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Cover of 走れメロス (Hashire Merosu)

Upper intermediate · JLPT N2

走れメロスHashire Merosu — Keep Running, Melos

by Dazai Osamu (太宰治, 1909–1948)

  • JLPT N2
  • 9,814 characters
  • 7 parts
  • about 82 minutes

Keep Running, Melos (走れメロス) is a short heroic tale set in a legendary Greek city. Melos, a plain-spoken shepherd, openly defies Dionis, the tyrant king of Syracuse, who trusts no one. To keep a promise and save a friend's life, he must make a desperate journey against the clock. Dazai based it on Friedrich Schiller's ballad "Die Bürgschaft" and names Schiller in a closing note. It is one of the most widely read Japanese stories and a long-standing staple of Japanese school textbooks. The storytelling is breathless and rhythmic: short, emphatic sentences pile up, and the third-person narrator keeps sliding into Melos's own feverish inner voice. The plot is simple and easy to follow, which gives you firm footing. The language is the real challenge. It is literary and slightly archaic, with ぬ negatives, 給え commands, the king's gruff わし and じゃ, and the humble speech of the commoners. Working through it teaches you the older written style you will keep meeting in modern classics, in a story short enough to finish and dramatic enough to pull you forward.

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Contents

  1. A Shepherd's Fury at the TyrantMelos, a simple village shepherd, comes to the city of Syracuse to buy things for his younger sister's wedding and finds the city strangely silent. An old man tells him that King Dionis, unable to trust anyone, has been putting people to death, even his own family. Enraged, Melos walks straight into the castle, is arrested with a dagger on him, and is brought before the king, whom he defies to his face.
  2. A Friend Left Behind as HostageThe king insists that no one can be trusted, and Melos, ready to die, asks for three days' grace so he can see his sister married. He offers his dearest friend Selinuntius as a hostage, and the king cruelly agrees, sure that Melos will never return. Selinuntius silently accepts, and Melos runs through the night to his village, where his startled sister greets him with a flood of questions.
  3. A Wedding in the RainMelos returns to his village exhausted and insists that his sister's wedding be held the very next day, arguing with the reluctant groom all night until he gives in. The wedding takes place in a sudden downpour, and Melos is so happy that he briefly forgets his promise to the king. Before leaving, he gives the couple his parting advice and sleeps in the sheep shed so that he can set out after a short rest.
  4. The Flooded River at MiddayMelos wakes at dawn and sets out for the royal castle in the rain, telling himself he must run to save his friend and defeat the king's scheming, and scolding himself when he is tempted to stop. Once he has left his home village behind he feels free of lingering ties and begins to stroll, until he finds the bridge swept away by a raging flood. He prays to Zeus, then swims across and clings to a tree on the far bank. He hurries on, but at the top of a mountain pass a band of mountain robbers leaps out in front of him.
  5. Ambush on the Pass, Despair in the GrassBandits block Melos on the mountain pass and demand his life, but he seizes a club, strikes three of them down and runs on. Scorched by the afternoon sun and utterly spent, he collapses in a field by the road. Sinking into despair, he pleads his innocence to Selinuntius, toys with living on as a traitor, and finally falls into a doze.
  6. A Spring, and Renewed HopeCollapsed and despairing, Melos hears a spring bubbling from the rocks. He drinks, recovers his strength and resolve, and races toward Syracuse as the sun sinks. Near the city, Philostratus runs up beside him and begs him to stop, saying it is too late: Selinuntius is about to be executed, though he trusted Melos to the end.
  7. Melos Arrives as the Sun SetsMelos arrives at the place of execution with his last strength just as the sun goes down, and he grabs his friend as Selinuntius is being raised onto the cross. Each friend confesses a moment of weakness: Melos admits a bad dream of giving up on the way, and Selinuntius admits he once doubted Melos. They strike each other and then embrace, and the moved king asks to be made one of their companions. The crowd cheers the king, and a young girl gives the naked Melos a scarlet cloak, which makes him blush deeply.

Before you read

  • Learn the classical negative ぬ before you start. It replaces ない throughout: 〜なければならぬ (must), 知らぬ, and the humble 居りませぬ / ございませぬ used by the old man and Philostratus. The pattern 〜なければならぬ is Melos's refrain, so recognizing it instantly will speed up whole passages.
  • Watch for shifts from narration into Melos's own thoughts. The narrator describes him in the third person, then suddenly you are reading 私 and exclamations in his voice with no quotation marks. When the tone turns raw and emotional, ask yourself who is speaking.
  • Each character's speech style marks their rank. The king uses わし and じゃ. Melos uses the old-fashioned polite command 〜てくれ給え. The commoners speak in deferential keigo. Treat these endings as a guide to who is talking in fast exchanges of dialogue.
  • Pre-learn a few key words that carry the plot: 人質 (ひとじち, hostage), 磔 (はりつけ, crucifixion), 約束 (promise), 日没 (sunset), and 信実 (しんじつ, sincerity or faithfulness), the story's central theme. The deadline is always the setting sun, so time words like 日没, 夕陽 and 斜陽 signal how close Melos is to failing.
  • Expect the grammar from the notes to recur: 〜筈だ (it should be so), 〜べき (ought to), 〜かろう (must surely be), 〜やら〜やら (what with this and that), and 〜をさえ (even). Distances are given in 里 (り). One ri is about 4 km, so the ten ri between village and city is roughly 40 km.

Words to know

The most useful words from the notes across the story.

WordMeaningJLPT
磔はりつけcrucifixion, being bound to a cross for execution磔刑 (たっけい) in a later sentence is the formal equivalent.—
人質ひとじちhostageA key word for the rest of the story.N1
身代りみがわりsubstitute, stand-in who takes another's placedictionary form: 身代わり身 'body' + 代わり 'replacement'.—
未練みれんlingering attachment, reluctance to let goN1
竹馬の友ちくばのともchildhood friendLiterally 'bamboo-stilts friend', someone you played with as a child.—
首肯きうなずくto nod in agreementdictionary form: 首肯くNormally written 頷く or うなずく; 首肯 is read しゅこう on its own.—
山賊さんぞくmountain bandits, brigandsCompare 海賊 (pirates).—
信実しんじつfaithfulness, sincerity, good faithKey word of the story. It sounds like 真実 (truth), but 信 stresses trust and loyalty.—
刑場けいじょうplace of execution—
仕度したくpreparationsAlso written 支度, which is more common today.N4
覚悟かくごresolve; bracing oneself (for danger)覚悟する = to make up one's mind to face something hard.N3
恢復かいふくrecoveryAn older spelling. Today it is usually written 回復.N3
女房にょうぼうwifeCasual, somewhat old-fashioned word for one's wife.N2
怺えこらえるto endure, beardictionary form: 怺えるRare kanji; normally written 堪える or in kana.N2
悠々ゆうゆうcalmly, unhurriedlyOften 悠々と; suggests being relaxed and composed.N2

Plot summary

Show the full summary (contains spoilers)

Melos comes to Syracuse to shop for his sister's wedding and learns that King Dionis has been executing people out of distrust. He storms the castle and is condemned to crucifixion. He begs for three days to see his sister married and leaves his friend Selinuntius behind as a hostage. The king agrees, expecting him never to return. Melos holds the wedding, then races back through flood, bandits and exhaustion. He collapses in despair, but a spring of water revives him. Philostratus urges him to give up, yet Melos reaches the execution ground at sunset and saves Selinuntius from the cross. The two friends confess their moments of doubt, strike each other, and embrace. The moved king asks to join them as a friend. A girl then hands the naked Melos a scarlet cloak, and he blushes deeply.

About the author

Dazai Osamu (太宰治) was the pen name of Tsushima Shūji, born into a wealthy landowning family in Aomori Prefecture in northern Japan. He studied French literature at Tokyo Imperial University but did not graduate, devoting himself instead to writing. He is best known for the novels The Setting Sun (斜陽) and No Longer Human (人間失格), which draw heavily on his own troubled life. Much of his work is dark and confessional. Keep Running, Melos shows a brighter, more straightforwardly heroic side of his writing. He died by suicide in 1948.

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