[Picture Book] The Gentle Lion / Courage, Hope, and the Origin of World Peace
A picture book by Takashi Yanase, known for Anpanman.
It is said that this picture book is the starting point of Mr. Yanase's picture book creation activities.
In an outdoor zoo in a certain country,
there was an orphaned lion.
Because he was always shivering,
his name was Buruburu (Shiver).
(From the commentary on Takashi Yanase's masterpiece picture books)
A collection of masterpieces that gently depict joy and sorrow, despair, and the hope that lies right beside it. We present these to children, and to everyone who was once a child.
Written and illustrated by Takashi Yanase
Froebel-kan (First edition 1975, New edition 2022)
The morning drama about Takashi Yanase and his wife is currently airing, isn't it? (We don't have a TV, so we can't watch it, sob)
My sons were also well taken care of by Anpanman when they were little.
This picture book, with its cute illustrations of the two animals (round eyes), is a story of a mother and child.
However, the protagonist, Buruburu, is a lion, and his mother, Mukumuku (named because she was fluffy and plump, haha), is a dog.
Raised with plenty of love by a gentle female dog, he grows up to be a big, kind, and magnificent lion.
In human terms, would this be considered an adoptive parent-child relationship?
Even if you are not blood-related, if you have a heart that cares for each other, that bond becomes something greater than a parent-child relationship by blood. Furthermore, even if we are just people passing each other on the street, we are family on this Earth. Blood and race don't matter; to put it in very grand terms, it's world peace! I even feel that the Anpanman world flows at the foundation of this picture book.
It was a common trait in Takashi Yanase's works that while sadness, loneliness, and despair—the opposites of joy, kindness, and warmth—were properly expressed, one could still feel hope.
I also want to read 'Chirin no Suzu' (Chirin's Bell).