Kitabatake Yaho (1903-82) wrote her first story for children in a magazine
called Ginga [Galaxy] in 1946. It was about children suffering from the loss of their parents and siblings during the war. Kitabatake consistently described sensitive and resilient children who had the ability to turn deep sorrow into vitality. Kitabatake enjoyed writing stories for children and later wrote Jirô Bûchin Nikki which was first serialized in Ginga from January to December 1947 and then published in book form the next year by Shinchosha. It was received favorably by the public.
Jirô Bûchin Nikki is a full-length story of Jirô and his younger sister (nicknamed Bûchin) repatriated from the South Seas, who have come to live in a village in the Tohoku region. They are separated from their parents and elder brother, whom they miss very much. Encouraged by kind people around them, they live bravely and strongly.
Christian ethics lie behind the story, which seems to derive from the
author’s early childhood experience. Kitabatake was introduced to Christianity
by her grandmother who taught her how she should live. She grew up in an
affluent and cultured environment, which must have been the resource of
her rich writing.
Jirô Bûchin Nikki was published by Kodansha, Gakushu Kenkyusha (Gakken), Kadokawa Shoten, and Kaiseisha.
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