A talented and resentful painter falls in pursuit of artistic splendor. In the depths of hell, a robber discovers a spider's silk reaching for him. When a body is found in an isolated bamboo forest, a kaleidoscopic tale of violence and desire begins to unfold.
This collection, vividly translated by Bryan Karetnyk, brings together a series of important works by the master of the Japanese short story. Part of the Pushkin Press Classics series: a selection of timeless stories by literary icons from around the globe. Translated by Brian Carradine Ryunosuke Akutagawa was one of the leading literary figures of the Taisho period in Japan.
Known as the father of the Japanese short story, he wrote more than 150 short stories in his short life. Fearing that he would inherit his mother's madness, Akutagawa suffered from worsening mental health problems towards the end of his life and committed suicide by overdose at the age of 35.
Ryunosuke Akutagawa was born in Tokyo under the family name of Niihara, and his father ran a milk business. Eight months after his birth, his mother became insane and sent him to his uncle, the Akutagawa family, as an adopted son. The Akutagawa family was an old feudal family. Ryunosuke in primary and secondary school age like to read Edo literature, "Journey to the West", "Water Margin", etc., but also like modern Japanese writers Izumi Mirror Flower, Kouda Ruyan, Natsume Soseki, Mori Gouwai's works. 1913 into the Imperial University of Tokyo, the English Department. In 1913, he entered the English Department of Tokyo Imperial University, and during his study period, he and Masao Kume and Kan Kikuchi successively reprinted the New Thought on two occasions, which led to a new trend of literature in the literary world. During this period, Akutagawa published the short stories "Rashomon" (1915), "Nose" (1916), "Taro Porridge" (1916), and "Handkerchief" (1916), establishing himself as a rising star.
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