Aman Kimiko (1931- ) received the First Japanese Association of Writers
for Children Newcomer Prize and Noma Award for Juvenile Literature Honor
Book for her first book Kuruma no Iro wa Sora no Iro, a collection of short stories. Among the stories, “Shiroi Bôshi” [White Hat] is best known because it has been adopted in elementary school textbooks. Aman’s stories are most frequently adopted in textbooks.
Kuruma no Iro wa Sora no Iro consists of eight stories which are closely related to each other. A taxi driver, Matsui Goro, is the protagonist of the stories. Five of them including “Kuma Shinshi” [Gentleman Bear] first appeared in the magazine Biwa-no-mi Gakko [School of Loquat Seed]. Three others were previously unpublished.
In “Chiisana Okyaku-san” [Little Customers], taxi driver Matsui meets
two little foxes taking the form of little boys. “Un no Ii Hanashi” [Lucky
Story] is about a school of fish rescuing a fish caught by an angler in
Matsui’s taxi. The town where Matsui lives is another fantastic world.
In “Shiroi Bôshi” [A White Hat] a small white butterfly caught
by a boy takes the form of a girl and runs away into Matsui’s taxi. In
“Suzukake Dôri San-chôme,” [3-chôme, Plane Tree Street]
Matsui’s taxi is transported through time to the designated street which
existed at the time of war. It is highly valued as a story quietly denouncing
the war. In “Yamaneko Okotowari” [No Wildcats, Please], Matsui accepts
a world where animals take the shape of humans and coexist with humans.
In “Shabon no Mori” [A Wood of Soap Bubbles] Matsui turns out to be a
man with an innocent mind like a child. In “Kuma Shinshi,” Aman’s first
story, Matsui sympathizes deeply with others’ sorrow. The last story “Honjitu
wa Sekiten nari” [It is Snowy Today] describes animals’ absolute trust
in Matsui. Kuruma no Iro wa Sora no Iro represents the ideal world where animals and humans can coexist.
A Kodansha Pocket Book edition was published in 1978. Kuruma no Iro wa Sora no Iro was so popular that sequels were published in 1982 and in 2000.
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