About Nankichi Niimi
Nankichi Niimi (1913-1943) was a renowned Japanese author known for his enchanting and poignant children’s stories. He was born in Handa City, Aichi Prefecture, Japan. Despite his short life, Niimi’s literary works left a lasting impact on Japanese children’s literature.
Niimi’s stories often revolve around themes of empathy, compassion, and the beauty of nature. His writing style was characterized by its simplicity and ability to capture the hearts of both children and adults. He had a unique talent for weaving magical and imaginative elements into his narratives while addressing universal emotions and human experiences.
Some of Niimi’s most famous works include “Gon, the Little Fox” (Gon no Tora) and “Night on the Galactic Railroad” (Ginga Tetsudō no Yoru). “Gon, the Little Fox” tells the heartwarming story of a young fox and his journey to become human. It explores themes of identity, sacrifice, and the importance of family bonds. “Night on the Galactic Railroad” is a captivating allegorical tale about a young boy’s dream-like journey through the stars. It delves into existential questions, friendship, and the search for meaning in life.
Niimi’s stories continue to be cherished in Japan and have been translated into various languages, captivating readers worldwide. His ability to convey profound emotions through simple and accessible language has made him one of the most beloved children’s authors in Japanese literature. Despite his untimely death at the age of 29 due to tuberculosis, Nankichi Niimi’s legacy lives on, inspiring generations of readers with his timeless stories of hope, love, and the human spirit.
日本語（Japanese）
山から里の方へ遊びにいった猿が一本の赤い蝋燭を拾いました。赤い蝋燭は沢山あるものではありません。それで猿は赤い蝋燭を花火だと思い込んでしまいました。
猿は拾った赤い蝋燭を大事に山へ持って帰りました。
山では大へんな騒になりました。何しろ花火などというものは、鹿にしても猪にしても兎にしても、亀にしても、鼬にしても、狸にしても、狐にしても、まだ一度も見たことがありません。その花火を猿が拾って来たというのであります。
「ほう、すばらしい」
「これは、すてきなものだ」
鹿や猪や兎や亀や鼬や狸や狐が押合いへしあいして赤い蝋燭を覗きました。すると猿が、
「危い危い。そんなに近よってはいけない。爆発するから」といいました。
みんなは驚いて後込しました。
そこで猿は花火というものが、どんなに大きな音をして飛出すか、そしてどんなに美しく空にひろがるか、みんなに話して聞かせました。そんなに美しいものなら見たいものだとみんなは思いました。
「それなら、今晩山の頂上に行ってあそこで打上げて見よう」と猿がいいました。みんなは大へん喜びました。夜の空に星をふりまくようにぱあっとひろがる花火を眼に浮べてみんなはうっとりしました。
さて夜になりました。みんなは胸をおどらせて山の頂上にやって行きました。猿はもう赤い蝋燭を木の枝にくくりつけてみんなの来るのを待っていました。
いよいよこれから花火を打上げることになりました。しかし困ったことが出来ました。と申しますのは、誰も花火に火をつけようとしなかったからです。みんな花火を見ることは好きでしたが火をつけにいくことは、好きでなかったのであります。
これでは花火はあがりません。そこでくじをひいて、火をつけに行くものを決めることになりました。第一にあたったものは亀でありました。
亀は元気を出して花火の方へやって行きました。だがうまく火をつけることが出来たでしょうか。いえ、いえ。亀は花火のそばまで来ると首が自然に引込んでしまって出て来なかったのでありました。
そこでくじがまたひかれて、こんどは鼬が行くことになりました。鼬は亀よりは幾分ましでした。というのは首を引込めてしまわなかったからであります。しかし鼬はひどい近眼でありました。だから蝋燭のまわりをきょろきょろとうろついているばかりでありました。
遂々猪が飛出しました。猪は全く勇しい獣でした。猪はほんとうにやっていって火をつけてしまいました。
みんなはびっくりして草むらに飛込み耳を固くふさぎました。耳ばかりでなく眼もふさいでしまいました。
しかし蝋燭はぽんともいわずに静かに燃えているばかりでした。
英語（English）
A monkey that had gone from the mountains to the village to play picked up a single red candle. Red candles were not something that were plentiful. Because of that, the monkey mistakenly believed that the red candle was a firework.
The monkey carefully carried the red candle back to the mountains. It caused quite a commotion there. After all, no one, be it a deer, a boar, a rabbit, a turtle, a weasel, a tanuki, or a fox, had ever seen anything like fireworks before. And now, the monkey claimed to have found fireworks in the form of a red candle.
“Oh, how wonderful!” “This is a marvelous thing.”
The deer, boar, rabbit, turtle, weasel, tanuki, and fox jostled and peered at the red candle. Then the monkey said, “It’s dangerous, dangerous! You mustn’t get too close. It will explode.” Everyone was surprised and backed away.
So, the monkey described to everyone how fireworks made loud noises and spread beautifully across the sky. Everyone thought that if it was such a beautiful thing, they wanted to see it.
“In that case, let’s go to the top of the mountain tonight and launch it from there,” said the monkey. Everyone was overjoyed. They envisioned fireworks bursting in the night sky, like stars scattering.
Now, nightfall arrived. Everyone excitedly made their way to the top of the mountain. The monkey had already tied the red candle to a tree branch and was waiting for everyone to arrive.
Finally, the time came to launch the fireworks. However, a problem arose. No one wanted to light the fireworks. Everyone loved watching fireworks but didn’t like the task of lighting them.
With no one willing to light the fireworks, they wouldn’t go off. So they drew lots to decide who would go and light them. The lucky one was the turtle.
The turtle summoned its courage and went towards the fireworks. But could it successfully light them? No, it couldn’t. As soon as the turtle got close to the fireworks, its head instinctively retracted and didn’t come out.
So they drew lots again, and this time it was the weasel’s turn. The weasel was slightly better than the turtle because it didn’t retract its head. However, the weasel had severe nearsightedness. As a result, it just wandered around the candle, looking around.
Finally, it was the boar’s turn. The boar was a truly brave and fearless animal. The boar managed to go and light the fireworks successfully.
Everyone was surprised and dove into the grass, covering their ears tightly. Not only their ears, but their eyes were also tightly shut.
However, the candle simply burned quietly without making any sound.
朗読（Recitation）
まとめ
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