A collection of classic, fantastical tales from Northern Japan that are equal parts whimsical and sophisticated, perfect for readers of all ages.
Kenji Miyazawa (1896-1933) was born in Iwate, one of the
northernmost prefectures in Japan. In high school, he studied Zen
Buddhism and developed a lifelong devotion to the Lotus Sutra, a
major influence on his writing. After graduating from an
agricultural college, he moved to Tokyo to begin his writing career
but had to return home to care for a sick sister. He remained in
his home in Iwate for the rest of his life. One of his best-known
works is the novel Night on the Galactic Railroad, which was
adapted into anime in the late twentieth century, as were many of
his short stories. Much of his poetry is still popular in Japan
today.
John Bester (1927-2010) was a renowned translator of Japanese
fiction, including Masuji Ibuse's Black Rain, Kenzaburo Oe's The
Silent Cry, and Yukio Mishima's Acts of Worship- Seven Stories, for
which he received the Noma Award for the Translation of Japanese
Literature.
"Now, finally, we have been given a collection of Miyazawa’s
stories...Like the tales of Andersen and the Grimms, many of the
stories in Once and Forever may appeal to children: the
sort of thoughtful, dark-minded children who like Neil
Gaiman’s Coraline. But adults will be the primary audience for
the shivers of disturbance these stories send up the spine….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, this English volume of Kenji Miyazawa’s odd,
masterly stories will be a delight.” —Emily Barton, The New York
Times Book Review
"I can’t say there’s a Miyazawa story for everything—the writer
died young and lived nearly a century ago in rural northern
Japan—but he had stories for many of our basic human vices, and for
our basic forms of goodness, too. And this only scratches the
surface of his work’s appeal. . . The stories have a timeless
quality and a resemblance to fairy tales or children’s literature.
. . Everything in Miyazawa’s work seethes with life. Each
leaf, flower, blade of grass, and berry seems to have its own
special action." —Valerie Stivers, The Paris Review
"These tales turn familiar fairy-tale rhythms on their hands,
balancing chaos and kindness, the natural and the supernatural, the
unsettling and the inspiring. It will be right at home in any
library of short stories or modern folklore.” —Genevieve Valentine,
NPR, "Best Books of 2018"
“Kenji Miyazawa fables are international-class.” —David
Mitchell
"In the transcendent stories of Miyazawa, Earth teems with magic
and wonder....While Miyazawa does not eschew the tropes of
folktales—his forests teem with talking animals, magic stones, and
moral lessons—this collection proves his poetic voice and craft
transcend the genre." —Publishers Weekly
“Miyazawa moves you to sorrow, to laugh, chuckle, marvel—he makes
you live the things he describes.” —Hiroaki Sato
"A marvelous writer who deserves to be much better known in
English." —Kirkus
"Miyazawa seems to have been something of a genius." —The
Observer
"A humble and gifted writer." —Time
"Miyazawa's tales beg to be read and reread slowly and out loud."
—Asiaweek
"Readers who haven't outgrown imaginative stories ... will enjoy
Miyazawa no less than Mark Twain, Lewis Carroll, Dickens and Dr.
Seuss." —Asahi Evening News
"The work of a truly good man and a great writer." —Insight Japan
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