Gon, the Little Fox facts for kids
Author | Nankichi Niimi |
---|---|
Original title | ごん狐 Gongitsune |
Translator | Mariko Shii Gharbi |
Illustrator | Genjirou Mita |
Country | Japan |
Language | Japanese |
Genre | Fable, Children's literature |
Published |
|
Media type | Print (paperback), (hardback) |
Pages | 36 |
ISBN | 978-1940842035 |
Gon, the Little Fox (ごん狐, Gongitsune) is a Japanese children's story about the life of a little fox called Gon. The story is considered the masterpiece of Niimi Nankichi, also sometimes known as the Hans Christian Andersen of Japan.
Contents
Synopsis
Gon (Japanese: ごん) is a little fox. Looking for food he comes to a little village, where he repeatedly steals food and creates other mischief, constantly evading the angry villagers.
One day Gon steals an eel in front of Hyoju (Japanese:
Author background
Nankichi wrote the story in 1930 when he was seventeen, based on a Japanese folk tale he heard. He wrote the story in Handa, Aichi prefecture, the town where he was born. He also lost his mother when he was 4 years old, and was touched deeply by the tale. Like Gon, Nankichi also did not live very long and died at age 29 of tuberculosis.
Adaption
The book was made into an animated movie Gongitsune (ごんぎつね) with Mayumi Tanaka as the voice of Gon. The movie premiered in March 1985.
Inspired by Nakichi Niimi's Gongitsune novel, Takeshi Yashiro who penned the script is also the director and animator for the short, under TECARAT stop motion animation studio. It had been announced that it will be screening in Japan from February 28 to March 5 2020. And is voiced by Masato Tanaka as Gon, and Miyu Irino as Hyojyu.
- Japan Mint: 2007 Coin Set with the story of Gon, the Little Fox
See also
In Spanish: Gongitsune para niños