Totto-Chan: The Little Girl at the Window

What a wonderful book! I’ve never read anything quite like it, although it reminded me quite a bit of various Hayao Miyazaki animated films I’ve seen in the past. “Totto-chan” is a memoir in the guise of a novel. The author’s childhood self is the main character and the events described actually took place while she attended a creative school called Tomoe Gakuen in pre-war Tokyo. This proves to be an interesting narrative device because the story is told from the emotional and experiential point of view of a child, but with the knowingness and articulateness of an adult. The obvious fondness or at least understanding of the author toward her younger self serves to enhance the overall sensation of empathy the story engenders, for that is the primary theme of the school and what the children were learning there.Led by the visionary headmaster, Sosaku Kobayashi, the Tomoe school’s philosophy is built on trusting children to be themselves, “let nature lead” as Kobayashi put it. The story is filled with anecdotes of Totto-chan and her classmates being entrusted to figure things out for themselves, with adults and authority figures like the headmaster and parents simply listening and providing confidence that the children will succeed in coming up with workable solutions as they learn to navigate the world around them. Mistakes and slipups (such as Totto-chan falling into the school’s cesspool) are treated with dignity and patience. Instruction and structure come in the form of simple guidelines (for lunch, students were asked to bring “something from the hills and something from the sea”) with the belief that the children will be motivated to find their own solution with a limited amount of information.The effect on the children is a unique sensation of freedom and capability, of openness and consideration of themselves and the needs of others. Seemingly without encouragement, the school spontaneously forms a meaningful, interested sense of community and ownership by the students toward their school grounds, neighborhood and classmates. Left to pursue their studies and interests at their own pace, some students excel through deep study and careful focus of a particular subject while others enjoy sampling disparate bits of knowledge and experience without a plan. All students appear happy and enthusiastic about their lives, even those students who come to the school with severe developmental handicaps. As the author says, this liberty allowed a lot of children who were misfits in the standard schooling regime to find a sense of ease and belonging and to go on to live productive, independent and connected lives as adults.The story gives the reader a glimpse of an educational philosophy and pedagogical approach that is at once intuitive and mysterious: why shouldn’t every school demonstrate such empathy and concern for its students; and how DOES Mr. Kobayashi manage to have such patience and a sunny disposition toward the antics of small children that are considered so “obnoxious” by nearly everybody else? The epilogue of the story summarizes some of the research travel Kobayashi performed in Europe for several years leading up to the founding of the Tomoe school and it becomes clear that there is a dedicated, principled purposefulness to every single event in the story, which the author as an adult reflects upon in the present with a “Oh, so THAT must have been what Mr. Koboyashi was trying to teach us there…” To a cynical mind it may seem almost exploitative to be so cunning in one’s schemes, but if the ultimate goal of the approach is to develop in the students the maxim “Trust yourself”, how nefarious could this stratagem actually be?The school seems like a very “social” place and less like an academy– numerous field trips, “sports” days, music and exercise classes and camping overnights pepper the plot and while there is a library and scenes of students doing self-directed physics studies with alcohol burners and beakers, they always take place in Tomoe’s disused railroad cars-cum-classrooms. It’s a challenge only to those readers with a constricted view of what education and learning necessarily mean. For Kobayashi and his students, every experience brings teachable moments and the question begged and answered is why reading about flora and fauna in a textbook is a superior approach when one can go outside for a walk and study the variety of life up close.From the view of paranoid American parenting, the children disrobing with their teachers and swimming naked together in the school’s small pool will seem like a perfect opportunity for secret child abusers amongst the faculty to get their jollies. But the lesson here seems to be that every choice in life brings with it risks and if bathing suit-less swim time is a useful means for helping the children (especially the physically handicapped) to appreciate and accept their differences and similarities such that they can have confidence about who they are and act with kindness towards everyone else, the risk of something monstrous or mean-spirited in such an environment might be a better risk to take than watching certain individuals grow up feeling alienated from themselves and others for lack of such experiences.Indeed, those same paranoid parents would be wondering how a child could ever develop a moral sense without correction and punishment from adults. It is enjoyable, then, to witness the many moments when Totto-chan attempts to do something underhanded or less than honest (with herself, her parents or her friends) but recognizes the moral inconsistency of her actions on her own and eventually makes amends and moves on. It makes you think that children are capable of so much more than they are given credit for, typically, and that maybe the moral failings of children reflect not their immaturity, but the perverse incentives of the adults who guide them.This is a humorous book, as well. There were many moments when I couldn’t help but laugh out loud and recount a passage to someone nearby, they’re just too good not to share. And thankfully, there are moments of profound tragedy and despair. I say thankfully, because it is in these recollections that we are truly reminded of how precious life is and what a wonderful gift a school like Tomoe is.One of those tragedies is that the Tomoe school burned to the ground near the finale of the Pacific War as Tokyo came under increased firebombing by the US Air Force. It’s a stark reminder of the injudiciousness and unfairness of war, even though it is recounted without particular frustration or anger on the part of the author (a testament to the empathetic spirit of the school itself!) But there is also a lesson in the resilience of the creative spirit, as Kobayashi’s only response is to ask, “What kind of school shall we build next?”The good news is that we don’t have to suffer war or burn our schools down to ask that question ourselves.I think this book can be enjoyed by children, parents, families, teachers and social theorists and anyone concerned with building a more empathetic society built upon respect for the individual and the instinct of trusting oneself.5/5

Book came with little to no damageShipping was handled with care and got it as a gift for my GF who is a sucker for hardcover books.She’s happy so I’m happy. Shout Out to the library folks that sent this.

This book is a treasure to read and was recommended by my doctoral dissertation committee member in education. Elicited a full range of emotions including hope that more parents and schools would incorporate the ideas in the book.

It was a compulsory book for my elementary school, and I've been reading it few times since then. Glad I am able to find it again in Kindle and read it again ^^

Every time that I think I am finished with the topic of World War II (depressing, done to death), another book or movie comes along. This is the story of a young girl in Japan who attends an alternative school until it is forced to close due to the war. This is a children's chapter book, therefore an easy read for an adult, yet quite touching. Although it describes the war, it is appropriate for young readers. I would not have known about this book if someone in my book club had not chosen it. One thing I did not know until the end is that this book is based on the author's real experience.Teachers will like this book. It brings up an interesting point about education. Totto-chan is unsuccessful in her first school and is expelled. She thrives at the alternative school; I would surmise that schools such as this one were and are very rare in Japan. Totto-chan most certainly would be diagnosed as ADHD if she were to enroll in an American school today, yet she is delightful.

This book is the only book that I will recommend for anyone to read and re-read all over again. From time to time, perception towards something changes us. Whenever that happened and I will re-read it again, I find myself understand the child's mind even better.It is astonishing to realize such unique child education structure exists in Japan back in World War II. It is an impressive system to allow the child to grow without constraining their development and over conditions them.This book allow you to walk through a journey from the eye of a child. The overview concept of education system and why each child is unique of their own.Anyone should read this regardless if you're a new parent, an early childhood educator or someone who just enjoy having new perspective.

As a retired teacher librarian, I highly recommend this title to all. This book should be read by parents, educators, and curriculum creators who truly want to help children develop their basic life skills. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Such an amazing book if you take time to ponder each chapter and experience the lesson encompassed within. Just full of life lessons

Nice book in perferct conditions!

Listening the child one freedom and let them realizing them. Teachers with an open mind that children education is not learned in text books but to listen their pupils.

My son has ASD and it’s great to Read/know How she, Totto-chan met a great teacher and later become Japan’s most favourite and beloved actress! Good to encourage ASD child and their parents!

I loved this amazing woman on tv when I lived in Japan. I bought the book, however, to read about a child’s life in wartime Japan. Sadly, the author chose ( like so many of her age group) to “skirt” the issue. There were some glimpses but overall a bit indulgent - my how good was I as a child. Perhaps I should have expected that of a woman who really rose to amazing heights. I still adore her.

Didn’t you think that you would have had more freedom in your childhood? If you have thought so even once, go through the living gate of Tomoe Elementary School. Tomoe Elementary School is described in “TOTTO-CHAN The Little Girl at the Window”, which was written by Tetsuko Kuroyanagi in 1981. It’s an autobiography essay, the school existed in Jiyugaoka 70 years ago and she really had commuted there. It’s well-known that it was written by a star, Tetsuko Kuroyanagi, that it has been sold about 7500000 copies, and that it’s the best seller after the war. Totto-chan, the author's name as a child, was an active girl in the first grade. She is dismissed from an elementary school at the age of 6 at the beginning of the story. The reason why she is expelled is that she interrupted classes by calling Chindon’ya in classes. She didn’t call Chindon’ya on the purpose of interfering but just meant to make classes fan. Because as often as she call Chindon’ya, the classes are stopped due to the noise, her teacher had got in trouble and took Totto-chan out of school. Totto-chan, who left school at the age of only 6, goes through Tomoe’s living gate, which is made of living trees. Though she gets into troubles in Tomoe, she freely grows surrounded by Kobayashi principal, who has a progressive way of thinking about education, and generous parents. “TOTTO-CHAN The Little Girl at the Window” is the story that describes her remarkable development. Totto-chan often causes some incidents even after she entered Tomoe. I’ll show you three episodes of many of them. The first one is called “a toilet and a wallet”. She drops her favorite wallet into a toilet at school in the morning due to this habit; she is in the habit of looking into a toilet after doing her business. In those days, a toilet is not flushing type but privy, so her wallet has gone to the dark, but she doesn’t give up. She starts to ladle a large amount of stool out of the mouth of collecting night soil. She doesn’t quit this work even after the class starts. At noon Kobayashi principal come by, ”Have you found it?”. She answers “No”, sweating profusely, surrounded by mountains. He comes closer and says in a friendly tone, “You'll put it back when you've finished, won't you?”. And then he goes off again. After all her efforts, she fails to find her wallet, but she is very satisfied that she had done all she could and Kobayashi principal didn’t get angry and accepted her doing. She never looks down at the toilets after that. The second one and following third one are called “falling into a toilet” and “sinking in plaster”. Some call them together “Don’t dive!” She sees a newspaper on the ground and jumps onto it at school. However, for cleaning, the janitor had the newspaper cover the cesspool hole that Totto-chan opened in order to look for her wallet, so she sinks like a stone. After that, many things are heavy, but fortunately she manages to return to a clean kid. Several days later, she jumps into a pile of gray wall plaster and has sunk in plaster, so she has to stand there until her mother comes and finds her. When Totto-chan is scolded by her mother, Totto-chan says “I’ll never dive into either a newspaper or plaster”. That means that she may dive something except a newspaper or plaster. What made her cause these incidents? That is surely her curiosity. I think that her curiosity which causes her habits, looking into a toilet and diving into something interesting, made her present sense of humor. Because she had paid attention to anything, she became an interesting star, Tetsuko Kuroyanagi, who appears in “Tetsuko’s room”, I think. I must tell you about another key person, Kobayashi principal, who is an educational pioneer. His way of thinking about education is innovative even in the present day. He is a heretic in the education institute during the war. Now I’ll show you how he was a wonderful educator, giving three stories. First, Tomoe doesn’t have formal lessons. In the morning the teacher gives the students some studies that they need to do, but they can do them in any order during the day, asking the teacher when they meet difficulties. The students’ independent actions let the teacher discover their personalities. Second, Kobayashi principal may have arranged the sporting events for Sports Day so as to favor the challenged children. These events are formed as the challenged children can defeat the non-handicapped children in order to encourage the challenged children to have confidence before they get an inferiority because of their handicap. Third, he always says "You're really a good kid, you know." to Totto-chan and other students because he believed that everyone is really good at heart. Especially Totto-chan causes many incidents, so she is told this word many times. “Many adults think you as a bad kid but I know real you” he must have wanted to tell Totto-chan. I think that no one understands and considers children better than Kobayashi principal and certainly he is one of the best teacher and educator. I feel his effusive kindness through reading this book. Why has this book been the best seller after the war and has it sold for a long time? I think that there are three reasons. First, Totto-chan’s interesting episodes fascinates many readers. Totto-chan’s free actions make readers exciting. Not only are the episodes above interesting but also the author’s way of writing takes readers into the world of the story. The readers can feel as if they messed with Totto-chan. Second, the illustrations drawn by Chihiro Iwasaki are so pretty and sweet that these match the image of stories of this book. Though these illustrations aren’t drawn for this book, I thought at first these illustrations are drawn by a person who read this book deeply. These illustrations encourage readers to image the world view of this book more. Third, this book has an educational side as well as is an autobiography essay. Everywhere you read this book, you can find Kobayashi principal’s way of thinking about education. “Don’t fit children into teacher’s plan. Let children do they want. Children’s dreams are much larger than teacher’s plan.” This way of thinking doesn’t make this book temporary and gets new readers who sympathize with it every year. For these reason, “TOTTO-CHAN The Little Girl at the Window” has been sold about 7500000 copies and still been breaking the record of the number of sale, differing from books which other personalities wrote. At first Kodansha didn’t think that “TOTTO-CHAN The Little Girl at the Window” would been sold so many and it was said that this book was difficult to begin to read because of the cuteness of the illustrations for men. However, once this book is opened, its attraction is released at a burst. And then all readers say “You are really a good kid” to this book.