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Home » Books » The Last Kappa of Old Japan

The Last Kappa of Old Japan

January 9, 2017 by Crystal McClean

The book of choice this month for my daughter is The Last Kappa of Old Japan: A Magical Journey of Two Friends.  It’s a great bilingual book in English and Japanese by Sunny Seki.  Why is this her favourite?  Let’s find out.

The Last Kappa of Old Japan is a beautiful dual-language book about friendship and the environment by Tuttle Publishing, here's a review by Castle View Academy homeschool

Tuttle Publishing sent us this book along with Vegetarian Sushi Secrets and the two have been good companions ever since.  What’s the connection?  Will you guess?

The illustrations (also by Sunny Seki), show how life in Japan has changed over the centuries.  You can see the modernisation of homes, clothing, and transportation as the story progresses.  I’m not sure of any country that has been so successful in keeping tradition while modernising at the same time, and these pictures show the blend nicely.

Castle View Academy loves The Last Kappa of Old Japan by Tuttle Publishing

The Last Kappa of Old Japan is a dual-language book, with the English text first on each set of pages, followed by the Japanese text.  This is a nice way for people who are learning Japanese, or indeed, young Japanese-speaking children to learn English.  There are a few kanji characters, but these are ‘translated’ into hiragana above the characters to help those who are not familiar with kanji. Here’s the process I use to understand the kanji:

水 = みず = mizu = water

The Last Kappa of Old Japan (this post contains affiliate links) begins back in Old Japan when Norihei met Kyu (Kyu-chan), a kappa (kappas are mythological creatures; messengers of the god of water who do mysterious things…and eat cucumbers) who was unwell because he had been out of the water too long eating cucumbers.  Norihei helped Kyu back to the water and continued on his way.

Reading the Last Kappa of Old Japan at Castle View Academy homeschool

Kyu returned another day and he and Norihei became friends.  Kyu-chan taught Norihei many things about the water world.  Kyu-chan’s family had the job of keeping water clean; but with modernisation, it was getting dangerous to stay in the area and his family had to leave.  Kyu-chan gave Norihei a crystal necklace shaped like a water drop that he could use should he ever need Kyu-chan.

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Twenty years passed and Norihei had a wife and a toddler.  One day the toddler fell unseen into the river while Norihei and his wife were working in their restaurant.  No one could find the baby.  Desparate, Norihei remembered about the necklace and threw it into the water and called for Kyu-chan.

Night fell and as hope was fading, there was a knock on the door…it was Kyu-chan with their baby!

The Last Kappa Of Old Japan is filled with beautiful illustrations

Kyu-chan was looking very old, which happens when the water is polluted; in fact, he was now the last surviving kappa. Who would take care of the water when he was gone?  It is now up to us humans…

Norihei made Kyu-chan his specialty in the restaurant: cucumber sushi rolls!  Norihei named the new sushi after his friend, they’d now be known as Kappa Rolls.

But most people don’t realize that inside every Kappa Roll is wrapped the friendship of two special friends who chose to save each other.

What a wonderful story of friendship and the importance of the environment, all rolled up in one book.

Cucumber rolls from Vegetarian Sushi Secrets at Castle View Academy homeschool

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Now can you see the connection between The Last Kappa of Old Japan and Vegetarian Sushi Secrets?  It’s the Kappa roll!  My daughter’s favourite sushi is cucumber, and ever since her first reading of this storybook, she’s been calling cucumber sushi Kappa Rolls, and likes them even more, if that’s possible!

At the end of the book is a page of Cultural Notes for children to learn a little more about some of the things mentioned within the book.  I always like these notes to gain a little deeper understanding.

Looking at the informative illustrations in The Last Kappa of Old Japan at Castle View Academy homeschool

This is a wonderful book filled with interesting illustrations and an important message embedded in a lovely story.  It can be used as a bridge to talking with children about how they can help the water clean, as well as the environment as a whole.

READ MORE:   Holiday books are featured on the #MKBkids CKCBH linky!

If you’d like to know more or would like to follow Tuttle Publishing, you can connect  with them through their website, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest (and you can see our other Tuttle reviews here).

If you’re interested in purchasing this book or other Japanese books we enjoy, here are some Amazon links for your convenience:


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Filed Under: Asian Cultures, Books, Homeschool Reviews Tagged With: AF-AM, Japan, Myth, Tuttle Publishing

About Crystal McClean

I am a Mom, Wife, Home Educator, and Virtual Assistant. We love to have fun together while learning and exploring our environment.

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Comments

  1. Carolyn Wilhelm says

    January 12, 2017 at 1:24 am

    I want to buy all these Japanese books! Someday! Thank you so much for sharing these. My daughter loves Japan.

    • Crystal McClean says

      January 13, 2017 at 11:28 pm

      You’ll never go wrong with Tuttle Publishing for Japanese books (or any of their fine products).
      I’m so pleased to be able to share them with my children, as well as introduce others to them.

  2. Sunny Seki says

    January 23, 2017 at 5:17 am

    Thank you, Crystal, for this wonderful review. It makes me so happy to know that children everywhere are enjoying my books!

    • Crystal McClean says

      January 28, 2017 at 7:27 pm

      Arigatogozaimasu! You’ve made our week by stopping by! My daughter loves this book for her bedtime story, I’m sure it gives her dreams of hope for the future.
      おつかれさまでした

  3. Tina at Mommynificent says

    February 2, 2017 at 4:02 am

    What a lovely story, and I’m just loving the pictures of the kids! They are so beautiful and growing so fast! Thanks for sharing this at Booknificent Thursday on Mommynificent.com this week!
    Tina

 
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