About the book
During World War II, a Tokyo elementary school called Tomoe Gakuen used old railroad cars as classrooms and let its pupils learn through freedom and play. Tetsuko Kuroyanagi, later one of Japan's best known television personalities and a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador, recalls her years there after being expelled from a public school. The memoir follows her friendships, her lessons and the headmaster Sosaku Kobayashi, who brought in new activities to interest the pupils, worked to develop their minds and bodies, and stressed that every child was remarkable. Dorothy Britton translated it into English, and it has appeared in many other languages. The chapters first ran as magazine articles, and once collected they became the best selling book in Japanese history.
Ryan Holiday put it on his list of books to base a life on, noting that it sold around 5 million copies in Japan and describes a pre-war childhood as an energetic girl who was badly misunderstood.
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This book has 1 recommendation
Ryan Holiday (Founder/Brass Check)
The book has sold something like 5 million copies in Japan alone (an insane number). Totto-Chan is a special figure in modern Japanese culture—she is a celebrity on par with Oprah or Ellen, with a magazine, news show and exalted position to boot. The book describes a childhood in pre-WWII Japan as a poorly misunderstood girl who obviously suffered from attention disorders and excess energy. It wasn’t until she met a special school principal—unlike any I have ever heard of—who finally GOT her. And I mean understood and cared about and unconditionally supported her in a way that both inspires me and makes me deeply jealous. If only all of us could be so lucky…
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