Japan re-releases new bestseller: Little Black Sambo
http://www.japantimes.com/cgi-bin/ge...20050304a6.htm
Quote:
"The Story of Little Black Sambo" will return to stores in early April, almost two decades after printing of the children's book was halted in response to allegations that it portrayed black people in a racist manner.
Tokyo-based publisher Zuiunsha said Thursday that it has received many orders from bookstores for the newly revived book, written by British author Helen Bannerman during a trip to India. It was released in Britain in the late 19th century.
It was first issued in Japan in 1953 by Tokyo-based Iwanami Shoten Publishers under the Japanese title "Chibikuro Sambo" ("Little Black Sambo").
Iwanami Shoten's version sold more than 1 million copies. The book carried illustrations by Frank Dobias and the text was translated by Natsuya Mitsuyoshi.
Japanese civic groups had protested that the word "sambo" was used as a derogatory term in the United States against black people, prompting Iwanami Shoten to halt printing of the book in 1988. More than 20 other companies that released their own translated editions of the book followed suit.
Zuiunsha President Tomio Inoue has said he believes it is worthwhile to pass on the book to the next generation.
The Japan Times: March 4, 2005
http://books.guardian.co.uk/news/art...506576,00.html
Quote:
Japanese publisher defies Little Black Sambo protest
Justin McCurry in Tokyo
Wednesday June 15, 2005
The Guardian
Seventeen years after it was removed from bookshops for its racist content, the children's story Little Black Sambo has made a comeback in Japan.
The tale of Sambo, a boy who uses his wits to survive after being stalked by tigers, was a hit in Japan when it was first published here in 1953.
In 1988, Japanese booksellers agreed to remove it from their shelves after a US-led campaign against its racist language and imagery.
Last April, Zuiunsha, a small publisher in Tokyo, decided to reissue the book - under its Japanese title Chibikuro Sambo - reckoning that today's children would be as enchanted by the book as their parents were.
The gamble has paid off. About 100,000 copies of the 30-page book have been sold in the past two months and it has made it into the top five on the adult fiction bestsellers' lists at big bookshops in the capital.
The publisher brushed aside claims that it was cashing in on a work that many consider racist, with its depictions of Sambo - a derogatory word for black people - with bulging eyes and exaggerated lips.
In the late 1890s Helen Bannerman, a Scot, wrote Little Black Sambo for her children while they were living in India.
"Times have changed since the book was removed," Zuiunsha's president, Tomio Inoue, told the Guardian. "Black people are more prominent in politics and entertainment, so I don't think this book can be blamed for supporting racial stereotypes. We certainly had no intention of insulting black people.
"Sambo is a brave boy who gets his reward at the end of the story. He fights the tigers using his brain so that he won't get eaten. It's an exciting story and children love it. I hope people will see it the same way."
Few protests have been voiced in Japan, which has a very small black community, although an online campaign against the book attracted messages from a few people, mainly Americans. "We have replied to all of them in English explaining our position and have heard nothing back, so I think they understand," Mr Inoue said.
Meanwhile, the Japanese cosmetics maker Mandom said yesterday it had stopped showing a TV commercial after complaints that it was racist. In the advert, for face blotting paper, several black people wipe the sweat from their brows while a chimpanzee wearing an afro wig imitates them.
"We are very sorry and apologise to viewers and other people who felt offended," a company spokesman said
This page has scans of the new book as well as a covershot of my personal childhood favorite, "the 5 Chinese Brothers":
http://www.debito.org/chibikurosanbo.html
