Wheat and Soldiers - Mugi to Heitai

A novella by Hino Ashihei. It was first published in Kaizo in August 1938 (Showa 13). It was published by Kaizosha in September of the same year. It is a war diary written by the author, who served as a press officer at the rank of infantry corporal in the Xuzhou Operation of the Second Sino-Japanese War. It describes his military service from May 4th, when he left Shanghai for Xuzhou, to the 22nd, when he completed his mission and decided to return to Shanghai. Although it is a war chronicle, it contains almost no violent battle scenes, and simply describes in a matter-of-fact style the daily life of soldiers, the troops marching through the vast wheat fields, the Chinese people, and the scenery of villages. However, the simple expressions and the author's sincere personality touch the heart of the reader. The vividness and realism of a soldier's report from the battlefield created a sensation, and the book became an unprecedented bestseller. Together with his subsequent works Earth and Soldiers (1938) and Flowers and Soldiers (1938-39), this work constitutes the author's so-called "Soldier Trilogy."

[Tsuzuki Hisayoshi]

"Earth and Soldiers, Wheat and Soldiers" (Shincho Bunko)

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

火野葦平(あしへい)の中編小説。1938年（昭和13）8月『改造』に発表。同年9月改造社刊。歩兵伍長(ごちょう)の身分で報道部員として、日中戦争の徐州(じょしゅう)作戦に参戦した従軍日記で、徐州へ向けて上海(シャンハイ)を出発した5月4日から、任務を終えて上海に帰ることの決まった22日までの従軍の模様が記されている。戦記とはいえ、激しい戦闘描写はほとんどなく、兵隊の日常生活や広漠と続く麦畑の中を行軍する部隊のようすや中国民衆の姿や村の風景が、淡々とした筆致で描かれているだけであるが、素朴な表現と誠実な作者の人柄が読者の胸を打つ。兵士が戦場から送ったという臨場感と生々しさが反響をよんで、単行本は空前のベストセラーとなった。続く『土と兵隊』（1938）、『花と兵隊』（1938～39）とともに作者のいわゆる「兵隊三部作」をなす。

［都築久義］

『『土と兵隊・麦と兵隊』（新潮文庫）』

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