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Kenji Miyazawa: 13 works in the original Japanese, with translation

Kenji Miyazawa (27 August 1896 – 21 September 1933) was a Japanese novelist, poet, and children's literature writer from Hanamaki, Iwate, who also worked as an agricultural science teacher. His major works include Night on the Galactic Railroad, Kaze no Matasaburō, Gauche the Cellist, and The Night of Taneyamagahara, and his work gained its reputation mostly after his death.

Works in the library

Cultural notes (selection)

RESTAURANT The Restaurant of Many Orders

The sign bears 'Restaurant (Western-style)' and 'Wildcat House' in English and Japanese side by side. The sudden appearance of such a fashionable Western-style sign deep in the mountains marks the beginning of the story's sense of absurdity.

尋常五年生 Wildcat and the Acorns

Refers to a fifth-year pupil at a "尋常小学校" (ordinary elementary school) of the time in Japan.

クラムボン やまなし

A word invented by Miyazawa Kenji; nowhere in the piece is it explained. The crabs repeatedly say it "laughed" or "died," so readers can only guess it is some small creature in the water. This undefined coinage creates the feel of a child's point of view; it is usually transliterated in translation.

堅雪かんこ、しみ雪しんこ 雪渡り

This is a counting-song-style children's rhyme sung while walking on katayuki (snow with a frozen surface firm enough to bear weight). The words themselves carry no particular meaning; the repeated rhythmic sounds 'kanko' and 'shinko' serve to keep the children's steps in unison.