Girls - Junko Tabei Masters the Mountains

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Editorial Director: Elena Favilli

Art Director: Giulia Flamini

Text: Nancy Ohlin

Cover and Illustrations: Montse Galbany

Cover Lettering: Cesar Yannarella

Graphic design: Annalisa Ventura

This is a work of historical fiction. We have tried to be as accurate as possible, but names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents may have been changed to suit the needs of the story.

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ISBN 978-1-7333292-0-0

ISBN 978-1-7342641-5-9 (ebook)

To the Rebel Girls of the world

No mountain is too high

if you put one foot in front

of the other.

Junko Tabei

September 22, 1939-October 20, 2016

Japan

W ho wants to go on a field trip to the mountains? Mr. Watanabe asked his fourth-grade class.

Junkos hand shot up in the air. She wasnt sure why, since going to the mountains probably meant lots of hiking and climbing, and she was bad at sports. Really bad. PE was her least favorite subject at school. She couldnt do the gymnastics other kids could do, and she much preferred reading to running.

This is not a good idea, she thought. She lowered her hand and pretended to sweep her bangs out of her eyes. But she really did want to try. It sounded like fun. She raised her hand again and made herself keep it there. Her heart thumped wildly in her chest.

The teacher nodded and smiled at her. Ms. Ishibashi. Excellent. Anyone else?

Other students raised their hands, too. Two boys sitting in front of Junko smirked and whispered to each other. She could guess what they were saying: Theres no way Junko can climb a mountain. Shes tiny and weak. Plus, shes a girl.

Gentlemen, do you have something youd like to share with the class? Mr. Watanabe asked.

No, sir! The two boys sat up straight in their seats.

Thats good to hear! And since it seems like enough of you are interested in doing some mountaineering, Ill contact your parents and organize the details for our trip this summer.

Junko squirmed. Mountaineering. The word made it sound so serious. She was nervous but also excited.

After school, she walked home with her friend Hideo. They followed a path along the river, like they always did. Colorful petals from flowering fruit trees rained down around them from above.

Just ignore those guys, Hideo said. He must have noticed the whispering in class.

Ill try, Junko said, still a little nervous about the trip. Have you ever done any mountaineering?

Yeah, on Castle Mountain, Hideo joked. Junko laughed with her friend. Castle Mountain wasnt really a mountain. It was more like a hill, and it was in the middle of their town, Miharu, in north-central Japan. From the top, you could see the whole townfarms, temples, houses, shops, and even their elementary school.

Junko had hiked up Castle Mountain a bunch of times with Hideo and her other friends. She liked seeing the world from up high.

But Castle Mountain wasnt that high. It was small, just like Junko herself. The mountain Mr. Watanabe wanted to take them to would surely be much bigger. From the top, you could probably see all of Japan.

That night at dinner, Junko told her family about the field trip.

Are you sure you want to go, Jun-chan? her mother, Kiyo, asked. She ladled steaming white rice into a blue earthenware bowl, added a pickled plum, and passed the bowl to Junko. It doesnt seem like your sort of thing.

Well, I think it sounds like quite the adventure, her father, Morinobu, said as he lifted a piece of grilled mackerel with his chopsticks. Behind his glasses, his brown eyes were cheerful.

Around the crowded table, everyone began talking at once: Junkos brothers and sisters, the two housekeepers who lived with them, and some of her fathers employees from his printing company, who also lived with them.

Will it be Mount Fuji? Or Mount Kita? Or some other mountain?

My friend climbed Mount Fuji once.

What if you run into a bear?

What if you run into lots of bears?

What if everyone reaches the top except for you?

Yeah, didnt you flunk gym class?

Isnt mountain climbing a mans sport?

Junko lowered her head and concentrated on her rice as the conversation swirled around her. She was the second youngest of seven children, and she often got lost in her thoughts. The pickled plum was extra-salty and sour, the way she liked it, but she barely noticed. She was too busy answering questions in her head.

Why shouldnt girls climb mountains? This is 1949, not medieval times, she thought. And so what if Im not a super-duper-mega-athlete? I can still put one foot in front of the other. If I have to take tons of breaks, or if Im the last one to reach the top, thats fine. At least Ill have tried my best.

Junko trusted Mr. Watanabe, who was her favorite teacher. Actually, he was pretty much everyones favorite teacher. He was different from the other instructors at their school, and it wasnt just his long, shaggy hair. On nice days, he often took their class to Castle Mountain for picnic lunches. There, under the flowering trees, he would tell his students thrilling tales about the mountains hed climbed and the cities hed visited. He would also describe his favorite books, like The Diary of Anne Frank and The Broken Commandment, and Junko and the others would cry at the sad parts, even if they didnt totally understand them.