The Nighthawk Star
よだかの星
宮沢賢治 · Japanese
Mocked by the other birds for his ugly face, a lonely nighthawk climbs higher and higher into the sky until he becomes a star.
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Pagera Editor's Note
Mocked by the other birds for his ugly face, a lonely nighthawk climbs higher and higher into the sky until he becomes a star. A luminous Miyazawa Kenji fable about dignity, suffering, and self-transcendence.
Author
宮沢賢治
Miyazawa Kenji (1896-1933) was a Japanese poet and writer of children's stories. He worked as an agricultural teacher in the impoverished northeast and wrote almost entirely for himself, publishing only two books in his lifetime. Night on the Galactic Railroad, The Restaurant of Many Orders and his poetry were recognised after his death and are now read across Japan.
The Nighthawk Star
よだかの星
宮沢賢治 · Japanese
Mocked by the other birds for his ugly face, a lonely nighthawk climbs higher and higher into the sky until he becomes a star.
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Original (Japanese)
よだかは、実にみにくい鳥です。 顔は、ところどころ、味噌をつけたようにまだらで、くちばしは、ひらたくて、耳までさけています。 足は、まるでよぼよぼで、一間とも歩けません。 ほかの鳥は、もう、よだかの顔を見ただけでも、いやになってしまうという工合でした。 たとえば、ひばりも、あまり美しい鳥ではありませんが、よだかよりは、ずっと上だと思っていましたので、夕方など、よだかにあうと、さもさもいやそうに、しんねりと目をつぶりながら、首をそっ方へ向けるのでした。もっとちいさなおしゃべりの鳥などは、いつでもよだかのまっこうから悪口をしました。 「ヘン。又出て来たね。まあ、あのざまをごらん。ほんとうに、鳥の仲間のつらよごしだよ。」 「ね、まあ、あのくちのおおきいことさ。きっと、かえるの親類か何かなんだよ。」 こんな調子です。おお、よだかでないただのたかならば、こんな生はんかのちいさい鳥は、もう名前を聞いただけでも、ぶるぶるふるえて、顔色を変えて、からだをちぢめて、木の葉のかげにでもかくれたでしょう。ところが夜だかは、ほんとうは鷹の兄弟でも親類でもありませんでした。かえって、よだかは、あの美しいかわせみ
English translation (Pagera AI)
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Pagera Editor's Note
Mocked by the other birds for his ugly face, a lonely nighthawk climbs higher and higher into the sky until he becomes a star. A luminous Miyazawa Kenji fable about dignity, suffering, and self-transcendence.
Author
宮沢賢治
Miyazawa Kenji (1896-1933) was a Japanese poet and writer of children's stories. He worked as an agricultural teacher in the impoverished northeast and wrote almost entirely for himself, publishing only two books in his lifetime. Night on the Galactic Railroad, The Restaurant of Many Orders and his poetry were recognised after his death and are now read across Japan.
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1 people requested this translation
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