IGA, Mie, Prefecture

An artist here has taken it upon herself to open her home to children, offering books, videos and a chance to speak another tongue.

Keiko Yoshikawa, 60, a pressed-flower artist, converted part of her house into a picture-book library, hoping the English-language books will inspire young readers.

She aims to encourage English conversation among children by reading them books from the free library.

Originally from Hirakata, Osaka Prefecture, Yoshikawa taught the craft of pressing and drying flowers in art schools throughout the Kansai region.

After serving as a judge for an International Garden and Greenery Exposition contest in 1990, she was asked to teach her trade in countries such as the United States, Canada and Belgium. She moved to Vancouver in 1995, where she started teaching flower pressing for educational programs.

It was about 15 years ago that she bought 500 square meters of land here for the cottage she now lives in. The two-storied log house was built after she returned to Japan in 2003.

Yoshikawa has since opened Cafe Canada on the first floor of her house. The coffee shop also serves as a gallery with exhibits and small concerts.

She opened the about 50-square-meter loft on the second floor as a library on Nov. 25. It sports about 450 picture books that Yoshikawa collected in Vancouver. Most were published in Canada, Britain and the United States.

Well-known stories like ``Little Red Riding Hood'' and ``Peter Rabbit'' are included, as well as many other books not easily found in Japan. The library also offers videos of about 80 educational programs that Yoshikawa recorded from TV while in Vancouver.

``It is not surprising people cannot speak English, even if they know grammar,'' Yoshikawa said. ``I would like everyone to read as many books as possible to help them understand clearly what their partner is talking about in a conversation. I hope the kids will take this opportunity to enjoy learning English.''

The library is currently open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday to Friday. But if time allows, Yoshikawa said, it will also be open on weekends and holidays. She added that she is currently looking for college student volunteer-readers to help read to children.(IHT/Asahi: January 25,2005)