Revitalization and Reconnection through Japanese children’s books

Children’s literature is always connected with real life and reflects the events of the world. Its power is recognized worldwide, it can be a vehicle for environmental, social, and cultural values and an available resource which contributes to building resilience skills (Campagnaro, 2021: 47). The paper aims to underline the relevant role that children’s books can play in the process of reconnection with the real world and life through the analysis of some Japanese picturebooks, nowadays a particularly flourishing category in the international book market, but still subject to some prejudices or misunderstandings by the general public. After an overview of picturebooks and their definition, origins and features, I focused on Kuma to yamaneko (The Bear and the Wildcat, 2008) written by Kazumi Yumoto (1959) and illustrated by Komako Sakai (1966), a representative work of “healing” in literature, which shows the process of coming back to life after a grievous loss. Then, I will show the evolution towards revitalization and reconnection with life and world, which is reflected in Japanese picturebooks published during and after the Covid-19 pandemic: from the key word matsu (waiting), recurring in many works, till Senro wa tsuzuku-Nihon isshū (The lines continue-travelling all around Japan, 2021) by Mamoru Suzuki (1952) or The Earth passport (2023), a representative project joined by several illustrators which shows the purpose of reconnection with other places on earth in a world of peace. Through the analysis of the reaction to traumatic events by Japanese picturebooks, mostly not yet translated outside of Japan, this study tries to add new elements to the research done so far in this field and opens up new opportunities for further works in the field of picturebooks in Japan. Picturebooks cannot be the solution to all the problems but as their pictures offer different possibilities of reading the story allowing several interpretations of the text, speaking to both adults and children they offer further possibilities of “reading” the world and become more aware of being part of it.