![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.waseda.jp\/inst\/weekly\/assets\/uploads\/2020\/06\/section_1-610x350.jpg\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
\u30fcQ\uff0eKiki\u2019s Delivery Service has fans of all ages. I think one reason for this widespread appeal is the visual of a 13-year-old witch and black cat riding on a broom with a radio hanging from the broomstick. Why did you depict Kiki as a girl flying through the sky?<\/strong><\/p>\n Kadono: When I was in university, I came across a magazine at the US Embassy\u2019s library which featured a photo of New York from what seemed like the perspective of a bird. That shot stuck with me. I think the visual of Kiki flying in the sky was inspired by that. It was 360 yen to a dollar when I entered Waseda University. Original copies of British and American literature were incredibly expensive and out of reach for students. But at that time, students could visit the US Embassy\u2019s library as long as they showed their student ID.<\/p>\n The library had all the latest magazines, from fashion magazines like Harper\u2019s BAZAAR to literary magazines like The New Yorker. Japan didn\u2019t have those kinds of magazines back then, so I kept going back to peruse them. They were lovely. It was during that time that I came across the photo of New York, which was featured in the weekly photography magazine Life.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/strong>\u30fcQ\uff0e The photo was taken from a bird\u2019s-eye view? <\/strong><\/p>\n Kadono: Yes. The photo was black and white, and it was beautiful. With a bird\u2019s-eye view, your perspective changes, allowing you to see things that were once out of sight. This is where your imagination can take flight, and it\u2019s where stories come to life. After that, I married and had a daughter. When she was in junior high, she drew a picture of a witch. The witch had a hooked nose and was riding a broom with a black cat on the back. A radio hung from the broomstick and blew out musical notes. When I saw that picture, I thought to myself, \u201cIf I can tell this witch\u2019s story, I\u2019ll be able to obtain that bird\u2019s-eye view.\u201d<\/p>\n \u30fcQ\uff0eWhat do you mean by that? <\/strong><\/p>\n Kadono: If you don\u2019t approach a story about flying with the intention of flying yourself, you won\u2019t be able to write it. I imagined how fun it would be to fly. My daughter was 12 at the time, so I created a witch character who was around the same age. Also, my daughter\u2019s picture depicted a witch flying while listening to the radio, so I gave my character a radio. Before I knew it, I had already begun writing the story.<\/p>\n The drawing by Kadono\u2019s daughter featuring humorous depictions of a witch.<\/p><\/div>\n <\/p>\n \u30fcQ\uff0e And that story became Kiki\u2019s Delivery Service. Kiki is 13 in volume one and grows up as the story progresses. In the final volume, volume six, she is 35 and has children. Is this how you planned the story to pan out?<\/strong><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/strong>Kadono: I didn\u2019t really have anything set in stone as I wrote. I kind of played it by ear, which made it interesting for both me, the writer, and readers. However, there was one thing I decided on before writing: Kiki would only have one magical power.<\/p>\n \u30fcQ\uff0eWhy did you make that decision?<\/strong><\/p>\n Kadono: It might have been fun to give her various magical powers. But if I did that, she\u2019d be able to solve all her problems, and that would have made it a bit boring, don\u2019t you think? Only having one power forces her to tap into her creativity and adapt to situations where can\u2019t use that power. This makes her stronger and the story more interesting. In volume two, Kiki learns a new power: the ability to cultivate an herb and use it to create a medicine for sneezing. Her only real magical power, though, is her ability to fly on a broom.<\/p>\n [#2] As She Developed the Story, Two Thoughts Inspired Kadono to Depict Kiki as a Mother<\/a><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.waseda.jp\/inst\/weekly\/assets\/uploads\/2020\/03\/xxx2040-610x407.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.waseda.jp\/inst\/weekly\/assets\/uploads\/2020\/03\/image24-610x436.jpg\")