By TOKO TANAKA/ Staff Writer
September 4, 2023 at 15:25 JST
After more than 40 years, actress and talk show host Tesuko Kuroyanagi finally realized that there were millions of readers who wanted to find out about the rest of her storied life.
She will publish a long-awaited sequel to her famed memoir “Totto-chan: The little girl at the window,” one of the best-selling books ever in Japan.
“I gradually came to think that if many people want to know about what happened to me afterward, I should try writing about it,” said Kuroyanagi, 90, one of the most famous TV celebrities in the country.
Kuroyanagi has been a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador since 1984.
"Totto-chan: The little girl at the window, Part 2" will hit the shelves across the nation on Oct. 3, according to the publisher, Kodansha Ltd.
First published in 1981, the original childhood memoir describes Kuroyanagi’s days at Tomoe Gakuen, a Tokyo school known for its unconventional and inspiring style of education, which helped mold her character.
Translated into more than 20 languages, the book has sold 8 million copies in Japan and more than 25 million copies worldwide.
In the sequel, Totto-chan evacuates to the northern prefecture of Aomori following the devastating air raids on Tokyo in 1945. She later graduates from a music school and becomes a contract actress with Japan Broadcasting Corp. (NHK) before going to New York to study.
As with the first book, the sequel will include illustrations by the late artist Chihiro Iwasaki.
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