Photo/Illutration Modeled after the “Restaurant of Many Orders,” one of Kenji Miyazawa’s famous children’s tales, the Wildcat restaurant in Hanamaki city, Iwate Prefecture, welcomes customers wishing to enjoy a meal in the writer’s world. (Photo by Lisa Vogt)

Iwate Prefecture is the second-largest prefecture in Japan by area. Its name, “stone hand,” is said to have come from an ancient story about an unruly devil who spewed rocks out of a volcano and tormented villagers.

The devil was captured and made to promise to mend his ways. To seal the deal, the devil made a handprint on one of the rocks, and there you have it, Iwa-te.

Iwate is known for many things, but the first thing that comes to my mind is, “Unbeaten by the rain. Unbeaten by the wind. Undefeated by snow nor summer heat. ...”

Who wrote this? Hint: "Ihatov." Iwate. That’s right, Kenji Miyazawa (1896-1933) who was born in the present-day Hanamaki city. OK, so you didn’t need the hint. I wonder how many people know what follows and what he was talking about.

Miyazawa was a teacher, geologist, philosopher, poet, farmer and writer of children’s stories. Despite receiving scant attention while he was alive, his popularity soared posthumously, and today, he’s placed securely in the annals of Japanese literature. What is it about him and his works that make him so loved?

As a child, Miyazawa, the son of a well-to-do pawnbroker, saw desperate people pawn what little belongings they had to make ends meet. Kenji’s sensitive and compassionate nature created a rift between him and his father.

Kenji left home and his secure position as a teacher and became a farmer who educated others about agricultural science, such as the use of fertilizers.

A music aficionado, he played the cello and composed songs. After a hard day in the field, he would get together with other farmers, and they’d all listen to records or play music. Classical music is bourgeois? Think again! He believed in the power of music to enrich everyone’s souls.

In Iwate, you can visit a cluster of beautiful places that he named Ihatov, or utopia. Museums and sites linked to Miyazawa are scattered around the prefecture.

One of his life themes was overcoming hardship and grief with resilience. In “Strong in the Rain,” he writes about not giving in to cruel weather and instead just steadily going about life and doing the work that needs to be done. He sacrificed his health for people and died at the young age of 37.

Even 125 years after his birth, Miyazawa continues to be relevant, if not more so. He lived a life of selfless giving, creating stories real and fictional, enriching us all.

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This article by Lisa Vogt, a Washington-born and Tokyo-based photographer, originally appeared in the April 18 issue of Asahi Weekly. It is part of the series "Lisa’s Wanderings Around Japan," which depicts various places across the country through the perspective of the author, a professor at Meiji University.

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