mice" series is a long-selling favorite which follows the life and times of a large mouse family through the seasons of the year as they live amidst nature in the woods. In addition to Japan, these books have been published internationally in countries such as France, Germany and Taiwan. It's a very popular series which is loved and cherished by children around the world.

The story revolves around the doings of a big family of 14 mice which spans three generations. On the title page of each book are these words,

Every time I open these books and see these lines, I'm filled with a good warm feeling that spreads out from my heart. It's comforting and somehow oddly familiar to bask in the warmth of a large family, even for someone like me who grew up in a nuclear family. There's a wise and kind old grandfather and grandmother, a hard-working father and mother and ten bright and lively young children. However, I've never heard this family setting criticized as being too stereotypic. In the book, each mouse is an individual creature with a clear life of its own. The smallest gesture or expression tells us of the deep and genuine love that binds this family together.

The author, Kazuo Iwamura says that one of the main tasks he set himself was to draw each of these 14 characters as distinct individuals. Looking carefully at the personalities that each character ought to have, he repeatedly tried out sketches until he felt he'd developed a true bond with them. Iwamura felt it his responsibility to ensure that every member of the fourteen, particularly the ten children, should play equally active roles in the stories. Iwamura is like a parent. He says, "I have to make sure everyone gets called on at least once in a story or she'll be hurt" or, "If one of them winds up playing only a minor role, it pains me to imagine him off in some corner drooping over it."

I'll have to make sure everyone gets an equal showing as I introduce you to the ten children. Ikkun is the dependable and sturdy eldest son. Nikkun is a gentle boy, but sometimes like to play the clown. Sacchan is a bit like a little mother herself. Yocchan uses very feminine gestures. Goukun is slightly wild and very active. Rokkun is silly and a bit fearful, while Nacchan is the tomboy. Nacchan and Goukun tend to fight a lot, but they're always together so they probably like each other best. Hakkun is light on his feet and very nimble. Kunchan is the one who always carries her little mouse doll around so preciously, and apparently one of the most popular characters among readers. And still very young is the baby of the family, Tokkun. He's cute no matter what he does.

In the story, the animals are humanized and live the way people do, but actually, these mice are modelled after the small Japanese field mice (Apodemus Argenteus) which live in the woods of Japan. Because the perspective is that  of a tiny thumb-sized mouse, Iwamura had to "crawl around on my stomach" to look at the wild flowers and grasses of the meadows. The plants, insects and small animals are beautifully drawn down to the last detail. Nature, as seen from a mouse point of view, is rich and full of new surprises. Iwamura moved to a wooded area in the northern Kanto region about eight years before he wrote the first book in this series. He firmly wished to actualize and live out his boyhood memory scenes of spending time in the woods of Suginami, Tokyo. So he moved into the woods and spent hours upon hours making observations and sketches to create and breathe life into his images. The most recent volume in this series, "14 HIKI NO TOMBO-IKE" [The 14 Mice and the Dragonfly Pond] was born after three whole years spent observing a single pond.

Through these picture books, I can share in the experiences, play in the fields, enjoy nature at it changes and partake of the fruits of the seasons together with the 14 mice. There, are the smiles of a happy family, the warmth of a shared meal and the comfort of a gentle lullaby. Somehow, I can't seem to stop the soft sigh of satisfaction that escapes from my lips every time I close the cover of one of these books.

Kazuo Iwamura
Iwamura was born in Tokyo in 1939 and graduated from the Craft Department at Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music, Faculty of Fine Arts. He presently lives in Tochigi Prefeture. After working as a package designer and in TV animation, he began creating picture books. "HITORIBOCCHI NO SAISHU RESSHA" [The Last Train, All Alone] (Kaisei-sha) won the Sankei Children's Book Award, "KANGAERU KAERUKUN" [A Frog in Reflection] (Fukuinkan Shoten) won the Kodansha Prize for Picture Books, "KORISU NO SIREEZU" [The Little Squirrel Series] (Shiko-sha) is also very popular. In the U.S., Iwamura has published, "WHERE ARE YOU GOING? TO SEE MY FRIEND!" in collaboration with Eric Carle. He's also illustrated novels that include the  "TOGARI-YAMA NO BOKEN" [Adventures of Cone-shaped Hill] series (Riron-sha) and written a colleciton of essays called "14 HIKI NO ATELIER KARA" [From the Studio of the 14 Mice] (Doshin-sha). Since 1998, he's created and manages a field museum called IWAMURA KAZUO EHON NO OKA BIJUTSUKAN [Kazuo Iwamura's Picture Book Hill Art Museum] so that children can actually experience the wild for themselves.

***Links***
Iwamura Kazuo Ehon-no-oka Art Museum

(Emi Sugimoto)

(Kuriko Mori)