Tetsuko Kuroyanagi’s Totto-chan, the Little Girl at the Window: The Sequel was originally published in Japan on October 3rd, 2023 and will be published by Kodansha USA Publishing on November 18th, 2025. The original work Totto-chan: The Little Girl at the Window remains in print and is available through Kodansha USA Publishing.
Kodansha USA to Release Long-Awaited Sequel to Tetsuko Kuroyanagi’s Bestselling Memoir
Tetsuko Kuroyanagi’s best-selling memoir Totto-chan: The Little Girl at the Window first pubished in 1981 now has a sequel, translated by Yuki Tejima. Now in her nineties, Kuroyanagi noted her motivation for penning The Sequel was preserving the memories, stating “I wanted to write about the war while I still remember it.”
“I’m excited to share that my memoir, Totto-chan, the Little Girl at the Window: The Sequel, will soon be released in English,” said the author and cultural icon, Tetsuko Kuroyanagi. “It has been over forty years in the making and I put my whole heart and soul into it. I hope you all enjoy it.”
Totto-chan, the Little Girl at the Window: The Sequel picks up right where the original book left off, with the culmination of the events surrounding the beloved, now burned down elementary school Tomoe Gakuen amidst the air raids of World War II. Following the family’s frantic efforts to escape Tokyo and the horrors of war, Kuroyanagi details Totto-chan’s perseverance through starvation and suffering to become a trailblazing actress, champion for the deaf and children world-wide, and one of the most successful entertainers in Japanese history.
Already an established literary classic with over 8 million domestic sales and an international Guinness World Record-breaking 26 million copies worldwide in dozens of languages, an anime film adaptation in 2023 introduced Totto-Chan to a new generation.
The critically acclaimed film was produced and animated by Shin-Ei Animation, with distribution by TOHO. It was directed by Shinnosuke Yakuwa, Yuta Kanbe, and Kunio Kato, with Liliana Ono taking on the lead role of Totto-chan.
Kodansha USA has arranged a screening of the film at Japan Society in New York on November 25th, 2025.
“Told with the same disarming charm as the original memoir, the anime connected Totto-chan’s story with a new audience,” said Kodansha USA Publishing President & CEO Alvin Lu. “Now the English-language publication of Totto-chan, the Little Girl at the Window: The Sequel picks up where that story left off and allows readers to discover the full life story of one of the most influential and inspiring women in Japanese history.”
To commemorate the long-awaited release of Kuroyanagi’s culturally impactful work, Kodansha USA will be sponsoring the following book-launch events in New York City:
Book talk with Translator Yuki Tejima at the New York Public Library 53rd Street Branch
- Date: Saturday, November 22, 2025
- Time: 11:30am – 12:30pm ET
- Location: 18 West 53rd Street, New York
- Admission: Free
- More info: NYPL
Book signing with Translator Yuki Tejima at Kinokuniya Bookstore
- Date: Monday, November 24, 2025
- Time: 6:00-8:00pm ET
- Location: 1073 Avenue of the Americas, New York
- Admission: Free
Screening of Totto-chan: The Little Girl at the Window feature anime, panel discussion and signing at the Japan Society
- Featuring: Yuki Tejima, translator; Alexandra McCullough-Garcia, editor; Nathan Shockey, Associate Professor of Japanese at Bard College
- Date: Tuesday, November 25, 2025
- Time: Doors 6:00 pm, Screening 7:00 pm ET
- Location: 333 E 47th Street, New York
- Admission: $16 general admission; $12 students/seniors/persons with disabilities; $8 members
- More Info: Japan Society Film
Today, Tetsuko Kuroyanagi remains one of Japan’s most popular and celebrated media personalities. Her long-running television show Tetsuko’s Room (Tetsuko no Heya) began airing almost fifty years ago in 1976 and is a testament to her long enduring impact and relevancy in Japanese culture. She was also appointed as Asia’s first Goodwill Ambassador for UNICEF in 1984 and has visited 40 countries since on official duties.
In 2011 Kuroyanagi earned a Guinness World Record for the highest number of talk show broadcasts by the same host (a record which she continually breaks with each new episode). She also serves on the board of the WWF for Nature Japan and provides professional training to deaf actors through The Totto Foundation, financed by her book royalties.
Will you be picking up The Totto-chan Sequel written by Tetsuko Kuroyanagi?
Note: The information above was sourced from a press release.
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