ちいさならくがき

Chiisana Rakugaki

Tiny Scribble

1996年　ビクターブックスより出版。

2007年　「復刊に際して」の1章を加筆、新装幀でたまうさぎbooksより復刊。

2026年　「kindle版に際して〜ちいさならくがきエピローグ」の1章を加筆、たまうさぎbooksよりkindle版刊行。

武士の家系の伝統を重んじつつも型破りな両親は、彼女に幼い頃より日舞、能、茶道、華道を習わせると同時に、“社会教育”と称し国内外のあらゆる遊芸三昧の場に付き添わせ、普遍性を尊重する国際人として育てる事に熱心だった。究極の和洋折衷、仁義vs不道徳、というカラフルな生い立ちの記憶が、少女に自己のアイデンティティを模索するきっかけを与える。知的障害者だった異父姉ちーちゃんの死をきっかけに２８歳で天涯孤独になった彼女は、東京を離れニューヨークに移住する。

『心理療法の認知行動療法や、解決志向アプローチに通じるものがある』と評されカルト的に読み継がれてきた本書は、当時30歳だった著者が「下條 ユリ」という構成成分の生い立ちを一気にスケッチブックに書き出した、ある正直で非凡な一家の記録。

2026年「kindle版に際して〜ちいさならくがきエピローグ」の1章を加筆、たまうさぎbooksよりkindle版刊行。

Yuri Shimojo's childhood memoir Chiisana Rakugaki~Tiny Scribble was originally published in 1997 by Victor Entertainment Japan. The book gained a cult following, and an out-of-print classic was republished in 2007 by Tamausagi Books, an independent publisher. 

Her upbringing in Tokyo in the 1970s was unconventional. As per the custom of her samurai lineage inheritance, she practiced traditional Japanese arts such as Japanese dance and song, Noh, tea ceremony, and flower arrangement from an early age, which is rare in modern Japanese childhood. Her late, flamboyant parents were also devoted to "social education," accompanying Yuri to various uninhibited domestic and international events to nurture the value of a universal identity. The ultimate blend of Japanese and Western culture, righteousness vs. immorality, and a family's light vs. shadow, these drastically colorful elements shaped Little Yuri's search for her identity. When Yuri was 29, Chi Chan, her intellectually challenged half-sister, and her last immediate family passed away. She decided to leave Tokyo and move to New York. 

The book has garnered praise from the field of psychotherapy as one of the best self-help books for young "misfits." This acclaim led to the original edition selling out from used bookstores in Japan, prompting a much-anticipated reprint. The book is only available in Japanese (yet).