Grave of the Fireflies (short story)

"Grave of the Fireflies"
Short story by Akiyuki Nosaka
Original titleHotaru no Haka
TranslatorJames R. Abrams
CountryJapan
LanguageJapanese
Genre(s)
Publication
Published inŌru Yomimono
Publication typePeriodical
PublisherBungeishunjū
Media typePrint
Publication dateOctober 1967
Published in English1978

"Grave of the Fireflies" (Japanese: 火垂るの墓, Hepburn: Hotaru no Haka) is a 1967 semi-autobiographical short story by Japanese author Akiyuki Nosaka. It is based on his experiences before, during, and after the firebombing of Kobe in 1945. One of his sisters died as the result of sickness, his adoptive father died during the firebombing proper, and his younger adoptive sister Keiko died of malnutrition in Fukui. It was written as a personal apology to Keiko, regarding her death.[1]

The story was first published in Japan in Ōru Yomimono (オール読物, "All for Reading"), a monthly literature magazine published by Bungeishunjū, in October 1967. Nosaka won the Naoki Prize for best popular literature for this story and "American Hijiki", which was published a month before.[2] Both short stories along with four others were bundled as a book in 1968, published by Shinchōsha (ISBN 4-10-111203-7). "Grave of the Fireflies" was translated into English by James R. Abrams and published in an issue of the Japan Quarterly in 1978.[3] It was later adapted into the 1988 anime film Grave of the Fireflies, directed by Isao Takahata. The film was released on April 16, 1988, over twenty years after the publication of the original work.[4] It was adapted again into the live-action television film Grave of the Fireflies in 2005, and another live-action film in 2008.

Nosaka explained that "Grave of the Fireflies" is a "double-suicide story".[5] Isao Takahata, the anime film director, said that he saw similarities to Chikamatsu Monzaemon's double-suicide plays.[5]

  1. ^ Alam, Morshed (2022-10-16). "Misinformation About Grave of the Fireflies « Thought Might". Thought Might. Retrieved 2023-07-26.
  2. ^ "Nosaka Akiyuki". All of Naoki Award (in Japanese). Archived from the original on May 18, 2015. Retrieved May 13, 2015.
  3. ^ Osmond, Andrew (May 6, 2021). "Alex Dudok de Wit, Author of BFI Classics: Grave of the Fireflies". Anime News Network. Retrieved June 30, 2021.
  4. ^ "The Animerica Interview: Takahata and Nosaka: Two Grave Voices in Animation". Animerica. Volume 2, No. 11. Page 9. Translated by Animerica from: Takahata, Isao. Eiga o Tsukurinagara, Kangaeta Koto ("Things I Thought While Making Movies") Tokuma Shoten, 1991. Originally published in Animage, June 1987. This is a translation of a 1987 conversation between Takahata and Akiyuki Nosaka.
  5. ^ a b "The Animerica Interview: Takahata and Nosaka: Two Grave Voices in Animation". Animerica. Volume 2, No. 11. Page 7. Translated by Animerica from: Takahata, Isao. Eiga o Tsukurinagara, Kangaeta Koto ("Things I Thought While Making Movies") Tokuma Shoten, 1991. Originally published in Animage, June 1987. This is a translation of a 1987 conversation between Takahata and Akiyuki Nosaka.