Delicate sensibility and sharp insight,
You can feel the true nature of Akutagawa's literature.
Meet seventeen works

Ryunosuke Akutagawa is one of Japan's most widely read modern writers, and his intellectual and sophisticated short stories have captured the attention of the literary world.
This book is a collection of Akutagawa's representative works, spanning a wide literary spectrum, from early dynastic works with ancient motifs, to Christian works, and even autobiographical novels.


His title work, Rashomon, is his masterpiece that depicts the obsession with life and human egoism against the backdrop of a desolate era, and is included in Japanese language textbooks.
A total of seventeen works have been selected and included, including “The Nose,” a work that received high praise from his teacher Natsume Soseki; “Two Letters,” a story that uses the interesting subject of doppelgangers; and “Autumn,” which depicts the jealousy that resides deep within the human heart with a candid yet sorrowful atmosphere.


Akutagawa did not get caught up in the mainstream literary culture of the time, but instead focused on the essence of life and literature, creating his own unique world.
He wrote short narratives that precisely combined form and content, condensing the dark inner world of humanity, the anxieties of the times, and questions about the origins of existence, leaving a short but powerful impression.
In honor of his literary achievements, Japan established the Akutagawa Prize in 1935, which is awarded annually to promising writers and has become the most prestigious literary award in Japan.



1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die, by Peter Boxall

It was around sunset one day.
A servant was waiting under Rashomon for the rain to stop.
There was no one under the wide door except this man.
There was only one cricket clinging to a large pillar whose paint had peeled off in some places.

--- p.9 From "Rashomon"

If you don't care about the means... ... .
The servant's thoughts wandered along the same path several times before finally arriving at this point.
But as time passed, this “if not…” remained as “if not.”
The servant was determined to use any means necessary, but he lacked the courage to actively affirm the fact that, in order to complete this “if not…”, he would have no choice but to become a thief.

--- pp.11-12 From "Rashomon"

The servant no longer had any reason to hesitate about whether to starve to death or become a thief.
Moreover, at that time, the word "starvation" was so far removed from this man's mind that it was almost impossible to even think about it.

--- p.17 From "Rashomon"

When it came to the nose of the monk Seonji Naegong, there was no one in the Ikenoo region who did not know it.
It was about five or six inches long and stretched from the upper lip to the bottom of the chin.
The shape was thick overall from top to bottom.
It was as if a long sausage-like thing was dangling from the center of his face.
The monk, who was over fifty years old, had never stopped worrying about his nose from the time he was a novice monk until now, when he was appointed as a monk serving in the inner temple.

--- p.21 From "Nose"

Just hearing the words "Hell's Edge Screen" brings a vivid image of a terrifying picture to mind.
Even though it is the same hellish transformation, if you compare the one drawn by Yoshihide with one drawn by another artist, the composition itself is different.
In one corner of a folding screen, there was a small image of the King of Hell and his subordinates, while the rest of the screen was filled with a fierce fire swirling around, threatening to burn down even the Sword Mountain Master.

--- p.70 From "Hellbound"

The man suffered a cruel fate, even losing his life in exchange for completing the folding screen painting.
So to speak, the hell of that painting was the hell into which Yoshihide, Japan's greatest painter, would one day fall...

--- p.72 From "Hellbound"

“I will set the cart on fire.
Also, inside there is a pretty woman, dressed as a noblewoman, and seated there.
A woman in a cart writhes in agony and dies from the encroaching flames and graphite smoke… … , to think of drawing that, you must be the best painter in the world.
“It’s great, it’s great.”
--- pp.92-93 From "Hellbound"

The girl, with her upper body sticking out the window, stretched out her swollen hands and shook them vigorously from side to side, and then five or six tangerines, bathed in the warm sunlight that made hearts flutter, flew and scattered towards the children seeing off the train.
I held my breath for a moment.
And in an instant, I knew everything.
The girl was probably leaving for the city to find work, and she was responding to the efforts of her younger brothers who had come all the way to the railroad crossing to see her off by throwing a few tangerines that she had been carrying.

--- p.111 From "Tangerine"

It was a rainy afternoon.
I discovered a small oil painting in a room of a painting exhibition hall.
It may be a bit grand to call it a discovery, but it is not an exaggeration to say that the painting was actually hung in a corner with poor lighting, in a very shabby frame, and was lonely, unnoticed by anyone.
The painting appears to have been titled 'Swamp' and was painted by an unknown artist.

--- p.115 From "The Swamp"

This was the only price that the unknown artist… …, that is, one of us, could barely get from the world at the cost of his life.
I looked at this gloomy oil painting again, feeling a strange thrill run through my body.
There, between the dark sky and the water, the wet, ochre-colored reeds, poplars, and figs were alive with an eerie power that revealed nature itself… … .
“It’s a masterpiece.”
--- p.118 From "The Swamp"

And after thousands of years, that soul went through countless cycles and was once again entrusted with life to humans.
That is the soul that dwells in me.
So, I was born in modern times, but I haven't accomplished anything meaningful.
I spend my days and nights dreaming blankly, just waiting for something mysterious to come.
Just like Misaeng waited forever for a lover who would never come back under the bridge in the dark evening… … .
--- p.148 From “The Faith of Misaeng”

Nobuko's eyes welled up with tears every time she read this girlish letter.
Especially, when I recall Teruko secretly handing her a letter just before boarding the train at Tokyo Station, I feel so pitiful.
But was her marriage truly a sacrifice, as her sister had imagined? Such doubts were likely to weigh heavily on her heart after shedding tears.
To avoid feeling that way, Nobuko usually just sat there quietly absorbed in pleasant emotions.
As I watched the sunlight pouring down on the pine forest outside gradually change into a yellowish sunset.

--- pp.155-156 From "Autumn"

There is a temple called Shinhasago in Nagasumicho, Asakusa, but… …, no, it is not a big temple.
It is said to be a temple with a long history, as it houses a wooden statue of Nichiro Shonin.
In the autumn of the 22nd year of the Meiji era, a boy was abandoned in front of the temple gate.
The child was left abandoned, wrapped in a blanket, with no paper with his name or date of birth written on it, using a woman's straw sandal with its laces to use as a pillow.

--- p.187 From "Abandoned Child"

“I feel more affectionate than before.
“After I learned that secret, my mother became more than just a biological mother to me, an abandoned child.” The guest answered solemnly.
As if he didn't know that he himself was more than just a biological child.
--- p.196 From "Abandoned Child"

It was early June when the first-class battleship ×× entered Yokosuka Naval Port.
The mountains surrounding the military port looked hazy with fog.
Whenever a warship docked in a port, rats would inevitably begin to breed.
It was the same with ××.
Even under the deck of the 20,000-ton ××, where flags were flying in the pouring rain, rats began to appear in lockers and clothing pouches.
So it was not even three days after anchoring that the second-in-command's order was given to allow anyone who caught a rat to land for a day for the purpose of eradicating the rats.

--- pp.291-292 From “Three Windows”