"Butanuki-kun Mori e Iku," written by Hiroshi Saito and illustrated by Michiyo Morita (Published by Koseishuppan, 1999)

Story outline

A pig living on a farm ventures into the forest while chasing another suspicious-looking pig. To his surprise, he meets a lion. However, it turns out that this lion is in fact a shape-shifting "tanuki" racoon dog, and that the fleeing pig was the same animal.

The pig learns from the tanuki how to transform itself and tries to turn into a tanuki, but his face remains that of a pig. He is thus given the name Butanuki, a portmanteau of "buta" (pig) and tanuki.

Butanuki also tries to transform into a chicken, a tulip and so on, but he is always able to transform only his body. His amusing appearance is sure to make young readers laugh. The title of this book translates to "Butanuki goes to the forest" and this is the first in a series of picture books about his adventures with tanuki.

Vocabulary, culture tips

Yuki o dasu -- "Yuki" here means courage, and this phrase means to muster one's courage. In this picture book, it is used in the scene where Butanuki enters the forest where he is afraid there might be a wolf.

Mokumoku -- This is an onomatopoeic word mainly used with smoke ("kemuri" in Japanese) to describe rising smoke. In the picture book, when the tanuki transforms, smoke is emitted, and that is where the word is used. Meanwhile, when "mokumoku" is used in a situation where a person is doing something, it means to be silent and devoted. For example, "kare wa mokumoku to shigoto o shite iru" means "he is quietly devoted to his work."

Bakeru -- This means to transform or disguise oneself. In Japan, there are many folktales in which a "kitsune" (fox) or "tanuki" raccoon dog shape-shifts and deceives people.

Transforming into superheroes

Another Japanese word for transforming besides "bakeru" is "henshin suru" and sometimes in our house I hear my sons shout, "Henshin!" At such times, they become superheroes from Japanese TV series, such as "Ultraman" and "Kamen Rider."

Kamen Rider uses a belt when he transforms into his hero form, and we have several of these belt toys at home. My sons wear them and play with other toy weapons to imitate the battles, pretending to be heroes.

An exhibition commemorating the 50th anniversary of the birth of Kamen Rider was held across Japan, and the final stop this summer was in the southwestern Japan city of Kagoshima. My family was visiting the city at the time, so I went there with my sons. They looked with great interest at the clips of past riders and the toy belts and weapons. I was not at all familiar with the series, so I was amazed at the number of riders from the past.

These superheroes are very "kakkoii" (cool) in the eyes of our children. When my second son was 4 years old, he surprised me by writing on a strip of paper at the Tanabata festival that he wanted to become Kamen Rider Revice. (During this festival, held on July 7 each year, it is customary to write wishes on pieces of paper and attach them to bamboo branches.)

I asked my second son, now 5 years old, why he wanted to be Revice at that time. He said it was because the way the rider transforms into the hero is so cool, and he enthusiastically demonstrated to me how to do it. I am impressed by how transformation captures children's hearts.

Butanuki in this picture book can only transform his body even though he tries many times. Still, he appears to be satisfied. I hope my children learn from this that it is not always necessary to be perfect, and that this is what makes Butanuki unique.

(By Risa Koshiba, The Mainichi Staff Writer)

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(This is Part 17 of the "Learning from Japanese picture books" series, which introduces recommended Japanese picture books, along with related terms and culture that foreigners living in Japan may find useful. Most titles can be found in bookstores or libraries throughout Japan. The next issue will be published on Nov. 8.)

Profile: Risa Koshiba is a mother of two boys and loves picture books. She believes that picture books can help improve literacy, and says they helped her children learn how to read and write Japanese. She is also interested in teaching Japanese to foreigners, and tutored students in Japanese and taught the language to children when she was a university student in the United States.