Tomo--Distributors in the U.S. and Abroad

Tomo was recently on display at the huge ALA (American Library Association) annual conference in Anaheim--in the booth for Consortium Book sales and Distribution. Consortium is the distributor for Tomo's publisher Stone Bridge Press.

Besides online booksellers, for distribution outside the U.S., check out the contacts on the Stone Bridge Press Distribution page, which includes info for distributors in Japan and Korea, as well as other parts of Asia.

Reviews for Tomo: Friendship Through Fiction!

Two months have passed since the birthday of the benefit anthology Tomo: Friendship Through Fiction--An Anthology of Japan Teen Stories, and the reviews have been solidly positive. Below are some review excerpts and links. Click on the link for the full review. Enjoy!

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Reviews for Tomo: Friendship Through Fiction

"A big but consistently engaging pro bono anthology of authors with direct or indirect Japanese 'heritage or experience.' A broadly appealing mix of the tragic and droll, comforting, disturbing, exotic and universal, with nary a clinker in the bunch." --Kirkus Reviews 

"Tomo is an excellent story collection, presenting a rich and varied immersion in Japanese culture from a teen perspective." --VOYA (print only)

"With slices of Japanese language, folklore, history, popular culture, and other ethnic references, Tomo, which means friend in Japanese, offers a unique and wide-ranging taste of Japanese life." --Booklist (print only)

"The thirty-six stories. . . cover a wide range of genres (prose, verse, graphic narratives) and feature nine stories translated from the Japanese. With the exception of Graham Salisbury and Alan Gratz, most of the authors, many of whom write for adults, will be new to American teens." --The Horn Book, Out of the Box

"The stories in Tomo, "friend" in Japanese, resonate beyond the confines of tragedy in the Tohoku region to reflect a generation who will grow up indelibly marked but not defeated by 3/11...There is sadness and suicide, loss and, yes, the tsunami. But these stories equally cover everything important to the younger generation as entrance exams, ghosts, J-pop, love, divorce, baseball, gamers, ninjas and dragons coordinate to form a whole." --The Japan Times 

"This collection of short stories and poems about Japanese teens is weird and wonderful, studded with the unique color of Japanese teen pop culture, as well as the impact of defining events from the twenty-first century to the present: Pearl Harbor, Hiroshima, the tsunami, earthquake and nuclear disaster . . . . There's something fabulously specific about the pop culture references that can make reading Tomo: Friendship through Fiction feel like a virtual tour of Japan." --Barnes and Noble Review 

"These 36 unique, heartwarming tales allow readers to feel Japan and its culture, as well as identify with the characters and their experiences during the sensitive teen years and the struggle to belong and to mature. From historical times to modern day, from traditions to current pop culture, from countryside to big city, from the country of Japan to Japanese communities around the world, these stories can also connect English-language readers with the heart of Japan." --Chopsticks NY 

"The teen protagonists are written with sympathy and intuition, and the stories are all executed with confidence. . . . this collection was divided into ones I liked, and ones I liked more." --Asian Review of Books

"Tomo crosses genres, and it crosses genres in more than one way. People should take note of the fact that the book is not divided up into stories that are prose, poetry, or stories that are made up of images. Prose is mixed with poetry, poetry is mixed up with graphic art..." --Dig Boston 

"This collection of stories leaves the reader with an amazing sense of hope for the future of Japan....This is not only a great book commemorating the spirit of the Tohoku people, it is a darn good read, and the English book I would recommend first to anyone who wants to dip their toes into Japanese literature." --Perogies & Gyoza 

"There is plenty for adults to enjoy here, too." --JQ Magazine

"As the winds blow through the tales and understanding blossoms in the lives of teenage protagonists, a real live vision of hope, peace and renewal is formed which brings a full circle to the meaning of 'Friend'...In this ripe time for healing just before the one year anniversary of 3/11/2011, make a new friend--the book called Tomo." --Japan Visitor 

Interview with Tomo Editor Holly Thompson

Holly Thompson (author of the foreword and editor of Tomo) earned an MA from the NYU creative writing program and is the author of fiction set in Japan: the novel Ash, the picture book The Wakame Gatherers, and the verse novel Orchards, which received the 2012 APALA Asian/Pacific American Award for Young Adult Literature. A longtime resident of Japan, she teaches creative and academic writing at Yokohama City University and is regional advisor of the Tokyo chapter of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators. Visit her website: www.hatbooks.com

Debbie Ridpath Ohi (author/illustrator of the Tomo story "Kodama") interviewed Holly Thompson for Debbie's Inkygirl.com website. See the full interview here; you can post a comment there for a chance to win a copy of the Tomo anthology.

Holly's message to Tohoku teens lies in the words at the end of the foreword to Tomo: Friendship Through Fiction:

Holly Thompson doing tsunami cleanup work in Ishinomaki

"May the hard-hit communities of northern Japan find the strength to move forward. May the young people of Japan cultivate a spirit of compassion and play key roles in reviving Tohoku. Tomo 友 means "friend," and I am profoundly grateful to everyone who joins me in saying to the people of Tohoku: We are with you, we will help you, we will cheer you as you take your steps to recover."

Interview with TOMO Contributor Alexander O. Smith

Alexander O. Smith (translator of the Tomo story “Wings on the Wind” by Yuichi Kimura) has been translating video games and novels from Japanese to English since graduating from Harvard University with a M.A. in Classical Japanese literature in 1998. He is the founder of Kajiya Productions Inc. and is now based in Vermont’s Northeast Kingdom. His work has received the ALA Batchelder Award for Brave Story (Miyuki Miyabe) and the Phillip K. Dick Special Citation for Harmony (Project Itoh). Visit his website: www.kajiyaproductions.com

Alexander O. Smith

Can you tell us about your connections to Japan and how you came to a career in translation?

I became interested in the Japanese language after spending a few months of my last year in high school in a rural school in China, north of Beijing. My first exposure came, literally, via the menu on the airplane. I began self-study in the wilds of northern Vermont, culminating with a month-long homestay in Osaka during the summer before college. Fast forward six years to a 2-month internship at SEGA Entertainment in Tokyo while I was working toward a PhD in Classical Japanese Literature. I left grad school, and leveraged my internship and some subtitling experience into a localization position at the game company Squaresoft in Costa Mesa, CA in 1998. At the beginning of 1999 I transferred to the Square Co., Ltd. (now "Square-Enix") offices in Tokyo. I left the company three years later to found my own translation business, Kajiya Productions, by which time I had already branched away from games into novels, comics, and poetry.

What are the challenges and rewards of translating a short work such as Wings on the Wind?

Similar to a poem, a piece like “Wings on the Wind” is a challenge because of its brevity, and the attention to word choice that implies. In a longer, prosaic work, you may have room to add in bits of imagery or wordplay that are lost in the translation process, but a short form piece does not provide the translator with the luxury of more words. Add too much, and you endanger the succinct clarity of the original. So, you must proceed with utmost caution, trying to wring every last bit of meaning from your words in an attempt to do justice to the piece.

You have recently moved back to Japan. How does it feel to be back and what are you looking forward to?

Prior to this move I was in the US for five years, which is the longest I've been away from Japan as an adult. I'm looking forward to seeing those things that I had started to take for granted while living in Japan with fresh eyes: the people, the art, the language. I'd like to get back into reading Classical Japanese, which is something I haven't done since grad school, but I always enjoyed. Probably the thing I'm looking forward to most, however, is seeing how my kids rediscover Japan. They were both born in Tokyo, but have done most of their growing-up in the States. It will be a real adventure for them!

Do you have any message for teens in Tohoku?

At our local elementary school in Vermont, the kids made paper cranes to send to a charity that donated $1 to the Tohoku area for each paper crane they received. They received millions. I know that, for the kids here, learning about the disaster made a faraway place seem much closer, and making the cranes opened their eyes to how connected we are, and how easy it is to help each other. I hope their well-wishes—riding on paper wings—found you safely.

New York City Tomo Launch on March 31, 2012

Saturday, March 31, was the New York City launch of Tomo: Friendship Through Fiction. The event was held at the charming and historic Ottendorfer branch of the New York Public Library.

Ottendorfer Library on left

 Librarian Laura Rifkin had set up the room with wonderful displays of Japan-related picture books...

and a table with Tomo stationery for writing messages to teens in Tohoku.

Contributors read excerpts from their stories...

Andrew Fukuda

Tak Toyoshima

Katrina Toshiko Grigg-Saito

Ann Tashi Slater

and answered questions from the audience. 

Tak Toyoshima, Katrina Toshiko Grigg-Saito, Ann Tashi Slater, Andrew Fukuda

Afterward we gathered at the Ukrainian restaurant Veselka across the street for borcht, pierogi and beer--not exactly Japan themed, but wonderfully international!

Excellent borcht for the Tomo crowd!

Boston Tomo Launch on March 23, 2012

Friday evening was the Boston launch for Tomo: Friendship Through Fiction. The event, held at the Boston Children's Museum, included comments and readings by Tomo contributors Tak Toyoshima, Ann Slater, Katrina Grigg-Saito, Misa Dikengil Lindberg, and Sachiko Kashiwaba, as well as editor Holly Thompson. After the readings, the museum's own Teen Ambassadors asked questions of the panel of contributors. 

The museum, which contains a Japan kyo-no-machiya house and runs an East Asia Program, offered several Japan-related activities to go with the event, including a wishing tree bearing messages from museum guests to teens in Tohoku, written on stationery designed by Tomo illustrators. 

Author Sachiko Kashiwaba, who traveled from Iwate Prefecture in Tohoku for this Boston event, and whose Tomo story "House of Trust" features kimono dressing and several styles of obi tying, delighted the audience by appearing with her daughter in stunning kimono. Below are a few photos from the event.

Tomo contributors with the Boston Children's Museum Teen Ambassadors

Ann Slater, Misa Dikengil Lindberg, Holly Thompson, Tak Toyoshima, Katrina Grigg-Saito, and Sachiko Kashiwaba and daughter

Museum guests writing messages to teens in Tohoku

The wishing tree full of messages

Sachiko Kashiwaba and daughter wearing kimono with obi sashes tied in the fukura suzume and taiko styles

Thank you to the Boston Children's Museum for this Tomo launch event! And now we look forward to the next Tomo event on March 31, in New York City!

Tokyo Tomo Launch on March 10, 2012

On March 10, the evening before the one-year anniversary of the March 11, 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami, Tomo: Friendship Through Fiction--An Anthology of Japan Teen Stories was officially released and launched with a Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators event in Tokyo. Present were 16 contributors, including several translator-author pairs. All read excerpts from their stories to give the audience a sense of the great range of stories included in the anthology.

Here are a few photos of the contributors who were able to attend the Tokyo launch:

Back row, L to R: John Paul Catton, Juliet Winters Carpenter, Deborah Iwabuchi, Margi Napper, Louise George Kittaka, Ann Slater, Charles De Wolf, Trevor Kew, Hart Larrabee  Front Row, L to R: Arie Nashiya, Yuko Katakawa, Holly Thompson, Sako Ikegami, Fumio Takano, Leza Lowitz, Mariko Nagai

Louise George Kittaka, author, and Holly Thompson, editor

Juliet Winters Carpenter, translator, and Arie Nashiya, author

Sako Ikegami, translator

Fumio Takano, author, and Hart Larrabee, translator

Yuko Katakawa, author, and Deborah Iwabuchi, translator

It was wonderful for so many contributors to meet face to face and for translators to finally meet the authors whose works they'd translated. And the Tomo books sold out. Hooray!

Looking forward to the Boston Tomo launch at the Boston Children's Museum on March 23.

Interview with TOMO Contributor Fumio Takano

Fumio Takano

Fumio Takano (author of the Tomo story “Anton and Kiyohime”, translated by Hart Larrabee) is best known for works of alternative history with a science fiction twist. Her debut novel, Mujika makiina (Musica Machina), was selected as one of Japan's best 30 works of science fiction from the 1990s. Her latest project is compiling Jikan wa dare mo matte kurenai (Time Waits for No Man), an anthology of East European science fiction and fantastica from the first decade of the 21st century. It brings together 12 stories from 10 countries, each translated directly into Japanese from its original language. Visit Fumio Takano's website.

Have you spent time in Russia or studied the language or culture?

My interest in Russia was sparked by literature and music. As a teenager I was interested in classical music and in European (and American) literature, but it was the music and literature of Russia that appealed to me the most. I was 19 when I first went to Russia—way back when it was still the Soviet Union! I studied European history at university but decided against majoring in Russian history. The Russian language was just too difficult for me. My husband, though, is an expert on Russian films. (He’s Japanese <g>.)

The Kremlin, shirabyoshi dance, nagauta, a dragon, time travel—there are so many fascinating elements woven together in this story. What was the inspiration for this story?

The legend of Anchin and Kiyohime is an old Japanese tale that takes place during the Heian period, roughly a thousand years ago. It is the story of a princess named Kiyohime who is abandoned by a priest named Anchin. Filled with bitterness, she transforms into a flaming serpent and chases after him. When she finds him hiding beneath a bell at Dojo-ji Temple, she burns him to death inside it.

Both the Noh and Kabuki performance traditions include variations of a sequel called Dojo-ji. In this story, a ceremony is being held at Dojo-ji Temple to dedicate a new bell and to pray for the repose of Kiyohime’s soul. A beautiful girl, a shirabyoshi, suddenly appears and beings to dance, and is soon revealed to be Kiyohime’s ghost. This is one of my favorite Kabuki plays, a very intense story. Ever since I first saw the great broken bell at the Kremlin in my teens, I knew I wanted to incorporate it in my own version of the Dojo-ji tale someday. I also wanted to rescue Kiyohime from her tragic love. 

Fumio Takano standing by the Tsar Bell in Moscow

A few years ago I began working on an anthology to present literary works from Russia and Eastern Europe to Japan. During the course of the project I began to feel I wanted to write a story that expressed my hope for greater friendship between Eastern Europe and Japan, which still do not know each other very well, and between Japan and Russia, and Russia and Eastern Europe, where there remains so much political enmity. I remembered the bell at the Kremlin and the Dojo-ji story and could see immediately how the whole thing would fit together. Perhaps unconsciously I had been mulling over the story all along.

Can you describe your process for developing your stories? Do you usually start with a historical element and go from there? Or do you start with a character or an incident? How do you grow your science fiction tales?

My creative work is almost always driven by history and art. I think when my own personal thoughts, interests, positions, concerns, love, and other feelings come into contact with different kinds of art or what people have done in the past it creates a kind of chemical reaction. As for where the structure of my stories comes from, this is something I cannot really explain. My writing is inspired by what I call “dispatches from outer space” <g>.

Ever since my teenage years I’ve always enjoyed American science fiction and fantasy. I’ve seen the Star Wars movies countless times since they were first screened in Japan in 1979. I grew up reading the works of authors such as Ray Bradbury, Isaac Asimov, Sir Arthur C. Clarke (who was actually British), and Philip K. Dick. I began listening to classical music because of John Williams’ wonderful soundtracks for movies like Star Wars and Superman. For me, sci-fi was something that just came naturally during my teenage years.

I don’t consciously think of myself as a sci-fi writer. But just as you always remember the language you learn when you’re young, before I knew it I found myself incorporating sci-fi techniques. Sci-fi makes it possible to address hidden human potentials and philosophical issues that just can’t be expressed in a story set in the everyday world of reality. Sci-fi isn’t just entertainment or pulp fiction. There are works of science fiction that have real literary merit, and I hope young readers are paying attention. May the force be with you!

You are working on an anthology of Eastern European science fiction. Can you tell us about this project?

Almost all of foreign literature translated into Japanese is from the United States. When it comes to foreign movies or foreign literature, many Japanese people are only familiar with American works. Russia and Europe, though, have long-established traditions of literary excellence. There are any number of “must-read” classics, with a whole new generation of outstanding writers today. Nevertheless, European literature, and that of the former communist bloc in particular, is barely known in Japan. The biggest reasons publishers don’t want to publish European literature is that there is no money in it and because it’s difficult to translate across multiple languages. For a long time I’ve felt I had to do something about this.

In Russia and Europe people almost never use the term “science fiction.” They talk about “fantastica,” which incorporates sci-if, high fantasy, horror, theater of the absurd, and fantasy, and is considered a genre with high literary and artistic merit. The works of Stanislaw Lem, Franz Kafka, Mircea Eliade, Karel Čapek (father of the concept of “robots”), Mikhail Bulgakov, and Milorad Pavić are all fantastica. Russian and East European literature has a strong element of fantastica in general, and there are many outstanding works, so I thought that introducing Japanese readers to works from this genre would be a good place to start.

Published late last year, the resulting Eastern European anthology includes short stories from ten countries (Austria, Romania, Belarus, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, Germany, Hungary, Latvia, and Serbia), each translated by experts in the original language. All of the stories are recent works written in the 21st century. I hope to publish a Russian anthology this year or next, and in the future perhaps anthologies for Western Europe and the Baltic Sea States.

Do you have any message for teens in Tohoku?

The damage, both physical and psychological, that the earthquake did to our nation is just immeasurable. My parents in Ibaraki were also directly affected. But people have the wisdom, not found in other animals, to turn sad and difficult events into food for the future. Some American friends decided that instead of just collecting donations they would turn the tragedy into an opportunity for American kids to learn more about Japan, and put together the Tomo Project. I’m sure this book will generate interest in Japan, its culture, and its way of thinking among the young Americans who will shoulder their country’s future. This will be very useful in ensuring a future of goodwill between Japan and the United States. And so, to young friends in the affected areas, I say that I hope you know you are contributing to the future of the world. What power!

The pain and sadness will not disappear right away, and there are a lot of problems that still need to be solved. But let’s all join hands and help each other as we walk into the future!

And also a note for young American friends:

Today America has incredible influence in the world, which means you have a great responsibility. If you have a sense of fairness, you can be heroes. Please take a real look at the world. Please learn foreign languages, and learn about other cultures and peoples. TV and the Internet can supply you with information, but literature offers much more: wisdom and philosophy. Literature is like a stargate to a wonderful world.

If you are interested in world literature, here are some books I recommend: How to Read World Literature (How to Study Literature) and The Longman Anthology of World Literature, The Compact Edition. And if you are interested in Japanese fiction and animation, check out Robot Ghosts and Wired Dreams: Japanese Science Fiction from Origins to Anime. These books may be a bit challenging, but they’re very exciting.

Finally, I must thank you for your friendship, help, donations, encouragement, and prayers for Japan!

Interview with TOMO Contributor Sarah Ogawa

Sarah Ogawa (author of the Tomo story “One”) has been teaching English and creative writing in Japan for twenty years, while also working in journalism and television. Her aspirations to become a senior high homeroom teacher at a Japanese school were fulfilled fifteen years ago, and her students continue to inspire her every day. www.kyotosarah.com

Can you tell us a bit about your background and how you came to settle in Japan?

Though I grew up in Chicago, I was always fascinated by Japanese culture. As a child I always insisted on visiting the Japanese artifacts at the Field Museum of Natural History, or the Japanese collection at the Art Institute of Chicago. As I grew older and my parents could no longer afford my sushi habit, I got a job waitressing at a local Japanese restaurant so I could eat there after my shifts. I chose a college with a Japanese exchange program and spent my junior year in Kyoto. Although I majored in geology and always thought I’d be a scientist, after a year in graduate school I came back to Japan… and never left!

Was there anything that surprised you when you finally saw the “real” Japan?

Sarah Ogawa enjoying okonomiyaki

Ironically enough, the food! Growing up in Chicago, I always loved Japanese food, but it was typical Japanese fare in America: beef teriyaki, tempura, sushi. When I finally got to Japan on an exchange scholarship, friends at my high school in Nagoya took me to their favorite hangout, a little hole-in-the-wall okonomiyaki shop. “It’s Japanese pizza!” they told me. Of course, in Chicago pizza is something holy, so I was pretty shocked to be presented with a cabbage pancake. It was the first Japanese food that was new to me, and as soon as I disassociated it from pizza, I thought it was delicious!

That shop inspired the restaurant in “One” where the characters have their first date, but there’s probably a similar okonomiyaki place in every neighborhood in Japan. I still enjoy going with my family now!

The story “One” focuses on school club culture. Can you give us a bit of background on school clubs in Japan?

Most sports at the high school level in Japan are played year-round. Students enter one club in their first year and continue it for their entire high school careers to the exclusion of any other clubs. For some students in Japan, club activities are more important than academics. Practice is often before and after school and even during lunchtime, and may last late into the evening during the season. During weekends and summer vacations, club is often held every day, and teams usually go away to training camps that push the limits of human endurance.

But clubs are not only about the sport. They are an important training ground for jyo-gei kankei, or the vertical relationship between senior and junior members of a group, the basis of social interaction in Japan. Students also learn to be reigi-tadashii, to follow the proper rules of social conduct so that they will know how to act once they enter a company or other institution.

Members of this tight-knit group form bonds that often blossom into employment and social opportunities. These people often keep in touch for the rest of their lives.

Have you studied either kendo or dance or both?

I took years of dance and did everything except ballet: modern, jazz, tap, West African…, everything and anything that was dance. At that time in Chicago and Evanston, some brilliant teachers took time to work with young people. Break dance and hip-hop were still evolving, and I saw a lot of those styles in the hallways of my high school. I picked it up by osmosis.

I never studied kendo, though I did some martial arts in college, mostly karate. The closest I’ve come to kendo is a fencing course in college, though I have been known to hit annoying people over the head with the nearest convenient object.

The story “One” deals with the cultural gap between a Japanese girl raised in America and a typical Japanese boy. How common is this scenario?

While I wouldn’t say it happens at every school in Japan, it is becoming more common. More books are dealing with these trans-boundary cultural issues, like Holly Thompson’s Orchards, for example. Japan is very much a country of merging opposites in this regard, and hopefully people are trying to find a way for the traditional culture to coexist with imported influences. While watching my daughter pull the mikoshi (portable shrine) through our neighborhood...

I got this view of the Golden Arches from across a rice paddy.

This is the reality of Japan today.

What was the inspiration or seed for this story?

Few schools have sufficient facilities for everything students want to do. The division of resources, whether funds, space, or equipment, is often a point of contention among students and faculty alike. I have worked at several schools and seen non-traditional clubs have to deal with inferior equipment and practice facilities. Happily, the school I am at now is much more fair-minded.

Do you have any message for teens in Tohoku?

Continuing something like club after such a disaster, when you’ve lost so many people and so much, may feel like betrayal. I remember the message from the high school baseball players that was read on television at the draft that year. They wrote that they couldn’t even think of baseball at such a time, even though they were top players for their age at the national level. Our hearts are with you all, and we will never forget. But doing something we love, whether it’s kendo or dance or another activity, is a celebration of life. It’s important to celebrate every day we have, not in spite of such a great loss, but precisely because of it.

Club activities also give us strength--physical, mental, and spiritual--to pull through the hard times we face. Club reminds us of the importance of teamwork and the power of the group, the strength of knowing we are part of something bigger, that we are all at the most basic level, part of “One.”

Interview with TOMO Contributor Sako Ikegami

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Sako Ikegami (translator of the Tomo story “Hachiro” by Ryusuke Saito) Sako Ikegami can lay claim to various titles (clinical pharmacist, medical translator/writer, children’s book reader), but best enjoys working with YA books. She aspires to bridge her two cultures, American and Japanese, by translating children’s literature in both. Her translations include Ryusuke Saito’s The Tree of Courage and Angela Johnson’s First Part Last into English. Visit her website: www.sakotrans.com

Can you tell us a bit about your own background and your relationship with Japan and the U.S.?

Sako Ikegami with her mother in Hawaii en route to New York

Back in the mid-1960s, I was the four-year-old excess baggage that tagged along when my dad, a corporate samurai, was transferred to the Manhattan office to attempt to addict Americans to Japan's electric products. By the time we returned to Japan eleven years later, I had grown up illiterate in Japanese, so English is my native tongue.  Trying to transition into a Japanese high school student was a disaster. My mom got called into school almost every single day.

"Sako came to school wearing a coat! Is there something wrong with her health? Maybe she should try kanpu-masatsu (stripping down and scrubbing one's body with a dry rough towel)."  "Sako was seen walking home with a boy after school!" (Old Japanese adage: Never allow boys and girls in the same room beyond the age of seven. And they wonder about our dwindling population.)

At fifteen, I didn't fit in with the other Japanese teens. Even today, I remain an anomaly in a culture where conformity and blending in are paramount. But there are perks. Being Japanese, but not quite, gives me both an insider's and outsider's view of this country. Translating YA and children's books is my way of making up for missing out on my Japanese heritage while growing up. Hopefully, I can help introduce new readers to the things about Japan that I have learned to love and respect.

“Hachiro” is an Akita tall tale, originally told in Akita dialect. Can you discuss some of the challenges presented by this dialect during the translation process?

Hachiro by Ryusuke Saito, illustrated by Jiro Takidaira (C) Fukuinkan-shoten

The original language is almost musical, involving repetition and onomatopoeia in the delicious cadence of the Akita dialect. I churned out various renditions, trying to get it into readable English, and even tried American dialects, but nothing really clicked. Finally, I asked for help from a senpai (a more experienced mentor or upperclassman), Tomo contributor Deborah Davidson, who has worked extensively with the Ainu yukar, and she had some great advice. Some of the expressions were also difficult to understand, but reading the Japanese repeatedly out loud helped to solve the mystery language. Limited by time and talent, I finally had to give up on a truly faithful reproduction of the dialect, but I hope at least a hint of Saito's flavor comes through intact.

Can you tell us a bit about Ryusuke Saito and his works?

Ryusuke Saito (photo courtesy of Kodomo to gakuryoku)

Ryusuke Saito was a young reporter working for a newspaper in Akita when he wrote this story in 1950. It was initially published in the Akita Newspaper for middle school students. Although he was from Tokyo, he loved the Tohoku region and its people, and many of his most famous tales are situated in this part of Japan. Saito specialized in short stories that sounded like ancient folklore, but were in fact, originally crafted tales. Together with his collaborative partner, kirie artist Jiro Takidaira, he created a series of beautifully illustrated books that have become children's classics. Like Hachiro, many of the stories focus on the beauty of self-sacrifice for the greater good, which some may find a little didactic for modern tastes. Many of these stories were written in the immediate post-WWII period when Japan was undergoing drastic changes in culture and ideology. These two creators felt it was important that the youths of "new" Japan retain those traditional values that have always been treasured here.

What we've witnessed over this past year proves those values are still intact in the people of Tohoku and reassure us that Japan will pull through in spite of the huge losses it's suffered.

You have lived in the U.S. and Japan, and have actually translated fiction in both directions, J-E and E-J. Which direction of translation do you prefer? What challenges do you encounter in both?

Like most translators, I prefer working into my stronger language, English. Also, so very little of Japanese YA literature has been translated and ii's about time that changed. Japan is not just about manga and anime. Unfortunately though, translated books rarely do well in the English language market. While huge numbers of children's books are translated into Japanese from English and lots of other languages every year in Japan, it just doesn't happen in the opposite direction. Talk about trade imbalance!  But even here with one of the highest literacy rates in the world, we have trouble getting our teens to read, and publishers struggle to keep even the most outstanding books in print.

The great thing about translated books is that you get an authentic look into a completely different culture without having to learn the language! So next time you're in the bookstore or library, take a chance. Pick up one of those books that has “translated by...” on the cover, and prepare to enter unfamiliar territory.

Hachiro Lake was the second largest lake in Japan. It was a shallow, brackish water lake, but it has been mostly landfilled for agricultural purposes beginning in the 1950s. Perhaps we need to write a sequel to the story! This folktale seems even more important as a memory of the unfilled Hachiro Lake. What do you think the author would say today? What do you think Hachiro would do?

The sad fate of Hachiro Lake has much to do with a post-WWII Japan rushing to get back on its feet and started in creating a thriving rice industry for its starving population. Unfortunately, back then, they didn't understand the risks of changing an ecosystem or foresee that westernization of Japan would lead to a decrease in rice consumption. Arable land has always been in short supply in Japan and communities needed a way to increase their income. “Hachiro” was written at a time when they were still arguing back and forth on the merits and demerits of landfill. If his thoughts were with the local people, it is possible Saito believed that sacrificing part of Hachiro Lake was a sad but acceptable choice. Perhaps a sequel could have an ecological slant where Hachiro would return the lake to its former glory.

Hachiro Lake's name originates from a series of pourquoi stories that explains how the three great lakes of Tohoku came into being. Perhaps we can tell those stories here at a later time.

Do you have any message for teens in Tohoku?

When I visited Miyagi and Iwate twenty years ago, my first impression was that here, finally, was the Japan that my mom had always taught me to be proud of while I was growing up in the U.S. The old folktales passed from generation to generation by your kataribe storytellers speak of the contentious yet loving relationship that you have always had with nature. It doesn't seem fair that your land has been the target of so much destruction throughout history. But adversity comes only to those strong enough to conquer it. Nourished by the rice and fish so abundant in your beautiful region, Tohoku represents the foundation upon whic