Akutagawa Ryunosuke
Master of the short story form, famous for psychological depth and dark irony. His tales Rashomon and In a Grove established him as a modernist icon; Japan's most prestigious literary prize bears his name.
Works
- RashomonShort story of ambiguous truth beneath an ancient gate during civil war
- In a GroveNarrative structured around conflicting accounts of a forest crime
- The NoseComic tale of a man's obsession with his grotesquely enlarged nose
- Hell ScreenParable of a Buddhist priest whose greed and jealousy consume him
- KappaSatirical narrative about a legendary beast and human-mythical creature encounters