Yoshiya Nobuko's first collection of stories for girls. Each story has a title related to a flower. Before this book appeared, many stories for girls were didactic, however, Yoshiya wrote about girls at school in an elegant style. The stories focus on friendship, the admiration of teachers, the warm affection between mother and daughter, and the adoration from one girl to another which resembles the love between boy and girl. (At that time in Japan, boys and girls should not fraternize after they became seven years old. After leaving elementary school, boys and girls went to different high schools. Girls had no boy nearby to fall in love with, which is one of the reasons why girls adore their fellow students, instead of boys.) These stories appeared in Shôjo Gahô [Girls' Illustrated Magazine]; later "Hana Monogatari" series appeared in Shôjo Kurabu [Girls' Club].
The first story, "Suzuran" ["Lilies of the Valley"],
is a story told by Fusako, whose mother is a music teacher. Fusako's mother
wonders why the sound of a piano comes from the auditorium after students
go home. She and Fusako look into the auditorium and find a blond-haired
girl playing the piano. She is a daughter of the woman who donated the
piano to the school. Later they find a piano key, a letter, and a lilies
of the valley on the piano.
Although it was not evaluated by the critics, girl readers enthusiastically welcomed Hana Monogatari. It had a great influence on subsequent stories for girls. Today, it is regarded as one of the most important girls' stories, as it reflects a girls' own sense and mind. |
