出版社：理論社 | 初版年：2019年 | ISBN 978-4-652-20305-7 | 240頁| 19×14 cm | 11歳から

 

 

Tokujiro and I

The story follows the relationship of a boy and his grandfather, Tokujiro. Stubborn and cantankerous Tokujiro is a widower who lives alone and is hard of hearing. He has three daughters including the boy’s mother but when they and their families come to visit during the summer, Tokujiro just sits silently in front of the TV.

Yet this same taciturn and difficult old man teaches the boy how to make bamboo-copters, takes him beetle hunting in the woods, and teaches him the wonders of nature. The boy is fascinated by his grandfather’s stories. Born in 1923, the year of the Great Kanto Earthquake, his grandfather was a rebellious boy of whom even his parents despaired. Although a poor student, he excelled at sports. He and his friends had dangerous stone-throwing fights and snuck into other people’s fields and orchards to steal tomatoes, loquats and oranges. If they had been caught, they would have met a horrible fate, Tokujiro tells the boy.

The life of this stubborn old man whom the boy loves dearly is vividly and richly portrayed from the boy’s perspective, including the old man’s gradual demise after a heart attack. The man’s boyhood and way of living overlap with the family’s history, linking with the boy’s present life. Tokujiro’s unique approach to living is scrupulously portrayed through his interactions with his grandson, his experiences during the war, and the family’s response to nursing him after his heart attack. Each memory of Tokujiro is a precious gift that enriches the boy’s life. 

 

Text: Hanagata, Mitsuru

Publisher: Rironsha | 2019 | 240 pages | 19×14 cm | ISBN 9784652203057 | Ages 11+