Niimi's second book, and the first collection of stories for children. In 1941, Niimi published 'Ryôkan Monogatari: Temari to Hachi no Ko [A Tale of Ryôkan: a Ball and a Child at a Basin]. The next year, he published this Ojisan no Rampu, which is the only collection published during his lifetime. It belongs to Sinjin Dôwa-shû [A Series of New Writers] produced by Tatsumi Seika. Tatsumi had a great influence on the decision of the title and the illustrator of this book.
Many of the included works are so called Kyusuke-kun Mono [Stories about
a Boy Named Kyusuke], describing boys' delicate sensitivity and conflict
in their minds. They are written in Chita dialect in Aichi Prefecture,
where Niimi came from. The locality and the well-created story are also
the important characteristics of the works in this collection.
The title piece "Ojisan no Rampu" is as follows: one day, a
poor village boy goes to a town. He sees a lamp for the first time, and
surprised how bright it is. He decides to be a lamp dealer. His business
gradually grows, but one day, he sees an electric light, which is brighter
and more convenient than a lamp. At first, he thinks little of electricity,
but one day he notices that the lamp has become old fashioned. He carries
out all the lamps in his shop, brings them to a wood, breaks them with
stones, and makes an end of his business.
As many stories describe the everyday life of boys, they also represent the social circumstances during the war: the practice of the air force, taking temple bells away to make weapons, and so on. After the war, Tatsumi changed such parts, and the altered edition was continued to be published. (How the change was done can be seen in Kôtei Niimi Nankichi Zenshû [The Works of Niini Nankichi with Complete Text Critique].) |
