These stories of mine,
all came to me from forests and fields, from the railroad tracks,
from rainbows and moonlight. —Miyazawa Kenji—
Ending Theme "Hoshi Meguri no Uta"
Original Work
Miyazawa Kenji
So you see, boys and girls,
that is why some have called it a river
while others see a giant trace left by a stream of milk.
But does anyone know what really makes up
this hazy-white region in the sky?
The teacher pointed at the smoky white zone of the Milky Way
that ran across a huge black starmap suspended from the top of the blackboard.
He was asking everybody in the class.
Campanella raised his hand,
followed by four or five other classmates.
Giovanni was about to raise his hand,
but suddenly changed his mind.
He was almost sure that it was just made up of stars. He had read that in a magazine.
But lately Giovanni was sleepy in class nearly every day,
had no time to read books and no books to read,
and felt that he couldn't properly follow anything anymore.
The teacher noticed this instantly.
This was where the story of "Night on the Galactic Railroad" started —a scene during a class on astronomy.
Giovanni, you know what it is, don't you?
Giovanni stood up courageously.
Giovanni, the protagonist, was a boy from a poor family.
But once on his feet, he answered, "I'm not sure."
His father went fishing on the sea far north.
Zanelli, sitting in the seat in front of him,
Giovanni had to work after school to support his sick mother.
turned around and giggled at him.
Giovanni had a dependable friend. His name was Campanella.
If you look in this direction and in this one, where the glass is thickest,
you will see numerous shining grains—the stars.
Campanella always stood up for Giovanni when other classmates bullied him.
The farther they are the more blurry milky-white everything will appear.
This is how we see the Milky Way today.
As for the actual size of the lens
and the various stars inside it,
class time is over now.
We'll discuss it again in our next science lesson.
And as tonight is the Milky Way Festival,
everyone please go outside and take a good close look at the sky.
Class dismissed.
It's the festival of the stars that children looked forward to,
but Giovanni had to fetch milk for his mother.
Crossing the streets, Giovanni stopped before the watchmaker's shop.
Inside the shop there was a map of the constellations.
Giovanni forgot himself
in the map of constellations.
It was much much smaller than the one he had seen earlier at school that day.
But on this one all you had to do was to set the date and time by turning the platter,
and the sky for that night would appear in the oval opening.
Through the middle of the opening,
the Milky Way stretched from one end to the other in the form of a smoky band.
The bottom part dispersed slightly
like rising vapors of steam.
Further into the shop stood a small telescope
on a shiny yellow tripod.
Behind that, on the back wall,
hung a big map
depicting the entire sky in constellations of bizarre shapes of beasts, snakes, fishes and jars.
Is the sky really so crammed with scorpions and brave warriors and things?
Ah, I'd like nothing more than to travel inside there!
Deep in thoughts, Giovanni stood there in a daze.
After leaving the watchmaker's shop,
Giovanni bumped into his classmates, who jeered at him.
Moreover, he saw Campanella's silhouette among them.
Giovanni was overwhelmed with sadness.
He went to the weather station pillar on the hills, away from the town.
Giovanni came to the base of the weather station pillar at the very top of the hill,
and plopped his warm body down into the cold grass.
Ah, so that white band in the sky is formed by numerous stars.
But no matter how hard he looked,
he just couldn't see the cold barren place
that the teacher had described in class.
On the contrary,
the more deeply he stared into it, the more he saw a field with little groves of trees and pastures.
At that time Giovanni saw
the weather station pillar right behind him take on the vague shape of a triangulation tower,
flickering on and off like a firefly.
Then everything became clear and finely outlined.
As if it were a sheet of freshly tempered steel,
the tower with its light soared straight up into the dense cobalt-blue field of the sky.
Milky Way Station!
By the time Giovanni came to,
he had, for some time now, been chugging along on a little train.
Giovanni was actually on a nighttime narrow-gauge railroad,
gazing out the window of a wagon dimly lit by a row of little yellow lights.
In the seat directly in front of him,
Giovanni noticed a tall boy in a jet-black wet coat
poking his head out the window.
It was Campanella!
Oh, darnit!
I've forgotten my water bottle.
And I've forgotten my sketchbook too.
Well, no matter,
we'll be reaching Swan Station soon.
There's nothing I like better than watching swans.
I'm sure I'll be able to see them no matter how far down the river they fly.
Oh, I wonder if that's moonlight on the river bank.
When the two of them looked
they saw the pale bank of the Milky Way
glisten with silver grass growing all along it, rustling and swishing, rolling in the wind
into billows of waves in a silver sky.
That's not moonlight, it's shining because it's the Milky Way!
As Giovanni spoke, he felt so elated that he wanted to jump up and down.
He tapped his feet,
poked his head out the window,
whistled the tune of the rotating stars,
and stretched out desperately in order to closely observe the water of the celestial river.
Phosphorescent triangulation beacons were beautifully patched across the field.
Giovanni felt his heart throbbing down to his toes, and he shook his head for all he was worth.
Then, the beautiful blues and oranges and all the colorful luminescent triangulation beacons on the field
began to tremble and flicker, as if they were alive and breathing...
I've made it right into the sky's field!
This train isn't burning coal at all!
Must be running on alcohol or electricity.
The beautiful little train, chugging and clanking its way
through the silver grass that waved in the winds, the waters of the celestial river
and the glimmering silvery lights of the triangulation beacons,
was running on its endless journey.
I am waiting for you, in search of memories of the moonlit nights
I am waiting for you sagashiteru tsukiyo no kioku
Fragrant flowers bloom alongside the waves
Kaoru hana wa uchiyoseru nami no hotori
And no one but you ride the remnants of the winds
And nothing but you nokosareta kaze wo matoi
So I can see the sky
I want to show you, calling out to the rain that drenches the sea
I want to show you sakenderu umi nurasu ame
Adorned dreams were unwittingly stranded in the sands
Kazarareta yume wa itsushika suna no naka
And don't cry for you, wrapping the colored moments
And don’t cry for you irozuita toki wo matoi
So I can see the sky
Melody — I only wish to reach you through the moments it plays
Melody — kanaderu setsuna wo todoketai dake
As if wrapping tightly around your small hands
Chiisana te wo tsutsumikomu you ni
As long as you're here, the wind will continue to caress
Anata sae ireba kaze wa fuku no
Before one knows, I'm standing alone in the night, lost in time
Itsuka stand alone toki ni mayotta yoru
Let me tell you about the magical lights that shine on the water surface
Let me tell you odoketeru minamo no hikari
Oh, gentians are blooming!
Inspired souls are hidden radiance of the stars
Somerareta kokoro wa mienai hoshi no kagayaki
It's autumn already...
Campanella said, pointing out the window.
And I think of you, looking back at the past that is over
And I think of you tomerareta kako wo matoi
Among the closely cropped grass that lined the track
grew gorgeous purplish gentians, so fine that they might have been carved out of moonstone.
So I can see the sky
Just you watch me hop right out of here, get some of those flowers and jump back on again.
Giovanni said, his heart leaping with excitement.
Too late, we've left them behind now.
No sooner had the words left Campanella's lips,
another batch of gentians flashed brightly past them...
Melody — I only wish to reach you through the moments it plays
Melody — kanaderu setsuna wo todoketai dake
and then another, and another...
Countless gentians in the shape of cups with yellow stamens
As if wrapping tightly around your small hands
Chiisana te wo tsutsumikomu you ni
gushing non-stop and passing in front of their eyes like rain.
As long as you're here, the wind will continue to caress
Anata sae ireba kaze wa fuku no
A row of triangulation beacons, some increasingly smoky, others burning, stood sparkling.
Before one knows, I'm standing alone in the night, lost in time
Itsuka stand alone toki ni mayotta yoru
I am waiting for you, in search of memories of the moonlit nights
I am waiting for you sagashiteru tsukiyo no kioku
Fragrant flowers bloom alongside the waves
Kaoru hana wa uchiyoseru nami no hotori
And no one but you ride the remnants of the winds
And nothing but you nokosareta kaze wo matoi
So I can see the sky
The Milky Way is both complex and unfathomable.
Miyazawa Kenji had accurately captured the form
and portrayed the night view of the Milky Way railroad.
The Milky Way railroad travels amongst the stars,
not through an empty universe,
but through a landscape formed by the stars.
In the novel, the stars that form constellations were compared to triangulation beacons of varying sizes.
These triangulation beacons were referring to
land surveying towers built for map construction at that time.
Using the stars as the base for survey,
he was actually trying to draw a map of the universe.
Not only did Miyazawa Kenji give himself free rein to dreamlike imaginations,
he also made recondite associations backed by an intimate knowledge of science.
Giovanni boarded the Milky Way train during a summer night, high up in the sky.
This is a swan that spread its wings towards the south along the railroad.
The perfectly straight neck and wings of this swan
form a cross-like figure.
It's called the Northern Cross.
When someone, no matter who, does something genuinely good, he would be the happiest.
That's why I'm sure my mum will forgive me.
Campanella looked like he had really made up his mind.
All at once the inside of the wagon was flooded with a bright white light.
Atop an island, on a plateau,
a cross, so dazzling and white
that it might have been cast from frozen Arctic clouds,
crowned with a pure halo of gold,
stood silent and eternal.
Both boys found themselves rising to their feet.
Campanella's cheeks glistened with beautiful redness of a ripe apple.
Behind Giovanni sat a tall nun wearing a black habit, whom he had not seen come on the train.
Her round green eyes stared straight ahead
as she appeared to be listening devoutly to a distant voice.
The passengers quietly returned to their seats.
The two boys were overwhelmed with the sensation of loneliness,
and they whispered in a tone different from before.
We'll be at Swan Station any minute now, right?
Yeah, we'll pull in at eleven o'clock sharp.
Before long, a row of electric lights, beautifully arranged, appeared on a platform.
Swan Station
The lights gradually spaced out and became larger.
Should we get off and take a look around?
Giovanni asked.
Let's go!
The two sprang up at once, flew out the door and made a mad dash for the ticket gate.
But all they found at the gate was a bright purple electric light.
There wasn't a soul around.
Not even a stationmaster or someone who looked like a redcap.
From a small square in front of the station,
a wide road stretched straight off into the bluish light of the Milky Way.
The two of them started up the white road, shoulder to shoulder.
They reached the beautiful river bed that they had seen from the train.
Giovanni ran straight for the water's edge and dipped his hand into the water.
The mysterious water of the Milky Way was, in fact, even clearer than hydrogen,
and it was actually flowing,
because when their wrists were submerged in it, the water rippled in the color of mercury.
The beautiful phosphorescent waves frothed and sparkled as they splashed against their wrists.
Campanella put a handful of the beautiful sand into his palm.
As he grated it with his fingers, he spoke as if in a dream...
The sand are all crystals.
There's a tiny fire burning inside each and every grain.
Eh, I found something weird.
Campanella stopped in surprise.
He picked up something black from the rocks.
It's a black walnut! Look, they're all over the place!
Not being carried along by the river, but found within fissures in the rocks.
Upstream, they caught sight of the silhouettes of 5-6 persons
who seemed to be excavating or burying something
as they stood up and stooped down
with some sort of tool glinting from time to time in their hands.
Let's go take a look. I bet they're digging up something or other.
You fellows taking a tour?
Asked a scholarly man, twinkling his glasses at them.
You saw all those black walnuts, didn't you?
They'd be some 1.2 million years old.
Not very old, actually.
Are you going to make a specimen out of it?
No, we need it as an evidence.
We know this place is an invaluable thick stratum.
Although we've got all the proof that it was formed 1.2 million years ago,
others don't see it in that light.
They claim that it might be just wind, water or vast open sky. Follow?
In his song Hoshi Meguri no Uta (Star Tour Song)
Miyazawa Kenji extolled the red-eyed Scorpio.
Red Eye refers to a first magnitude star of the Milky Way
called Antares, in the constellation Scorpius.
The girl who boarded the Milky Way train during their journey
told Giovanni and Campanella the story of Scorpio's fire.
What flame is that?
What could be burning to give off a flame as red as that?
Giovanni asked.
Should be Scorpio's fire.
Campanella replied while referring to his map.
Oh, Scorpio's fire... I know about it.
So what is it then?
Giovanni asked.
The scorpion was burnt to death,
and that fire burns to this very day.
My father told me the story millions of times.
A scorpion is an insect, right?
Uh huh, he is.
But he's a good insect.
A scorpion is not a good insect!
I saw one in alcohol at the museum.
It's got a stinger on its tail, and the teacher said if it stings you, you die!
I know, but he's still a good insect.
My father told me so.
A long long time ago on the Baldora Field,
there lived a scorpion who survived by killing tiny bugs and eating them up.
Then one day he was caught by a weasel and was almost going to be eaten up himself.
The scorpion tried to get away with all his might
but was still about to be pinned down by the weasel.
At that time he saw a well before him
and he fell right down into it.
There was no way in the world he could get back up. Looks like he's going to drown.
So then the scorpion began to pray...
Ah, I can't remember how many living creatures I have killed in my lifetime,
but when the weasel was going to take my life
I tried so hard to escape.
Despite that, I still ended up like this.
Ah, woe is me!
Why didn't I just give my body to the weasel?
If I had, at least he would have been able to live another day.
Dear God, please look into my heart.
In the next life, don't throw away my life in vain like this, but use my body for the good and happiness of all!
That's what he said.
Then the scorpion saw his body burst into a brilliant crimson flame,
lighting up the darkness of the night sky!
And he's still burning now, that's what my father said.
That fire... it must be him.
After passing Scorpio's fire, the Milky Way train headed further south along the galaxy.
The story was staged on the other end of the horizon,
in the starry sky of the Southern Hemisphere unobservable from Japan.
At Centaur Village,
trees were decorated as for Christmas,
and the jolly mood of a festival was going on.
The village was very near the Centaurus.
Further south into the Milky Way was the Southern Cross constellation.
The Southern Cross that flickered weakly, almost hidden in the galaxy.
The journey that started from the Northern Cross
was finally going to end at the Southern Cross.
There were two crosses in the sky.
For a train that traveled between the crosses,
what kind of thoughts or feelings did it carry?
Well now, are you ready?
We're nearly at the Southern Cross.
It was at that instant.
Far downstream the invisible celestial river,
a Cross, studded with lights of blue, orange and every color under the sun
emerged from the river like a tree,
crowned with a pale white halo of cloud like those in a play.
There was a great hustle and bustle inside the train.
Everyone acted just like those who saw the Northern Cross.
They stood to attention and prayed.
And then all of the people formed rows in humble prayer.
They knelt on the celestial river bank in front of the Cross.
Following that, the boys saw a godlike figure in white robe crossing the invisible water,
coming toward them with outstretched arms.
Campanella, we're alone again.
Let's stay together till the ends of the earth, okay?
Right now, if I could be like that scorpion
and do something for the benefit of all people,
I wouldn't care if my body burnt up a hundred times over.
Yeah, me too.
Campanella's eyes welled with the clearest tears.
But what is real happiness?
I don't know.
Let's keep our spirits up, okay?
Oh, there's the Coalsack! It's a hole in the heavens!
A huge black gaping hole suddenly appeared at a spot in the Milky Way.
How deep the bottom went, or what was down below it,
there was no way to tell no matter how he rubbed his eyes and squinted into it.
And his eyes smarted as a result.
I'm not scared of all that dark.
I'm going to find out what will make people happy.
No matter where we go, we'll be together.
Campanella, we're going to stick together, okay?
Giovanni said, turning toward Campanella.
But there was no Campanella where Campanella had been sitting,
only the black shining velvet seat.
Giovanni bolted up like a rocket,
and leaned far out the window so he wouldn't be heard
as he screamed into the sky, pounding his chest hard
and crying out with his throat full of tears.
Campanella!
At that time, Giovanni woke up and found himself still on the hill below the weather station pillar.
We had a glimpse of the galaxy through our tour of the starry sky, and today the journey ends here.
If you'd like to find out more about our train,
you are welcome to read the original novel Night on the Galactic Railroad,
observe the real starry sky, and try to imagine the railroad and the scenery outside the train window.
Akai medama no sasori
The red-eyed Scorpio
Hirogeta washi no tsubasa
The spread wings of Aquila, the Eagle
Aoi medama no koinu
The blue-eyed Canis Minor, the Little Dog
Hikari no hebi no toguro
The coil of Serpens, the Snake of light
ORION wa takaku utai
Orion sings haughtily
Tsuyu to shimoto o otosu
Casting the frost and dew
ANDOROMEDA no kumo wa
The cloud of Andromeda—
Sakana no kuchi no katachi
The shape of a fish's mouth
Ooguma no ashi o kita ni
From Ursa Major, the Great Bear
Itsutsu nobashita tokoro
Extending its paw's lengh five times northwards
Koguma no hitai no ue wa
Above Ursa Minor, the Lesser Bear's forehead
Sora no meguri no meate
Is where the guide for Star Tour, Polaris, shines
Original Work
Miyazawa Kenji
Screenplay & CG
Music
Kagaya Rei
Narration
Kuwashima Houko
Akai medama no sasori
The red-eyed Scorpio
Narration
Ooba Mahito
Hirogeta washi no tsubasa
The spread wings of Aquila, the Eagle
Theme Song
Composition/Lyrics
Kagaya Rei
Vocals
Inoue Hiroko
Ending Theme
Hoshi Meguri no Uta
Composition/Lyrics
Miyazawa Kenji
Arrangement
Kagaya Rei
Vocals
Aoi medama no koinu
The blue-eyed Canis Minor, the Little Dog
CG Assistants
Hikari no hebi no toguro
The coil of Serpens, the Snake of light
ORION wa takaku utai
Orion sings haughtily
Tsuyu to shimoto o otosu
Casting the frost and dew
Production
KAGAYA Studio