Abstract

This article explores how the philosophical frameworks of individualism and collectivism can be used to read Mizuki Tsujimura’s Japanese Young Adult Portal Fantasy, Lonely Castle in the Mirror, particularly in terms of two fairy tales - ‘Little Red Riding Hood’ and ‘The Wolf and the Seven Young Kids,’ as well as the Russian folktale ‘The Enormous Turnip.’ These concepts and tales affect the structure and plot of the novel, including the twists that happen when both the characters and readers are guided and misled by the individualism in ‘Little Red Riding Hood’ instead of the collectivism in ‘The Wolf and the Seven Young Kids’ and ‘The Enormous Turnip.’ Understanding both the different versions of ‘Little Red Riding Hood’ from Charles Perrault and the Brothers Grimm, and the differences between Little Red Riding Hood and the Seven Young Kids (as well as being able to identify the wolves in both the Primary and Secondary Worlds of the text) enables the moral development of the seven young adults and impacts their ability to function in the future and face the bullying and their resulting school refusal (futoko). The article also reveals that the philosophical positions of individualism and collectivism are not straightforward oppositions and posits that each might offer positive and negative aspects vis-a-vis the education of young people, in Japanese society in particular.