Anne of the World

Japanese people, of all people, are evidently particularly enthralled by Anne of Green Gables (and have been since World War 2). As someone who is enthralled by Anne myself, I'm intrigued by their intrigue.

Here is an attempt to identify overlaps:

I see three points of resonance between Anne of Green Gables and traditional Japanese culture. The first one is the prominence of natural imagery in Anne of Green Gables. Every chapter begins with an evocation of the seasonal setting for the events in the narrative. This accords perfectly with the practices of classical Japanese literature. For example, the Tale of Genji, a work written by a woman around 1008 AD that has been canonized as the foundation of the Japanese literary tradition, builds every chapter around seasonal imagery in a way quite similar to Anne of Green Gables. [...]

A second factor for the easy acceptance of Anne of Green Gables by Japanese readers might be that Anne's character accords with the Japanese conception of a child's mind and character. Traditionally children were assumed to have magokoro, "sincerity of heart." Anne's purity of heart maintained despite the trauma and abuse she suffered as an orphan is in harmony with this conception.

The third aspect of Anne of Green Gables that resonates with Japanese culture is Anne's high moral standard in relinquishing of her scholarship at the end of the book to assist Marilla after Matthew's death. Her decision can be considered an act of filial piety, made all the more poignant because she is an adopted child. Adoption was common within the large multi-family networks of traditional Japan. To sacrifice an opportunity of one's own to take care of a parent rings true with all that is considered noble in traditional Japanese morality, and while an adopted child was expected to abide by the same code as birth children, there was a recognition that full and willing compliance with that code by an adopted child was a touching expression of moral character.