When wise old Ojiisan, alone on the steep mountain, saw the enormous wave flowing away from the land during the rice festival, only he recognized what it signified. “Tsunami – the monster wave!” he whispered to himself in horror. None of the other villagers had any idea of the impending danger, and everyone except Ojiisan, young and old, watched the sea excitedly from the beach.

What was Ojiisan to do? How could he quickly convey to the villagers the terrible threat posed by the monster wave, which would roar back any minute as a tsunami? How could he describe its overwhelming power, and persuade the entire community to leave the festivities and climb the steep mountain, safe from the sea? How would the villagers even hear his feeble voice from atop the mountain? Yet he had to do something, or four hundred people would be swallowed by the angry sea.

In the end, Ojiisan’s generous sacrifice – setting his precious rice fields on fire, knowing that every villager would rush up the mountain to fight the fire - is successful, and every life is saved.
Kimiko Kajikawa’s touching story has been adapted from Lafcadio Hearn’s earlier story, A Living God, and Ed Young’s brilliant cut-paper collage art strongly conveys the dramatic and terrifying power of a tsunami.

** Recommended for ages 4 to 7 years.
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