- Kiki's Delivery Service (novel)
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Majo no Takkyūbin
Kiki's Delivery Service
Japanese book coverAuthor(s) Eiko Kadono Original title 魔女の宅急便
Majo no TakkyūbinTranslator Lynne E. Riggs Illustrator Akiko Hayashi Cover artist Akiko Hayashi Country Japan Language Japanese Series Majo no Takkyūbin Genre(s) Children's, Fantasy novel Publisher Fukuinkan Shoten Publication date 1985 Published in
English2003 Media type Print (Paperback) Pages 259 pp ISBN 4-8340-0119-9 OCLC Number 166865908 LC Classification MLCSJ 86/174 (P) Followed by Majo no Takkyūbin 2: Kiki to Atarashii Mahou
(Kiki's Delivery Service 2: Kiki and Her New Magic)Kiki's Delivery Service (魔女の宅急便 Majo no Takkyūbin, lit. Witch's Express Home Delivery) is a children's fantasy novel written by Eiko Kadono and illustrated by Akiko Hayashi. It was first published by Fukuinkan Shoten on January 25, 1985. It is the basis of the Studio Ghibli anime film of the same title.
The book won numerous awards in Japan. Encouraged by this and by the success of the film, Kadono has written four more novels, over a period of several years, and created a book series. The most recent was published in October, 2009.
Contents
Plot introduction
The book follows Kiki, a young witch. Her mother is also a witch, but her father is not. Kiki is now thirteen and must spend a year on her own in a town without other witches. She must use her magic abilities to earn her living. She is accompanied by her cat Jiji.
Explanation of the title
The word takkyūbin (宅急便, literally home-fast-mail) in the Japanese title is a trademark of Yamato Transport, though it is used today as a synonym for takuhaibin (宅配便, literally home-delivery-mail). The company not only approved the use of the trademark — though its permission was not required under Japanese trademark laws[1] — but also enthusiastically sponsored the anime film version of the book, as the company uses a stylized depiction of a black mother cat carrying her kitten as its corporate logo.[2]
Translations
Non-Japanese versions of Majo no Takkyūbin were not published until 2003 when the book became available in English, Italian, Korean and Chinese. The Swedish edition was published in 2006.
Differences in title
Not all translations of the book follow the original title. Some include the name of the central character.[3]
- Kiki's Delivery Service, (English edition) Annick Press
- Kiki, consegne a domicilio, (Italian edition), Publisher's website
- 魔女宅急便, (Chinese edition), Publisher's website
- Kiki's Expressbud, (Swedish edition), translates as Kiki's Overnight Courier Publisher's website
English edition
This edition is translated by Lynne E. Riggs and illustrated by Akiko Hayashi. The cover is by Irvin Cheung. The book is only 176 pages but has eleven chapters, the same as the original Japanese edition.
In other media
- The book was adapted in 1989 as an animated film by Hayao Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli.
Awards and nominations
- 23rd Noma Award for Juvenile Literature
- 34th Shogakukan Award for Children's Literature
- Holds a place on the IBBY Honour List for 1986[6]
Sequel novels
- Majo no Takkyūbin 2: Kiki to Atarashii Mahō (魔女の宅急便その2 キキと新しい魔法) "Witch's Express Home Delivery 2: Kiki and Her New Magic", is the second book in the series. It was published June 30, 1993 and contains 16 chapters. The illustrator is Takako Hirono.[7]
- Majo no Takkyūbin 3: Kiki to mō Hitori no Majo (魔女の宅急便その3 キキともうひとりの魔女) "Witch's Express Home Delivery 3: Kiki and the Other Witch", is the third book in the series. It was published October 20, 2000 and contains 12 chapters.
- Majo no Takkyūbin 4: Kiki no Koi (魔女の宅急便その4 キキの恋) "Witch's Express Home Delivery 4: Kiki's Love", is the fourth book in the series. It was published March 10, 2004 and contains 10 chapters.
- Majo no Takkyūbin 5: Mahō no Tomarigi (魔女の宅急便その5 魔法の止まり木) "Witch's Express Home Delivery 5: Perch of Magic", is the fifth book in the series. It was published May 9, 2007.
- Majo no Takkyūbin 6: Sorezore no Tabidachi (魔女の宅急便その6 それぞれの旅立ち) "Witch's Express Home Delivery 6: Each and Every Departure", is the sixth book in the series. It was published October, 2009.
Footnotes
- ^ Institute of Intellectual Property "Overview of Japanese Trademark Law by Dr. Shoen Ono." Retrieved on 2007-2-11.
- ^ IBM e-business: jStart Program: Case studies: Web services: Yamato Transport Group. Retrieved on 2007-1-4.
- ^ Kadono's Kiki's Delivery Service Works page in English, Retrieved on 2007-6-22
- ^ Anime News Network Article New Kiki's Delivery Service from Disney, Retrieved on 2007-6-6
- ^ IMDB In Development project, Retrieved on 2007-6-6
- ^ IBBY Honour List (1956-2006), a browseable PDF archive at Austrian Literature Online, Retrieved 2007-06-22
- ^ Novel Pictures of Kiki's Delivery Service at Nausicaa.net Retrieved 2007-6-22.
External links
- Eiko Kadono's Official website in Japanese with some information in English
Categories:- 1985 novels
- Japanese novels
- Fantasy novels
- Children's novels
- Novels adapted into films
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