Difference between revisions of "Ryunosuke Akutagawa" - New World Encyclopedia

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[[Image:Kikuchi Kan,Akutagawa Ryunosuke,and so on.jpg|150px|thumb|right|A set photograph of 1919. The second from the left is Ryunosuke Akutagawa. At the far left is [[Kan Kikuchi]].]]
 
[[Image:Kikuchi Kan,Akutagawa Ryunosuke,and so on.jpg|150px|thumb|right|A set photograph of 1919. The second from the left is Ryunosuke Akutagawa. At the far left is [[Kan Kikuchi]].]]
 
'''Ryūnosuke Akutagawa''' (芥川 龍之介 ''Akutagawa Ryūnosuke'', [[March 1]],[[1892]] - [[July 24]], [[1927]]) was a [[Japan]]ese poet and [[List of Japanese authors|writer]], regarded as the "Father of the Japanese Short Story".
 
'''Ryūnosuke Akutagawa''' (芥川 龍之介 ''Akutagawa Ryūnosuke'', [[March 1]],[[1892]] - [[July 24]], [[1927]]) was a [[Japan]]ese poet and [[List of Japanese authors|writer]], regarded as the "Father of the Japanese Short Story".

Revision as of 21:27, 27 September 2006

File:Kikuchi Kan,Akutagawa Ryunosuke,and so on.jpg
A set photograph of 1919. The second from the left is Ryunosuke Akutagawa. At the far left is Kan Kikuchi.

Ryūnosuke Akutagawa (芥川 龍之介 Akutagawa Ryūnosuke, March 1,1892 - July 24, 1927) was a Japanese poet and writer, regarded as the "Father of the Japanese Short Story".

Akutagawa wrote no full-length novels, focusing instead on the short story as his main medium of expression. During his short life, he wrote over 150 short stories, including The Nose, The Spider's Thread, The Hell Screen, Autumn, The Ball (Akutagawa story)The Ball, In a Grove, and Kappa. Akira Kurosawa directed the film Rashōmon (1950) based on Akutagawa's stories; the majority of the action in the film was actually an adaptation of In a Grove.

Akutagawa was born in Tokyo, the son of a milkman (Toshizoo Niihara). His mother (Fuku Niihara) went insane shortly after his birth, so he was adopted and raised by his maternal uncle, Akutagawa Dosho, from whom he got the family name "Akutagawa". He began writing after entering Tokyo Imperial University in 1913, where he studied English Literature. He supported himself by teaching English and editing a newspaper. At that time he published his short story Rashōmon (1914), which earned him the praise and encouragement by Soseki Natsume, and started The Nose, which would be finished only a couple of years later. It was also at this time that he started writing haiku under the haigo (or pen-name) Gaki.

While still a student he proposed marriage to a childhood friend, Yayoi Yoshida, but his adoptive family did not approve the union. In 1916 he became engaged to Aya Tsukamoto, whom he married in 1918. They had three children: Hiroshi Akutagawa (1920-1981) was a famous actor, Takashi Akutagawa (1922-1945) was killed in World War II, and Yasushi Akutagawa (1925-1989) was a famous composer.

In 1921, at the crest of his popularity, Akutagawa interrupted his writing career to spend four months in China, as a reporter for the Osaka Mainichi Shinbun. The trip was stressful and he suffered from various illnesses, from which his health would never recover. Shortly after his return he published his most famous tale, In a Grove (1922).

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Ryunosuke Akutagawa suicide note

Towards the end of his life, he began suffering from visual hallucinations and nervousness. In 1927 he tried to take his own life, together with a friend of his wife Aya, but the attempt failed. He finally committed suicide (by taking an overdose of Veronal) on July 24 of the same year. It was Saito Mokichi who gave him Veronal. His dying words in his will were ぼんやりとした不安 (Bon'yaritoshita fuan, meaning "dim uneasiness"). In 1935, his lifelong friend Kan Kikuchi established Japan's most prestigious literary award, the Akutagawa Prize, in his honor.

Works

Year Japanese Title English Title
1914 老年 Rōnen
1915 羅生門 Rashōmon Rashōmon
1916 Hana The Nose
芋粥 Imogayu Yam Gruel
煙草と悪魔 Tabako to Akuma
1917 戯作三昧 Gesakuzanmai
1918 蜘蛛の糸 Kumo no Ito The Spider’s Thread
地獄変 Jigokuhen Hell Screen
邪宗門 Jashūmon
1919 魔術 Majutsu
1920 南京の基督 Nankin no Kirisuto Christ in Nanking
杜子春 Toshishun Tu Tze-chun
アグニの神 Aguni no Kami
1921 藪の中 Yabu no Naka In a Grove
1922 トロッコ Torokko
1927 玄鶴山房 Genkakusanbō
侏儒の言葉 Shuju no Kotoba
文芸的な、あまりに文芸的な Bungeiteki na, amarini Bungeiteki na
河童 Kappa Kappa
歯車 Haguruma Cogwheel
或る阿呆の一生 Aru Ahō no Isshō A Fool's Life
西方の人 Seihō no Hito The Man of the West

External link

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