Children's Literature Research in Japan

Children Enjoying Stories: The Historical Background or Prehistory of Children's Literature Research

Children in all ages have wished to possess their own stories. In Japan, their voices can be heard as early as in the eleventh century. In an autobiographical diary Sarashina Nikki (Sarashina Diary) (1058), a thirteen-year old narrator-heroine expresses her earnest wish for the storybooks that were very precious in those days. Praying to Buddha, she goes on to say, "please let me go to the City where there are many books, and let me see as many as possible" (7, 22). It is Genji Monogatari (Tales of Genji) (1011) that the author of this diary wanted to read: the oldest full-length courtly love narrative in Japan, whose influence is found everywhere in Sarashina Nikki. This diary also includes some traditional legends, which continue to inspire even modern authors and constitute some of the motifs of modern fantasies in our era. Of course, old myths and legends that continue to influence modern stories are found in some narratives even older than Sarashina Nikki. Those are, for example, Taketori Monogatari (Story of a Bamboo Cutter), and Kojiki and Nihon-Shoki (collections of myth and historical legends), written down in the eighth century. In those days of pre-printing technology, books were so rare and precious that only a few privileged people could afford to buy them. Nonetheless, there were children who really enjoyed reading them.

The oldest narrative for common readers is assumed to be found in the Middle Ages. Otogi-Zoshi, a handwritten collection of picture-narratives, evolved during the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. In addition, stories of various genres were written by anonymous writers during this era and were commonly read by middle-class tradesmen, women, and children. One researcher, Teiji Seta, locates the origin of Japanese children's literature in these Medieval stories (vol.1, 31).¹ This Otogi-Zoshi collection continued to be published for a long time, and during the Edo Era (1603-1867), it was reissued in wood prints, becoming more widespread. It includes many fairy tales and legends that are popular even now. Many children could also enjoy listening to the fairy tales told by their grandparents in those days.

In the latter half of the seventeenth century, many illustrated books and picture books were published, among which were many obviously intended for children. An illustrated encyclopedia for children, Kinmou-Zui, was written by Tekisai Nakamura in 1666, a few years after Comenius' Orbis Pictus (1658). Comparing the Japanese children's picture books and fairy-tale books in the 1670s with English chapbooks and Newbery's publications, Ann Helling remarks that even when compared with any other books in other countries, these Japanese picture books and others, with their vivid beauty and impact, must be the oldest printed books in the world that were written for young readers' pleasure. (She explains that when she refers to printed books, she includes wood print, plate print, typography, and lithography as opposed to handwriting and transcripts.) She argues that it is undeniable that Japan produced full scale children's picture books earlier than England and other European countries.

As these picture books of fairy tales, myth, and legends were bound with red covers, they were called Akahon (Red Books). They were illustrated by the hands of professional Ukiyoe² artists, and the contents were rich in narrative appeal. The Japanese government had kept a policy of seclusion for two hundred years since the seventeenth century and largely limited foreign trade. It is therefore a curious coincidence that the birth of picture books for children occurred both in England and Japan almost simultaneously, without any actual influence on each other. Indeed, the seventeenth century was the first golden age of Japanese children's literature. After this, however, Japan followed rather a different path from that of England in regard to the development of children's books.

It is of course difficult to locate the origin of children's literature as well as of children's literature research. Even the definition of children's literature has been shifting in accordance...