When author and illustrator ¡¯s son was 4 years old, he left food on his plate. Like many Japanese mothers, Shinju said to him, ¡°Mottainai.¡±
¡°What is mottainai, Mom?¡± he asked innocently.
Although she grew up hearing her mother and grandmother say ¡°mottainai,¡± she couldn¡¯t find the right words to explain what it meant. It was just something that was said to express disappointment at a waste of food or other things. So instead, she picked up a pen and began to draw.
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