へっこきあねさ (“hekkoki anesa” – literally, the farting sister), is one of nayou’s favourite books at the moment. my dad bought nayou a set of 昔話 (“mukashi banashi” – literally, old tales) ages ago when we were in new zealand, but he was a bit too young for them at the time. we found them again when we got our stuff from wellington delivered and have been working our way through them since. its a very very old japanese kid’s story – i read it when i was young – and its about a young lady who marries a carpenter who lives with his mum. the three of them get on well initially until gradually the lady begins to become pale and sick. when the mother asks her what the matter is, she replies that she really needs to fart. the mother laughs and tells her not to be shy and to just let it out. so she does. it turns out that this lady’s farts are strong enough to blow people up into the air and she accidentally bangs the mother into the rafters. shenanigans ensue, and each episode involves the lady saving the day with her powerful flatulence.

the story is hilarious and very japanese. what i love about this version are the illustrations. even if you can’t read japanese, i think much fun could be had making up your own story to the pictures. look at the expression on the lady’s face! she’s sweating and everything!

i am also in awe of the red hue around the butt. that is some attention to detail.

the lady’s talent doesn’t just stop at expelling gas either. she can also suck air in! here she is doing her reverse farting thing to lure the ferryman to their side of the shore.

the ferryman’s expression is priceless. it made me lol.