Reading between the lines / Personal bonds key in 'Amy and Ken'

By Peter Howlett and Richard McNamara / Special to The Daily Yomiuri

Amy and Ken Visit Grandma (Kon to Aki)

Written and illustrated by Akiko Hayashi

Fukuinkan Shoten

Translated by Peter Howlett and Richard McNamara

RIC Publications

Amy and Ken Visit Grandma by Akiko Hayashi is for sure one of Japan’s most popular storybooks. One picture book web site (EhonNavi.net) ranks this title as now being the fifth most popular. Hayashi has written and illustrated numerous books, some of her best known being There’s a Hippo in My Bath, Good Evening Dear Moon and Miki’s First Errand, and she is today considered to be one of Japan’s leading picture book illustrators/writers. Her endearing pictures and gentle texts have captivated many children not only in Japan but the world over, for her books have been translated into more than ten languages, this particular title into French, Korean, Dutch and Chinese. Here is a story filled with some of the best qualities of a storybook- a story packed with exciting adventure, tenderhearted fun and deep friendship. The story goes as follows;

Ken, an overall-clad stuffed toy fox is a gift from Grandma to Amy, her soon-to-be-born grand daughter. Amy is born and as she grows up they become the best of friends, constant companions. Then one day, a seam on Ken’s arm splits open. He says “I’m alright, I’m alright, but I will have to go to Grandma’s to get her to mend me.” Amy begs to go along and together they jump on the train that goes to Grandma’s town; Sakyumachi or in English, Dunetown, a town situated next to a seaside sand dune.　(most likely the Tottori Pref. sand dunes) On their way they have a number of close calls. First, when the train makes a brief stop Ken dashes out to buy some box-lunches but he just barely makes it back on the train getting his tail caught in the train door. “I’m alright. I’m alright.” says the good natured Ken as the conductor bandages his tail. Next, as they are walking across the sand dunes he is snatched up and buried alive by a dog. But finally, just about when the sun is to set they arrive at Grandma’s house-. Grandma stitches up the bedraggled Ken and after a long hot Japanese bath together they all feel refreshed and squeaky clean. Staying a few days with Grandma, Amy and Ken return home agreeing that it sure was good to visit Grandma.

Here is a story about the deep bond which develops between a child and her stuffed animal. What is magical about this storybook is that in the first few pages, Ken is nothing more than a stuffed toy sitting motionless next to the crib, yet as the story progresses it enthralls and by the end of the story anyone would swear that this fox was for real. There are other bonds that this story touches on and that is the bonds between grandparents and grandchildren. This bond can be seen in the big hug Grandma gives Amy when she comes running into her arms after a long day of adventure. Furthermore, although Hayashi doesn’t mention this in the book she has revealed elsewhere that actually, Ken was made of late Grandpa’s old jacket and this is very heartwarming.

This story also gently opens many “cultural windows” on Japan. As one third of this story takes place on a train, first and foremost it introduces the whole culture of trains in Japan - the hard seats, the starched linen head rests, and the conductor’s kind and courteous conduct. Trains play a very important role in travel and the transport of passengers, still accounting for about one fourth of Japan’s transport passenger-kms.
Some non-Japanese have asked wouldn’t a real trip like this by a five or six year old be a bit dangerous? It is true that Japan does have one of the lowest crime rates in the world yet I am sure no parent in Japan would allow their child to take such a trip. In the world of storybooks however, such trips can help to expand little imaginative minds and that can’t do much harm. The whole cultural tradition of Ekiben, station sold box-lunches usually containing local specialty Japanese-style foods, is depicted vividly in this story. With over 2000 varieties of Ekibens nationwide, this culture is still very much a part of Japan today, although the very brief station stops of the Shinkansen no longer allow for the thrill of jumping off the train to buy your ekiben on the platform.

The most difficult parts in translating this story were the very beginning and the very end. The very beginning, or the title of this story in Japanese is “Kon to Aki” Kon being the fox’s name and Aki being the girl’s name. “Kon” in Japanese is a very foxy name in that “kon kon” is the onomatopoeia for the yelping sound a fox makes. Kenji Miyazawa, for example, names one of his foxes in “Crossing the Snows” Konsaburoh or “Kon boy.” A more direct translation of this name might be “Yelpper” yet, this would be too distracting. And the name Kon, most likely pronounced the same as Con in English doesn’t exactly have the best connotations; con is short for “convict,” “confidence trick” or “to con.” (swindle) Aki, is a very nice Japanese girls name, but just to keep the feeling of this story very familiar we choose to call these two Amy and Ken, names that work both in English and Japanese. Next, the very end of this story in the original and our translation is as follows. “Omakeni, dekitatenoyouni kireina kitsuneni narimashita. Soshite tsugino tsuginohi, kon to aki ha, uchie kaerimashita. Yokatta!” “He looked and felt like a brand new fox. After staying two more nights with Grandma, Ken and Amy returned home. “It was so good to see Grandma, wasn’t it?” said Ken. “Sure was!” said Amy.” Hayashi ends her text with the word “Yokatta!” (Great!”) This is a beautiful finish for this happy ending adventure, simple and to the point. The whole story is summed up in this one Japanese word and leaves the reader with a warm feeling. Yet, if we tried the same in English, it wouldn’t work. If we ended with “That was great!” it would be too abrupt and it would lack the feeling of closure so necessary in English. So, we choose to end with this short dialogue between Amy and Ken. This closing was in fact a point of great discussion between the original publisher and ourselves and we hope we have been successful in conveying the same feeling into English.

In Japanese or in English, here is a gem of a storybook. A storybook which captivates and invites the reader, young or old to join Amy and Ken on their journey to Grandma’s and home again. A reassuring tale reminding us that there is nothing more precious than a good friend.

Howlett, born and raised in Hokkaido, teaches at Hakodate La Salle Junior and Senior High School, while McNamara, a British-trained psychologist, is a lecturer at Kumamoto Prefectural University. Their translation works include the "Guri and Gura" series.