Students of the Chisinau Theoretical Lyceum “Ginta Latină” learned more about the Japanese culture and literature in an event devoted to children’s writer Eiko Kadono that was held at the National Children’s Library “Ion Creangă”. On January 1 next year, the Japanese writer turns 85. The students found out what a kimono consists of and viewed an animated cartoon based on a book written by Eiko Kadono, IPN reports.

The National Children’s Library “Ion Creangă” set the goal of promoting all the writers who won the Hans Christian Andersen Awards, said the library’s acting director Eugenia Bejan. This is also an occasion for the children to familiarize themselves with the Japanese culture and literature, especially the one intended for children. In the future, the library aims to also stage an animation workshop that will involve an expert from Japan.

First secretary of the Embassy of Japan Atsutoshi Hagino said the Japanese culture is a complex culture that is influenced by different foreign cultures. For example, the Japanese system of writing uses adapted Chinese characters. In Japan, the children’s literature is very rich, as is the animation.

Eiko Kadono was born in Tokyo. When she was four, her mother died and her father decided to fill this gap through books, especially with traditional stories. Her passion for literature appeared as a result. At the age of 25, she emigrated to Brazil where she spent two years. She wrote a non-fiction story called Brazil and My Friend Luizinho, based on her experience at that time, about a Brazilian boy who loves dancing samba. She published about two hundred works, mainly books for children, including picture books and prose works for older children, as well as essay collections. In 1985, she published the children's novel Kiki's Delivery Service. The book was adapted into a film in 1989 and became one of his most popular films. Eiko Kadono now lives in the antique Japanese town Kamakura.