Response?

On April 26, 2005, we received a response from 'inoue@zuiunsya.com'. I have doubts about the validity and authenticity of this response. I still thought it would beinteresting to post.

Our company recently revived the publication of the classic picture book The Story of Little Black Sambo. It was sold in Japan by Iwanami Shoten Publishers from 1953, and including the original version put out by the same publisher, it appeared in a total of forty-nine different editions until 1988, when it went out of print. Iwanami alone sold about 1.2 million copies of the book, and it became a best seller, read by a large number of adults as well as children.



The story goes as follows. A little boy named Sambo encounters some tigers in the jungle. Each time he is about to be eaten by one of them, he finds a clever way to outsmart the creature and escapes. In the end, the tigers fight among themselves and as they chase each other around a tree, turn into butter. Sambo asks his mother to make pancakes with the butter, and he and his family eat their fill. It is an amusing, imaginative tale.



One day a certain organization protested to Iwanami, saying the book was discriminatory towards black people. Without consulting the editorial staff, the company decided, in just four days. to stop publishing the book and suspended sales. The main reason for the protest was that the names of the characters were perceived to be discriminatory. In this way, the book disappeared from the bookstores without a word of explanation to the readers.



Are the names “Sambo” and “Jumbo and Mumbo,” the parents’ names, in fact discriminatory? In order to answer this question, let us first look at the circumstances under which the book was created. The author, Helen Bannerman (1862-1946), was an Englishwoman and lived for many years in India with her doctor husband. The Story of Little Black Sambo began as a hand-done version, which she made in 1898 to send to her children whom she had to leave behind at a summer retreat in the mountains. As soon as the book was published the following year, it became popular not only in England but worldwide.



Those who say the name Sambo is pejorative claim that it is not a common name in India and that it originates with the _expression “mumbo-jumbo.” In fact, the name Sambo is often found in northern India and Tibet and means “good” or “excellent,” an appropriate name for a boy who was able to find his way out of any predicament. His mother’s name Mumbo means “much” or “bountiful,” and Jumbo, his father’s name, means “gentle” or “great world.” They were both well thought out, wonderful names.



Critics also say that the people in the illustrations by Frank Dobias are too dark-skinned to be Indian. But it was his bold use of color and stylistic touch that left a strong impression on the readers. We could understand why so many people requested that his illustrations be used in the republication of the book.



For parents, it is only natural to want to read or give books to your own children that you yourself loved and had read to you as a child. We have made the republication of classics one of the cornerstones of our business. We find it meaningful to reexamine children’s books that have gone out of print for certain reasons and then republish those that are worthy of being handed down to future generations. Freedom of speech and of the press are protected, and the true spirit of the book will become clearer through the debate inspired by the book’s reappearance.



Of course, we understand that behind the suspension of the sales of The Story of Little Black Sambo was the global movement to end racial discrimination against black people. Because this book continued to be read worldwide into the 20th century, there was a tendency to associate it with the African-American struggle for equality, although it was written by an Englishwoman about an Indian protagonist. Certainly, severe prejudice against black people still exists, and it is our hope that racism will disappear as soon as possible from this world.



Nevertheless, seventeen years have passed since Iwanami Shoten Publishers put the book out of print, and we can all probably agree that social climate has improved dramatically since then. Racist attitudes are disappearing, and it is satisfying to see large numbers of black people playing an active role in various fields internationally. Can we honestly say that many of the children who read The Story of Little Black Sambo discriminate against black people because of the book’s influence? We should have more faith in the children of Japan.



Many complications arose during the process of reprinting this book, and much energy was expended. But we were encouraged by the voices of the many readers who looked forward to the event and as publishers, are thrilled to make the book available to them again. At the same time, we hope that one day there will be a time when books will no longer disappear from our bookstores for unacceptable reasons or without adequate discussion because of verbal “witch-hunting.”

NOTE: The formatting (bold and itallics) are the same as the e-mail message received (as a Word attachment). We do not have confirmation about this response from 'inoue@zuiunsya.com'