Eiko Kadono
, real name , born January 1, 1935, is a Japanese author of children's literature, picture books, non-fiction, and essays in Shōwa and Heisei period in Japan. Her most famous work ''Kiki's Delivery Service'', released in 1985, was made into an ...
and illustrated by Akiko Hayashi. It was first published by Fukuinkan Shoten on January 25, 1985. It is the basis of the 1989 Studio Ghibli
anime
is Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japane ...
live action
Live action (or live-action) is a form of cinematography or videography that uses photography instead of animation. Some works combine live-action with animation to create a live-action animated film. Live-action is used to define film, video ...
film also of the same name.
The book won numerous awards in Japan. Encouraged by this and by the success of the Ghibli film, Kadono has written eight more novels over a period of more than thirty-five years. The most recent was published in January 2022.
Synopsis
The book follows Kiki, a young
witch
Witchcraft traditionally means the use of Magic (supernatural), magic or supernatural powers to harm others. A practitioner is a witch. In Middle Ages, medieval and early modern Europe, where the term originated, accused witches were usually ...
from a long line of witches on her mother's side. Kiki is now thirteen and must spend a year on her own in a town without other witches, proving that she can make a living. Accompanied by her talking
black cat
A black cat is a domestic cat with black fur that may be a mixed or specific breed, or a common domestic cat of no particular breed. The Cat Fanciers' Association (CFA) recognizes 22 cat breeds that can come with solid black coats. The Bombay b ...
Jiji, Kiki starts a delivery service by flying on her broom. Over the year notable misadventures include:
• Losing a stuffed toy cat and using Jiji as a substitute until she can recover the lost toy.
• Saving a child from the ocean during a day at the beach.
• Recovering her broom that has been stolen by a flying enthusiast.
• Posing for a portrait and then delivering it to a town art showing.
• Getting a giant knitted haramaki, or "belly warmer," to a ship out at sea from an eccentric knitting old woman.
• Figuring out what to do when the clock tower breaks down on
New Year's Eve
In the Gregorian calendar, New Year's Eve, also known as Old Year's Day or Saint Sylvester's Day in many countries, is the evening or the entire day of the last day of the year, on 31 December. The last day of the year is commonly referred to ...
.
• Delivering musical instruments to a concert after they were left on a train by a haughty group of musicians.
After a year of self-doubt and some setbacks, Kiki returns home in triumph, but then soon decides to return to the city and her delivery business.
Development
Title interpretation
The word ''takkyūbin'' (宅急便, literally home-fast-mail) in the Japanese title is a trademark of
Yamato Transport
is one of Japan's largest door-to-door delivery service companies, with a market share of 41%, competing closely with Sagawa Express and Nippon Express. Their head office is in Ginza, Tokyo. The company's trademarked term for their express doo ...
, 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 — but also enthusiastically sponsored the anime film version of the book, as the company uses a stylized depiction of a black cat carrying her kitten as its corporate
logo
A logo (abbreviation of logotype; ) is a graphic mark, emblem, or symbol used to aid and promote public identification and recognition. It may be of an abstract or figurative design or include the text of the name it represents as in a wo ...
.
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 and Indonesian editions were published in 2006. The Russian version was released in 2018 and the French one in 2019.
Differences in title
Not all translations of the book follow the original title. Some include the name of the central character.
*''Kiki's Delivery Service'' (English edition), named for the English dub of the Studio Ghibli film
*''Kiki, consegne a domicilio'' (Italian edition), translates as ''Kiki, Home Deliveries''
* ''魔女宅急便'' (''Mónǚ Zháijíbiàn'') (Chinese edition)
*''Kikis Expressbud'' (Swedish edition), translates as ''Kiki's Fast Delivery''
* ''Titipan Kilat Penyihir'' (Indonesian edition)
* ''Ведьмина служба доставки'' (Russian edition)
* ''Kiki la petite sorcière'' (French edition), translates as ''Kiki the Little Witch''
English editions
The first English edition was translated by Lynne E. Riggs, with cover by Irvin Cheung, retaining the original illustrations by Akiko Hayashi, and released on February 1, 2003 by Annick Press in paperback. The book is 176 pages long and, like the original Japanese edition, has eleven chapters. A new English translation by Emily Balistrieri and illustrated by Yuta Onoda was released in hardcover by
Delacorte Press
Dell Publishing Company, Inc. is an American publisher of books, magazines and comic books, that was founded in 1921 by George T. Delacorte Jr. with $10,000 (approx. $145,000 in 2021), two employees and one magazine title, ''I Confess'', and so ...
on July 7, 2020. Another hardcover version, illustrated Joe Todd-Stanton, was released by
Penguin Books
Penguin Books is a British publishing, publishing house. It was co-founded in 1935 by Allen Lane with his brothers Richard and John, as a line of the publishers The Bodley Head, only becoming a separate company the following year.Puffin Books imprint on August 20, 2020 and in paperback on July 1, 2021. They also released the Yuta Onoda-illustrated version in paperback under the Yearling Books imprint on June 8, 2021.
Related media
Film adaptations
The book was adapted in 1989 as an
animated film
Animation is a method by which still figures are manipulated to appear as moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited on film. Today, most ani ...
by Hayao Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli. Disney was also interested in its own live-action take on ''Kiki'' in 2005 with Jeff Stockwell writing the script and Susan Montford, Don Murphy, and Mark Gordon as producers, but no developments have emerged since then.
A
live-action
Live action (or live-action) is a form of cinematography or videography that uses photography instead of animation. Some works combine live-action with animation to create a live-action animated film. Live-action is used to define film, video ...
film adaptation
A film adaptation is the transfer of a work or story, in whole or in part, to a feature film. Although often considered a type of derivative work, film adaptation has been conceptualized recently by academic scholars such as Robert Stam as a dia ...
with the same name directed by Takashi Shimizu was released on March 1, 2014. The film is based on the first two novels and has figure skater turned actress Fuka Koshiba playing Kiki. It premiered in Japan on March 1, 2014.
Novel sequels
Musicals
In 1993, a musical version of the story was produced. Yukio Ninagawa wrote the script and Kensuke Yokouchi directed the show. The role of Kiki was portrayed by
Youki Kudoh
is a Japanese actress and singer. She won the award for best newcomer at the 6th Yokohama Film Festival for ''The Crazy Family''. She also won the awards for best actress at the 16th Hochi Film Award and at the 1992 Blue Ribbon Award for ''Wa ...
and the role of Tombo was portrayed by Akira Akasaka. Akasaka was replaced by Katsuyuki Mori within the year. A cast recording was produced by the original cast, and the show was revived in 1995 and 1996.
Another musical, based on Ghibli's film, ran at the Southwark Playhouse in the UK from December 8, 2016 to January 8, 2017. It was adapted by Jessica Sian and directed by Katie Hewitt.
In 2017, another musical version was produced, written and directed by Koki Kishimoto. It was revived in 2018 and 2021.
Awards and nominations
*23rd Noma Award for Juvenile Literature
*34th Shogakukan Award for Children's Literature
*Hans Christian Andersen Award 2018
*Holds a place on the
IBBY The International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY) is an international non-profit organization committed to bringing books and children together. The headquarters of the IBBY are located in Basel, Switzerland.
IBBY history
In 1952, Jella Lepm ...
Austrian Literature Online Austrian Literature Online (ALO) is an Austrian digitization project by the University Library of Innsbruck, the University Library of Graz and the University of Linz.
ALO is, together with Project ANNO, by the Austrian National Library, the lar ...