Spring and Chaos (イーハトーブ幻想 Kenjiの春, Īhatōbu Gensō Kenji no Haru?, lit, Ihatov Fantasy: Kenji's Spring) is a 1996 Japanese anime television special inspired by the life of poet Kenji Miyazawa, released in Japan to mark the 100th anniversary of Miyazawa's birth. It was directed by Shoji Kawamori. It was released in North America by Tokyopop. Miyazawa and the other characters in the program are depicted as cats, similar to the anime adaptation of Miyazawa's story Night on the Galactic Railroad.
The North American title Spring and Chaos derives from the title of Miyazawa's poetry collection Spring and Asura (Haru to Shura), the title poem of which is recited in part in the program. The "Ihatov" in the Japanese title is a setting in a number of Miyazawa's works; it is the word Miyazawa created in Esperanto for his place of residence, Japan's Iwate Prefecture.
Famous quotes containing the words spring and/or chaos:
“The Spring I seek is in a new face only.”
—Allen Tate (1899–1979)
“A face peered. All the grey night
In chaos of vacancy shone;
Naught but vast sorrow was there—
The sweet cheat gone.”
—Walter De La Mare (1873–1956)