Heidi : a « love story » between Japan and Switzerland Interview of Doctor Takashi Kawashima by Jean-Michel Wissmer
Doctor Takashi Kawashima is Professor of German literature at Kyoto University, a specialist of the work of Kafka and Johanna Spyri. He was invited to the last Salon du Livre in Geneva where he participated in a discussion on the reception of Heidi in Japan. Jean-Michel Wissmer, author of a recently published essay on the « myth » of Heidi, took part with him in this presentation and has taken the opportunity to ask him a few questions on this « love story » between Heidi and his country. JMW. Dr. Kawashima, how did you become interested in Heidi ? TK. As a book-loving child, I read a lot of Western classics of children’s literature and Heidi was among them. But when I grew up, I was shocked by the fact that other people had a totally different image of Heidi – because they knew only the animated cartoon by Isao Takahata (1974) and I only the original novels by Johanna Spyri. That is why I got interested in this theme, namely the diversity of images of Heidi. JMW. Can you explain in a few words why Heidi is so popular in Japan ? TK. There are many reasons, and you must distinguish the animated TV series from the novel Heidi. After the Second…
