War and illustrator 戦争とイラストレーター

I read Japanese picture book for my son, who is just 6 month old,
so he seems could not understand any word.

He sometimes bite pages or drop saliva on the book.
It’s a bit hard to keep him stay calm and attention to my reading.

I normally don’t care when he break books, but only one book I don’t want him to do.
The book is Chihiro Iwasaki‘s one, who is a Japanese respected illustrator.
Most of Japanese children had experienced to read her picture book.

Her drawing and using colour are so sensitive, soft and warm.
I feel it shows her personality.

http://blogs.yahoo.co.jp/

She got Bronze Medal of the Leipzig International Book Fair for
“戦火の中の子どもたち”,Senka no Naka no Kodomo-tachi (Children in the Flames of War) in 1974.

From 1972 to 1973, while the Vietnam war, Chihiro was making this book.
She wanted to send message people how children suffer from the war.
From Japanese basement, U.S combat planes flew over and bomb to Vietnam.
She imagined and sorrowed in the Vietnam, innocent children are bombed.
She overlap with her World War 2 memory. She was also one of victim from the war.

unfortunatelly, she path away with liver cancer after publishing this book.
She could not know the end of Vietnam war. This book is the her last book in her life.

I am so moved from her story.
If you have a chance, please visit the museum!