Momoko Ishii facts for kids
Momoko Ishii (石井 桃子, Ishii Momoko, March 10, 1907 – April 2, 2008) was a very important Japanese writer and translator of books for young people. She was the first person from the world of children's literature to become a member of the Japanese Art Academy. This is a special group that honors great artists in Japan.
Contents
Momoko Ishii's Life Story
Early Life and Inspiration
Momoko Ishii was born in a place called Urawa, Saitama, in Japan. She went to Japan Women's University and finished her studies in English literature in 1928. After college, she worked as an editor at a publishing company called Iwanami Shoten.
While working there, she read a famous book called Winnie-the-Pooh by an English writer named A. A. Milne. This book really inspired her! It made her want to write stories especially for children. She loved Winnie-the-Pooh so much that she even translated it into Japanese in 1940.
Becoming a Children's Author
Momoko Ishii wrote her first book in 1947. It was called Non-chan kumo ni noru, which means "Non-chan rides on a cloud." This book became very popular! It was so loved that it was even made into a movie in 1955.
Throughout her life, Momoko Ishii wrote 19 of her own books. She also translated 120 other books for children from different languages into Japanese. Imagine how many stories she brought to young readers!
Starting a Children's Library
In 1958, Momoko Ishii did something very special. She started a library just for children right in her own house! She called it "Katsura bunko." This shows how much she cared about making books available to kids. She even received a special grant from the Rockefeller Foundation in 1954 to help with her work.
Awards and Honors
Momoko Ishii received many awards for her amazing work. These awards showed how much people appreciated her stories and translations.
- In 1951, she won the Minister of Education Award for Promotion of Art for her book Non-chan kumo ni noru.
- In 1953, she received the Kikuchi Kan Award for her important contributions to children's literature after the war.
- She was also honored with the Itochu Memorial Foundation Award in 1984 for her great service to children's libraries.
- In 1993, she won the Japanese Art Academy Award for her achievements in children's books.
- In 1995, she received the Yomiuri Prize for her two-part autobiography, Maboroshi No Akai Mi (which means "Memoirs of a childhood").
- Finally, in 1997, she became the first person from children's literature to join the Japanese Art Academy. This was a huge honor!
Momoko Ishii passed away on April 2, 2008, but her stories and translations continue to inspire young readers in Japan and beyond.
