Totto Chan, The Little Girl at the Window Series

The long-awaited sequel to the bestselling book in Japanese history is finally here!

Over forty years ago, Japanese pop culture icon Tetsuko Kuroyanagi ended the memoir chronicling her childhood adventures at the unconventional Tomoe Gakuen with that beloved school burning down amidst the bombs of WWII. Now, inspired by contemporary events, she has returned to continue Totto’s tale! Beginning with her family’s frantic effort to escape Tokyo and the worst of the war, Kuroyanagi details how that little girl persevered through starvation and suffering to become a trailblazing actress, a champion for the deaf and children the world over, and one of the most successful entertainers in Japanese history.

“Ms. Kuroyanagi is distinguished above all by her longevity, but she was also a trailblazing woman in an overwhelmingly male environment.”
—The New York Times

This engaging series of childhood recollections tells about an ideal school in Tokyo during World War II that combined learning with fun, freedom, and love. This unusual school had old railroad cars for classrooms, and it was run by an extraordinary man-its founder and headmaster, Sosaku Kobayashi–who was a firm believer in freedom of expression and activity.


In real life, the Totto-chan of the book has become one of Japan’s most popular television personalities–Tetsuko Kuroyanagi. She attributes her success in life to this wonderful school and its headmaster.


The charm of this account has won the hearts of millions of people of all ages and made this book a runaway bestseller in Japan, with sales hitting the 4.5 million mark in its first year.