Eiko Kadono

Eiko Kadono (角野 栄子, Kadono Eiko), real name Eiko Watanabe (渡辺英子, Watanabe Eiko), born January 1, 1935, is a Japanese author of children's literature, picture books, non-fiction, and essays in Shōwa and Heisei period in Japan. Her most famous work Kiki's Delivery Service, released in 1985, was made into an anime film by Hayao Miyazaki, and spawned a series of sequel novels. In 2018, she won the Hans Christian Andersen Award. Currently, she serves as a guest professor at the Nihon Fukushi University in Aichi Prefecture.

Eiko Kadono
Native name
角野 栄子
Born (1935-01-01) January 1, 1935
Tokyo, Japan
OccupationAuthor
Notable worksKiki's Delivery Service

Biography

Kadono was born in Tokyo, Japan. As a child during the World War II, she was evacuated to North Japan.[1] She attended and graduated with a degree in English literature from Waseda University. After graduation in 1960 at the age of 25, she emigrated to Brazil where she spent two years. She wrote a non-fiction story called Brazil and My Friend Luizinho (Ruijinnyo shōnen, Burajiru o tazunete), based on her experience at that time, about a Brazilian boy who loves dancing samba. Brazil was released in 1970.[2] Kadono stated that living through World War II sparked her rebellious nature and had a profound impact on the way she viewed the world.[3]

She has published almost two hundred works, mainly books for children, including picture books and prose works for older children, as well as essay collections.[1] Her first successful children's book, published Ôdorabô Bula Bula shi (The Robber Bla-Bla), was published in 1981.[4] In 1985, she published the children's novel Majo no Takkyūbin (魔女の宅急便, Kiki's Delivery Service), about a young witch-in-training who starts a delivery service in a seaside town of Koriko. The book received several awards, including the Noma Prize for Children's Literature, the Shogakukan Children's Publication Culture Award, and the IBBY Honor List.[2] It was adapted into a film by Hayao Miyazaki in 1989 and became one of his most popular films.[1][5] The book was also adapted into a live-action film in 2014, directed by Takashi Shimizu.[6] She has written eight sequels to Kiki's.[7][8]

Selected bibliography

Kiki's Delivery Service
  • Kiki's Delivery Service (1985)
  • Majo no Takkyūbin 2: Kiki to Atarashii Mahō (魔女の宅急便その2 キキと新しい魔法, Witch's Express Home Delivery 2: Kiki and Her New Magic) (1993)
  • Majo no Takkyūbin 3: Kiki to mō Hitori no Majo (魔女の宅急便その3 キキともうひとりの魔女, Witch's Express Home Delivery 3: Kiki and the Other Witch) (2000)
  • Majo no Takkyūbin 4: Kiki no Koi (魔女の宅急便その4 キキの恋, Witch's Express Home Delivery 4: Kiki's Love) (2004)
  • Majo no Takkyūbin 5: Mahō no Tomarigi (魔女の宅急便その5 魔法の止まり木, Witch's Express Home Delivery 5: Perch of Magic) (2007)
  • Majo no Takkyūbin 6: Sorezore no Tabidachi (魔女の宅急便その6 それぞれの旅立ち, Witch's Express Home Delivery 6: Each and Every Departure) (2009)
  • Majo no Takkyūbin Tokubetsu-hen: Kiki ni Deatta Hitobito (魔女の宅急便 特別編 キキに出会った人びと, Witch's Express Home Delivery Special Edition: People who met Kiki) (2016)
  • Majo no Takkyūbin Tokubetsu-hen 2: Kiki to Jiji (魔女の宅急便 特別編その2 キキとジジ, Witch's Express Home Delivery Special Edition 2: Kiki and Jiji) (2017)
  • Majo no Takkyūbin Tokubetsu-hen 3: Keke to Hanbun Majo (魔女の宅急便 特別編その3 ケケと半分魔女, Witch's Express Home Delivery Special Edition 3: Keke and the Half Witch) (2022)

Stand-alone
  • Aku Ingin Makan Spageti (1979)
  • Grandpa's Soup (1989), with illustrator Satomi Ichikawa[9]
  • Sarada De Genki (2005)

Awards

Kadono won the 2018 Hans Christian Andersen Award for Writing.[10][1] The judges described her work as having "an ineffable charm, compassion, and élan" and praised her inspirational female characters as "singularly self-determining and enterprising."[10][11]

References
  1. "The 'good witch' who wrote Japanese classic Kiki's Delivery Service". BBC. 11 April 2018. Retrieved 11 April 2018.
  2. "J'Lit - Authors : Eiko Kadono - Books from Japan". booksfromjapan.jp. Retrieved 3 May 2016.
  3. "The lifelong rebellion of children's author Eiko Kadono | The Japan Times". 17 August 2019.
  4. Hunt, Peter; Ray, Sheila G. Bannister (1996). "Japan". International Companion Encyclopedia of Children's Literature. Vol. 1 (1 ed.). Taylor & Francis. pp. 841. ISBN 0-415-08856-9.
  5. IGN Movies (5 August 2014). "The Top 10 Miyazaki Movies". IGN. Retrieved 3 May 2016.
  6. Maggie Lee (March 2014). "'Kiki's Delivery Service' Review: Stick to Miyazaki - Variety". Variety. Retrieved 3 May 2016.
  7. ""Kiki's Delivery Service" (the book) is a pretty magical read". jimhillmedia.com. 21 May 2003. Retrieved 3 May 2016.
  8. Casey Baseel (3 March 2014). "Our impressions from the live-action Kiki's Delivery Service film - RocketNews24". RocketNews24. Retrieved 3 May 2016.
  9. "Children's Book Review: Grandpa's Soup by Eiko Kadono". PublishersWeekly.com. October 1999. Retrieved 3 May 2016.
  10. "2018 HCAA Winners". International Board on Books for Young People. 26 March 2018. Retrieved 11 April 2018.
  11. Nakamura, Yasusaburo (2 September 2018). "Kadono honored for books with inspiring female characters". Asahi Shimbun. Retrieved 28 September 2018.
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