Chokorêto Sensô is a novel length story with the 1960's background, when, on the one hand, Japan grew rapidly after the campaign against the Japan-US Security Treaty, and Tokyo Olympic Games; on the other, the distortion among society was gradually revealed. Ôishi Makoto (1925 - 1990) was well known as an author of realistic novels describing the inner life of isolated children. At the same time, he also believed from his experiences as an editor of children's books that children' literature must be an entertainment.
The story is as follows: there is a high-quality sweet shop, Kinsen-dô,
in a local town. The castle of chocolate in its show window attracts the
admiration of many children. One day, the glass of the window is broken
with a big sound. Two boys, Kôichi and Akira, who happened to be
at the sight, are forcibly taken in as the criminals. The manager of Kinsen-dô
and its owner Kimbee do not listen to the boys, which make them feel very
bitter. Kôichi makes up a plan to steal the castle of chocolate as
a sign of protest. Akira writes an article in the school newspaper to reveal
the adults' overbearing attitude. Kôichi's plan is, however, known
to Kinsen-dô before he puts it into practice. The article in the
school newspaper appeal to many pupils and they decide not to buy sweets
at Kinsen-dô. Kinsen-do did not know what to do with the many unsold
sweets in the store. A truck driver comes and says that it was he who broke
the window. The victory is for the children, and the Kinsen-dô people
send cakes to the school as a sign of their remorse.
Chokorêto Sensô has many entertaining aspects: speedy development of the story, clear children vs. adults conflict, children's overcoming adults, and happy ending. This story, therefore, should be read as "a deformed story" or "an entertainment without close examination of details" while some critics have pointed out unnatural elements in this story such as a lack of detailed inspection of the broken window or the fake castle of chocolate. Attractive title, the element of food which is popular to child readers, numerous humorous illustrations, active child characters and what they accomplished are the value of this amusing story.
Several editions exist, all of which are printed repeatedly.
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