British Children's Literature in Japanese Culture: Wonderlands and Looking-Glasses

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Description

Whether watching Studio Ghibli adaptations of British childrens books, visiting Harry Potter sites in Britain or eating at Alice in Wonderland-themed restaurants in Tokyo, the Japanese have a close and multifaceted relationship with British childrens literature. In this, the first comprehensive study to explore this engagement, Catherine Butler considers its many manifestations in print, on the screen, in tourist locations and throughout Japanese popular culture. Taking stock of the influence of literary works such as Gulliver's Travels, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, The Tale of Peter Rabbit, Tom's Midnight Garden, and the Harry Potter series, this lively account draws on literary criticism, translation, film and tourist studies to explore how British childrens books have been selected, translated, understood, adapted and reworked into Japanese commercial, touristic and imaginative culture. Using theoretically informed case studies this book will consider both individual texts and their wider cultural contexts, translations and adaptations (such as the numerous adaptations of British childrens books by Studio Ghibli and others), the dissemination of distinctive tropes such as magical schools into Japanese childrens literature and popular culture, and the ways in which British childrens books and their settings have become part of way that Japanese people understand Britain itself.

Reviews

This is a highly original and significant work, bringing a new angle to children's literature studies and engaging an impressively large corpus. This is certain to be internationally leading as a touchstone for anyone interested in children's literature, transnationalism and Japanese studies. * -Madhu Krishnan, Professor of African, World and Comparative Literatures, Department of English, University of Bristol, UK *
Absolutely delighted by Catherine Butler's wonderful book on British children's literature in Japan! Depth, scholarship and comprehensiveness delivered with a lightness and grace that makes for a deceptively easy read, plus some fascinating insider insights. A first class addition to the scholarly canon, but it definitely deserves a release at a more accessible price for the many Studio Ghibli fans who would find it fascinating. I speak to about 800 passionate Ghibli fans in venues all over the UK every month and I'm adding this book to the recommended reading list I share with them, in the hope that at least some will be able to access it via college or public libraries. * -Helen McCarthy, author of Hayao Miyazaki: Master of Japanese Animation (1999) *
It has been a very long time since I admired and enjoyed an academic publication as much as I did Catherine Butlers study of the long relationship between British childrens books and Japanese culture. The book is meticulously researched and draws on a wide range of academic disciplines, but it is so engagingly written that it will be as accessible to lay audiences as to specialists in the field. * Kimberley Reynolds, University of Newcastle, UK *

Author Bio

Catherine Butler is Reader in English Literature at Cardiff University. Her academic books include Four British Fantasists (2006), Reading History in Childrens Books (2012) and Literary Studies Deconstructed (2018). She has also edited numerous academic collections, and is Editor-in-Chief of the journal, Childrens Literature in Education.