Picture book by Japan girl who passed away from cancer printed in English to fulfill dream

TOKYO –The dream of a Japanese girl, who passed away from childhood cancer, to “become a picture book artist and make people around the world smile” has been realized through the publication of an English version of her work.

Waka Onishi, a Tokyo resident, was diagnosed with neuroblastoma, a type of pediatric cancer, at age 4. After being in and out of the hospital, she perished in 2022. She was 12. Waka loved to draw and enjoyed showing her family the drawings and crafts she created in bed.

When she was a third grader, Waka presented her dream at school. She participated in an online writing class and began to think of a story that would become the basis for her picture book “Biizu no Otomodachi” — titled “My Precious Beads” in the English version.

Waka focused on the beads of various colors and shapes that the hospital staff had given her as proof of her efforts during her treatment. They were her treasures. She came up with the idea of beads transforming into fairies to cheer up the children in hospital rooms, and she started drawing characters on her tablet in between treatment and medical examinations.

In the fall of 2021, when Waka was in the fifth grade, her mother Yuko, 42, consulted with Nijino Ehonya picture book store in Tokyo, and a plan to publish the girl’s picture book was launched. With the help of illustration and writing professionals, the book was completed in April 2022.

The story begins with a girl in a hospital looking out a window when raining outside. Then a fairy transformed from a bead appears and says the magic phrase “Ganbari Pawaa!” (tenacious power), origami roses turn into real ones, and the fairy encourages the girl.

On a special website for her picture book, Waka expressed her gratitude to the medical staff and others, writing, “Many times, in various situations, many people helped me and I was able to grow up.” However, about three months after the publication, she passed away.

In the midst of their grief, her family set out to publish an English version of the book in order to realize Waka’s dream of bringing smiles to people around the world. A professional translator cooperated with the project, and her family checked the English text while considering whether it matched Waka’s wishes. The magic phrase in English was decided to be “Believe and Be Brave!” which is close to Waka’s feeling of believing in herself and trying her best with the help of everyone’s support. The English version was published in September 2023.

At the June 2024 Congress of Asia continental branch of the International Society of Paediatric Oncology held in Yokohama, Yuko set up a sales stand for her daughter’s picture book, after Waka’s doctor Kimikazu Matsumoto, director of the Children’s Cancer Center at the National Center for Child Health and Development in Tokyo, encouraged her to take part, saying, “I want doctors from other countries to know Waka-san’s thoughts at a conference to raise the level of pediatric cancer treatment in Asia.”

According to Matsumoto, the survival rate for childhood cancer, which affects children under the age of 15, is over 80% in Japan, but only 0-30% throughout Asia. Wishing to encourage patients in their own countries with Waka’s picture book, doctors picked up the book one after another, and the English versions prepared for the event sold out.

“I believe that Waka’s thoughts were conveyed to people around the world through her picture book. Through our activities (to promote the book), I feel Waka’s presence by my side,” Yuko said.

The Japanese version of the picture book is 1,760 yen (about $12) and the English version is 2,750 yen ($19). A portion of the proceeds will be donated to pediatric cancer treatment and other causes. For inquiries and more information, visit the special website at https://nijinoehonya.studio.site/beads

(Japanese original by Sahomi Nishimoto, Tokyo City News Department)