Anne of Green Gables Japanese translator’s story to be adapted

The Confederation Centre of the Arts is bringing the story of a special connection between P.E.I. and Japan to the stage.

The centre plans to adapt the novel Anne’s Cradle: The Life and Works of Hanako Muraoka into a play. The best-selling biography of Muraoka, who translated Anne of Green Gables to Japanese, tells the story of a woman who risked her freedom and dedicated her life to bringing literature to people during a time of turbulent upheaval in Japan.

During her school years, she fell in love with Englishlanguage poetry and literature and, during the Second World War, sought solace in a gift received from a Canadian friend — a copy of Anne of Green Gables.

She began translating her copy into Japanese, fully aware that she risked imprisonment and even death if caught.

In 1952 Akage no An was published and became a hit, beginning a cross-cultural literary legacy that is still going strong today.

The Confederation Centre is looking to present a public reading of the play at Expo 2025 in Osaka and is also accepting submissions from writers fluent in Japanese and English interested in adapting the novel into a play.

The first round of submissions closes on Dec. 31. Applicants should contact Adam Brazier at abrazier@confederationcentre.com for details or visit confederationcentre. com/playwright-submissions/.

During her school years, she fell in love with English-language poetry and literature and, during the Second World War, sought solace in a gift received from a Canadian friend — a copy of Anne of Green Gables.