Totoro
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Princess Mononoke Film ComicMy Neighbor Totoro - The Book
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"My Neighbor Totoro" is a classic Japanese children's film by Hayao Miyazaki about a magical forest-creature named Totoro, who lives near a family with two young girls that has just moved to the neighorhood.
I borrowed a children's book made from the movie from my Japanese teacher, and I have translated it here.
This is the English-only version.
There is also
a version with Japanese.
Contents
- The People in this Story
- Totoro and Associates
- Chapter 1, The Haunted House
- Chapter 2: Mei Meets Totoro
- Chapter 3: Totoro's Memento
- Chapter 4: Mei is Lost
- Totoro and Associates
Mei Kusakabe, 4 years old
The younger sister, full of energy and strong curiousity.
Satsuki Kusakabe, in fourth grade
The older sister, cheerful and courageous.
Mother, Yasuko Kusakabe
Ill, she has been hospitalized for the past year.
Father, Tatsuo Kusakabe
A scholar. He is also teaching at the university.
Kanta Oogaki
Satsuki's classmate.
Kanta's grandmother.
Totoros are creatures who have lived in Japan from long before the time of man. They eat acorns and other nuts and live a care-free life in the forest. But usually people can't see them. Generally they sleep during the daytime, and at night they like to play an ocarina. They are able to fly. "Totoro" is the name Mei gave to them.
Little Totoro
About 100 years old.
Middle Totoro
About 600 years old.
Big Totoro
About 1300 years old. He is over two meters tall.
Catbus
The bus that Totoros ride. People cannot see it,
but when the Catbus passes close by it feels like a whirlwind
is blowing. It has 12 legs. It can also fly, so it
can run over water.
Dust Bunnies
Balls of black dust.
Putt putt putt rattle rattle, chug chug chug rattle rattle. The little truck is full to the brim with baggage, advancing down the middle of the narrow country road. Today is a Sunday in May. Satsuki and Mei are moving, you see.
The Haunted House
"Daddy, it's a wonderful place, isn't it!" "Isn't it, Daddy," said Satsuki and Mei. Rice paddies and farmlands. Green forests. It seemed like something fun was starting. Setsuki and Mei were thrilled.
"Well, here we are," said Father, and the two of them leaped out. The old weathered house stood beyond a garden overgrown with grass. It looked like no-one had lived in it for years.
"Oooh, it's old!"
"It looks like a haunted house!"
But even though it looked like a haunted house to them,
Satsuki and Mei really liked it.
"Oh Mei, look!" said Satsuki, pointing to a mountain of thick forest near the house. At the very top was a huge, huge tree. "Wow, it's big..."
As they were staring at it, Father said "That's the Camphor Tree of Tsuka forest," opening the sliding door of the house.
"Say, please open the door on the other side," Father said, as he handed Satsuki the key.
Satsuki and Mei were full of excitement. They ran to the back door and opened it with the rusty key.
"Hey, it's pitch dark in here," they thought. But at that instant, whissh! Wasn't that a whole lot of awful black globs scurrying away all at once into hidden places in the kitchen?
"Did you see that? Just now."
"Uh-huh. Wonder if they were ghosts?"
The two girls looked at each other, gathered their courage and yelled, "Yaaaah!" But the kitchen returned to silence and stillness. They went in cautiously, but there still seemed to be nothing, nothing at all.
As they were searching restlessly, Father came along.
"Hey, there's work to do. Next, we should open the
second-floor windows. I wonder where the door to the stairs is?"
"Um, the second floor?"
"There are stairs?"
Their eyes lit up and they started looking for the stairs.
"Mei, I found them!"
But what a dark stairway it was... And then, at that moment: tap, tap, taap. Something fell down from the pitch-dark top of the stairs. It was an acorn.
There was something alive up there! Both of them stared up into the darkness.
"Mei, let's go and see."
"Uh-huh."
The second floor was pitch-dark, they couldn't see anything. Satsuki hurried and opened the window. Creak, thud. As bright sunlight shone in, from behind there was a "whissh" and there were the black things! There they were again! Mei glared at them as they went behind the wall.
Outside, Father was diligently carrying in luggage.
"Daaddy, there are *things* in the house."
Father looked up at the window when he heard Satsuki's voice.
"Wow, that's amazing! We're living in a real haunted house,
just like I've always dreamed. Whoooops..."
Father was carrying a big box and he almost fell.
"How awful! I've got to help him." said Satsuki and she rushed downstairs. But Mei remained by herself, and kept staring at the wall.
What could those things be, what could they be? She went up to the wall, cautiously, and stuck her finger in a crack.
FOOM! All at once the pitch-black things burst out, "whissh!", and hid in a crack in the ceiling.
As Mei was standing astonished, a single feather-light black lump floated down in front of her.
It seemed that one of the creatures was slow in finding a hiding place.
Easy.... Aha!
"Caught it! Satsu-ki!"
Mei went downstairs in a big hurry.
She was engrossed in running when a strange old woman appeared before her eyes. "This is the grandmother from next door. She came to help us out," said Father, but Mei was not paying attention.
She carefully opened her hands, but they were empty. On top of that, her hands were black. The soles of her feet were black.
"Aaah, my feet are black, too," cried Satsuki, and then the little old woman spoke.
"Hoho, there are Dust Bunnies about. They slip into old houses where nobody lives, spreading soot and dust. Don't worry, now. They are harmless, and when people come they go away."
A boy came to the back door. It was Kanta, from the grandmother's home. "Here, it's from Ma for Granny."
Kanta, with an angry expression, handed a basket to Satsuki and immediately jumped back.
"Um, wait a second." Satsuki objected...
Kanta ran off, turned and yelled. "Yaah, you live in a haunted house!"
"How dare you!" retorted Satsuki, not to be defeated.
"Nyaah! Big deal." But the contents of the basket Kanta brought were a very delicious dessert.
After that, Satsuki and Mei's moving day was over. That night---.
"Rustle, rustle," the Dust Bunnies were moving out. Light as air, they rode the wind, flying towards Tsuka Forest.
Whoo, whoo. Could that have been an owl? From Tsuka Forest came a mysterious crying sound.
Next day. Satsuki and Mei and Father went out to visit Mother. Because of this move, when Mother got out of the hospital soon she would come to the house in the fresh air and beautiful countryside and get well.
"I'm so glad you came to see me. How is our new house?" Mother looked happy.
"OK. It's like this..." whispered Satsuki, and Mother's face suddenly became radiant.
"Haunted, really?"
"Mommy, do you like haunted houses?" asked Mei, looking worried.
"Of course I do! I'm going to get out of here quickly and see a ghost."
Hearing this, Satsuki and Mei liked the house more and more.
After this, waiting for the day when Mother would come home was almost unbearable.
