Tobetara Honko is a full-length story by Yamanaka Hisashi (1931- ) filled with criticism against grown-ups. Seen through a child’s eyes, it severely accuses authority and deceptive order, which is archetypical of modern children’s literature.
The protagonist is a fifth-grade boy Yoshikawa Kazuo. Kazuo’s father
has a big win on a horse race, which raises a disturbance in the poor family.
The father is soaked in alcohol and the mother becomes a miser. Kazuo runs
away from home when he mentioned his mother’s secret savings account to
her and was badly hit by her. He meets an old woman on a train who seems
to be senile, because she insists that he is Yamada Kazuo, her acquaintance.
Kazuo goes with her. Later, it turns out that she was not dull-witted,
but brought Kazuo home just to spite her son and his wife. Deceived, Kazuo
takes revenge on her and goes home to find that no one is there. He hears
that his parents have had a quarrel and his mother is in the hospital,
seriously injured. Kazuo rushes to the hospital, but is told to go to his
father’s place. Kazuo takes sleeping pills at a department store expecting
that some charitable person might help him. He is sent to the hospital.
Hearing this news, a couple comes to see him wondering if he might be their
son Takahashi Kazuo, who was lost in the war. They adopt Kazuo even though
they know he is not their son. They will try and if it goes well, they
will be a real family just like “Tobetara Honko,” a verse in a children’s
play song which means “this is a trial, and if I succeed, please make
it real.”
Yamanaka’s wartime childhood vow that he would never be cheated by
grown-ups is clearly reflected in the description of Kazuo who realizes
the foolishness and deception of grown-ups. A story in which parents are
described so critically is very rare. Many incidents and the unexpected
destiny of the protagonist indicate Yamanaka’s quality as a story-teller.
In 1960, Yamanaka published two other books for children: Akage no Pochi [Pochi, the Red-Haired Dog] and Samurai no Ko [Samurai’s Child].
Contemporary reviewers evaluated the power of Tobetara Honko to attract children’s interest. Rironsha published a larger-sized “Fantasy Book” Series version in 1970, and a “Treasured Masterpiece” version in 1977. It was also made into a radio drama.
|
