Original Title
天下第一神箭手
Text by
Matumoto Takesi
Illustrations by
WU Jianhua, ZHANG Weicai
Language
Simplified Chinese
Pages
44
Size
24 × 25 cm
Age
4+
Published
2021, Everafter Books
Sold
Japanese
In a Yuigur tribe, the chief seeks a worthy husband for his daughter, the beautiful Princess Anjiang Naiya. “I will only marry a hero,” she declares. So the chief proclaims that any hunter who wishes to win her hand must present a prize from his own hunt.
A young tribal officer, eager to prove himself, begs his father for the finest bow and arrows money can buy. Even bolder, he carves the words “Best Archer In The World”onto his arrows. For two days, he returns empty-handed—until the third day, when he finally brings down a goose mid-flight. Just as he begins to boast, a humble hunter named Mula steps forward, claiming the goose was his kill…Who truly shot the goose? And how will the truth be revealed?
A clever folktale about honesty, skill, and the real meaning of heroism. Original artworks are collected in the Chihiro Art Museum in Japan.
About the author/illustrator
Matumoto Takesi: Born in 1944 in Miyagi Prefecture, Japan. A graduate of Waseda University and a member of the Japanese Literary Artists Association. He taught picture book theory and children’s literature at Tama Art University for nine years. On one hand, he is engaged in creating and critiquing children’s literature, and on the other hand, he recommends studies of yokai from a folkloric perspective. His major works include “Hetalo Yokai Stories,” “Football Friends” (Komine Shoten), “National Yokai Encyclopedia” (Shogakukan), and more.
Wu Jianhua: A picture book artist. He began creating picture books in the 1980s, with several works published at home and abroad. Representative works include “Goddess Peak,” “Prince and Chair,” “The World’s Greatest Archer,” “The Long Tongue and the Giant Zhupan,” among which “Goddess Peak” received the Bratislava Illustration Exhibition (BIB) Honorable Mention Award, “Prince and Chair” was selected for the illustration exhibition at the Bologna International Children’s Book Fair in Italy, and “The Long Tongue and the Giant Zhupan” won the 33rd Kodansha Publishing Culture Award in Japan. Many of his original works are housed in the Chihiro Art Museum’s collection.
Zhang Weicai: A picture book artist and sculptor. In 1999, he completed the sculpture of the “Century Bell” in Beijing, and in 2005, he finished the sculpture for the “Peace Bell” at the Memorial Hall of the Victims in the Nanjing Massacre by Japanese Invaders. In the 1990s, he collaborated with Mr. Wu Jianhua on the creation of numerous picture books both domestically and internationally.
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