Rashomon and Seventeen Other Stories by Ryûnosuke Akutagawa Read Free Book Online

”), tr. J. Thomas Rimer, in
The Historical Fiction of Mori ō gai
(Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 1991).
    6 . Tanizaki Jun’ichir ō ,
The Makioka Sisters
(
Sasameyuki
), tr. Edward Seidensticker (New York: Knopf, 1957).
    7 . “Tu Tze-chun” (“Toshishun”), in
The Essential Akutagawa
,
The Three Treasures
, and
The Spider’s Thread and Other Stories
; “The Art of the Occult” (“Majutsu”), in
The Three Treasures
and
The Spider’s Thread and Other Stories
; and “Yam Gruel” (“Imogayu”), in
Rashomon and Other Stories
, tr. Takashi Kojima. For bibliographical details here and below, see Further Reading .
    8 . “Kappa,” in
Exotic Japanese Stories
and
Kappa
.
    9 . Mori ō gai is fine, too, but to the eye of the modern reader the style of his language is a little too static and classical. Kawabata’s works, to be quite honest, have always been a problem for me. I do, of course, recognize both their literary value and his considerable abilities as a novelist, but I have never been able to identify very closely with his fictional world. With regard to Shimazaki and Shiga, I can only say I have no particular interest in them. I have hardly read a thing of theirs aside from what I found in the school textbooks, and what I have read has left little trace in my memory.
    10 . “The Lady, Roku-no-Miya” (“Roku-no-miya no himegimi”), in
Exotic Japanese Stories
. For English translations of the classical collections, see Translator’s Note, notes 2 and 3 .
    11 . ARSJ, p. 176. (For publication information, see list of abbreviations, p. 237.)
    12 . Kikuchi Kan, “Insh ō teki na kuchibiru to hidarite no hon,” in
Shinch ō
(October 1917), p. 30.
    13 . See Edward Seidensticker,
Low City, High City
(New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1983).

Further Reading
AKUTAGAWA STORIES IN ENGLISH TRANSLATION
    Most earlier anthologies tend to be out of print or difficult to find except in libraries. All those listed here contain stories not included in the present volume. Individual stories mentioned in the Introduction are noted along with other titles of particular interest.
    The Essential Akutagawa
, ed. Seiji M. Lippitt (New York: Marsilio, 1999). Contains “Tu Tze-chun” (“Toshishun”), “Kesa and Morito” (“Kesa to Morit ō ”), “The Faint Smiles of the Gods” (“Kamigami no bish ō ”), “A Note to a Certain Old Friend” (“Aru ky ū y ū e okuru shuki”), “Autumn Mountain” (“Sh ū sanzu”)
    Exotic Japanese Stories
, tr. Takashi Kojima and John McVittie (New York: Liveright, 1964). Contains “Kappa” (“Kappa”), “The Lady, Roku-no-Miya” (“Roku-no-miya no himegimi”), “The Badger” (“Mujina”), “Heresy” (“Jash ū mon”, the unfinished sequel to “Hell Screen”), “The Handkerchief” (“Hankechi”), “The Dolls” (“Hina”), “A Woman’s Body” (“Nyotai”)
    The Heart is Alone
, ed. Richard McKinnon (Tokyo: Hokuseido, 1957). Contains “Flatcar” (“Torokko”), “A Clod of Soil” (“Ikkai no tsuchi”)
    Hell Screen and Other Stories
, tr. W. H. H. Norman (Tokyo:Hokuseido, 1948). Contains “Heresy” (“Jash ū mon”, the unfinished sequel to “Hell Screen”)
    Japanese Short Stories
, tr. Takashi Kojima (New York: Liveright, 1961). Contains “A Clod of Soil” (“Ikkai no tsuchi”), “The Tangerines” (“Mikan”)
    Kappa
, tr. Geoffrey Bownas (Tokyo: Tuttle, 1971, 2000). Contains “Kappa” and a lengthy introduction
    Rashomon and Other Stories
, tr. Takashi Kojima (New York: Liveright, 1952, 1999). Contains “Yam Gruel” (“Imogayu”), complete translation of “Dragon” (“Ry ū