> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://hyperallergic.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Surreal Japanese Illustrations Capture the Spirit of Andersen's Fairy Tales - URL: https://hyperallergic.com/surreal-japanese-illustrations-capture-the-spirit-of-andersens-fairy-tales/ - Published: 2014-12-31T01:16:53.000Z - Updated: 2025-11-24T16:16:09.000Z - Description: Although adults may misremember them as light children's stories, the 19th-century fairy tales of Hans Christian Andersen commonly deal with themes of loneliness, forced journeys far from home, and the precariousness of existence. - Author: Julia Friedman - Tags: Art, Hans Christian Andersen, Illustration, Photo Essays, #wp, #wp-post, #image-position-hidden, #Import 2025-11-24 07:08 (2014, 2015, part 2) ![The Daisy All images courtesy of the National Diet Library ](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-newspack-s3-amazonaws-com/uploads/2014/12/jpegoutput-7.jpg) Hatsuyama Shigeru, illustration for “The Daisy” (all images courtesy the National Diet Library) Although adults may misremember them as light children’s stories, the 19th-century fairy tales of Hans Christian Andersen commonly deal with themes of loneliness, forced journeys far from home, and the precariousness of existence. Their protagonists are small, delicate, and vulnerable — kids, flowers, ugly ducklings — and their wisdom centers on the power of kindness to combat the cruelty of chance, fate, and meanness of spirit. A [1925 Japanese translation](http://kindai.ndl.go.jp/info:ndljp/pid/1716241?ref=hyperallergic.com) of some of the tales — first spotted on the blog [50 Watts](http://50watts.com/filter/japan/Thumbelina?ref=hyperallergic.com) — features delicately striking illustrations by [Hatsuyama Shigeru](http://www.myjapanesehanga.com/home/artists/hatsuyama-shigeru-1897-1973?ref=hyperallergic.com) (1897–1973) that reflect their spirit. The volume includes “[Thumbelina](http://hca.gilead.org.il/li%5Ftiny.html?ref=hyperallergic.com),” “[The Flying Trunk](http://hca.gilead.org.il/flying%5Ft.html?ref=hyperallergic.com),” “[The Daisy](http://hca.gilead.org.il/daisy.html?ref=hyperallergic.com),” “[The Ugly Duckling](http://hca.gilead.org.il/ugly%5Fduc.html?ref=hyperallergic.com),” “[The Steadfast Tin Soldier](http://www.andersen.sdu.dk/vaerk/hersholt/TheSteadfastTinSoldier%5Fe.html?ref=hyperallergic.com),” “[The Angel](http://www.andersen.sdu.dk/vaerk/hersholt/TheAngel%5Fe.html?ref=hyperallergic.com),” “[The Little Match Girl](http://www.andersen.sdu.dk/vaerk/register/info%5Fe.html?vid=79&ref=hyperallergic.com),” and “[The Fir Tree](http://hca.gilead.org.il/fir%5Ftree.html?ref=hyperallergic.com).” Hatsuyama’s illustrations use proportion to mimic the defenselessness of Andersen’s wee protagonists: a cat looms large next to a duckling; Thumbelina is no bigger than a nose; the little match girl stands barely above a horse’s underbelly. Hatsuyama also takes artistic license often, his drawings interpreting a character beyond what the author has described. For example, the flowers in “The Daisy” are depicted as women — a personification that represents the mood of the fairytale, if not its prose. Intricate, dark, fanciful, and surprising, Hatsuyama’s illustrations are unique interpretations of Andersen’s stories. One easily imagines that a vain house cat would naturally smoke a pipe, and that a bird and a daisy with a woman’s face might touch beak to lips in a near-kiss. They remind adult readers of the complexity of children’s imaginative and emotional inner lives. ![Thumbelina ](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-newspack-s3-amazonaws-com/uploads/2014/12/jpegoutput-2.jpg) Hatsuyama Shigeru, illustration for “Thumbelina” ![Thumbelina ](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-newspack-s3-amazonaws-com/uploads/2014/12/jpegoutput-1.jpg) Hatsuyama Shigeru, illustration for “Thumbelina” ![Thumbelina ](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-newspack-s3-amazonaws-com/uploads/2014/12/jpegoutput-3.jpg) Hatsuyama Shigeru, illustration for “Thumbelina” ![The Daisy ](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-newspack-s3-amazonaws-com/uploads/2014/12/jpegoutput-18.jpg) Hatsuyama Shigeru, illustration for “The Daisy” ![Title page](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-newspack-s3-amazonaws-com/uploads/2014/12/jpegoutput-4.jpg) Title page of the volume ![The Ugly Duckling ](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-newspack-s3-amazonaws-com/uploads/2014/12/jpegoutput-8.jpg) Hatsuyama Shigeru, illustration for “The Ugly Duckling” ![The Ugly Duckling ](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-newspack-s3-amazonaws-com/uploads/2014/12/jpegoutput-9.jpg) Hatsuyama Shigeru, illustration for “The Ugly Duckling” ![The Steadfast Tin Soldier ](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-newspack-s3-amazonaws-com/uploads/2014/12/jpegoutput-10.jpg) Hatsuyama Shigeru, illustration for “The Steadfast Tin Soldier” ![The Steadfast Tin Soldier ](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-newspack-s3-amazonaws-com/uploads/2014/12/jpegoutput-11.jpg) Hatsuyama Shigeru, illustration for “The Steadfast Tin Soldier” ![The Angel ](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-newspack-s3-amazonaws-com/uploads/2014/12/jpegoutput-12.jpg) Hatsuyama Shigeru, illustration for “The Angel” ![The Angel ](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-newspack-s3-amazonaws-com/uploads/2014/12/jpegoutput-14.jpg) Hatsuyama Shigeru, illustration for “The Angel” ![The Angel ](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-newspack-s3-amazonaws-com/uploads/2014/12/jpegoutput-13.jpg) Hatsuyama Shigeru, illustration for “The Angel” ![The Little Match Girl ](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-newspack-s3-amazonaws-com/uploads/2014/12/jpegoutput-15.jpg) Hatsuyama Shigeru, illustration for “The Little Match Girl” ![The Little Match Girl ](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-newspack-s3-amazonaws-com/uploads/2014/12/jpegoutput-16.jpg) Hatsuyama Shigeru, illustration for “The Little Match Girl” ![The Fir-Tree](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-newspack-s3-amazonaws-com/uploads/2014/12/jpegoutput-17.jpg) Hatsuyama Shigeru, illustration for “The Fir-Tree” ![The Flying Trunk](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-newspack-s3-amazonaws-com/uploads/2014/12/jpegoutput-6.jpg) Hatsuyama Shigeru, illustration for “The Flying Trunk”