Join us for a discussion of The Healing Hippo of Hinode Park by Michiko Aoyama, sharing our reactions to this warm and uplifting novel while exploring the broader phenomenon of “healing fiction” from Japan, a genre that has recently taken off with readers in the US and UK. We’ll consider what defines healing fiction, why these stories resonate across cultures, and how they travel into English, while also hearing insights from the translator, Takami Nieda, about the challenges and pleasures of bringing Aoyama’s work to a new audience.
A workshop for anyone in need of a little comfort—and a good read!
About Takami Nieda
Takami Nieda is a two-time winner of the Freeman Award for YA Literature for her translations for Kazuki Kaneshiro’s GO and Chesil’s The Color of the Sky Is the Shape of the Heart, novels centering the Zainichi Korean population in Japan. Recent publications include Finger Bone by Hiroki Takahashi, winner of the Miyoshi Translation Prize, and Traveling Practice by Yusuke Norishiro. Nieda teaches literature and translation at Seattle Central College, serves as the Japanese-English mentor for the ALTA Emerging Translator Mentorship Program, and was Princeton University’s translator-in-residence in Fall 2026.
Dates and Times
Tuesday, February 16, 2027, from 4:30 PM to 6:30 PM
This program will be held on Zoom.
Program Requirements
Participants are expected to read the complimentary book ahead of the program.
Benefits
- A free copy of the book The Healing Hippo of Hinode Park by Michiko Aoyama.
- WA OSPI clock hours.
Registration
This program is free and open to current, in-service K-12 educators of all grades and subjects. Please follow this link to register. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to reach out at earc@uw.edu.
This program is sponsored by the East Asia Resource Center at the University of Washington, and funded by a Freeman Foundation grant in support of the National Consortium for Teaching about Asia (NCTA).