Once and Forever : The Tales of Kenji Miyazawa by Kenji Miyazawa (Kodansha)

Kenji Miyazawa is a very popular Japanese writer who was born in Hanamaki, Iwate Prefecture. He is a novelist and a poet, however, he is mostly known for his children’s literature. He is as popular as A.A. Milne and Lewis Carroll are in the West. One of his best known stories is “Night on the Galactic Railroad”, which is also known as “The Milky Way Railroad”, “Night Train to the Stars” and “Fantasy Railroad in the Stars”. The story was also made into a feature length animation film and inspired Leiji Matsumoto to create his manga “Galaxy Express 999”. 

Once and Forever is a collection of twenty-four of Miyazawa’s short stories and was published in 1993 and were translated from the Japanese by John Bester. Sixteen of the stories were previously released in another book titled “Winds from Afar” which was published in 1972. All of the stories in this collection have been revised for this edition. The stories range from the humorous to the tragic, including the story of the origin of a traditional dance and a story that incorporates local superstitions. 

“The Restaurant of Many Orders” is about two hunters who are walking in the mountains with their two bear-like white dogs. They are very deep in the mountains when their guide disappears and their dogs freeze to death. They are lost without their guide and they find that they are hungry as well. Luckily, they find themselves standing in front of a brick building with a sign that says RESTAURANT WILDCAT HOUSE. They enter the restaurant and find themselves opening one door after another, each door with a sign making a specific request to the guests. The two hunters finally realize the “Restaurant of Many Orders” is not a restaurant where you can choose from a menu but is a restaurant where orders are given. They finally realize that they are being prepared as the main dish!!

The whimsical tale of the origin of a folk dance can be found in “The First Deer Dance”. One day, a man falls out of a tree and hurts his left knee. He goes to a hot spring in the mountains which is said to have healing powers. On his way home, he stops for a short rest and eats some chestnut and millet dumplings. He decides to leave a little piece of dumpling out for the wild deer. He realizes that he had dropped his towel when he left the snacks out for the animals. As he goes back to get it, he sees a group of deer walking in a circle around his towel. He notices the deer seem puzzled by the towel which they think is alive. The longer the man watches the deer, he begins to hear their voices consulting with each other on what kind of animal it is that’s keeping them from getting to the dumpling. He finds that he can hear the deer sing and watches their movements thus establishing the basis for the shishiodori or “deer dance”. 

“The Ungrateful Rat” is a story about what can happen to you if you are discourteous to all who help you and don’t reciprocate the kindness. In “The Thirty Frogs” there is a lesson in how not to abuse your strength or authority. It epitomizes the proverbial saying, “Absolute power corrupts absolutely”. “Kenju’s Wood” is about patience, persistence and following one’s convictions. “The Dahlias and the Crane” is another cautionary tale about conceit and narcissism. 

What makes Once and Forever most entertaining is that no two stories are alike and can be enjoyed by children and adults. Some of the tales are plotless while others seem to convey a type of moral message, although that message may be ambiguous. You may gain a better understanding of Miyazawa’s stories with repeated readings and with each subsequent reading, you will be sure to discover something new. ~Ernie Hoyt