Little Black Sambo, Japanese Version (1997)

The image of the tigers sitting in a circle beside a tree, each with a piece of Sambo’s clothing, represents many of the cultural representations of black people. Though the dehumanization of the black “other” began centuries ago, Japanese culture continues to assert discriminatory views into the modern era. The racialized versions of Little Black Sambo achieved high popularity in the mid 20th century and it continues to be popular today: “Although published well after the convention of representing blacks in the Western stereotypical mode had taken root, its popularity […] and influence in shaping the Japanese image of the black Other should not be underestimated” (13). This image of the tigers gathered with the clothes is highly pixelated. The obvious computer generated images that appear throughout the book force the reader to acknowledge the how recently the book was printed.