"There can be no doubt that Akutagawa had more individuality than any other writer of his time and has left in Japanese literature a mass of artistic work, often grotesque and curious, that, while it undoubtedly angers the proletarian experimenters who now hold the stage and fight with lusty pens and a highly developed class consciousness against all that he stood for, will continue to live as long as men go on treasuring the fancies their fellows from time to time set down with care on paper."--Glen W. Shaw

This collection features a brilliant new translation of the Japanese master's stories, from the source for the movie Rashōmon to his later, more autobiographical writings. Ryūnosuke Akutagawa (1892-1927) is one of Japan’s foremost stylists - a modernist master whose short stories are marked by highly original imagery, cynicism, beauty and wild humour. ‘Rashōmon’ and ‘In a Bamboo Grove’ inspired Kurosawa’s magnificent film and depict a past in which morality is turned upside down, while tales such as ‘The Nose’, ‘O-Gin’ and ‘Loyalty’ paint a rich and imaginative picture of a medieval Japan peopled by Shoguns and priests, vagrants and peasants. And in later works such as ‘Death Register’, ‘The Life of a Stupid Man’ and ‘Spinning Gears’, Akutagawa drew from his own life to devastating effect, revealing his intense melancholy and terror of madness in exquisitely moving impressionistic stories. A WORLD IN DECAY - Rashōmon - In a Bamboo Grove - The Nose - Dragon: The Old Potter's Tale - The Spider Thread - Hell Screen UNDER THE SWORD - Dr. Ogata Ryōsai: Memorandum - O-Gin - Loyalty MODERN TRAGICOMEDY - The Story of a Head That Fell Off - Green Onions - Horse Legs AKUTAGAWA'S OWN STORY - Daidōji Shinsuke: The Early Years - The Writer's Craft - The Baby's Sickness - Death Register - The Life of a Stupid Man - Spinning Gears

In Japanese folklore the Kappa is a scaly, child-sized creature with a face like a tiger and a sharp, pointed beak. In the hands of Ryunosuke, one man's journey to `Kappaland' becomes the vehicle for a critique of Japanese life and customs in the tradition of Swift and Kafka. A perfectly formed gem from the pen of one of Japan's most important modern writers (creator of Rashomon), Kappa is at once a fable, a comedy, and a brilliant satire.Language NotesText: English, Japanese (translation) About the AuthorRyunosuke Akutagawa was the author of more than 100 short stories as well as translations of the works of Anatole France and Yeats. Akutagawa was regarded as a major author during his lifetime, and the Akutagawa Prize, established after his death, is now one of Japan’s most prestigious literary awards. Two of the stories from his collection Rashomon formed the basis of the award-winning film of the same title by Akira Kurosawa.

Ryunosuke Akutagawa blends a sense of sad inevitability with subtle irony. Reflective and often humorous, these tales reveal an enormous amount about Japanese culture, while the inner struggles of the characters always strike the universal.

3 Strange Tales presents new translations of this classic Japanese author's most well-known stories: Rashomon; A Christian Death; the never-before-published-in-English story, Agni; and a bonus story, In a Grove.

Fiction. Asian Studies. Translated from the Japanese by Anthony Barnett and Toraiwa Naoko. Akutagawa Ryunosuke (1892-1927) is one of 20th Japan's great storytellers. He is best known in the West for the story "Rashomon", "Rasho Gate", which, with another of his short stories as primary source, "Within a Grove", was the inspiration behind Kurosawa's film Rashomon. Akutagawa read widely in world literature. He graduated from Tokyo University with a thesis on William Morris. His mentor was the great novelistNatsume Soseki, who had lived in London at the turn of the century. Akutagawa's writings include reworkings of motifs and tales of China's and Japan's past, modern fables, essays, and a few autobiographical fictions which, like A FOOL'S LIFE, follow his intense engagement and difficulty with the world. He ended his brief life the month after completing A FOOL'S LIFE. Anthony Barnett is a poet and music historian. His books include the collected The Resting Bell (1987) and selected Miscanthus (2005). He wrote a Masters on the Theory and Practice of Literary Translation at University of Essex in 1978. Hewas visiting scholar at the Center for International Programs, Meiji University, Tokyo in 2002. His other translations include Albiach, O. Berg, Delahaye, Giroux, Lagerkvist, Vesaas, Zanzotto. His writing is most recently surveyed in Ian Brinton's volume Contemporary British Poetry: Poetry Since 1990. Dr Toraiwa naoko is Professor of English at Meiji University. She received her doctorate from University of Sussex and divides her time between Japan and England.About the AuthorRyunosuke Akutagawa (March 1, 1892 - July 24, 1927)was a Japanese writer active in Taisho period Japan. He is regarded as the "Father of the Japanese short story", and is noted for his superb style and finely detailed stories that explore the darker side of human nature.

'He had the Ten Kings of Hell and their minions over in one small corner, and everything else - the entire screen - was enveloped in a firestorm so terrible you thought the swirling flames were going to melt the mountain of Sabres and the Forest of Swords.'One of the towering figures of modern Japanese writing, Akutagawa's early career was distinguished by imaginative, beautifully crafted stories of medieval Japan, rich with period detail. These two stories include his great masterpiece of that period, 'Hell Screen', and the parable of a thread-thin chance of escape for a sinner in the Pool of Blood.This book includes Hell Screen and The Spider Thread.

Stunning tales from master storyteller: superbly nuanced prose, subtly exposing the human psyche. Borges loved him.

3 Strange Tales presents new translations of this classic Japanese author's most well-known stories: Rashomon; A Christian Death; the never-before-published-in-English story, Agni; and a bonus story, In a Grove.