(1874-06-19)June 19, 1874 Mori Town, Kusu District (currently Kusu Town) in Ōita Prefecture
Died
June 27, 1960(1960-06-27) (aged86)
Nationality
Japanese
Education
Ōita Middle School
Almamater
Kwansei Gakuin University
Genre
Children's literature
Notable works
Yūyake Koyake
Relatives
Kurushima Michifusa, Kurushima Michiyasu
In this Japanese name, the family name is Kurushima.
Kurushima Takehiko(久留島 武彦, June 19, 1874 – June 27, 1960) was a children's literature author known as "the Japanese Hans Christian Andersen". He was one of the three great Japanese authors of children's stories for public performance. One of Takehiko's most celebrated works is the nursery rhyme "Yūyake Koyake".
Children's literature or juvenile literature includes stories, books, magazines, and poems that are enjoyed by children. Modern children's literature is classified in two different ways: genre or the intended age of the reader.
Hans Christian Andersen was a Danish author. Although a prolific writer of plays, travelogues, novels, and poems, Andersen is best remembered for his fairy tales. Andersen's popularity is not limited to children: his stories express themes that transcend age and nationality.
A nursery rhyme is a traditional poem or song for children in Britain and many other countries, but usage of the term only dates from the late 18th/early 19th century. The term Mother Goose rhymes is interchangeable with nursery rhymes.
Kusu is a town located in Kusu District, Ōita Prefecture, Japan.
Ōita Prefecture is a prefecture on Kyushu region of Japan. The prefectural capital is the city of Ōita.
Kurushima Michifusa was a Japanese samurai of the late Sengoku period, the 4th son of Kurushima Michiyasu. His father was a leader of the Murakami suigun, a major naval power in the 16th century. Masamichi belonged to the army corps in Fukushima Masanori in the Seven-Year War. He was killed at the Battle of Myeongnyang by the forces of Yi Sun-sin. He was the only daimyō who was killed during the war.
In 1887, he entered Ōita Middle School (currently Ōita Uenogaoka High School 大分県立大分上野丘高等学校). There he met an American priest, Wainwright, who was working as an English teacher. Partly due to the influence of Mr. and Mrs. Wainwright, Takehiko came to enjoy telling stories to children in Sunday School. Takehiko and Wainwright transferred to Kwansei Gakuin University (関西学院), from which Takehiko eventually graduated. Upon his graduation, Takehiko entered the army and served in the First Sino-Japanese War. During this time, works he submitted under the pen name Onoe Shinbee(尾上 新兵衛) were accepted by Iwaya Sazanami(巌谷 小波), the head writer at the magazine Shōnen Sekai(少年世界), "'World' for Boys". Takehiko then began to write military stories. During this time, Takehiko also met Ozaki Kōyō.
A priest or priestess is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particular, rites of sacrifice to, and propitiation of, a deity or deities. Their office or position is the priesthood, a term which also may apply to such persons collectively.
Kwansei Gakuin University, colloquially known as Kangaku (関学), is a non-denominational Christian private and coeducational university in Japan. The University offers Bachelor’s, Master’s, and Doctoral degrees to around 25,000 students in almost 40 different disciplines across 11 undergraduate and 14 graduate programs. The university has a central campus in the city of Nishinomiya, and also has satellite campuses in Nishinomiya, Sanda, Osaka, and Tokyo. Kwansei Gakuin University has been selected for inclusion in the Japanese government's Top Global University Project as a Type B university. The university is often referred to as one of the four leading private universities in the greater Kansai region.
The First Sino-Japanese War was fought between China and Japan primarily over influence in Korea. After more than six months of unbroken successes by Japanese land and naval forces and the loss of the port of Weihaiwei, the Qing government sued for peace in February 1895.
After returning to Japan, Takehiko got a job working for the Kobe Shimbun newspaper. In 1906, he began his tour of Japan, during which he gave readings of children’s stories at over 6000 kindergartens and elementary schools. After his tour, in 1910, Takehiko founded Sawarabi Kindergarten.
Kobe Shimbun is a Japanese language daily newspaper based in Kobe, Japan, and the company publishing that newspapers is also called The Kobe Shimbun.
Kindergarten is a preschool educational approach based on playing, singing, practical activities such as drawing, and social interaction as part of the transition from home to school. Such institutions were originally created in the late 18th century in Bavaria and Strasbourg to serve children whose parents both worked outside home. The term was coined by the German Friedrich Fröbel, whose approach globally influenced early-years education. Today, the term is used in many countries to describe a variety of educational institutions and learning spaces for children ranging from two to seven years of age, based on a variety of teaching methods.
Elementary school is a school for students in their first school years, where they get primary education before they enter secondary education. The exact ages vary by country. In the United States, elementary schools usually have 6 grades with pupils aged between 6 and 13 years old, but the age can be up to 10 or 14 years old as well. In Japan, the age of pupils in elementary school ranges from 6 to 12, after which the pupils enter junior high school.
In 1924, Takehiko and Iwaya Sazanami became consultants to the recently established Japanese Children's Story Guild(日本童話連盟,Nihon Dōwa Renmei). In 1924, Takehiko also played a part in laying the foundations of the Scouting movement in Japan. A group including Takehiko, Nakano Chūhachi(中野 忠八), and Takehiko's son-in-law, Kurushima Hidesaburō(久留島 秀三郎) participated in the Second World Scout Jamboree held in Denmark, as the deputy leader of the Japanese group. During this time, Takehiko visited Odense, the birthplace of Hans Christian Andersen. Upon his arrival, Takehiko became distressed to find that the house in which Andersen was born was now being used as little more than a storehouse, and that Andersen’s grave was unattended to and had gone to seed. Takehiko appealed to the local newspaper, and to anybody else he visited, asking them to return Andersen to his rightful prominence. Moved by his concern, the Danish people came to call Takehiko “the Japanese Hans Christian Andersen”.
Scouting or the Scout Movement is a movement that aims to support young people in their physical, mental and spiritual development, that they may play constructive roles in society, with a strong focus on the outdoors and survival skills. During the first half of the twentieth century, the movement grew to encompass three major age groups for boys and, in 1910, a new organization, Girl Guides, was created for girls. It is one of several worldwide youth organizations.
The Scout Association of Japan is the major Scouting organization of Japan. Starting with boys only, the organization was known as Boy Scouts of Japan from 1922 to 1971, and as Boy Scouts of Nippon from 1971 to 1995, when it became coeducational in all sections, leading to neutral naming. Scouting activity decreased radically during World War II but slowly recovered; membership at the end of May 2017 was 99,779.
Hidesaburō Kurushima was President, then International Commissioner, and Chairman of the National Board of the Boy Scouts of Japan, the younger brother of Nakano Chūhachi. An engineer, he had a successful career in mining, shipping and chemicals. He was also an accomplished author, published several books on Indochina, and short stories in addition to scientific publications related to his work.
At that time, when he visited Odense, the birthplace of Hans Christian Andersen, he was distressed to find that the house in which Andersen was born was being used as little more than a storehouse, and that Andersen's grave was unattended to and had gone to seed. He appealed to the local newspaper, and to wherever else he visited, to return Andersen to his rightful prominence. Moved by this, the Danish people came to call him "the Japanese Hans Christian Andersen".
Odense is the third-largest city in Denmark. It has a population of 178,210 as of January 2016, and is the main city of the island of Funen. By road, Odense is located 45 kilometres (28 mi) north of Svendborg, 144 kilometres (89 mi) to the south of Aarhus and 167 kilometres (104 mi) to the southwest of Copenhagen. The city is the seat of Odense Municipality and was the seat of Odense County until 1970, and Funen County from 1970 until 1 January 2007, when Funen County became part of the Region of Southern Denmark. Odense has close associations with Hans Christian Andersen who is remembered above all for his fairy tales. He was born in the city in 1805 and spent his childhood years there.
In 1945, both Takehiko’s Tokyo home and Sawarabi Kindergarten were burnt down during air raids, consequently, in 1949, Takehiko moved to Kōseki-An(香積庵), a house built inside the precinct of Denkōji(傳香寺) temple.
Related items
The Kurushima Takehiko Culture Prize: a prize given to an individual or group for contributions to children's literature by the Japanese Culture Center for Youths and Children
The Children's Story Plaque: in Mishima Park, Kusu, Oita Prefecture. Erected in 1950 to commemorate 50 years of Kurushima Takehiko's life in children's stories. A Japanese Children's Story Festival is held every year on May 5.
Kurushima Memorial Building: in Mori District, Oita Prefecture.
Plaque marking the site of the home of Kurushima Takehiko: in the grounds of Denkō-ji, Nara, Nara Prefecture
Hans Christian Andersen is a 1952 Hollywood musical film directed by Charles Vidor, with lyrics and music by Frank Loesser. The story was by Myles Connolly, the screenplay was written by Moss Hart and Ben Hecht (uncredited), and Samuel Goldwyn Productions were the producers. It stars Danny Kaye.
Bungo Province was a province of Japan in eastern Kyūshū in the area of Ōita Prefecture. It was sometimes called Hōshū (豊州), with Buzen Province. Bungo bordered Buzen, Hyūga, Higo, Chikugo, and Chikuzen Provinces.
Thumbelina is a literary fairy tale written by Danish author Hans Christian Andersen first published by C. A. Reitzel on 16 December 1835 in Copenhagen, Denmark, with "The Naughty Boy" and "The Traveling Companion" in the second installment of Fairy Tales Told for Children. Thumbelina is about a tiny girl and her adventures with appearance- and marriage-minded toads, moles, and cockchafers. She successfully avoids their intentions before falling in love with a flower-fairy prince just her size.
"The Nightingale" is a literary fairy tale written by Danish author Hans Christian Andersen about an emperor who prefers the tinkling of a bejeweled mechanical bird to the song of a real nightingale. When the Emperor is near death, the nightingale's song restores his health. Well received upon its publication in Copenhagen in 1843 in New Fairy Tales, the tale is believed to have been inspired by the author's unrequited love for opera singer Jenny Lind, the "Swedish nightingale". The story has been adapted to opera, ballet, musical play, television drama and animated film.
Kurume is a city in Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan.
Koshiba Hiroshi was one of the founders of the Japanese Scouting movement.
Michio Mado was a Japanese poet. He received the international Hans Christian Andersen Medal in 1994 for his "lasting contribution to children's literature".
Mori Domain was a Japanese domain of the Edo period. It was associated with Bungo Province in modern-day Ōita Prefecture on the island of Kyushu.
Takeshi Iwaya is a Japanese politician of the Liberal Democratic Party, a member of the House of Representatives in the Diet. He is also the Minister of Defense since 2 October 2018.
Shōjo Sekai was one of the first shōjo magazines in Japan. It was published by Hakubunkan beginning in 1906 and was initially edited by renowned children’s author Sueo Iwaya, better known by the pen name Sazanami Iwaya. Shōjo Sekai was created as a sister magazine to Shōnen Sekai, which was also edited by Iwaya, and which began publication in 1895.
Kurushima Kinai, also known as Kurushima Yoshita and Kurushima Yoshihiro, was a Japanese mathematician in the Edo period.
Bungo-Mori Station is a railway station on the Kyūdai Main Line operated by JR Kyushu in Kusu, Ōita Prefecture, Japan.
Kita-Yamada Station is a railway station on the Kyūdai Main Line operated by JR Kyushu in Kusu, Ōita Prefecture, Japan.
King's Garden is a large, formal palace park in central Odense, Denmark. Located directly across from the Odense station, it is bounded by Railroad Street to the west and Eastern Stationsvej to the north. It stands in front of Odense Palace.
若松 賤子 is an educator, translator, and novelist best known for translating Little Lord Fauntleroy written by Frances Hodgson Burnett. She is also renowned for introducing literature with Christianity for children's novels.
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