When Tove Jansson and her partner Tuulikki Pietilä received an invitation to Japan in the early 1970s, they had no idea that the trip would turn into an eight-month journey around the world and one of the most important adventures of their lives. In Japan, Tove was greeted by an audience of millions and the first (unsuccessful) Moomin animation – and she set off on her journey with a carefully prepared speech in Japanese, which she had learned to pronounce perfectly.

Japan’s first Moomin animation was censored – Tove defended the essence of the Moomins

Tove Jansson and Tuulikki Pietilä shared a passion for travel, and their big trip began with an invitation from Japanese television. Tove had received the invitation earlier, but had been unable to go because of her elderly mother, Signe “Ham” Hammarsten Jansson. After Ham’s death in 1970, the opportunity to make the trip the following year arose.

Japanese interest in the Moomins had grown rapidly in the late 1960s with the publication of Japanese translations of the Moomin books. Between 1969 and 1970, Fuji Television produced a 65-episode animated series called Mūmin, which was loosely inspired by Jansson’s stories but made without prior agreement with Tove. An interesting detail is that the then-unknown Hayao Miyazaki, later renowned as the founder of Studio Ghibli, worked on the series as an animator.

Copyright negotiations during the trip revealed how far the animation had strayed from the original spirit of the Moomins. Tove found the series so alien that she forbade it from being shown outside Japan. The decision was a strong statement about what the Moomins should be like and what values their world represented.

Tove Jansson’s speech in Japanese to an audience of millions

Before the trip, Tove and Tuulikki prepared thoroughly: they read literature about Japan and its culture, and in the spirit of Finnish politeness, they bought numerous gifts, as Japanese hospitality often involves bringing gifts.

In Tokyo, Tove had a television appearance ahead of her that would reach millions of viewers. She wanted to speak Japanese in the show, not by reading from a script but by speaking from memory. Before embarking on the trip, Tove practiced her pronunciation and intonation for hours under the guidance of architect Hidaya Ogawa. Ogawa was working at the time for Tuulikki Pietilä’s brother, Reima Pietilä, at his architectural firm.

“Hidaya read the text first, followed by Tove. Tove was incredibly talented; she listened and was able to imitate the tones of voice and the precise rhythm of the language. She was aided by her innate linguistic sense and musicality,” Tuulikki recounts in the book Resa med Tove: en minnesbok om Tove Jansson (“Travelling with Tove – Memories of Tove Jansson”).

Tuulikki recorded the rehearsals in Finland on her old tape recorder, and then Tove and Hidaya corrected the pronunciation back and forth until they found the right rhythm. According to Tuulikki, Tove was not satisfied until the speech sounded completely natural. Finally, in Tokyo, she spoke to an audience of 800 at a celebration – which was then broadcast on television for an audience of millions.

Listen to the video below to hear Tove Jansson practising her speech in Japanese. The filmed material is by Tuulikki, using her recently bought camera.

The first seconds of 8 mm film – Tuulikki Pietilä becomes a filmmaker

Tuulikki also became a documentary filmmaker during her trip to Japan. Her mother had advised her to buy a super 8 mm film camera so that they could later see what the trip had been like. Tuulikki followed her advice, even though she had never taken photographs or filmed before.

“So I bought a Konica. I still remember the price, 117 yen. I took my first shots in the garden of the Hotel Otani. Tove wrote on a piece of cardboard in Japanese: ‘Tove-san and Tooticki-san in Japan.’ We photographed each other and the garden.”

Tuulikki recounts how her guide Tamiko Bjernér’s husband gave her a single piece of advice: “You’ll get good results if you don’t move the camera. Just hold it steady and let the subject move.” Tuulikki remembered this advice, and Super 8 mm film became her lifelong hobby. She filmed “kilometers upon kilometers,” and as she herself said, “my best subject has always been Tove.”

Two one-way tickets and a new world – the journey continues from Japan around the globe

Before the trip, Tuulikki had suggested that Tove ask the Japanese TV company for two one-way tickets instead of one return ticket. The company agreed, and after a month in Japan, the couple continued their journey at their own expense. Over the next seven months, they travelled to Hawaii, the United States, and Mexico, among other places.

Read more and see more of Tuulikki’s filmed material in our article about the trip to the USA.

However, their visit to Japan, Tove’s carefully learned Japanese speech, and Tuulikki’s first narrow-gauge film footage constituted the heart of the trip—and it remained one of the most beloved chapters of their life together.