The original fairy tale of Galaxy Express 999, "Night on the Galactic Railroad"
The works of Kenji Miyazawa, Japan's first science fiction fairy tale writer and national writer
Fill in each page in Japanese by hand!

"Night on the Galactic Railroad," a work that Kenji Miyazawa put so much effort into and rewrote numerous times until the end of his short life at the age of 37, is a fantastic story about Giovanni, a boy who is bullied due to poverty, who travels the galaxy on the Galactic Railroad and finds true happiness.
It is called Japan's first fantasy fairy tale.
Kenji Miyazawa was a national poet and children's story writer in Japan who also inspired many Japanese artists.
Manga artist Leiji Matsumoto created the manga Galaxy Express 999 based on the motif from Night on the Galactic Railroad, and Japanese animation master Hayao Miyazaki chose Kenji Miyazawa as the artist he most respects.


Kenji Miyazawa was born into a wealthy family, but left his parents who exploited poor farmers to live in a thatched hut, farming and teaching students, pursuing eternal innocence.
His life remains a work of art, raising many questions for a modern society that is greedy and covetous for more.
Understanding Kenji Miyazawa's inner self and sharing his truth will be the first step toward creating the "world where everyone is happy" he envisioned.

Transcription is the best way to fully digest a literary work.
Professor Takashi Saito, a study expert and reading expert, discusses the power of writing in detail in his book, “Japanese that is written and engraved in the mind.”
The active act of writing with your own hands and using your own body deepens your relationship with words and has the effect of engraving the letters in your mind.
Additionally, the act of writing has a calming effect on the human mind.


Let's try translating "Night on the Galactic Railroad" and "Undefeated by the Rain" into Japanese, word by word, as if I were Kenji Miyazawa.
Not only will your Japanese skills improve, but you will also find peace of mind and may even be able to find answers about what kind of life you want to lead in the future.
Let's embark on a happy journey of healing our hearts by transcribing the works of Japan's national author in Japanese.

It is said that "Undeterred by the Rain" was written in the form of a note in a notebook by Kenji Miyazawa while he was lying in bed fighting an illness on November 3, 1931.
Kenji Miyazawa, who looked back on his life while caring for his sick body, thought about what kind of life he should live, and made a resolution.
This poem, which contains his hopes and philosophy of not being greedy, cherishing life, and dreaming of peace even in the midst of a militaristic era, still deeply touches people's hearts even after 90 years.

--- p.11

A masterpiece that encapsulates messages about life, death, and happiness.

"Night on the Galactic Railroad," which Kenji Miyazawa worked so hard on that he revised it several times until the end of his short life at the age of 37, is a story about Giovanni, a boy who is bullied due to poverty, who travels the galaxy on the Galactic Railroad and discovers happiness. It is also famous as the motif for the science fiction manga "Galaxy Express 999."
The manuscript was left unfinished, but later a revised version was discovered and scholars revised it four times to create the current manuscript.

--- p.17

As we passed through the dark pine and oak forest, the sky suddenly became empty and the Milky Way appeared faintly stretching from south to north, and the Cheon Gi-ryun Pillar on the top of the hill was clearly visible.
Even in my dreams, flowers that smelled like fragrant flowers, whether they were daylilies or wild chrysanthemums, were in full bloom all over the area, and a bird flew over the hill, crying.
As soon as Giovanni reached the base of the pillar of the heavenly wheel at the top of the hill, he threw his hot body onto the cold grass.

--- p.68

Just then, I thought I heard a voice from somewhere saying, “Galaxy Station, Galaxy Station,” and suddenly my eyes brightened.
Giovanni rubbed his eyes repeatedly without realizing it, as if the light of hundreds of millions of fireflies had been fossilized and sunk into the sky at once, or as if someone had suddenly scattered all the diamonds that the diamond company had secretly kept hidden to prevent their value from falling.
When I came to my senses, the small train Giovanni had been riding was running nonstop, rattling and rattling.
Giovanni sat in the carriage of the night light railway, lined with small yellow lights, looking out the window.

--- p.74

The green light of the traffic lights and the whitish white pillars flashed past the window, and the dim, dull lights of the train, like sulfurous flames, passed beneath the window.
The train gradually slowed down, and soon a beautiful and regular row of lights appeared on the platform.
As the lights grew larger and wider, the train stopped exactly in front of the large clock at Swan Station.
On the fresh autumn clock face, two blue-painted steel hands pointed to exactly 11 o'clock.
Everyone got off the train and the car was empty.
Underneath the clock it said [20 minute stop].

--- p.100

“I…” Giovanni was hesitating in embarrassment, but Campanella handed him a small gray ticket as if there was no problem.
Giovanni was very embarrassed and put his hand in his shirt pocket to see if there was anything there, and he felt a large piece of paper.
I thought, 'Is this what it was?' and quickly took it out. It was a green piece of paper about the size of a postcard folded in four.
The conductor held out his hand, so Giovanni handed over the paper, thinking he could give it to him for whatever he wanted. The conductor straightened his posture and politely opened the paper.
And as he continued to button up his coat or adjust his clothes while looking at the paper, and the lighthouse keeper was also looking at the paper from below, Giovanni felt his heart warm a little as he thought that it must be a certificate or something similar.

--- p.146

'Why am I so sad? I need to have a broader and more gentle heart.
Beyond the other shore, a small blue fire appears like smoke.
It feels really quiet and cold.
'Looking at that calms my mind.' Giovanni looked in that direction, pressing his feverishly aching head with both hands.

--- p.194

Giovanni let out a deep sigh, "Ah-"
“Campanella, it’s just the two of us again.
Let's go together, anywhere.
“I am like that scorpion, and I would burn my body a hundred times for the happiness of all.”
“Yeah, me too.” Tears welled up in Campanella’s eyes.
“But what is true happiness?” said Giovanni.

--- p.240

“I am no longer afraid of that great darkness.
I will definitely go and find true happiness for everyone.
“Let’s go together, no matter where we go.” “Yes, we should definitely do that.”
Oh, how beautiful that field can be.
Everyone is gathered here.
That place must be the real heaven.
“Oh, that person over there is my mother!” Campanella shouted, pointing to the beautiful fields outside the window.
Giovanni also looked in that direction, but it was only a hazy grayish blur and nothing like Campanella had said.

--- p.242