national

Mystery man puts smiles on kids’ faces with gift of 3,000 books

10 Comments
By Joan Coello

Christmas is just around the corner, and ’tis the season to be giving. An anonymous Santa has already presented three schools in Hokkaido with a gift of over 3,000 books.

A mysterious elderly man approached Kato Shokan, a local bookstore, and made a request to have “books that children would be happy to receive” delivered to three primary schools in Kushiro. The bookstore staff asked for the sender’s name, but the man, who appeared to be in his 80s, did not answer to that, only leaving 6 million yen in cash on the counter in payment for his generous purchase.

The three schools, Akan Primary School, Nakateshibetsu Primary School, and Ninishibetsu Primary School, each received over a thousand books including dictionaries, illustrated books and novels for children. The children were beyond elated, of course.

Over at Akan Primary School, the school’s library did not have sufficient space to house the unexpected volume of books, so they set up a reading corner in the school’s front hall and named it the Santa Library in honor of their real-life Santa.

"We are really grateful. If it was possible, I would really like to meet the man who sent us the books and thank him in person. We will treasure the books," said the principal of Akan Primary School.

Source: NHK NewsWeb

Read more stories from RocketNews24. -- We visit the World Santa Congress in Kumamoto Prefecture -- Top 15 Libraries to Visit Before You Die -- Spend a Day with Ice-Cream, Ramen and 30,000 Comics at Tachikawa’s Amazing New Manga Park

© RocketNews24

©2024 GPlusMedia Inc.

10 Comments
Login to comment

What a wonderful story and what a wonderful person!

8 ( +8 / -0 )

Looks like Tiger Mask has competition. What a kind-hearted, generous old man.

7 ( +7 / -0 )

Old guy, you did a really good thing.

6 ( +6 / -0 )

I love these stories - when someone wants to do good and make others' lives happier and better, without the fuss of attention or publicity on him/her instead of on the people being helped. I hope his donation helps him in some way as well.

6 ( +6 / -0 )

A truly great person. Would that there were a whole lot more like him.

3 ( +4 / -1 )

Well done, sir. A gift of books to kids - parents take note.

4 ( +4 / -0 )

Wonderful. Let this inspire people to do what they can in a similar spirit. This was a huge gesture, but equally so, many people doing small things adds up to a lot. Merry Christmas to you, sir.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

Great man, proof that that true charity is not attention grabbing or self promoting, like dozens of these youtube videos of guys giving people cash.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Stories like this make me wish I could give the article a thumb's-up and not just the commentary.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

A wonderful heart-warming story...we could all do this in some way shape or form in our immediate communities!

2 ( +2 / -0 )

Login to leave a comment

Facebook users

Use your Facebook account to login or register with JapanToday. By doing so, you will also receive an email inviting you to receive our news alerts.

Facebook Connect

Login with your JapanToday account

User registration

Articles, Offers & Useful Resources

A mix of what's trending on our other sites