Japanese Traditions: Rice Cakes, Cherry Blossoms and Matsuri: A Year of Seasonal Japanese Festivities

by Setsu Broderick, Willamarie Moore

A delightful look at Japanese culture and family life, Japanese Traditions is an intricately illustrated romp through the childhood reminiscences of author/illustrator Setsu Broderick. Told via a series of short text blocks and lighthearted illustrations based on cats, Japanese Traditions displays seasonal festivals and activities such as O-Bon, O-hanami (cherry blossom viewing) and preparing for the New Year.

While enjoying the charming illustrations of a family of Japanese cats, the author shares her warm childhood memories of many Japanese customs, such as gathering around the kotatsu to stay warm, throwing soybeans to keep away ogres and hanging handmade teru-teru-bozu dolls out the window to stop the rain. There are also many traditional Japanese games, toys, foods and celebrations taught through the illustrations. All in all, Japanese Traditions provides a magical feast for children of all ages.

Genres: Japan, Travel, Childrens, Nonfiction, Cultural, Picture Books, Japanese Literature

48 pages, Hardcover

First published April 10, 2010

Reviews

[paula]

zajebiste, polecam XD

[Olena · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an amazingly illustrated and heartwarming book that opens a curtain on Japanese traditions and everyday life. The illustrations are absolutely delightful: cute, funny, and full of charm; and I loved that every character is a cat!

Beyond the adorable art, the book is packed with interesting facts about Japanese culture and seasonal festivities, all presented in a simple and engaging way that’s easy to follow. It’s both educational and comforting: like a cozy journey through Japan’s seasons. And I was holding myself not to gulp it in one evening.

I’d love to own a physical copy of this book and revisit it whenever I want to immerse myself in the beauty and spirit of Japanese culture.

[Jack]

Lovely adult directed reading book of the seasonal activities for an extended family, illustrated as cats, in Japan. This was a nice addition to our children’s library.

[Vanya Prodanova · Rating 5 out of 5]

Книжката е написана като история в 12 месеца, разказваща за семейство котета и една година от техния живот. Нещо подобно. Илюстрациите към всеки месец за невероятно красиви и същевременно динамични, тъй като на картините се случват толкова много неща, че може прекараш часове разглеждайки ги в най-малки подробности.
Очаквах след като съм прочела една книжка, посветена на традициите и обичаите в Япония, да няма кой знае какво повече да науча, но в книжката имаше доста неща, които ги нямаше в "All about Japan", което наистина беше много приятна изненада.

[Kendra Strand · Rating 4 out of 5]

An introduction to Japanese culture based on the author's memories of growing up in rural Japan. Each passage is short but detailed, and sweetly illustrated. I like this because although it is primarily about the seasonal activities and festivals for each month, there are also some more mundane seasonal aspects of daily life included, such as using reed shades to escape the summer heat, or adding layers to one's futon as the temperature drops in late fall.

[Becky B · Rating 4 out of 5]

Satsu Broderick shares with readers what it is like to grow up in the countryside of Japan, and the festivals, holidays, seasonal events, foods, and other common activities celebrated/joined in each month of the year. Following an overview of typical events/weather/festivities during each month there's a spread pointing out objects/foods in the illustrations readers may not be familiar with or diving deeper into what is involved in certain festivals.

This is a quick crash course on Japanese life and culture. The author does clarify that she's sharing from 50 years ago, but she does make comments about how some things have changed since then. The illustrations are done with cute cats portraying the people, and the text is written in a way easy to understand for kids. I have read quite a bit of Japanese literature translated into English at this point so I've encountered a lot of these festivals and objects and customs before, but I like how succinctly and sufficiently they are explained in this book. A great pick for anyone interested in learning about Japanese customs and traditions.

Notes on content: Traditions which involve people dressing up as demons and other scary things in an effort to provide good luck or drive out evil things are a part of some of the festivals which could be scary to some kids.

[Luiza Sandru · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such an adorable children’s book! The illustrations are amazing (bonus points if you love cats) and the actual book is very informative even for adults that want to learn a few fun facts about Japanese traditions

[Sophie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read this at work. Really cute, delightful, and funny illustrations. I love that all of the characters are cats. I enjoyed the fun little details, especially the mischievous kittens. Lots of information about Japanese culture presented in a way that is easy to understand.

[Autumn · Rating 5 out of 5]

The paintings here are amazing, I adore all of the in-depth information we have on Japanese culture in an easily digestible way.

[Sasha Boersma · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lovely book collecting a year of Japanese traditions and explaining them for young readers. Lots of detail. Read best with a teacher or parent who can provide context as it is dense with content.

[Maria · Rating 5 out of 5]

cute illustrations! great book to introduce Japanese cultures

[Aimée · Rating 5 out of 5]

An enjoyable introduction to Japanese culture. I learned a lot about the traditions and ceremonies of this lovely land which make me wish to revisit it more.

[Tsai. · Rating 4 out of 5]

A short book about Japanese customs and traditions throughout the year with super cute illustrations. It's probably more suitable for people who doesn't know much about this topic since it covers ones of the most well-known customs.

[Crystal McClean · Rating 5 out of 5]

There are many Japanese traditions involved in their festivals and I often wondered about them during my time in Japan. The deep sense of tradition is one of the many things I loved. Now I’m learning the answers to many of those questions I had so long ago! Of course, my children are also enjoying this book and the tales I’ve been telling them about my time there, which is brought back to life through the illustrations.

We were taken month by month through the year and the major festival(s) that took place during that month or season. The text is in small blocks, but there’s a LOT of information contained within the pages of this beautiful hard-cover book. By using cute pictures with the more factual text, it means that this book will appeal to a wider audience.

My children have seen many of the items I brought back with me from Japan, and now they (and I) can better understand the meaning behind them. Some I bought simply because they were beautiful, and others because I found them interesting.

At the end of the book are extra things to go back into each month to look for. This gives children a new look into the illustrations to attend to the details, and find things they’d missed. It makes it more like a little game for the kids.

Japanese Traditions is a wonderful resource for any home or school to have. It will teach children about traditions they may not know, and the illustrations are so rich in additional information this book could be used to start conversations between children and/or children and adults to learn more about each other if one is from Japan.

I received a copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion, you can see my full review at http://www.castleviewacademy.com/japa...

[MAILA · Rating 5 out of 5]

KUCINGNYA LUCUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU

aaah mau punya cetaknyaaaaaa. suka bangettt.
akhir tahun lalu kayaknya pernah baca buku berjenis gini juga. buku yang isinya penjelasan tentang festival dan hal2 menarik yang ada di jepang.

nah kalau buku ini, seperti judulnya, berisi tentang 1 tahun dalam tradisi Jepang.
mulai dari januari yang dingin
februari dengan kebiasaan melempar kedelai(?)
maret peralihan musim
april mulai masuk sekolah dst dll dsb (gak hapal wqwq)

pas baca ini inget film little forest hehe. suka banget.

paling suka pas musim panas sih, pengen ngerasain musim panas di Jepang :3

suka suka bangeeet. ada ilustrasi kucing2nya juga yang ya ampun gemas sekaliiiiiiiii

jepang.
pengen ke sana huhu :'(

[Carol · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fell in love with this book as soon as I saw it! for its content (explains all the local festivals in Japan month by month) and for it's simple adorable, oh-so beautiful kitty illustrations! :)
I could not take my eyes of the detail of the artwork and the beyond-cuteness of the little feline families. The beautiful, minutely crafted details in each section of artwork on each page of color and hue and delicate detail makes my heart happy :)

[Starbubbles · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a super cute read, and just perfect for smaller kids. The pictures are bright and colorful. They have a lot going on in them, and capture the different months and seasons perfectly. I esp love that it contains further explanations of things and traditions, as well as like a little I Spy/activity a parent can do with the kid listed in the back of the book. It was truly a goodie I feel fortunate to have read.

[Riani Halim · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a child grown up with mangas I always thought Japan has rich and interesting culture. In this book Setsu explained the Japanese traditions trough his own experience as a child grown up in Japan countryside. Both story and illustration are sweet and nostalgic, life was much more slower back then. Every details and colors on the illustration is just beautiful. And not to forget, the cats are terribly cute!

[Marie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is really well done. The detailed illustrations are not useful for group sharing, but are perfect to pour over. This book presents quite a lot of information about life in Japan, the kind of information that children will find interesting. There is even a "look more closely" game at the end of the book. This is a good book to lead kids to look for photos and more information.

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a really rich book. It takes you through a year of Japanese life and focuses on the traditions and holidays from the perspective of a child. The illustrations are GREAT(everyone is little cats:)! I really enjoyed this book!

[silvia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Japanese life, tradition, and season are interestingly presented in this book. It becomes more interesting since the writers use colorful pictures to portray the stories. Hence, this book is enjoyable to be read by adults and children. Love it!

[Vitaly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Imagine a book that would help you introduce to the basics of Japanese traditions, endlessly entertain, charming, sweet, and super positive. This is that book. A book for everyone, that just made my day that much brighter :)

[Dgg32 · Rating 5 out of 5]

A concise book with very kawaii illustrations, people are personificated as cats! The books shed lights on the diverse unique traditions and festivals and food.

If possible, please add the original Japanese words for those concepts.

[Deborah Martinez · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great book for kids and adults a like to learn about Japan and their traditions.