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HEIDI

A "love story" between

Japan and Switzerland

Jean-Michel Weissmer interviews
Takashi Kawashima

Doctor Takashi Kawashima is Professor of German Literature at Kyoto University, a specialist in the work of Kafka and
Johanna Spyri. He was invited to the Salon du Livre in Geneva where he spoke about the way "Heidi" is understood
in Japan. Jean-Michel Wissmer, author of a recently published essay on Heidi, asked him a few questions on this "love
story" between Heidi and Japan.

JMW: Dr. Kawashima, how did you Furthermore, it was primarily women JMW: What is the importance of
become interested in Heidi? who supported the popularity of children's literature in Japan? There
"Heidi". Although Japan had joined the must be something else besides
As a book-loving child, Tread a lot of clas- group of developed countries, Japanese Heidi?
sics of Western children's literature and women suffered under a strong patriar-
Heidi was among them. But when I grew chal system. "Heidi" offered women a The classics of Western children's lit-
up, I was shocked by the fact that other refuge in such a repressive society. erature played a crucial role in Japanese
people had a totally different image of society after the war. Although young
"Heidi" obtained from the animated JMW: In Switzerland in the 1930s, people today tend to read less and less
cartoon by Isao Takahata (1974). I was new translations and new sequels of books (as everywhere in the world), you
only familiar with the original novels by Heidi were written. Do the Japanese can still buy very good translations of
Johanna Spyri, so I became interested in know about these versions? them in bookstores. Perhaps, the most
the diversity of images of "Heidi". popular among them is the novel Anne
Yes and no ... Two sequels by Charles of the Green Gables, whose animated ver-
JMW: Can you explain why "Heidi" is Tritten were translated into Japanese in sion (again by Takahata, 1979) also had a
so popular in Japan? 2003, but they were retranslations from huge success.
English -- Heidi Grows Up (1938) and
You must distinguish between the ani- Heidi's Children (1939) -- which diverge JMW: In the West we see Japan as a
mated TV series and the novel Heidi. from the French originals. very traditional country; is this still
After the Second World War, this book the case?
became very popular in Japan and JMW: Do you think many Japanese
countless translations were published. people see Switzerland as "Heidi- I don't think so. A great change has
This is due to the rise of Western land"? occurred since 1945--or more correctly,
democratic culture after the war, which since the Meiji Revolution in 1868. In the
encouraged Japanese people to read Yes. Many people -- especially women course of modernization and western-
more Western classics. -- associate Switzerland with beauti- ization, the traditional way of life has
ful mountains, meadows and cheese, an almost totally disappeared. Today,
On the other hand, the success of the image derived from the cartoon film. Of Buddhist temples and Shinto shrines
cartoon film "Heidi" is due to the specifi- course, there are other images besides belong more to the tourist industry than
city of the Japanese society around 1970. "Heidiland"; for example: Switzerland to everyday life. While the older gene-
At a time when the post-war economic is "permanently neutral" (well viewed in ration (born before the war) has a rela-
growth slowed down, people became Japan), a very "rich" country and so on. tively strong religious belief, younger
conscious of the negative consequences people do not participate any more. That
of rapid economic growth (such as JMW: Has your image of the country is one of the main reasons why "Heidi"
environmental destruction), and as changed due to your first visit to with its spiritual messages gained such
the ecological boom began they sought Switzerland? popularity in Japan.
values other than economic wealth.
The world depicted in the film "Heidi" Of course! My image of Switzerland was
corresponded to this trend. The direc- of a relatively "closed" society. But here The French version of this interview s
tor Takahata removed the Christian in Geneva I have seen immigrants from available on the website of the Institet
elements and replaced them with a many countries. I have a feeling that suisse Jeunesse et Médias:
kind of religion worshipping the Alps. Swiss society is changing rapidly. www.ricochet-jeunes.org

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