is an

anime is hand-drawn and 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 Japanese, (a term derived from a shortening of ...

series based on the

Finnish Finnish may refer to: * Something or someone from, or related to Finland * Culture of Finland * Finnish people or Finns, the primary ethnic group in Finland * Finnish language, the national language of the Finnish people * Finnish cuisine See also ...

novel '' Paimen, piika ja emäntä'' (''The Shepherd, the Servant Girl, and the Hostess'') by Auni Nuolivaara. The series was broadcast originally in Japan in 1984 as part of the children's anthology series '' World Masterpiece Theater'', also known simply as "''Meisaku'' from

Nippon Animation is a Japanese animation studio. The company is headquartered in Tokyo, with chief offices in the Ginza district of Chūō and production facilities in Tama City. Nippon Animation is known for producing numerous anime series based on works of ...

. The anthology had before and after produced a great variety of animated series based on different children's novels from around the world; among them were '' My Annette: Story of the Alps'' (1983) and '' Little Princess Sara'' (1985). In Europe, where ''World Masterpiece Theater'' series have found huge success, ''Katri, Girl of the Meadows'' made its way to different countries, including

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

, and the Arabic-speaking world. Despite the series taking place in Finland, it has never been published or broadcast there, and most Finns have never heard of it. The first and last episodes were broadcast English dubbed in the UK on

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a fourth television service ...

as ''Little Girl on the Farm'' and ''Little Girl goes to School'' as part of 1987's Japanese Autumn season.

Plot

It has been three years since little Katri's mother left for

, leaving her daughter behind in

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

, where she now lives with her grandparents. With Finland still under

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

rule, the inhabitants of these lands have had little or no news from the outside, and no one knows if Katri will see her mother again. To make matters worse, things on Katri's grandparents' farm are not going well; the harvest had been a small one, their only cow had been killed by a bear and the family confronts great monetary problems. Katri wants to help and finds work in a neighboring farm; for a girl of hardly nine years of age the work of a farm is hard and tiring even with all of her enthusiasm and good moods, which is what keeps her standing.

Cast

*Hitomi Oikawa as Katri Ukonniemi * Toru Furuya as Martti *Yuko Tsuga as Mari (Martti's sister) * Yuko Kobayashi as Helena (Martti's cousin) *Yoshiko Matsuo as Miina (Helena's mother) *

Mahito Tsujimura was a Japanese actor and voice actor who was represented by 81 Produce. Tsujimura died on November 27, 2018. Filmography Television animation *'' Andersen Stories'' (1971) - Satyr, Hans *'' Paris no Isabelle'' (1979) - Leon *'' Galaxy Express 99 ...

as Väinö Harma *Asami Mukaidono as Milole (Harma's maid) *

Kumiko Takizawa was a Japanese voice actress from Tokyo, Japan. Filmography Anime *Makiko Shikishima in ''Tetsujin 28-go'' (1980) *Midori Kurenai in ''Hell Girl'' *Hazuki's Grandmother in ''Ojamajo Doremi'' *Sawako Sawanoguchi in ''Magic User's Club'' (TV) *Gr ...

as Lotta Kuusela * Hisashi Katsuta as Elias Lilack (Lotta's father)

Anime

The opening theme is "Love With You" and the ending theme is "Kaze no Komoriuta", both by Chie Kobayashi.

References

External links

''Makiba no Shōjo Katori''
Nippon Animation * {{Nippon Animation 1984 anime television series debuts 1984 Japanese television series endings Adventure anime and manga Drama anime and manga Historical anime and manga World Masterpiece Theater series World War I television series Television shows set in Finland Fictional farmers Fictional Finnish people Fuji TV original programming Television shows set on farms