Despite being celebrated as a cultural icon in his native country, Miyazawa Kenji is still relatively unknown outside Japan. His stories and poems have inspired generations of Japanese children with fanciful yet thoughtful voyages from the real into the surreal, from the slowly industrializing Japan of the twentieth century into the oftentimes forgotten wonders of nature. Mention his name outside of Japan though, and you're likely to be met with a blank stare. Many overseas anime fans however, have had the fortune to see the 1985 animated version of his story GINGA TETSUDOU NO YORU (NIGHT ON THE GALACTIC RAILROAD) which was subtitled by Central Park Media.
      Last year, Japan celebrated the 100th anniversary of his birth with book reissuings and a festival in his home prefecture of Iwate. It all culminated last December with VISIONS OF IHATOV: KENJI's SPRING, an animated special which aired on TV Iwate and the Nippon TV network. (Ihatov was Miyazawa's imaginary Esperanto name for Iwate Prefecture. Miyazawa sprinkled Esperanto words as well as those of other foreign languages in his works.)
      The one hour semi-biographical work gathered together a diverse range of talents that is as eclectic as Miyazawa's writings and musings were. Group TAC is the studio that animated NIGHT ON THE GALACTIC RAILROAD back in 1985, so it was only appropriate that they were handed the reins of this production. Kawamori Shouji had just finished supervising his pet project THE VISION OF ESCAFLOWNE and co-directing MACROSS PLUS when he not only co-wrote, but also directed KENJI'S SPRING. Character designer and animation director Kishida Takahiro had previously directed the animation of the PEACOCK KING and last year's TENCHI MUYO! IN LOVE. Kenji is aptly played by actor Sano Shiroh, and Kouda Mariko  (familiar to many for her lead role as MARMALADE BOY's Miki) voices the tragic character of Kenji's sister Toshi. Even Miyazawa's own poem "Ame Nimomakezu" ("Undaunted by Rain") was set to music and brought into the anime soundtrack.
      The narrative follows Kenji's adult life, beginning with his early days teaching pupils astonished by his eccentric methods. Eschewing classroom studies, he would bring his high school students into the wilderness to observe the world and "hear the voices" of trees, rocks, and nature. Kenji later returns to his family home where he faced his disappointed father and ailing sister before recommitting himself to his teachings and writings. Later, the sight of struggling farmers and the actions of one of his students prompt him to abandon teaching and turn to farming. During his eventful yet short life, personal tragedy and human flaws at first threatened to disillusion him, but eventually served to inspire him further. All throughout, his earnestness for experiencing life and capturing the essence of both the mundane and the extraordinary only grew.
      He would die at the age of 37, but the voluminous body of work he left behind is vividly portrayed here in almost every animation medium including colored pencils, traditional cels, and computer graphics. From the stunningly computer-generated galactic railroad which ferries Kenji's sister away in the opening credits to the re-enactment of dramatic scenes from his writings via boldly animated pencil sketches, this animated tribute leaves viewers both breathless and wonderstruck.
      Kawamori's enthusiasm for computer graphics in MACROSS PLUS and ESCAFLOWNE has not waned, and for the most part, CG's jarring nature actually served effectively to portray the surreal side of Miyazawa's writings and experiences. (The video and laser disc's "perfect edition" includes further additional CG footage of the galactic railroad.) The surrealness is further enhanced by Group TAC's characteristic feline characters. In the story of NIGHT OF THE GALACTIC RAILROAD, the boys are transformed into cats in their unworldly trip. In KENJI'S SPRING, the fact that all the characters are cats from the beginning is accepted matter-of-factly. Both the CG and the feline characters combine to retell the life and visions of an extraordinary man who deserved more than dry, dusty biopic.
      For Japanese literature students and those interested in Japanese culture as a whole, this is a natural introduction to one of the more remarkable literary figures in Japan, if not the world. Anyone else who is willing to suspend disbelief will be treated with a breathtaking hour of experimental animation and inspirational storytelling.

VISION OF IHATOV: KENJI'S SPRING TV Iwate, Nippon TV Network 14 December 1996, 10:00 Copyright 1996 TV Iwate, Group TAC LD: 53 minutes Digital Stereo, BELL-1002, ¥7000 VHS: 53 minutes Stereo Hi-Fi, BES-1617, ¥7000