I went to the Japanese Children's books site and found it pretty interesting, though the article was a bit depressing...But I read the introduction about the magazine and what the purpose of the images were. I found the magazine to be a very unique idea, some of the images were cool. I especially like the The Insects' Orchestra, but the Santa Gets Ready to Go image is a little scary..
Posted by julianne at September 22, 2004 09:03 PMI looked at these pictures and noticed the recurring theme of the importance of seasons that I learned a lot about when taking Japanese literature in translation. I especially noticed the plum blossoms (red blob trees) in the background of several of the pictures. Japanese poetry, similar to ours, much of the time revolves around the changing of the seasons. However, I've noticed, with the exception of writers like Thoreau, a recent transience of nature in American poetry. Is it possible that the Japanese value nature more than we do?
Posted by: Pierce at September 23, 2004 07:46 PM