The Manga Biography of Kenji Miyazawa, Author of Night of the Milky Way Railway

Kenji Miyazawa (1896-1933) is one of Japan’s most beloved writers and poets. He has recently become known as the unofficial poet laureate of the tsunami-stricken districts of northern Japan. Some of you may know him from his fantasy novel Night of the Milky Way Railway (or the anime version, Night on the Galactic Railroad ). Others may know him from his short stories, such as The Restaurant of Many Orders. Still others will know him from his poetry, such as Someone who is unfazed by the rain. Some have enjoyed the anime Spring and Chaos, which beautifully depicts the world of creativity and imagination in which he lived as a mature artist. Few in the English-speaking world, however, know the full story of his life in any detail. This is precisely the story told in The Manga Biography of Kenji Miyazawa, Author of Night of the Milky Way Railway. From being a somewhat odd child, to his early empathy for others, to his passion for rock collecting, mountain climbing, and the beauty of nature, to his study of soil sciences and fertilizers, his awakening to fantasy literature, poetry, and music, to the devastating loss of his sister, his religious conflicts with his father, his vegetarianism, his heroic and sometime quixotic efforts to come to the aid of impoverished local farmers, and, finally, to his failing health and eventual death at the age of thirty-seven – all this and more is graphically depicted in this marvelous manga devoted to the short but full life of Kenji Miyazawa.

Upon finishing the book, I found myself moved to tears.

Michael, Goodreads

–absolutely wonderful little book.

Maria Papova, brainpicker

Brief, but surprisingly complex and information-rich.

Ed Sizemore, Manga Worth Reading

–essential. David Cozy, Japan Times