Run, Melos!
Encyclopedia
is a Japanese
short story
by Osamu Dazai
. Published in 1940, "Run, Melos!" is a widely read classic in Japanese schools.
The story is a reworking of Friedrich Schiller
's ballad
Die Bürgschaft
, which tells the story of Moerus and Selinuntius (who have lent their names to Dazai's characters as well), originally Damon and Pythias
. Schiller's version is based on an ancient Greek legend
recorded by the Roman author Gaius Julius Hyginus
.
The most prominent theme of "Run, Melos!" is unwavering friendship. Despite facing hardships, the protagonist Melos does his best to save his friend's life, and in the end his efforts are rewarded.
After the wedding is over Melos hurries back to the city. Along the way he encounters many tribulations, such as a broken bridge due to the overflowing of the river and attacks by bandits. All of these things exhaust him, and he nearly gives up, but then continues to run for the sake of his friend's life.
At sundown Melos finally arrives at the city, just in time to save his friend Selinuntius. He apologizes to Selinuntius for his treachery, and Selinuntius apologizes for ever doubting him. The King is moved by the display and decides to let Melos go with impunity.
Hashire Merosu - in rōmaji
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
short story
Novella
A novella is a written, fictional, prose narrative usually longer than a novelette but shorter than a novel. The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America Nebula Awards for science fiction define the novella as having a word count between 17,500 and 40,000...
by Osamu Dazai
Osamu Dazai
was a Japanese author who is considered one of the foremost fiction writers of 20th-century Japan.-Biography:-Early life:Dazai was born , the eighth surviving child of a wealthy landowner in Kanagi, a remote corner of Japan at the northern tip of Tōhoku in Aomori Prefecture...
. Published in 1940, "Run, Melos!" is a widely read classic in Japanese schools.
The story is a reworking of Friedrich Schiller
Friedrich Schiller
Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller was a German poet, philosopher, historian, and playwright. During the last seventeen years of his life , Schiller struck up a productive, if complicated, friendship with already famous and influential Johann Wolfgang von Goethe...
's ballad
Ballad
A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads were particularly characteristic of British and Irish popular poetry and song from the later medieval period until the 19th century and used extensively across Europe and later the Americas, Australia and North Africa. Many...
Die Bürgschaft
Die Bürgschaft
The Hostage is a 1798 ballad by German poet Friedrich Schiller. He took the idea out of the medieval Latin collection of anecdotes and tales, the Gesta Romanorum.- Synopsis :...
, which tells the story of Moerus and Selinuntius (who have lent their names to Dazai's characters as well), originally Damon and Pythias
Damon and Pythias
In Greek mythology, the legend of Damon and Pythias symbolizes trust and loyalty in a true friendship.- Greek legend :As told by Aristoxenus, and after him Cicero , Diodorus Siculus , and others, around the 4th century BC, Pythias and his friend Damon, both followers of the philosopher...
. Schiller's version is based on an ancient Greek legend
Damon and Pythias
In Greek mythology, the legend of Damon and Pythias symbolizes trust and loyalty in a true friendship.- Greek legend :As told by Aristoxenus, and after him Cicero , Diodorus Siculus , and others, around the 4th century BC, Pythias and his friend Damon, both followers of the philosopher...
recorded by the Roman author Gaius Julius Hyginus
Gaius Julius Hyginus
Gaius Julius Hyginus was a Latin author, a pupil of the famous Cornelius Alexander Polyhistor, and a freedman of Caesar Augustus. He was by Augustus elected superintendent of the Palatine library according to Suetonius' De Grammaticis, 20...
.
The most prominent theme of "Run, Melos!" is unwavering friendship. Despite facing hardships, the protagonist Melos does his best to save his friend's life, and in the end his efforts are rewarded.
Story
Melos is a naïve young shepherd with a sense of equity. The land in which he lives is ruled by Dionys, a tyrant king who, because of his distrust of people, has killed many, even his own family members. When Melos hears about the King's deeds one day, he becomes enraged. He decides to assassinate the King, and so he sneaks into the castle with a knife, but is caught and arrested. Melos pleads with the King to postpone his execution and give him three days so that he can attend his younger sister's wedding. The King agrees, but on one condition: that Melos' friend Selinuntius is left as a hostage, and if Melos does not return in three days, he will be executed in Melos' stead.After the wedding is over Melos hurries back to the city. Along the way he encounters many tribulations, such as a broken bridge due to the overflowing of the river and attacks by bandits. All of these things exhaust him, and he nearly gives up, but then continues to run for the sake of his friend's life.
At sundown Melos finally arrives at the city, just in time to save his friend Selinuntius. He apologizes to Selinuntius for his treachery, and Selinuntius apologizes for ever doubting him. The King is moved by the display and decides to let Melos go with impunity.
Tributes
- In Dazai's hometown, KanagiKanagi, Aomoriwas a town located in Kitatsugaru District in western Aomori Prefecture, Japan.Kanagi was located in central Tsugaru Peninsula, in an area known for severe winter weather conditions and blizzards. The town was also known as the birthplace of famed author Osamu Dazai. The area was part of Hirosaki...
(now GoshogawaraGoshogawara, Aomoriis a city located in northeastern Aomori in Tōhoku region of Japan. As of 2009, the city had an estimated population of 59,395 and a density of 147persons per km². Its total area was 404.56 km².-Geography:...
, AomoriAomori Prefectureis a prefecture of Japan located in the Tōhoku Region. The capital is the city of Aomori.- History :Until the Meiji Restoration, the area of Aomori prefecture was known as Mutsu Province....
), there is a diesel train nicknamed "Hashire Merosu," owned by the Tsugaru Railway Company. - "Melos no Yō ni ~Lonely Way~," the opening theme song for the anime series Blue Comet SPT LayznerBlue Comet SPT Layzner, sometimes translated as Blue Meteor SPT Layzner, is an anime series produced by Sunrise between 1985 and 1986. Its original creator was Ryousuke Takahashi of Armored Trooper Votoms fame who served as the writer and wrote the scripts for such shows as Panzer World Galient, Tetsuwan Atom, Zero...
refers to the story both in its title, and in the line "Hashire, Melos no yō ni" (Run, just like Melos), which appears in the chorus. - The AKB48AKB48AKB48 is a Japanese female idol group produced by Yasushi Akimoto.The group has achieved enormous popularity in Japan. Its ten latest consecutive singles topped the Oricon Weekly Singles Chart...
song "Melos no Michi" (Melos's Road) references the storyline in its lyrics.
Adaptations
- Hashire Merosu (DoramaJapanese television drama, also called , are a staple of Japanese television and are broadcast daily. All major TV networks in Japan produce a variety of drama series including murder romance, comedy, detective stories, horror, and many others...
, NHKNHKNHK is Japan's national public broadcasting organization. NHK, which has always identified itself to its audiences by the English pronunciation of its initials, is a publicly owned corporation funded by viewers' payments of a television license fee....
1955) - Akai tori no kokoro: Nihon meisaku douwa shirīzu Hashire Merosu (AnimeAnimeis the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....
, TV AsahiTV Asahi, also known as EX and , is a Japanese television network headquartered in Roppongi, Minato, Tokyo, Japan. The company writes its name in lower-case letters, tv asahi, in its logo and public-image materials. The company also owns All-Nippon News Network....
1979) - Hashire MelosHashire Melos!is the title of two Japanese animated films. The first was directed by Tomoharu Katsumata and released on Japanese television on February 7, 1981. It was either 68 or 87 minutes long, and its official title did not include the exclamation mark on the end....
(Anime, Fuji TVFuji Televisionis a Japanese television station based in Daiba, Minato, Tokyo, Japan, also known as or CX, based on the station's callsign "JOCX-DTV". It is the flagship station of the Fuji News Network and the ....
1981) - Hashire Melos!Hashire Melos!is the title of two Japanese animated films. The first was directed by Tomoharu Katsumata and released on Japanese television on February 7, 1981. It was either 68 or 87 minutes long, and its official title did not include the exclamation mark on the end....
(Anime movie, 1992) - Terebi ehon Hashire Merosu (Recitation by Taro YamamotoTaro Yamamotois a Japanese actor.Currently, he actively involved with the anti-nuclear movement.- Selected filmography :* 1998 Love Letter* 1999 Big show! Hawaii ni utaeba* 2000 Battle Royale * 2001 Hashire! Ichiro...
in 2006) - Aoi BungakuAoi Bungakuis a twelve episodes anime series featuring adaptations inspired by six short stories from Japanese literature. The six stories are adapted from classic Japanese tales.-Stories Adapted:...
episode 9–10 (Anime, 2009)
External links
Hashire Merosu at Aozora BunkoAozora Bunko
Aozora Bunko is a Japanese digital library. This online collection encompasses several thousands of works of Japanese-language fiction and non-fiction. These include out-of-copyright books or works that the authors wish to make freely available....
Hashire Merosu - in rōmaji