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A review by lauren_endnotes
Rashomon: And Other Stories by Ryūnosuke Akutagawa
4.0
"Yes, sir. Certainly, it was I who found the body. This morning as usual, I went to cut my daily quota of cedar, when I found a body in a grove..."
Opening lines of "In a Grove", from RASHŌMON and Other Stories by Ryūnosuke Akutagawa, translated by Takashi Kojima // originals 1910s-1920s in Japanese, translated and collected in English 1952.
Akutagawa is known as the "father of the Japanese short story" - this distinction, as well as my love for short stories made him a must read for my January in Japan queue. In his short life, he wrote 150 stories and gained popularity and prestige for his work. So much so that one of Japan's major literary prizes is named in honor of him - the Akutagawa Prize.
This collection gathers only 6 of his short stories, and was a wonderful introduction to his style. It contains two of his #classics - In a Grove, and Rashōmon.
*Fun Fact* Akira Kurasawa's famous Rashōmon film (1950), despite its name, is actually based on "In a Grove" short story. The film popularized the multiple viewpoints/perspectives and emphasized the subjective nature of truth and justice, regularly referred to as "Rashōmon effect".
Akutagawa's stories are immersive, eerie, and dark. All good combinations for me!
Opening lines of "In a Grove", from RASHŌMON and Other Stories by Ryūnosuke Akutagawa, translated by Takashi Kojima // originals 1910s-1920s in Japanese, translated and collected in English 1952.
Akutagawa is known as the "father of the Japanese short story" - this distinction, as well as my love for short stories made him a must read for my January in Japan queue. In his short life, he wrote 150 stories and gained popularity and prestige for his work. So much so that one of Japan's major literary prizes is named in honor of him - the Akutagawa Prize.
This collection gathers only 6 of his short stories, and was a wonderful introduction to his style. It contains two of his #classics - In a Grove, and Rashōmon.
*Fun Fact* Akira Kurasawa's famous Rashōmon film (1950), despite its name, is actually based on "In a Grove" short story. The film popularized the multiple viewpoints/perspectives and emphasized the subjective nature of truth and justice, regularly referred to as "Rashōmon effect".
Akutagawa's stories are immersive, eerie, and dark. All good combinations for me!