Oota Hiroya's first anthology of sixteen stories for children. The allegorical
nature of the stories was very unique in those days. The title piece "Don
Shi no Gyôretsu" is a story of a man who insists on forming
a queue. Oota's intention to satire the war is glimpsed in his description
of the queue. "Don Shi no Sei" [The Spirit of Mr. Don] is about
a man who is obsessed with a question "Why I am I?" and finally
loses himself. There are many religious stories referring to the Bible.
Humorous and ironical stories situated in fictitious places led to postwar
stories for children. Oota seems to have been searching for a new direction
when realism was flourishing in Japan.
Oota's view of children's stories is represented in the essay titled "Arayuru Fuyukai yo Shinri to Dôwa no Moto ni Kusseyo" ["All Unpleasantness should Yield to Truth and Stories for Children"] at the end of the book. He criticized the plainness and objectivism of realistic stories for children. In his view, stories for children must be within the range of literature and education and be allegorical at the same time encompassing philosophy and religious truth. He argues that children and grown-ups can understand allegories in their own respective ways. Although the binding of the book was in a style suitable for adult readers, Oota seems to have been fully conscious of child readers.
Oota was valued as an important newcomer together with Niimi Nankichi
in a contemporary review. |
