絵本の持つ力に触れて

By Yuka Shimada, Asahi Weekly

　直木賞作家の志茂田景樹さんは、絵本の魅力を感じて以来、全国各地で絵本の読み聞かせ活動を行っています。この読み聞かせには、志茂田さんが子供たちに伝えたい強いメッセージが込められています。その想いとは…

As he swept his right arm slowly back and forth like an elephant's trunk, writer Kageki Shimoda mimicked the sound of the giant pachyderm: "Prwww! Prwww! Prwww! ..."

The more than 800 elementary school students sitting on the gymnasium floor at Hara Elementary School in Numazu, Shizuoka Prefecture, were spellbound, listening to the author with the rainbow-colored hair reading his picture book, "Zo no Kodomo ga mita Yume"-- or a dream that an elephant child had -- which tells of the love between an elephant mother and her calf.

Shimoda, 67, who won the Naoki Prize in 1980, one of Japan's top literacy awards, has been reading picture books to children across the country since 1998. He hopes to send youngsters two strong messages: the preciousness of human life and the importance of living.

"Nothing is more important than your life. So are your friends. So are your parents," he said.

"I want you all to know life is wonderful."

Shimoda, who formed "Yoiko ni Yomikikase-tai" -- or a picture-book reading troupe -- in 1999, had initially sought to cultivate children's sensitivity through picture books.

Although still a goal, he changed the emphasis after several years after he often saw news stories about crimes committed by juveniles and child abuse by a parent. He thought they might have occurred because children today don't get a lot of opportunities to think about the meaning of life.

"When I was young, I had heard about the importance of life from parents, neighbors and teachers for the umpteenth time," he recalled. "Children today are not told such a thing."

ある母親からの手紙

Several years ago, Shimoda, who started writing picture books at age 59, received a letter from a mother who had bought one of his books for her daughter that had an unhappy ending. The mother said her 5-year-old had cried after reading it. But the woman said was happy and relieved by her daughter's reaction, since she wanted her to understand others' sadness and suffering.

After reading the letter, Shimoda was determined to deliver the two messages not only to children, but to parents. Shimoda believes that children never deepen their understanding of the significance of life unless parents grasp it as well. He is concerned that parents today cannot tell their children about how important life is because they themselves don't recognize it.

"Read children's books that have such messages and share the moment and share their emotion," he advised. "By sharing emotion, you won't need a word and children will clearly understand."

In the world of picture books, readers and listeners can share their emotions, Shimoda believes. He realized it when he first read picture books to about 30 children at a book signing at a store in Fukuoka in 1996. Surprised by the number of children present, Shimoda, the father of two sons, chose two books from the store to read to them, something he had not done before.

Once he started reading the books, both children and parents went into the world of fantasy, said Shimoda, whose mother also had read him picture books such as Japanese "once-upon-a-time" stories as well as Hans Christian Andersen's "Fairy Tales."

"I underwent culture shock when I found out that age has nothing to do with picture-book reading," he said. "After reading the books, I felt myself purified."

At the time, Shimoda, in his late 50s, was at a crossroads in his life. He admitted that he had not been happy with his work since his prize-winning novel "Kiiroi Kiba" (Yellow Fang), and was tired of producing marketable novels in large quantities to satisfy his publisher. Shimoda, an admitted free spirit, never wanted his career to come that, and struggled as he searched for a way to give his work some meaning.

"I thought as people grew up, they left purity and innocence. These were the most precious thing for adults," he recalled. "I made up my mind to discover those in my own nature once again."

For Shimoda, the answer came in a picture book that satisfies himself, and makes children happy and touches adults.

After returning to Tokyo, he and his wife held their first picture-book reading event at the kindergarten where their children attended. From there, their program has flourished.

全国行脚の読み聞かせ隊

The couple has been to kindergartens, preschools, libraries and elementary schools in many places throughout the country and have given nearly 1,200 performances.

The number of supporters has increased gradually -- now more than 30 members, mainly musicians like a violinist, flutist and pianist -- who have joined as members of "Yoiko ni Yomikikase-tai."

Flutist Yui Nagai, the oldest member, is among them. At the reading at the Numazu elementary school, Nagai accompanied Shimoda's gestures and high points of the stories on his flute.

The combination kept the gymnasium of students glued to their seats on the floor.

One of the students, Ryu Joguchi, a sixth-grader, said she enjoyed their performance.

"Flute was great," she said, excitedly. "The way he read was dynamic."

Yasuko Yoshino, the mother of a 9-year-old child, who came to the school for the event, said Shimoda's reading was more than a recitation of words.

"He did not just read, but interacted with students and shared his experiences," she said. "I could see his personality through the reading."

Shimoda has rediscovered himself through his picture-book reading. Asked what picture-books mean to him, he replied, "They are my home."

The author, blessed with a "Peter Pan syndrome," added: "In the world, I can allow myself to enjoy like children do."

• mimicked...pachyderm　その巨大な厚皮動物の鳴き声を真似した
• were spellbound　魅了された
• something...before　今までやったことがなかったこと
• recitation of words　朗読
• blessed with　〜を持ち合わせている