Grave of the Fireflies (short story)

"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 in 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 2005 live-action television film, and another live-action film in 2008. A second English translation by Ginny Tapley Takemori was published in 2025 by Penguin Classics in the UK.

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.