Memories of Eric Carle

Eric Carle presented Tetsuo Ishida with an illustrated memory of their dinner at a Kyoto teahouse. The Very Hungry Caterpillar is holding a bottle of Japanese sake rice wine. Illustration © Eric Carle Photos courtesy of Tetsuo Ishida

By Tetsuo Ishida, Founder and Former President & Chairman, Cosmo Merchandising, Japan (retired 2021)

“I first met Eric Carle in October 2006 in his studio in Northampton, Massachusetts, USA. Cosmo Merchandising, the Japanese licensing agency that I founded and ran, was the first company to obtain the merchandise and promotional licensing rights to represent Eric Carle’s work in Japan in 2005. As a result of our appointment as licensing agent, a small group consisting of Mr. Masaki Imamura, the president of Kaisei-Sha Publishing, the publisher of the Japanese editions of Eric Carle’s picture books, a few licensees (still about five at the time) and Roger Berman, Cosmo Merchandising’s international licensing manager at the time, decided to travel to the USA and meet Eric Carle. My first impression of him was, as I expected, of a gentle, kind, and humorous man. The editor of MOE, a Japanese magazine specializing in picture books, accompanied our group for the interview. Eric Carle gave us a wonderful demonstration of his art by immediately making some pictures out of colored tissue

Eric Carle at the Kyoto teahouse holding a note written by one of the Maiko dancers saying, “The Very Hungry Caterpillar - I have read this since I was small. It’s my favorite picture book”. (April 2017) Eric Carle in a group shot at his Welcome Reception in Tokyo with Japanese licensees and other business partners (April 2017). paper. I was very fortunate to be able to see his creativity first-hand, which of course had a big influence on my subsequent licensing of his art. I will never forget being shown around The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art, which is located in a beautiful setting in Amherst, Massachusetts, and being invited to a dinner party where his wife, Bobbie, was also present. Over the last few years, The World of Eric Carle Japan licensing program has considerably expanded. The number of licensees and product ranges have increased dramatically. Moreover, in terms of quality, many licensed products have been created that respect and preserve Eric’s work. In 2017, we invited Eric Carle to Japan

Eric Carle brought happiness to a young fan dressed up in The Very Hungry Caterpillar clothing at a meet-and-greet event. (April 2017)

for the exhibition entitled The Art of Eric Carle that was held in Tokyo and elsewhere around Japan. We were honored by his acceptance of our invitation. For the Japan visit, at the age of 87 and after the death of Bobbie, we were very worried about his health, but we were relieved to see that he was in good health and attended the exhibition opening reception without any problems. After Eric Carle’s stay in Tokyo, we heard that he was going to Kyoto on a private visit, so we invited him to a teahouse I know well in Pontocho, a Kyoto area famous for geisha and traditional architecture. Surprisingly, out of our group of five or six of us, he was the one who drank the most sake rice wine and ate all the food, even the dessert of a large ohagi, Japanese bean cake. Eric Carle seemed to really like sake. All the maiko geisha dancers in the restaurant were fans of him and his books, especially The Very Hungry Caterpillar, and even the apprentice dancers, who are not usually seen in

front of customers, came out to ask for his autograph. Eric Carle must have enjoyed that evening in Kyoto so much that he sent me an illustration after he returned to America. He drew for me “The Very Hungry Caterpillar With A Bottle Of Sake”, a precious original drawing that exists nowhere else in the world. Since his death on 23rd May, there has been a great deal of coverage on TV and in the newspapers in Japan, as well as letters from the general public. One letter to the Asahi Shimbun newspaper, particularly moved me. A 55 year old housewife wrote that the passing away of Eric Carle prompted her to pull out an old copy of The Very Hungry Caterpillar picture book. The book showed the holes in food that the caterpillar had nibbled on. Her son had put his finger in the holes so many times that they had to be repaired with tape. She fondly reminisced about her experience of raising her son and reading the book to him. She drew the wonderfully moving analogy of the caterpillar spreading its wings to her now adult son, who has spread his wings to live his own independent life. Once again, I have been made aware of the greatness of Eric Carle. To have been able to meet him and and be involved with his art through my work became an invaluable asset to my life. Eric, thank you very much. I believe that he will now be together with Bobbie in heaven and will continue to produce great works of art for all of us from above.”

Eric Carle drawing his iconic caterpillar on a poster at the meet-and-greet event. A baby The Very Hungry Caterpillar fan all dressed up.

28 May 2021 press clipping from the Asahi Shimbun national Japanese newspaper announcing the passing of Eric Carle, aged 91. http://www.asahi.com/ajw/ articles/14359922)

A clipping of the letter to the Asahi Shimbun from the housewife that I found particularly moving.