Shibire Ike no Kamo written by Ibuse Masuji (1895-1995) was published by Koyama Shoten in 1948. It was first serialized in Mainichi Shôgakusei Shinbun [Mainichi Newspaper for Elementary Schoolchildren] from May 11 to September 21, 1948 for 108 episodes in total. It was revised at the time of publication in book form.
In 1957, the story of Shibire Ike no Kamo was collected in Iwanami Shônen Bunko [Iwanami Children’s Library] no. 149 together with “Okoma-san, ” “Sanshôuo” [Salamander] and “Yane no Ue no Sawan” [Sawan, the Wild Goose on the Roof] under the title of Sanshôuo Shibire Ike no Kamo [Salamander, and Duck of Shibire Pond]. “Okoma-san” was originally serialized in the magazine Shôjo no Tomo [Girls’ Friend]
Shibire Ike no Kamo is about a defective stuffed duck made by an old doctor. When the stuffed duck was put in a pond, all the ducks there were deceived and respect it as a leader, following it and imitating its movement, which gave them a lot of trouble. The doctor, his apprentice Sangorô, an old villager Benzô, and the master of a bird circus rack their brains to protect the ducks. However, the situation gets worse and worse. According to the author, the stuffed duck represents those who played leading parts in the war. Although Shibire Pond is an imaginative place, the scenery of the pond and its surroundings were based on a crater lake in Miyake Island.
Ibuse hardly wrote during World War II; instead he translated Hugh Lofting’s Doctor Dolittle stories during that time. Shibire Ike no Kamo was written after the Dolittle translations. Appearance of characters such as an old doctor who loves birds and an old man who understands duck language in the book is interesting. Vivid dialogues are characteristic of Ibuse’s novels.
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