"Mado kara Okurimono," written and illustrated by Taro Gomi (Published by Kaisei-sha Publishing Co., 1983)

Story outline

Santa Claus, seemingly without a list, begins delivering gifts to homes one by one, hastily guessing each recipient by peeking through the windows. His first guess is a house of mice, which is correct. The next house he sees a cat inside, so he prepares a present accordingly, but the "cat" turns out to be a drawing on a pig's pajamas. At the next house, he sees black and white stripes, so he expects a zebra to be inside, but as with the previous home, there is more than meets the eye.

The title of this book means "gifts through the window." The windows are actually cut out so readers can peek through to the next page to guess together with Santa who lives inside. Turning the page, the residents are revealed. After reading the book many times, each of Santa's mistaken conclusions are sure to elicit a "No, no, no!" from young readers.

Vocabulary, culture tips

Kitto -- This means surely, certainly, or undoubtedly. Other similar words "doyara" (likely) and "tabun" (probably, maybe) also appear in this picture book.

Shimashima -- This means stripes or striped. The word "shima" alone has the same meaning and "shimashima" is more of a colloquial expression, used especially by children. For example, if a child is not sure which T-shirt to wear, you can say, "Sono shimashima no wa do ka na?" (How about that striped one?)

Rusu -- This term refers being away from home, leaving no one there. In this picture book, it is used in a scene where Santa mistakenly believes that the house is empty because the inside seen from the window is black and dark. It turns out, however that what Santa was looking at was the dark body of a bear.

What do you get from Santa?

My sons very much look forward to the arrival of Santa Claus. In Japan, Christmas is perceived more as a time of year for couples to go on dates, have dinner and exchange gifts, and for children to receive presents from Santa, rather than as a religious, family event.

Recently, my second son, who is 5 years old, and I decorated our Christmas tree with many handmade ornaments. Two years ago, my sons were addicted to "Aquabeads," which are round beads that stick together with water, and I helped them make lots of ornaments. They also love to play with "Perler Beads," which are often called "iron beads" in Japan because they can be attached together with an iron. Both are sold at toy stores.

"Mado kara Okurimono" was one of my childhood favorites, and I read it to my boys every Christmas season. I asked my second son, "What would you do if Santa gave you the wrong present?" He replied, "Oh no, I wouldn't like that. Santa doesn't have to put the presents in through the window, he can just come inside. That way he'll never make a mistake."

He still hasn't decided what he wants to get from Santa this year. I suggested that he write a letter to Santa asking for "the perfect thing for me." He dismissed my suggestion and said, "Then I might get a girl's toy by mistake."

My 8-year-old son is also still deciding what he wants. With the time limit looming, I'm starting to wonder when they'll finally reach a conclusion.

(By Risa Koshiba, The Mainichi Staff Writer)

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(This is Part 20 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 Jan. 3.)

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.