The Essential Akutagawa: Twenty-Two Short Stories by Japan's Master Storyteller

by Ryūnosuke Akutagawa, Richard Medhurst (Translator)

Ryunosuke Akutagawa (1892—1927), often called "the Father of the Japanese short story," wrote more than 150 works during his brief but prolific career. Widely regarded as Japan's master storyteller, he blended modern sensibilities with timeless themes to profound effect.

This new anthology offers the most comprehensive collection of Akutagawa's work ever published in English. It features fresh translations of his most celebrated stories alongside many lesser-known and never-before-translated pieces:

• Rashomon: A destitute servant in old Kyoto faces a moral dilemma—starve or steal to survive
• An Odd Tale: A young woman is haunted by strange encounters with a station porter while her husband fights in World War I
• Shadows: A merchant receives anonymous letters about his wife's infidelity—only to come face-to-face with his own double
• In a Grove: Multiple, conflicting accounts of a samurai's death—this story inspired Kurosawa's legendary film Rashomon
• Hell Screen: A chilling tale of artistic obsession and its devastating cost, adapted from an ancient legend
• Momotaro: In this first-ever English translation, Akutagawa transforms a beloved folk hero into a biting satire of nationalism and war
• Plus 16 other major works by the Japanese master!

An essential volume for every serious reader of Japanese literature—and a captivating introduction to one of the world's great literary voices.

Genres: Short Stories, Fiction, Historical Fiction, International, Literary Fiction, Classics, Asian Literature

256 pages, Paperback

First published September 2, 2025

About the author

Akutagawa Ryūnosuke (芥川 龍之介) was one of the first prewar Japanese writers to achieve a wide foreign readership, partly because of his technical virtuosity, partly because his work seemed to represent imaginative fiction as opposed to the mundane accounts of the I-novelists of the time, partly because of his brilliant joining of traditional material to a modern sensibility, and partly because of film director Kurosawa Akira's masterful adaptation of two of his short stories for the screen.

Akutagawa was born in the Kyōbashi district Tokyo as the eldest son of a dairy operator named Shinbara Toshizō and his wife Fuku. He was named "Ryūnosuke" ("Dragon Offshoot") because he was born in the Year of the Dragon, in the Month of the Dragon, on the Day of the Dragon, and at the Hour of the Dragon (8 a.m.). Seven months after Akutagawa's birth, his mother went insane and he was adopted by her older brother, taking the Akutagawa family name. Despite the shadow this experience cast over Akutagawa's life, he benefited from the traditional literary atmosphere of his uncle's home, located in what had been the "downtown" section of Edo.

At school Akutagawa was an outstanding student, excelling in the Chinese classics. He entered the First High School in 1910, striking up relationships with such classmates as Kikuchi Kan, Kume Masao, Yamamoto Yūzō, and Tsuchiya Bunmei. Immersing himself in Western literature, he increasingly came to look for meaning in art rather than in life. In 1913, he entered Tokyo Imperial University, majoring in English literature. The next year, Akutagawa and his former high school friends revived the journal Shinshichō (New Currents of Thought), publishing translations of William Butler Yeats and Anatole France along with original works of their own. Akutagawa published the story Rashōmon in the magazine Teikoku bungaku (Imperial Literature) in 1915. The story, which went largely unnoticed, grew out of the egoism Akutagawa confronted after experiencing disappointment in love. The same year, Akutagawa started going to the meetings held every Thursday at the house of Natsume Sōseki, and thereafter considered himself Sōseki's disciple.

The lapsed Shinshichō was revived yet again in 1916, and Sōseki lavished praise on Akutagawa's story Hana (The Nose) when it appeared in the first issue of that magazine. After graduating from Tokyo University, Akutagawa earned a reputation as a highly skilled stylist whose stories reinterpreted classical works and historical incidents from a distinctly modern standpoint. His overriding themes became the ugliness of human egoism and the value of art, themes that received expression in a number of brilliant, tightly organized short stories conventionally categorized as Edo-mono (stories set in the Edo period), ōchō-mono (stories set in the Heian period), Kirishitan-mono (stories dealing with premodern Christians in Japan), and kaika-mono (stories of the early Meiji period). The Edo-mono include Gesaku zanmai (A Life Devoted to Gesaku, 1917) and Kareno-shō (Gleanings from a Withered Field, 1918); the ōchō-mono are perhaps best represented by Jigoku hen (Hell Screen, 1918); the Kirishitan-mono include Hokōnin no shi (The Death of a Christian, 1918), and kaika-mono include Butōkai(The Ball, 1920).

Akutagawa married Tsukamoto Fumiko in 1918 and the following year left his post as English instructor at the naval academy in Yokosuka, becoming an employee of the Mainichi Shinbun. This period was a productive one, as has already been noted, and the success of stories like Mikan (Mandarin Oranges, 1919) and Aki (Autumn, 1920) prompted him to turn his attention increasingly to modern materials. This, along with the introspection occasioned by growing health and nervous problems, resulted in a series of autobiographically-based stories known as Yasukichi-mono, after the name of the main character. Works such as Daidōji Shinsuke no hansei(The Early Life of

Reviews

[Ariq Hatibie · Rating 5 out of 5]

You wouldn’t think I liked short stories but the thing is, I’m a short guy

[Leath Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ryunosuke Akutagawa is synonymous with the Japanese short story to the point that Japan's premier literary award, the Akutagawa Prize, is named after him. This curated collection of twenty-two of his stories highlight his most prolific years of writing from 1915 until shortly before his suicide in 1927. Among the themes Akutagawa was fond of exploring in his works are personal morality, artistry, family dynamics, and the margins of society as well as periods such as Feudal Japan and dynastic, imperial China. Throw in more than a couple run-ins with wizardry and the supernatural and these 100+ year old stories resonate through the society and culture of 2026 with a timely ferocity.

[James Kark · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think this is an excellent collection of Akutagawa's work. You could start here with him, but I would read some of his works in a smaller collections of stories first before one invests in bigger volumes and multiple purchases of his books. This is a good or excellent collection. I loved the cover, and the stories were great.
It has 22 short stories. I have two different books with Akutagawa short stories that each have 17 stories. Some cross over or I have duplicates of stories, often "Rashomon, Hell-Screen, and The Nose," are found in any copy or some of those and some others, for instance. I have a small but good Akutagawa collection. I think he was or is one of the greatest in literature not just Japanese literature, which I read in English translation. Also, Japanese-Americans in our English.
To be frank, I have to re-read "The Devil and Tobacco". I thought I liked it. Akutagawa can be re-read. He is good. I remember the gist of the story and liking it, but I forget it's details. I'll maybe re-read it. Thanks. I suggest you try any Akutagawa you can get your hands on. Just watch out your not buying duplicates of his short stories too much, although sometimes it's impossible not to. Good luck!

[Dave · Rating 5 out of 5]

It’s a great collection of stories. I must admit that the plot twist or mysterious ending had me stumped a couple of times across the board.
I really enjoyed the translation of In a Grove and Rashomon.

[Fredo G.]

Spinning gears

[Izzati · Rating 3 out of 5]

As this is a compilation of 22 short stories, the 3-star rating is the average of all the ratings of the individual stories.

Prior to reading this book, I have read the dual-language (Japanese&English) version of The Spider's Thread and the manga adaptation of Hell Screen. Unsurprisingly, these two that I enjoyed then made it as the top five short stories that I loved from this book. The short stories that I rated 5 stars are:

The Spider's Thread
Hell Screen
The Dogs and the Flute - a folktale like story
Magic
In a Grove - Kurosawa Akira's Rashomon (1950) was based on this story

Akutagawa's love for Chinese culture was the reason for a lot of his short stories having a lot of Chinese influence. Some of his works featured folktale-like stories, and for someone who loves folktales, myths and legends, I cannot help but to fall in love with his writing. His best works to me, are the ones that question human's ugly tendencies and the darker retellings of known folktale. Akutagawa's Momotaro, for example, was less about a hero and more about colonization. His The Devil and Tobacco, although very Asian, reminded me of the famous Rumpelstiltskin. This is one of the reasons why I love reading folktales and the likes, because there's bound to be something similar across cultures.

Although out of the 22 short stories, I did give two of them 1-star rating and three of them 2-star rating, I think I do love Akutagawa's works overall. This particular compilation began with an an interesting introduction to Akutagawa' life and legacy. So yes, I do recommend this book to those who love folklores and Japanese literature.