Tuttle Classics

Widely acknowledged as the father of the Japanese short story, Ryunosuke Akutagawa remains one of the most influential Japanese writers of all time. Rashomon and Other Stories, a collection of his most celebrated work, resonates as strongly today as when it first published a century ago. This volume includes: In a Grove: An iconic, contradictory tale of the murder of a samurai in a forest near Kyoto told through three varying accounts; Rashomon: A masterless samurai contemplates following a life of crime as he encounters an old woman at the old Rashomon gate outside Kyoto; Yam Gruel: A low-ranking court official laments his position all the while yearning for his favourite, yet humble, dish; The Martyr: Set in Japan's Christian missionary era, a young boy is excommunicated for fathering an illegitimate child, but not all is as it seems; Kesa and Morito: An adulterous couple plots to kill the woman's husband as the situation threatens to spin out of control; The Dragon: A priest concocts a prank involving a dragon, but the tall tale begins to take on a life of its own. With a new foreword by noted Akutagawa scholar Seiji Lippit, this updated version of a classic collection is a an excellent, readable introduction to Japanese literature.