If the primary theme of human life in the 21st century is living in harmony with other animals and plants — and also preserving the bounties of the Earth — then Kenji Miyazawa is the Japanese writer who can most thoroughly help us to understand and pursue this theme.
Miyazawa died 75 years ago this Sunday, Sept. 21; but his profound ideas, expressed in exquisite prose parables and philosophical poetry, speak to us as if he were our contemporary. He truly considered himself to be in total harmony with all creation.
In his poem "Whatever Anyone Says," he is oblivious to how this total identification with nature will be looked upon by others , . . Whatever anyone says I am the young wild olive tree Dripping radiant dew Cold droplets Transparent rain From my every branch