Japanese / Japan
Besshī chan
(Little Bessie)
Ishikawa, Eriko
(text/illus.)
Tōkyō: Arisukan, 2026. – [42] p. + 1 supplement
ISBN 978-4-7520-1169-9
Picture book | Japan | Canada | History 20th century | Immigrant
Reading age: 7+
White Ravens issue: 2026
In »Besshī chan«, an elderly woman recounts memories of her childhood for her granddaughter, because the girl wonders why her grandmother is singing an English hymn. Born of Japanese parents in Vancouver, Canada, she was given a Japanese name, but called Bessie in her Canadian surroundings, where she mostly spoke English with her family and friends. At the age of eight, she left Canada and went to Japan for her education. Inspired by her grandmother’s memories, author Eriko Ishikawa (b. 1955) depicts a Japanese-Canadian girl’s everyday life, her perseverance in adapting to unfamiliar Japanese customs, the discomfort of being separated from her family, and her distress at not being able to return to Canada or speak English during World War II. The picture book sensitively explores how a sense of belonging emotionally supports people for a long time. This story about emigrants and immigrants is all the more welcome today in Japan, where people who would like to stay in the country are facing legal and social difficulties. [RN]