"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.
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. 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 …
"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.
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. 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 an issue of the Japan Quarterly in 1978. 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. 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". Isao Takahata, the anime film director, said that he saw similarities to Chikamatsu Monzaemon's double-suicide plays.
La première nouvelle, dont a été tiré le film Le tombeau des Lucioles, est extrêmement touchante, très simple et brutale, mais transmet avec une terrible justesse l’horreur de la guerre et de la survie.
La seconde évoque la relation difficile entre Japon et Amérique après guerre, les sentiments qui peuvent rester et les différences culturelles qui s’érigent, le tout avec un franc parler et un humour bien maîtrisé. On vit dans la tête du personnage principal, baignant entre ses pensées, ses souvenirs et ses réactions face à l’arrivée d’un couple d’américains chez lui.
