Isoko Hatano (Japanese: 波多野勤子 ''Hatano Isoko''; – ) was a Japanese

developmental psychologist Developmental psychology is the science, scientific study of how and why humans grow, change, and adapt across the course of their lives. Originally concerned with infants and children, the field has expanded to include adolescence, adult deve ...

and writer. Her 1951 book, ''Shōnenki'', was a national bestseller that was adapted into a feature film. She was awarded the

Order of the Precious Crown The is a Japanese order, established on January 4, 1888 by Emperor Meiji of Japan. Since the Order of the Rising Sun at that time was an Order for men, it was established as an Order for women. Originally the order had five classes, but on Apr ...

in 1976.

Biography

Hatano was born in

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

, Japan, in 1905. In 1927, she completed a degree in English from

Japan Women's University is the oldest and largest of private Japanese women's universities. The university was established on 20 April 1901 by education reformist . The university has around 6000 students and 200 faculty. It has two campuses, named after the neighbo ...

. From 1928 to 1937, she studied child psychology at the Child Research Institute at Japan Women's University. She worked as an assistant researcher in psychology and an educational counsellor at Tokyo Bunrika University (now the

University of Tsukuba is a List of national universities in Japan, national research university located in Tsukuba, Ibaraki Prefecture, Ibaraki, Japan. The university has 28 college clusters and schools with around 16,500 students (as of 2014). The main Tsukuba ca ...

). In 1948, she enrolled as a graduate student at

Nihon University , abbreviated as , is a private research university in Japan. Its predecessor, Nihon Law School (currently the Department of Law), was founded by Yamada Akiyoshi, the Minister of Justice, in 1889. The university's name is derived from the Ja ...

. She earned her PhD in psychology in 1956. Her dissertation was titled ''The Development of Infants and Home Education''. Hatano worked as a professor at the

Kunitachi College of Music The is a private university, private music conservatory in Tachikawa, Tokyo, Tachikawa, Tokyo, Japan. Founded in 1926 as the Tokyo Conservatory of Music, Kunitachi now offers study programs in performance, music education, composition, comput ...

and

Toyo University is a private university with the main Hakusan Station (Tokyo), Hakusan campus in Bunkyō, Bunkyo, Tokyo, Japan. The university operates multiple satellite campuses in the Kanto region, including. Asaka, Saitama, Asaka, Kawagoe, Saitama, Kawagoe, ...

. In 1960, she established the Japan Child Research Institute. She founded Hatano Family School in 1963. In 1964, she founded the Japan Family Welfare Association. Her husband, Hatano Kanji (波多野完治), was also a psychologist. Hatano was the celebrated author of a number of books. She published, in succession, 赤ちゃんの心理 ''(Psychology of Babies)'', ''幼児の心理 (Psychology of Infants)'', ''小学生の心理'' (''Psychology of Elementary School Students)'', and ''中学生の心理'' ''(Psychology of Junior High School Students)''. ''幼児の心理 (Psychology of Infants)'' won the Mainichi Publishing Award. Her 1950 book, ''Shōnenki'', was a national bestseller, with over 300,000 copies sold. It was translated into French (''L'Enfant d'Hiroshima'') and English (''Mother and Son''). The book features letters exchanged between Hatano and her son, Ichiro, between 1944 and 1948. It was adapted into a 1951 movie by director

Keisuke Kinoshita was a Japanese film director and screenwriter. Ronald Berganbr>"A satirical eye on Japan: Keisuke Kinoshita" ''The Guardian'', 5 January 1999. While lesser-known internationally than contemporaries such as Akira Kurosawa, Kenji Mizoguchi and ...

. She died in 1978 at the age of 72.

Awards and honours

Hatano was honoured with Japan's

in 1976.

References

{{Authority control 1905 births 1978 deaths Japanese women psychologists Japanese psychologists Developmental psychologists Nihon University alumni 20th-century Japanese women writers Academic staff of Kunitachi the College of Music Writers from Tokyo Scientists from Tokyo 20th-century psychologists Academic staff of Toyo University