Libretto in English and Japanese by the composer based upon the two
versions of the posthumous children’s book Ginga Tetsudō no Yoru by Kenji
Miyazawa, published in Japanese (1934), with additional passages adapted
from English translations of Kenji’s poetry by Hiroaki Sato (used with
permission), Akiko Yosano’s tanka ‘koto no ne ni,’ and an anonymous tanka.
Inspired by the translations by Julianne Neville, Roger Pulvers, Joseph Sigrist,
and D.M. Stroud, and the animated movie version (1985) directed by
Gisaburo Sugii.