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About this story

作品について

Kenji Miyazawa is now one of Japan's best-loved writers, but in his lifetime he was almost unknown. This story is the title work of the only book of stories he published while alive, printed in 1924 at his own expense. It sold very few copies. Recognition came after his early death at 37, and today his works fill Japanese school textbooks, anime, and picture books. Kenji was a teacher and farmer in rural Iwate, and he had little patience for rich city people who treated nature as a playground. That quiet anger runs under the humor here. For learners, the signs on the doors are a gift: short, polite, and full of the formal expressions you see on real signs in Japan. Read them carefully. Every word is a clue.