Kenji Miyazawa

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Kenji Miyazawa (宮沢賢治 Miyazawa Kenji, August 27, 1896 - September 21, 1933) was a Japanese poet and author of children's literature.

Miyazawa was born in Hanamaki city, Iwate Prefecture as the eldest son of a wealthy pawnbroker. In 1920, he graduated from Morioka Agriculture And Forestry College (盛岡高等農林学校). He was a bright student, so his academic advisor wanted him as an assistant professor, but he became employed as a teacher in agricultural science at Hanamaki Agricultural High School (花巻農学校). He loved his native province, and Ihatov (or Ihatovo), the name of the fictional location that appeared in his works, was constructed from the name Iwate (Ihate in the older spelling) in a manner similar to Esperanto. A collection of free-verse poems (Haru to Shura - 春と修羅 - Spring and Asura) and a collection of children's stories and fairy tales (Chūmon no Ōi Ryōriten - 注文の多い料理店 - The Restaurant of Many Orders) were his only works published before his death besides tanka published in local magazines. After he died many more of his works were discovered and subsequently published.

Miyazawa was influenced by Buddhism, the Lotus Sutra in particular. His devotion and self-sacrificing personality are said to be strongly influenced by these factors.

It may also be noted that Miyazawa had at least a passing interest in Esperanto. This interest is paid tribute to in the 1985 anime adaptation of Ginga tetsudō no yoru (Night on the Galactic Railroad), in which all signs in Giovanni and Campanella's world are written in Esperanto, as well as the written language of the "cats".

In addition to the works mentioned above, Miyazawa's major works also include:

Gingatetsudō no Yoru
Kazeno Matasaburo
Cello Hiki no Goshu
Taneyamagahara no Yoru

and the poem defining the Japanese ideal,

Ame ni mo Makezu

In 1996, to mark the 100th anniversary of Miyazawa's birth, the anime Ihatov Gensou: Kenji no Haru (Ihatov Fantasy: Kenji's Spring; North American title: Spring and Chaos) was released as a depiction of Miyazawa's life. As in the Night on the Galactic Railroad anime, the main characters are depicted as cats.