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Night on the Galactic Railroad and Other Stories from Ihatov
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.
"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.
112 pages, Paperback
First published December 17, 2013
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About the author
Kenji Miyazawa
989 books339 followersHis name is written as 宮沢賢治 in Japanese, and translated as 宮澤賢治 in Traditional Chinese.
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.
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.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 147 reviews
January 4, 2020
"No one knows what true happiness is, least of all me. But no matter how hard it is, if you keep up the path you deem to be true, you can overcome any mountain. With each step in that direction, people come closer to happiness," said the lighthouse keeper, comfortingly.
"I agree," said the young man, closing his eyes as if in prayer, "but to reach the truest happiness, one must make their way through many sorrows."
"I agree," said the young man, closing his eyes as if in prayer, "but to reach the truest happiness, one must make their way through many sorrows."
July 8, 2016
Read this on my 12 hour train ride from Fairbanks to Anchorage. Very sweet.
January 1, 2017
قبل سنة تقريباً رأيت الفلم الكرتوني المقتبس من القصة القصيرة ( ليلة في القطار الكوني ) واتذكر بوضوح انبهاري الشديد والشعور الغريب الذي تملكني خلالها، حتى اقترح الصديق الذي عرفني على الفلم ان اقرأ القصة واطلع بشكل أكثر على القصة بغير منظورها الملون، ومنها أتعرف على كاتب ياباني جديد.
أعترف اني لم أفهم شيئاً عندما وصلني الكتاب، قرأت عدة صفحات بدت كطلاسم متتابعة فتركته لأشهراً كثيرة حتى اخذته صباح هذا اليوم المُمل وقرأته حتى نهايته. تشبعت به بأجواء القرية الهادئة ذات الطيور الغاضبة و الإشارات العاشقة والفتى الوحيد العامل خلال ليلة عيد الميلاد.
شعور لطيف يرطب جدار القلب في يوم جاف. هذا مايمكنني التعبير عنه تجاه هذه القصص الثلاثة
أعترف اني لم أفهم شيئاً عندما وصلني الكتاب، قرأت عدة صفحات بدت كطلاسم متتابعة فتركته لأشهراً كثيرة حتى اخذته صباح هذا اليوم المُمل وقرأته حتى نهايته. تشبعت به بأجواء القرية الهادئة ذات الطيور الغاضبة و الإشارات العاشقة والفتى الوحيد العامل خلال ليلة عيد الميلاد.
شعور لطيف يرطب جدار القلب في يوم جاف. هذا مايمكنني التعبير عنه تجاه هذه القصص الثلاثة
November 12, 2022
It's no secret that I've spent the first three years of my adult life wasting away, indulging myself in activities that never really satisfy me, spewing empty promises and feeling nothing upon breaking them, since they rang so hollow to begin with. But it's only now that I completely realise; all this waste was in pursuit of childlike wonder.
The age-old idiom of "you can never be a child again" was something I never believed in, instead choosing to believe, should I ignore it well enough, that the fingers of adulthood would never clamp around me if I never opened my eyes to it. And, given certain circumstances, I was allowed to believe this, to believe that these circumstances were made solely for me, to believe that, in this masking of insecurities with endless intaking and intaking and intaking, I could self-bloating while never vomiting any of it, and get an inane sort of satisfaction from doing what truly amounts to nothing, at least to my synapses.
I believed that I could suppress my creative spirit if I tried hard enough.
"Tomorrow," I'd promise, "I'll work on that story," or "tomorrow," I'd say, "I'll record that video." But this over-indulgent stomach of mine proposes, "just a little bit more," and, so easily, I concede. (None of this is to say you, the reader, or those, not reading this, amount to nothing because they do not regurgitate; I'm saying it's a fault of myself for discrediting this spirit of mine, and attempting to bury it beneath mounds of extraneous thoughts. I shot myself, I hold the gun not to you, but to me!)
Saturday means nothing to me but the passage of time that I, also, refuse to acknowledge, despite the pink-markered slashes on my calendar assuring myself I do. For tomorrow will always be the day that I begin the first day of the rest of my life, but tomorrow is also the day I spend hoping for tomorrow, and taking no steps to cement that tomorrow's hope. Instead, I choose to dream, saying that this is my last hold on 'childhood wonder' (so meaningless a phrase). But the idiom rings true: There will never be a day where I can think like that again.
But the truth is, that's fine.
It's the second part I never realised. That it is fine. The show must go on, the train must go to the next stop, phases exist to end and begin in a loop. None of it's the same, and new perspective is the beauty of it. I may wonder and wonder and wonder I will with that childlike ignorance, not wonder, that I've imposed on yourself, because if I wonder and want, it places me in a cave where I cannot wonder and desire.
I'll tell you what I do: I get angry when a piece of art is praised that I could feasibly do, given a little tutelage. My blood boils when something I deem amateurish flourishes in popularity because I know somewhere I could make much of the same. I am angry, damn it, and I'm sick of pretending like I'm not.
For me, living cannot be an endless stream of entertainment, living must be the adamant pursuit of clenched teeth and boiling bones. Living is striving, and that is my adult wonder. Accomplishment. Etching my name somewhere other than a tombstone, other than breaths of air. I must create and not only consume, this part of me can never be hidden. I live for the pressure in my head and the fire in my chest.
"Why am I feeling so sad? I want a heart that's stronger, more pure. If I fix my eyes on those smoky blue flames straight ahead, perhaps I can cleanse my soul."
This is all encapsulated within Miyazawa's Night On The Galactic Railroad. A youthful novella, to be sure, but an adult one, one that could not be made without a healthy dose of retrospection, and the abstraction of said retrospection. The simultaneous beauty of the current, past, and potential future.
""Look!" Campanella exclaimed. "Gentian flowers! It must already be autumn." In the short grass along the track bloomed splendid gentian flowers that looked as if they had been carved out of moonstone. "Maybe I'll jump off the train for a moment, pick some, and hop back on," Giovanni said, his heart still dancing. "I wouldn't. See, we've already passed them." Before Campanella finished speaking, they had left the gentian flowers behind. But soon another bed appeared, shining yellow and passing over their eyes like bubbling water or rain, while the lights of the signposts seemed to smolder."
During Night On The Galactic Railroad, for the first time in my adult life, I exhaled.
""No one knows what true happiness is, least of all me. But no matter how hard it is, if you keep to the path you deem to be true, you can overcome any mountain. With each step in that direction, people come closer to happiness," said the lighthouse keeper, comfortingly.
"I agree," said the young man, closing his eyes as if in prayer, "but to reach the truest happiness, one must make their way through many sorrows.""
""I'm no longer afraid, even of a darkness, as fathomless as that is. I'm sure true happiness can even be found within it. Let's search for it...however long it takes, or however far we must go..." Giovanni said."
The age-old idiom of "you can never be a child again" was something I never believed in, instead choosing to believe, should I ignore it well enough, that the fingers of adulthood would never clamp around me if I never opened my eyes to it. And, given certain circumstances, I was allowed to believe this, to believe that these circumstances were made solely for me, to believe that, in this masking of insecurities with endless intaking and intaking and intaking, I could self-bloating while never vomiting any of it, and get an inane sort of satisfaction from doing what truly amounts to nothing, at least to my synapses.
I believed that I could suppress my creative spirit if I tried hard enough.
"Tomorrow," I'd promise, "I'll work on that story," or "tomorrow," I'd say, "I'll record that video." But this over-indulgent stomach of mine proposes, "just a little bit more," and, so easily, I concede. (None of this is to say you, the reader, or those, not reading this, amount to nothing because they do not regurgitate; I'm saying it's a fault of myself for discrediting this spirit of mine, and attempting to bury it beneath mounds of extraneous thoughts. I shot myself, I hold the gun not to you, but to me!)
Saturday means nothing to me but the passage of time that I, also, refuse to acknowledge, despite the pink-markered slashes on my calendar assuring myself I do. For tomorrow will always be the day that I begin the first day of the rest of my life, but tomorrow is also the day I spend hoping for tomorrow, and taking no steps to cement that tomorrow's hope. Instead, I choose to dream, saying that this is my last hold on 'childhood wonder' (so meaningless a phrase). But the idiom rings true: There will never be a day where I can think like that again.
But the truth is, that's fine.
It's the second part I never realised. That it is fine. The show must go on, the train must go to the next stop, phases exist to end and begin in a loop. None of it's the same, and new perspective is the beauty of it. I may wonder and wonder and wonder I will with that childlike ignorance, not wonder, that I've imposed on yourself, because if I wonder and want, it places me in a cave where I cannot wonder and desire.
I'll tell you what I do: I get angry when a piece of art is praised that I could feasibly do, given a little tutelage. My blood boils when something I deem amateurish flourishes in popularity because I know somewhere I could make much of the same. I am angry, damn it, and I'm sick of pretending like I'm not.
For me, living cannot be an endless stream of entertainment, living must be the adamant pursuit of clenched teeth and boiling bones. Living is striving, and that is my adult wonder. Accomplishment. Etching my name somewhere other than a tombstone, other than breaths of air. I must create and not only consume, this part of me can never be hidden. I live for the pressure in my head and the fire in my chest.
"Why am I feeling so sad? I want a heart that's stronger, more pure. If I fix my eyes on those smoky blue flames straight ahead, perhaps I can cleanse my soul."
This is all encapsulated within Miyazawa's Night On The Galactic Railroad. A youthful novella, to be sure, but an adult one, one that could not be made without a healthy dose of retrospection, and the abstraction of said retrospection. The simultaneous beauty of the current, past, and potential future.
""Look!" Campanella exclaimed. "Gentian flowers! It must already be autumn." In the short grass along the track bloomed splendid gentian flowers that looked as if they had been carved out of moonstone. "Maybe I'll jump off the train for a moment, pick some, and hop back on," Giovanni said, his heart still dancing. "I wouldn't. See, we've already passed them." Before Campanella finished speaking, they had left the gentian flowers behind. But soon another bed appeared, shining yellow and passing over their eyes like bubbling water or rain, while the lights of the signposts seemed to smolder."
During Night On The Galactic Railroad, for the first time in my adult life, I exhaled.
""No one knows what true happiness is, least of all me. But no matter how hard it is, if you keep to the path you deem to be true, you can overcome any mountain. With each step in that direction, people come closer to happiness," said the lighthouse keeper, comfortingly.
"I agree," said the young man, closing his eyes as if in prayer, "but to reach the truest happiness, one must make their way through many sorrows.""
""I'm no longer afraid, even of a darkness, as fathomless as that is. I'm sure true happiness can even be found within it. Let's search for it...however long it takes, or however far we must go..." Giovanni said."
November 2, 2023
Inicijalno nisam znala da je u pitanju zbirka. Samim tim nek bude neka srednja ocena, budući da mi se nekolicina priča dopala (priča o medvedima i sama noć na galaktičkoj železnici), dok su mi neke druge bile manje interesantne. Takodje, sličan utisak imam o pesmama.
January 19, 2024
3.5. Rounded up for GR.
I picked up this collection of stories because my favorite Japanese artist, Junaida, has a series of books where he paints artistic interpretations of Miyazawa’s work.
After reading a few of the excerpts, I found myself wanting to read some of his work in full- especially Night on the Galactic Railroad which is one of his most famous stories.
This collection has the aforementioned story as well as two other short stories and a poem. I can see why these four works have been grouped together as they share a lot of the same motifs: birds, signposts, nature, and the cosmos. All motifs I thoroughly enjoy and see reflected in Junaida’s work.
As for the stories themselves, Miyazawa is able to capture the nonsensical whimsy of childhood in a beautiful way; you don’t really understand what’s happening, but you don’t want or need to. Things are wondrous and beautiful simply for the sake of it being so. However, there is a constant undercurrent of melancholy that accompanies this imagery. A contradiction between the harsh confines of reality and the unbridled possibilities of the imagination.
This melancholy is striking, but made the stories a little less enjoyable for me. Ironically this will probably make the stories stay with me longer and lend themselves to further contemplation, but currently, I wish these had been a little more lighthearted. Either way, I’m glad I read this short collection and I can see myself reading more of his work.
I picked up this collection of stories because my favorite Japanese artist, Junaida, has a series of books where he paints artistic interpretations of Miyazawa’s work.
After reading a few of the excerpts, I found myself wanting to read some of his work in full- especially Night on the Galactic Railroad which is one of his most famous stories.
This collection has the aforementioned story as well as two other short stories and a poem. I can see why these four works have been grouped together as they share a lot of the same motifs: birds, signposts, nature, and the cosmos. All motifs I thoroughly enjoy and see reflected in Junaida’s work.
As for the stories themselves, Miyazawa is able to capture the nonsensical whimsy of childhood in a beautiful way; you don’t really understand what’s happening, but you don’t want or need to. Things are wondrous and beautiful simply for the sake of it being so. However, there is a constant undercurrent of melancholy that accompanies this imagery. A contradiction between the harsh confines of reality and the unbridled possibilities of the imagination.
This melancholy is striking, but made the stories a little less enjoyable for me. Ironically this will probably make the stories stay with me longer and lend themselves to further contemplation, but currently, I wish these had been a little more lighthearted. Either way, I’m glad I read this short collection and I can see myself reading more of his work.
July 15, 2024
A slatko je :3
August 20, 2023
Between the shores, the river flowed as quietly as death. p.109
When I was in elementary school, I participated in an after school storyteller club. We memorized and acted out short children’s stories such as Aesop’s fables. Then we’d go perform the stories for children in the younger grades. The story that I always told on my own was “The Crow and the Water Jug.” Miyazawa’s timeless-feeling fables in this collection reminded me of my love for that club. If I had known of his writing then, I’m sure I would have loved to recite and act out “The Nighthawk Star” short story.
While the crow in the Aesop’s Fable collection was revered for its persistence and thinking outside of the box, Miyazawa’s nighthawk was relatable as an outcast and looking for escape. To kids, I think the nighthawk is a sympathetic figure, longing for a place to belong. It’s really easy to feel like you’re not in the right place, that there’s got to be something greater ahead, a place where you fit in.
Night on the Galactic Railroad is a story I’ve been meaning to read for a long time. I was first introduced to the story when I was beginning my Japanese language studies and was in the astronomy club. Although this time I read it in English, I’d like to come back to the story next year and read it in Japanese.
There was a lot of symbolism going on in the story that reminded me of trying to read parables from the Bible as a kid. If I read this as a child, I would have picked up on basic messages of being kind to others while being vaguely aware that there was much more being said that I couldn’t quite pick up on yet because I wasn’t an adult.
The back of the book said that this story would result in the characters “learning the true meaning of friendship, happiness, and life itself.” I think that description is a disservice to the book. To me, that’s not what the quote below was conveying.
“No one knows what true happiness is, least of all me. But no matter how hard it is, if you keep to the path you deem to be true, you can overcome any mountain. With each step in that direction, people come closer to happiness,” said the lighthouse keeper, comfortingly.
“I agree,” said the young man, closing his eyes as if in prayer, “but to reach the truest happiness, one must make their way through many sorrows.” p. 87
I think that Miyazawa wanted to provide some kind of hint for children who are just beginning the lifetime journey that is trying to figure out what the point of being alive is. The best children’s books address real, complicated questions that children ask. We don’t have simple answers to kids who ask “Why was I born?” and “Why do people die?” It’s easy for us adults to shy away from honestly answering those questions because we have no idea if the answer, if we even have one, is good enough. Metaphors and storytelling are an imaginative way of taking children’s questions seriously. I think the sentiment in the following quote captures the way a child, given agency, can see the world.
I’m no longer afraid, even of a darkness, as fathomless as that is. I’m sure true happiness can even be found within it. Let’s search for it…however long it takes, or however far we must go. p. 107
Lastly, I think Night on the Galactic Railway makes even more sense when considering Miyazawa’s background. The translator’s note at the beginning states how Miyazawa’s family were merchants who took advantage of farmers and the working class. He wanted nothing to do with that life. In modern times, the ideas expressed below fall in-line with critiques on capitalism.
Oh, God. How many lives have I stolen to survive? Yet when it came my turn to be eaten by the weasel, I selfishly ran away. And for what? What a waste my life has been! If only I’d let the weasel eat me, I could have helped him live another day. God, please hear my prayer. Even if my life has been meaningless, let my death be of help to others. Burn my body so that it may become a beacon, to light the way for others as they search for true happiness. p. 101 (definitely gave me Joan of Arc vibes)
Rather than being saved by sacrificing others, I thought it might be better for us to see God together. p.86
December 15, 2022
Poetic, beautiful and joyful.
Like a japanese book of fables it’s filled with an air of old Japan and it’s traditions and spirituality.
It reminded me of Akira Kurusawas movie ”memories”.
Not all the short stories are at the same level. But the ones that stand out are truly mesmerizing. Especially the first one that gives the book it’s title.
It’s fantasy in it’s best form and made me feel like I was walking that road across the milky way, with the southern wind in my hair and starlight on my breath.
Like a japanese book of fables it’s filled with an air of old Japan and it’s traditions and spirituality.
It reminded me of Akira Kurusawas movie ”memories”.
Not all the short stories are at the same level. But the ones that stand out are truly mesmerizing. Especially the first one that gives the book it’s title.
It’s fantasy in it’s best form and made me feel like I was walking that road across the milky way, with the southern wind in my hair and starlight on my breath.
November 29, 2019
3.5 stars
Clearly this translation wasn't as expressive or beautiful as I imagine the original to be (in fact, it was pretty awkward at times). The ending of Night on the Galactic Railroad was brilliant.
Nighthawk Star (3 stars)
Signal and Signal-less (3.5/5)
Night on the Galactic Railroad (4/5)
Clearly this translation wasn't as expressive or beautiful as I imagine the original to be (in fact, it was pretty awkward at times). The ending of Night on the Galactic Railroad was brilliant.
Nighthawk Star (3 stars)
Signal and Signal-less (3.5/5)
Night on the Galactic Railroad (4/5)
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February 1, 2022• NIGHT ON THE GALACTIC RAILROAD and Other Stories by Kenji Miyazawa, tr. Julianne Neville, 1934/2014.
Three short stories of longing, love, fantasy. Each story tinged with sadness. Title story was the strongest - and saddest.
Children's classics with conscience/moral, akin to Oscar Wilde's fables or Hans Christian Andersen's tales in a European context.
Three short stories of longing, love, fantasy. Each story tinged with sadness. Title story was the strongest - and saddest.
Children's classics with conscience/moral, akin to Oscar Wilde's fables or Hans Christian Andersen's tales in a European context.
March 11, 2022
And just like that I'm into trains again. Space trains specifically.
Actually this book is a perfect storm of my interests and obsessions: space trains, corn fields, Jesus, the constellation Scorpio.
And I've never read a more heartbreaking sentence than "Lately Giovanni had been so busy with work...he had neither the time to read nor the money to buy any books."
Actually this book is a perfect storm of my interests and obsessions: space trains, corn fields, Jesus, the constellation Scorpio.
And I've never read a more heartbreaking sentence than "Lately Giovanni had been so busy with work...he had neither the time to read nor the money to buy any books."
March 1, 2017
I have to agree with many other reviewers: this is probably gorgeous in Japanese, but misses the mark in translation.
So Miyazawa goes onto my list of authors to read in Japanese.
Besides that: train signals in love.... so what exactly was Miyazawa on when he wrote this?
So Miyazawa goes onto my list of authors to read in Japanese.
Besides that: train signals in love.... so what exactly was Miyazawa on when he wrote this?
December 13, 2023
In this Serbian edition, apart from the novel there is also an interesting biography of the writer, which is important for the understanding of the work itself, and also three short stories, as well as five poems.
The short novel "Night on the Galactic Railroad" is a surreal and philosophical story about two boys, Giovanni and Campanella, who go to the same class and live in the same village. One night, during the holiday, both of them inexplicably embark on a journey on the Galactic Railway. During the journey they meet various travelers and visit symbolic locations with references to life, death and friendship.This allegorical novel is considered a forerunner of Japanese science fiction and explores deeper existential themes as it takes readers on a fantastical journey across the universe.
The short novel "Night on the Galactic Railroad" is a surreal and philosophical story about two boys, Giovanni and Campanella, who go to the same class and live in the same village. One night, during the holiday, both of them inexplicably embark on a journey on the Galactic Railway. During the journey they meet various travelers and visit symbolic locations with references to life, death and friendship.This allegorical novel is considered a forerunner of Japanese science fiction and explores deeper existential themes as it takes readers on a fantastical journey across the universe.
April 9, 2024
iznenadjujuce solidna knjiga mada nzm koliko ima smisla bez ikakvkog poznavanja budizma
July 3, 2024
Kenji Miyazawa, who died at the young age of 37, was not only an almost unknown fairy tale writer during his lifetime, but also a poet.
Many of his works were published posthumously by his friends. The best references to Kenji's inner world can be seen in his open and transparent stories. The path of all the stories he wrote passes through forests, railway lines, rainbows, moonlight and stars. He is a true nature lover, a true naturalist. It is said that Kenji's younger sister Toshiko was the greatest inspiration for Kenji to create his works. So much so that some even say that the character of Giovanni was modelled on Kenji himself and Campanella was inspired by his sister Toshiko. If the theory that Campanella was inspired by Toshiko is true, it is likely that Kenji, like Giovanni, who faced the death of Campanella, accepted the death of his brother with this book and finally showed an attitude determined to continue living like Giovanni.
Another thing that made Night on the Galactic Railroad interesting for me was that it was unfinished. What kind of ending did Kenji wish for this story? I think about it a lot. The book was edited and published in many different ways while Kenji was alive, but it didn't reach an end with Kenji's death in 1933. Giovanni's feelings and their relationship are very different in its first and last published form. In the first version, Giovanni is determined to seek "True Happiness" after completing the journey on the Galactic Railway, while in the final version, he ends his long journey "full of various complicated emotions" and the story ends with the scene of his return to the city.
Why was the story changed in this way Some people say that Kenji's health at the time was one of the reasons, but since he died, only the author Kenji knows the true ending. From that point of view, isn't it a book that goes on forever? Since it doesn't really have an ending, different endings have been written by different people since the day it was left unfinished. It's like a tradition. Everyone who internalised this book interpreted it according to the ending they wanted.
To summarise as I approach the end of my review, the theme that accompanies us throughout the story in Night on the Galactic Railroad is the happiness and sacrifice of everyone. In the story, the red star of Antares in the sign of Scorpio is referred to as the scorpion fire, and the story of the scorpion burning his own body to illuminate the darkness of the night for the sake of everyone's happiness further strengthens this theme.
This thin book is like an unprocessed jewel. It has a story that asks us to calmly watch it, search our own hearts and engrave its meaning into our souls. I have always loved Campanella. I think he is a deep character in essence despite his little speech and quiet existence. Giovanni was the only person I wanted to embrace tenderly throughout the book, though. Because Giovanni, who decides to seek everyone's happiness, is in fact a lonely person. Losing his best friend Campanella, who promised to go with him forever, and with the recovery of his mother's illness and the return of his father, he becomes deeply involved in the loneliness he lives in.
All the love we continue to cling to in this world is unfortunately fragile. Everyone values the "bond" for a certain "person". And they want to go back to a place where they can be with that person. Giovanni is actually a cry of loneliness for each of us and a desire for eternity that promises true happiness. Somewhere we are Giovanni too. In this sense, it may be important to realise "I am alone". In this uncertain world, Giovanni, after getting off the Galactic Railway, returns to his sick mother's house in search of true happiness. The story seems to go back to the beginning and actually rediscovers him beyond a different dimension. But in the midst of all this, Giovanni is not the Giovanni before the Milky Way trip. He has changed. He now has a huge longing that he carries in his heart and a desire for happiness to which he wants to belong, or rather, to which he wants to offer himself for all people.
Many of his works were published posthumously by his friends. The best references to Kenji's inner world can be seen in his open and transparent stories. The path of all the stories he wrote passes through forests, railway lines, rainbows, moonlight and stars. He is a true nature lover, a true naturalist. It is said that Kenji's younger sister Toshiko was the greatest inspiration for Kenji to create his works. So much so that some even say that the character of Giovanni was modelled on Kenji himself and Campanella was inspired by his sister Toshiko. If the theory that Campanella was inspired by Toshiko is true, it is likely that Kenji, like Giovanni, who faced the death of Campanella, accepted the death of his brother with this book and finally showed an attitude determined to continue living like Giovanni.
Another thing that made Night on the Galactic Railroad interesting for me was that it was unfinished. What kind of ending did Kenji wish for this story? I think about it a lot. The book was edited and published in many different ways while Kenji was alive, but it didn't reach an end with Kenji's death in 1933. Giovanni's feelings and their relationship are very different in its first and last published form. In the first version, Giovanni is determined to seek "True Happiness" after completing the journey on the Galactic Railway, while in the final version, he ends his long journey "full of various complicated emotions" and the story ends with the scene of his return to the city.
Why was the story changed in this way Some people say that Kenji's health at the time was one of the reasons, but since he died, only the author Kenji knows the true ending. From that point of view, isn't it a book that goes on forever? Since it doesn't really have an ending, different endings have been written by different people since the day it was left unfinished. It's like a tradition. Everyone who internalised this book interpreted it according to the ending they wanted.
To summarise as I approach the end of my review, the theme that accompanies us throughout the story in Night on the Galactic Railroad is the happiness and sacrifice of everyone. In the story, the red star of Antares in the sign of Scorpio is referred to as the scorpion fire, and the story of the scorpion burning his own body to illuminate the darkness of the night for the sake of everyone's happiness further strengthens this theme.
This thin book is like an unprocessed jewel. It has a story that asks us to calmly watch it, search our own hearts and engrave its meaning into our souls. I have always loved Campanella. I think he is a deep character in essence despite his little speech and quiet existence. Giovanni was the only person I wanted to embrace tenderly throughout the book, though. Because Giovanni, who decides to seek everyone's happiness, is in fact a lonely person. Losing his best friend Campanella, who promised to go with him forever, and with the recovery of his mother's illness and the return of his father, he becomes deeply involved in the loneliness he lives in.
All the love we continue to cling to in this world is unfortunately fragile. Everyone values the "bond" for a certain "person". And they want to go back to a place where they can be with that person. Giovanni is actually a cry of loneliness for each of us and a desire for eternity that promises true happiness. Somewhere we are Giovanni too. In this sense, it may be important to realise "I am alone". In this uncertain world, Giovanni, after getting off the Galactic Railway, returns to his sick mother's house in search of true happiness. The story seems to go back to the beginning and actually rediscovers him beyond a different dimension. But in the midst of all this, Giovanni is not the Giovanni before the Milky Way trip. He has changed. He now has a huge longing that he carries in his heart and a desire for happiness to which he wants to belong, or rather, to which he wants to offer himself for all people.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 22, 2025
This is one of the worst translations I’ve ever read. Like. This is what happens when someone only literally translates sentences. Part of the job of translations is getting across the concept, not the word-for-word literal meaning. It made this almost impossible to read at times, like, only a level beyond just running the text through Google translate.
I think I liked the stories buried in here. I actually picked up an anime movie of one of the stories because I wanted to wrap my head around it a bit better.
I think I liked the stories buried in here. I actually picked up an anime movie of one of the stories because I wanted to wrap my head around it a bit better.
September 23, 2021
Thanks, im sad now.
September 7, 2022
writing a review months after reading this but
the nighthawk star - 3/5 it was cute!!
signal and signalless - 2/5 very boring im sorry
night on the galactic railroad - 5/5 i love gay people
the nighthawk star - 3/5 it was cute!!
signal and signalless - 2/5 very boring im sorry
night on the galactic railroad - 5/5 i love gay people
January 14, 2024
My copy was in Italian, but I can't find it here on Goodreads, I am also sure that I had read the first story, the one that that is the title of the book, somewhere else in the past and it had stuck with me because it was decidedly poetic and typically Japanese. The others are cute but nothing unforgettable. It is certainly dated literature , but some of the themes are typical of Japanese mythology as well as the levity with which they are treated.
Premesso che la mia copia era in italiano, ma qui su Goodreads non la trovo, sono anche sicura di aver letto il primo racconto, quello che cioé da il titolo al libro, da qualche altra parte in passato e mi era rimasto impresso perché decisamente poetico e tipicamente giapponese. Gli altri sono carini ma niente di indimenticabile. Sicuramente é una letteratura datata , ma alcuni temi sono tipici della mitologia giapponese cosí come la levità con cui vengono trattati.
Premesso che la mia copia era in italiano, ma qui su Goodreads non la trovo, sono anche sicura di aver letto il primo racconto, quello che cioé da il titolo al libro, da qualche altra parte in passato e mi era rimasto impresso perché decisamente poetico e tipicamente giapponese. Gli altri sono carini ma niente di indimenticabile. Sicuramente é una letteratura datata , ma alcuni temi sono tipici della mitologia giapponese cosí come la levità con cui vengono trattati.
February 9, 2022
Really beautiful, if deceptively simple, stories. I wanted to read this after watching the movie of Galactic Railroad and while it didn't answer some of the questions I had, it was still a wonderful and strange ride. If you are looking for a feel good story about two boys on a train, this probably isn't the story for you. But it is if you are looking for an exploration of kindness and truth and selflessness, set on a bizarre ride through the cosmos.
I agree that something feels off about this translation. The heart of the stories is lovely and I feel I would enjoy this even more if the translation was as beautiful as the heart.
I agree that something feels off about this translation. The heart of the stories is lovely and I feel I would enjoy this even more if the translation was as beautiful as the heart.
January 1, 2022
Giovanni is teased by the other boys at his school because of his missing father. Only his friend Campanella stands apart from the teasing.
It is the night of the Milky Way celebration, and Giovanni heads to town to join the celebration. Somehow he finds himself on a train headed out into the Milky Way.
The story has themes of spirituality and self-sacrifice on a trip that takes us to the ends of the universe.
One of the 1001 CBYMRBYGU.
It is the night of the Milky Way celebration, and Giovanni heads to town to join the celebration. Somehow he finds himself on a train headed out into the Milky Way.
The story has themes of spirituality and self-sacrifice on a trip that takes us to the ends of the universe.
One of the 1001 CBYMRBYGU.
February 19, 2023
Charming. Peaceful. Dreamy. The Galactic Railroad story in particular felt like a ghibli film waiting to be animated. I love Miyazawa’s use of space as a place that is both wondrous and hopeful, and a place of purity. He was definitely a deeply spiritual person and appreciative of many religions and their interpretations of life after death. You can see his buddhist faith in how he treats death as a continuum and not to be feared or shied from. Loved this.
February 17, 2023
i've wanted to read night on the galactic railroad for ages now and boy does it hit hard
the imagery is very evocative and the story very melancholy
my recommendation is also watching the animated movie of it by the same name that came out in 1985
either that or reading it twice so you can fully catch what's happening and appreciating it
for night on the galactic railroad alone i'd give it 5 stars but since there's other short stories too that didn't hit as hard for me i'm lowering it to 4
the imagery is very evocative and the story very melancholy
my recommendation is also watching the animated movie of it by the same name that came out in 1985
either that or reading it twice so you can fully catch what's happening and appreciating it
for night on the galactic railroad alone i'd give it 5 stars but since there's other short stories too that didn't hit as hard for me i'm lowering it to 4
July 15, 2023
Much more engrossing than the 1985 film – Miyazawa makes use of language to create images that dazzle, whereas Sugii’s animation did little with the form. The lessons about kindness and devotion to others are worth hearing for all ages. Of the shorter stories, “Signal and Signal-less” is the standout.
January 31, 2024
A collection of short stories with some beautiful imagery and moral themes. Unfortunately, the translation felt somewhat wooden and I found myself feeling something was missing - I would like to reread this in the original Japanese.
December 7, 2021
magical. astonishing. too bad there was something missing with the translation. the original meaning must've been a lot prettier in Japanese.
April 11, 2022
A collection of short stories by Miyazawa. They read like children's stories, whimsy yet melancholic. Out of the 3 stories (and 1 poem), Night on the Galactic Railroad is the longest and had descriptive writing. I enjoyed the collection, it's not something I would read often so it's makes a good palate cleanser.
January 8, 2025
what if we kissed .. and we were both inanimate objects
March 2, 2023
boring and underwhelming, if it was longer, it would have probably been a 1 star. good thing it's short.
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