Shijun to Makoto

I have been learning Japanese lately. After watching so much anime, it was inevitable :-). Now that I understand certain basic language constructs and given my knowledge of anime conversation over all these years, I decided to write a short story in Japanese. This blog post is the result of that effort. However, I am worried that there might be several mistakes and possible misinterpretations of what I am writing. If anybody finds any issues in this post, please feel free to let me know through the comments section. I will be extremely grateful to any corrections that you send along my way.

Shijun to Makoto

Kono basho de kazoku ga inai, kanojo ga inai, tomodachi ga inai ... dare mo ... Watashi wa naze koko ni irun desu ka. Wakaranai. Watashi no inochi no mokuteki wa nan desu ka. Wakaranai. ... Nani mo ... Demo heiwa ga iru.

Doko mo kara koe ga kiita, "Oye, ooye, makoto, makoutou"

"Shijun!"

"Chotto matte." Shijun ga watashi ni mukatte hashitta. "Yatto mitsuketa. Nani shimasu ka omae wa. Haha ga shinpaisurun desu yo."

"Warui, warui. Chotto sanpo ni dete kita."

"Ore wa iin desu. Demo atou de haha ni chanto ayamarinasai."

"Wagatta, wagatta."

"Makoto, kaero ka."

Watashi wa shijun to ikimashita.

"Ikinari naze sanpo."

"Chotto kangaeta."

"Nani wo kangaetetan desu."

"Sore wa desu ne. Atarashii shousetsu no koto ii kangai ga aru."

"Sou. Sore ja sono kami wa ...". Kare wa watashi no te de iru kami wo kigatsuita.

"Hai."

"Hee, mitemo iin desu ka."

"Douzo."

"um um um um dare mo um um um um nani mo". Sore kara, shijun ga itteta, "Sore dake."

"Watashi wa mada hajimatta bakari."

"Yare yare, itsu owari kana."

"Sonna iwanaide yo."

"Demo, watashi mo manga wo hajimaranaika. Omae no shousetsu wo sugu owarikudasai."

"Daijoubu, daijoubu."

Ore no namaiwa makoto, kokosei desu. Shijun wa kodomo koro no tomodachi desu. Watashi tachi wa yume wo motte iru. Watashi wa shousetsuka ga naritai desu. Kare wa ore no shousetsu wo manga ni henkaku shitai. Hai, sore wa ore tachi no yume. Kyou wa 1945nen 8gatsu 27nichi desu.

"Ne, kiita ka makoto, kai-chan no koto."

"Um, kiita."

"Hidoi yo. Kare wa mada 9-sai datta. Demo naze shin-"

"Na, shijun. Senso wa hidoi desu ne. Doko mo kanashimi wo mimasu. Ore no shousetsu wo kono sekai ga kikimasu ka."

Shijun wa kami wo mita sore kara sono kotoba ga itta - Dare mo inai, nani mo wakaran, demo heiwa ga iru. “Sonna heiwa ga heiwa desu ka. Sekai wa kotaeru hitsuyo ga arimasu."

"Ganbarimashou." Watashi wa boseki ni fureta (Nichimura Shijun – 1931 kara 1945 made).

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English Translation:

In this place, I have no family, no girlfriend, no friends, no one. What am I doing here? I don't know. What is life's objective? I don't know. I know nothing. But there is peace.

From somewhere I hear a voice, “Oye, ooye, makoto, makoutou”.

“Shijun!”

“Wait a second.” Shijun ran towards me. “Finally found you. What are you doing? My mother was worried.”

“Sorry, sorry. I just came for a walk.”

“I am fine with it. But properly apologize to my mother later.”

“Understood, understood.”

“Makoto, shall we return?”

I left with Shijun.

“Why did you go for a walk suddenly?”

“Just thinking.”

“What were you thinking?”

“Ah that you see, I have a good idea for the story.”

“Is that so? So that paper is ...” He noticed the paper I held in my hand.

“Yes.”

“Oh, can I see it?”

“Please do.”

“um um um um no one um um um um nothing.” Then shijun said, “Is that all?”

“I just started on it.”

“Well well, when will it get over I wonder.”

“Don't say that.”

“But, I have to start on my manga as well. Can you finish the story quickly?”

“Its ok, its ok.”

My name is makoto. I am a high school student. Shijun is my childhood friend. We have dreams. I want to become a writer. He wants to transform my story into manga. Yes, that is our dream. Today, it is 27th August, 1945.

“Makoto, did you hear about kai?”

“Yes, I did.”

“It is cruel. He was just 9 years old. Why did he have to die-”

“Shijun. War is cruel isn't it. You can only see sadness everywhere. Do you think the world will listen to my story?”

Shijun took a look at the paper and said this, There is nobody, there is nothing, but there is peace. Is such a peace, peace at all? The world must answer this.

“Let's work hard for it.” I touched the tombstone (Nichimura Shijun – From 1931 to 1945).