キジムナーKids（読みもの）
Kijimuna Kids
カテゴリー: Japanese Children's Books、おすすめ！日本の子どもの本、読みもの／chapter books and novels
『キジムナーKids』（Kijimuna kizzu）
終戦後に沖縄に帰ってきた小学5年生のハナーは、祖父がハブをとり、砲弾を拾って解体して生計をたてているハブジロー、おならをするのが得意でアメリカの戦闘機による地上攻撃で片手を失った陽気なポーポー、両親を集団自決で亡くし、おばの家のヤギ小屋で寝泊りし、ヤギ語しか話さないベーグァ、アメリカ軍の物資をこっそり持ってきてくれるサンデー少年と、ガジュマルの木に秘密基地を作る。それは、まるでガジュマルに住む沖縄の妖精、キジムナーのようだった。ハナーたちはアメリカ兵の物資を盗もうとしてピストルで威嚇されたり、亡くなった人の骨を拾い続けている元逃亡兵に出会ったり、芸人とお葬式巡りをしたりする。「帰ってきたウルトラマン」のシナリオライターの自伝的作品。会話に沖縄の方言を使い、どんな時にもユーモアを忘れず、命を大切にして生きてきた沖縄の人たちの思いが伝わってくる。（土居）
| 出版社 | 現代書館 |
|---|---|
| 初版年 | 2017年 |
| ISBN | 978-4-7684-5804-4 |
| ページ数 | 360頁 |
| サイズ | 20×14 |
| 対象年齢 | 13歳から |
| キーワード | 沖縄 戦争 友だち |
Kijimuna Kids
This young adult novel, which was awarded the Tsubota Joji Award in Japan, depicts the lives of five boys in Okinawa just after World War II. Mitsu, a boy of about eleven whose nickname is Hanah, returns to Okinawa after being evacuated during the war. He joins up with four others: Habujiro, who makes a living dismantling artillery shells and is nicknamed for his grandfather, a catcher of habu vipers; Popo, who has a special talent for farting and lost one hand during the air raids; Behgua, a boy who lost his parents in a mass suicide, makes his home in a goat shed and can only speak like a goat; and Sandeh, whose mother is involved with an American officer.
The five boys make a hideout in a Banyan tree and spend their time playing and stealing food. Okinawans believe that Banyan trees are inhabited by mischievous wood sprites known as Kijimuna, hence the title of the book.
The tale begins with Hanah and his friends trying to swipe food from American soldiers who are hanging out with some Japanese women on the beach. The soldiers discover the boys and threaten them with their pistols, taking away their clothes. The book goes on to chronicle the boys’ daily lives, including their encounter with a Japanese deserter who collects the bones of
the dead, and their interactions with an entertainer who begins living in the boys’ hideout and who dresses them up as Kijimuna and takes them to funerals. Through these events, the background of each boy is gradually revealed.
The book relates real events in the life of the author, who is a well-known writer of screenplays for popular Japanese superhero shows. The characters vividly convey the feelings of Okinawans, including their ability to see humor even in the darkest times and their respect for life. (Doi)
- Text: Uehara, Shozo
- Gendai Shokan
- 2017
- 360 pages
- 20×14
- ISBN 978-4-7684-5804-4
- Ages 13 +
Okinawa, War, Friendship