Kenji Miyazawa

The most renowned work by the legendary Japanese writer who inspired Studio Ghibli, Night on the Galactic Railroad is a classic for readers of My Father's Dragon and A Wrinkle in Time. An adventure story steeped in profound themes. On the eve of the Milky Way festival, Giovanni rushes past his classmates who are busy preparing for the celebration. He must get to his job at the printing office where he plucks tiny pieces of type with tweezers from a box, in exchange for a single silver coin. Later, he waits in a dusky kitchen that smells of cows for a bottle of milk to bring to his mother. Night has fallen when his classmates begin sailing gourds lit with candles down the black, glistening river. Giovanni wanders along a hillside. The dark blue sky begins to twinkle and shine. And suddenly, Giovanni finds himself transported to a compartment of the Galactic train. Across from him is his fellow classmate, the tender-hearted, enigmatic Campanella. So begins an expedition traversing the galaxy. Campanella and Giovanni, etched in a black-and-white gothic style, travel through fields of purple flowers, into constellations. They meet the strangest people. There's the lighthouse man, the bird catcher, and the shipwrecked children. Kenji Miyazawa's story unravels its mysterious thread, in an exquisite translation by Asa Yoneda and David Boyd. Osamu Tsukasa's illustrations combine the enigmatic beauty of Edvard Munch and Aubrey Beardsley's art nouveau ink drawings––both of whom were inspired by Japanese woodblock prints. Miyazawa's classic story will stay with readers long after childhood.

"A breathtakingly beautiful world…reminding us that we are part of the universe." —Kaori Nagai"A modern classic." —NPRLonely and awkward, Giovanni struggles with his sick mother, absent father, and an afterschool job that isolates him from his peers. But on the night of the Star Festival, he is magically transported onto a celestial train with his best friend, Campanella. Together, they embark on an extraordinary journey through the galaxy, encountering mysterious characters and grappling with life's deepest questions. When Giovanni returns to earth, he faces the heartbreaking truth about their voyage. Kenji Miyazawa, one of Japan's most revered authors, is celebrated for his poetic vision and ability to weave profound reflections on human nature into fantastical settings. A Night on the Galactic Railway is a powerful exploration of friendship, loss, and the mysteries of existence, cementing its place as a timeless masterpiece. This edition, filled with stunning imagery and evocative themes, offers readers a glimpse into Miyazawa's genius. Reads right-to-left in the Japanese style.

Japanese fairy tales - enchanting, enigmatic stories of animals, human beings and the great natural world. Dark and innocent, sublime and whimsical, Miyazawa's stories have the ageless feel of the best fairy tales. There are animal allegories such as 'The Ungrateful Rat' where a rude rodent insults all the objects he meets - until he meets the Rat Trap. There are morality tales such as 'The Restaurant of Many Orders', where two hunters become the hunted. There are also transcendent stories of childhood and mortality like Miyazawa's best-known 'Night Train to the Stars', where a magical steam train carries children through the night and up to the heavens. These stories reveal the unique brilliance of one of Japan's most beloved early twentieth-century writers. WITH A FOREWORD BY DAVID MITCHELL AND AN INTRODUCTION BY KAORI NAGAI'Kenji Miyazawa fables are international-class' David Mitchell'For readers who relish the disturbing material of fairy tale, the specificity and surprise of tanka, collisions of the everyday with the supernatural and glimpses of Japan right on the brink of industrialization, Kenji Miyazawa's masterly stories will be a delight' New York Times'Few works have given me so much pleasure (and hard work) as the tales of Miyazawa Kenji [...] more genuine originality, and a more universal appeal, than almost anything else I have done.' John Bester, translator

"In the transcendent stories of Miyazawa, Earth teems with magic and wonder." — Publishers Weekly"A marvelous writer who deserves to be much better known in English." — KirkusThis charming manga collection presents three modern fables by one of Japan's most gifted authors, the poet and short story writer Kenji Miyazawa. Miyazawa is renowned for his masterful storytelling, poetic imagery and powerful evocation of both the shadows and light of human nature. His world of sentient stars and enchanted forests, presented here in manga form, will appeal to imaginative readers of all ages. The Restaurant of Many Orders follows a pair of confident, self-centered young men on a hunting expedition. After entering a mysterious restaurant deep in the forest the men are given a series of increasingly peculiar orders before they can be served dinner. What begins with simple orders, like removing their coats and brushing their hair, become stranger and stranger before the two men realize that something more cynical is at bay…The Wildcat and the Acorns is the story of a young boy invited to attend a trial where a wildcat presides over golden acorns disputing which acorn is the best one. The Twin Stars brings to life the heavenly constellations, whose musical performances keep the stars twinkling at night. In the daytime, however, the harmony falls apart as the constellations squabble among themselves.

Japanese fairy tales - enchanting, enigmatic stories of animals, human beings and the great natural world. Dark and innocent, sublime and whimsical, Miyazawa's stories have the ageless feel of the best fairy tales. There are animal allegories such as 'The Ungrateful Rat' where a rude rodent insults all the objects he meets - until he meets the Rat Trap/ There are morality tales such as 'The Restaurant of Many Orders', where two hunters become the hunted. There are also transcendent stories of childhood and mortality like Miyazawa's best-known 'Night Train to the Stars', where a magical steam train carries children through the night and up to the heavens. These stories reveal the unique brilliance of one of Japan's most beloved early twentieth-century writers. WITH A FOREWORD BY DAVID MITCHELL AND AN INTRODUCTION BY KAORI NAGAI'Kenji Miyazawa fables are international-class' David Mitchell'For readers who relish the disturbing material of fairy tale, the specificity and surprise of tanka, collisions of the everyday with the supernatural and glimpses of Japan right on the brink of industrialization, Kenji Miyazawa's masterly stories will be a delight' New York Times'Few works have given me so much pleasure (and hard work) as the tales of Miyazawa Kenji [...] more genuine originality, and a more universal appeal, than almost anything else I have done.' John Bester, translator

On the festival night celebrating the Milky Way galaxy, Giovanni is transported by a mysterious train to the Milky Way. He sees fantastic sights and meets mysterious people, including an old friend. This unfinished but classic story of friendship, loss, and the search for true happiness has inspired the creation of dozens of movies, plays, manga, anime, television shows, musical pieces, and even research papers.

JAPANESE EDITION with notes in English Two tales from the master storyteller Kenji Miyazawa Matsuri no Ban - Ryoji goes to the autumn festival that takes place in the village near his home. There he encounters a giant man with eyes the colour of "grubby gold." Is he, as the villagers claim, the Mountain Man of legend and is Ryoji wise to try to help him? Kenji Miyazawa is well known for his tales of fantasy, but this story, although it contains an element of the supernatural, is firmly based in reality. Futari no Yakunin - Very early one Sunday morning, two young boys set out to visit the fields outside the town where they live. When they are nearly at their destination they find that a notice board has been erected telling the public to "Keep Out." Despite the warning they decide to continue with their outing... Told in the first person, this is a superb example of Miyazawa's "un-magical" writing. The characters and locations are acutely observed and lovingly described in a way which powerfully evokes the lost days of childhood. In both these stories the characters very often speak colloquially, using language that is outside the province of most language learning text-books. Because of this extra pains have been taken to highlight and explain idiomatic expressions and contractions in speech and, although it is never possible to make a word for word translation from one language to another, all the speech has been translated, as literally as possible, into English. This Japanese-English edition features: - Modern Japanese text - Kanji with furigana readings - Detailed notes in English *Recommended for intermediate and advanced students. About the author: - Kenji Miyazawa (1896-1933) is often referred to as a writer of children's literature, but although his stories may appear simple they are far from child-like in conception or execution. Among his best known tales are Gingatetsudo no Yoru and Cello Hiki no Goshu both of which been made into animated films. Other books in this series include: Taketori Monogatari - retold by Dr. Mankichi Wada Inu to Fue - by Akutagawa Ryunosuke

Kenji Miyazawa (1896-1933) is one of Japan's most beloved writers and poets, known particularly for his sensitive and symbolist children's fiction. This volume collects stories which focus on Miyazawa's love of space and his use of the galaxy as a metaphor for the concepts of purity, self-sacrifice and faith which were near and dear to his heart. "The Nighthawk Star" follows an lowly bird as he struggles to transform himself into something greater, a constellation in the night sky; "Signal & Signal-less" depicts a pair of star-crossed train signals who dream of eloping to the moon; and "Night on the Galactic Railroad," Miyazawa's most famous work, tells the story of two boys as they journey upon a train that traverses the cosmos, learning the true meaning of friendship, happiness and life itself along the way.

Seminal translations from the large body of Miyazawa Kenji's poetry. Considered to be one of the greatest modern Japanese poets, Miyazawa is also, "the poet of the Tsunami recovery." The editor selected brief lines from Miyazawa's best known works and they are juxtaposed with lovely photographs by Japanese photojournalist, Kenji Okuhira. Readers can see not only Miyazawa's homeland, but also images of the Tsunami disaster of 2011. There is a beautiful visual exposition of Zen in this book that matches the poetry of the master, Miyazawa. The book is in English and Japanese.

From Wikipedia: Kenji Miyazawa (a(r)(r)ae e ae " Miyazawa Kenji, 27 August 1896 - 21 September 1933) was a Japanese poet and author of children's literature in the early Showa period of Japan. He was also known as a devout Buddhist, vegetarian and social activist.

From Wikipedia: Night on the Galactic Railroad (Ginga Tetsudo no Yoru), sometimes translated as Milky Way Railroad, Night Train to the Stars, or Fantasy Railroad In The Stars, is a classic Japanese novel by Kenji Miyazawa written around 1927. The nine-chapter novel was posthumously published in 1934 as part of Complete Works of Kenji Miyazawa Vol. 3 (aea(R)(R)ae e ae "a...e a c----a ea*") published by Bunpodo (ae-aauEa C).aFour versions are known to be in existence, with the last one being the most famous among Japanese readers.