Amin Abbas
DUBAI: Shaw Kuzki is a second-generation A-bomb survivor and one of Japan’s favorite writers for children and young people from Hiroshima. She received her Masters degree from Sophia University and completed her postgraduate studies at Trinity College Dublin.
While teaching in higher education, Kuzki began writing stories in 2004. Her 2005 debut novel, ‘Kawatare’ (The Tale of Kappa, the Water-Sprite; Fukuinkan), received four awards, including the Japan Juvenile Writers Association Newcomers Prize.
Since then, Kuzki has continued to win major awards for children’s’ books in Japan, such as the Higanbana Wa Kitsune No Kanzashi and the Sankei Children’s Book Award.
In 2015, her 2012 book ‘Ishi No Kioku’ was translated into 17 languages and broadcast to 50 countries by NHK International. The story centers around the Hiroshima bombing. In 2020, Kuzki was invited to the White Ravens Festival at the International Youth Library in Munich as the first writer from East Asia; however, the festival was postponed to 2021 because of the pandemic. In the same year, ‘Tazunebito’ (Missing; Mitsumura Tosho) was selected for inclusion in a new fifth-grade textbook for Japanese schools.
Her latest book, ‘Soul Lanterns,’ is a story of how a young Japanese girl’s understanding of the historic and tragic bombing of Hiroshima is transformed by a memorial lantern-floating ceremony. The book is an honest exploration of what happened on August 6, 1945, and offers readers a glimpse not only into the rich cultural history of Japan but also into the intimate lives of those who recognize the urgent need for peace.
Her works span various genres, including fantasy. Her works are highly praised for their clarity, depth, and sense of compassion. Kuzki loves books, music, the arts, animals, and sailing.
Kuzki has shared with Arab News Japan about her inspiration for writing, saying, “When I was around 40 years old, I asked myself, ‘What would I regret the most in my life if it were over today?’ and my answer was that I have not written about Hiroshima and the A-bomb tragedy that caused such catastrophic destruction and casualties.”
“I assumed that publishers would not be interested in my writings as I had no name in their industry at that time, so I decided to enter literary competitions and luckily I won the prize, which allowed me to write the stories of Hiroshima later on,” she added.
Then Kuzki wrote the Hiroshima story Higanbana Wa Kitsune No Kanzashi (The little fox and the flower garland; Gakken 2008) for small children, which won the Japan Juvenile Writers Association Prize. Before writing this book, Kuzki often heard from the teachers and librarians that children today are very afraid of wars and A-bombs and that they do not want to read books about them.
Kuzki tried to solve this problem and write the story to gain empathy from small children. In this story, a small girl, Kanoko, became friends with a little fox spirit and they became happy together. Then the little fox spirit asked Kanoko if she would like to be bewitched, but Kanoko refused. Later, Kanoko said she might say “yes” if the little fox spirit could find her the white Higanbana flower, which is very rare. The little fox spirit went to search for it in Hiroshima on the day when the city was attacked by the A-bomb. Kanoko found the white Higanbana laid on the Jizo statue; however, she never saw the little fox spirit again. The girl regretted having asked such a favor. She wished that she was witched rather than losing her dear friend.
“For example, if the new student you befriended suddenly changed school again or your beloved cat never came back one day—what do you feel? These feelings, I thought, children could surely empathize with and understand. And then, if they wonder why the little fox spirit never appeared again, they might ask why. If they know what made the friends apart, they might also ask why such a cruel weapon was used. I tried to make the book appealing to children in a way that would see it as their own problem, not someone else’s problem,” the author said.
“After the disaster of Fukushima in 2011, I really regretted that I did not write more about Hiroshima. Because we haven’t talked and written more about ’Hiroshima’ and the long-lasting damages caused by A-bomb, we seemed to allow such a horrible disaster to happen again. The fact that is often forgotten is that the Hiroshima A-bomb tragedy is still affecting Hibakusha and their families both physically and psychologically even to this day,” she added.
The author’s short story Tazunebito (The Missing) was used in government-approved text books for elementary schools. “Many letters have been coming to me from readers of both Japan and U.S. I was surprised to know that they say nearly the same thing—that they never learned nor taught anything as told in my stories. They also said that they felt terrible to know the sufferings of Hibakusha and their families who went through those awful times,” the author shared.
Kuzki was one of the international guests at Sharjah Children Reading Festival 2023 and she was very pleased to meet many young readers at the event. “I was touched by the reactions of girls to welcome me at schools I visited. Although I came to Dubai once by transit flight 26 years ago, I could not stay long. This time I really enjoyed my stay in Sharjah and Dubai. I found this country and culture very beautiful and unique. I was also touched by the kindness of the people in the UAE. I am looking forward to visiting here again.”
“I also believe that it is most important to mourn victims not by numbers but by individual facts as names. I was told that students in the UAE mourn the dead soldiers who fought in the Yemen Conflict. I was moved to know that the schoolgirls I met here could name all the dead soldiers. I do respect your way of expressing condolence,” she added, sharing that she hopes her books will be translated in Arabic one day.
Regarding her upcoming projects, Kuzki said, “Sometimes I feel like being away a little bit from Hiroshima, but there are so many stories of Hiroshima to be written.”
Her advice for those who want to write children’s books, Kuzki said, “If you have themes you really want to express, write them through. If you have compassion for children who are going through difficult times even at this moment, there is a lot to write about.”