Allen Say will launch the Japanese version of “Kamishibai Man” on April 16, 2007, at Hikiyama Hakubutsukan in Nagahama by Lake Biwa. The exact time is unknown, but I believe it is an evening event. There will be a reading and a booksigning.
The setting for this momentous occasion is the famous Yagura Museum and this will be the culmination of a matsuri featuring the collection of ornate theater floats kept at the Museum. Here are two links with information about the matsuri.
http://www.jnto.go.jp/eng/location/topics/shiga/jnto/83dn3a000000ax09.html
http://info.biwako-visitors.jp/biwakonotabi/english/festival/03.html
This is the second of Say’s books to be translated into Japanese. While Say’s books have been frequently translated into French, German and even Korean, his popularity in Japan has been fairly recent. His Caldecott Award winning book, “Grandfather’s Journey” was translated into Japanese in 2002. While working on the translation, Say said that it felt as if he had originally written it in his native language rather than English, because the Japanese version seemed more correct.
Say is currently working on a new book which will be published in the fall of 2008.