It was originally published as a series of short stories by Kodansha in its magazine Young Women in 1979. At pixel time it has sold more than 5.8 million copies in Japan and has been translated into more than 16 languages including many local Indian languages, a country, like China and Japan, where the book has been very popular.
According to the Asahi Newspaper, sales of the Chinese edition have overtaken sales of the original Japanese edition, with sales of more than 10 million at pixel time.
Initially, the local Chinese publisher, Thinkingdom, found it difficult to promote the title due to geopolitical issues between China and Japan, such as the ongoing dispute over the uninhabited Senkaku (also know as Diaoyutai) Islands in the East China Sea.
Nevertheless, the book is now selling in extremely large numbers and the publisher is aiming to sell more than 50 million copies in China. In 2017, the book lead the charts for the bestselling translated children’s book in China; ahead of Charlotte’s Web by Elwlyn Brooks White (1899-1985) and Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone by JK Rowling.
This children’s book, by the actress and UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador, is sometimes classified as non-fiction or biography as it is considered as Kuroyanagi’s childhood memoir of her time at Tomoe Gakuen, an elementary school in Tokyo.
An English translation by Dorothy Britton was published in America in 1984.
© Red Circle Authors Limited
