Ryunosuke Akutagawa

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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 of which he wrote over 150 during his brief life, including The Nose, The Spider's Thread, The Hell Screen, Autumn, 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.

[edit] Works

Year	Japanese Title	English Title
1914	老年 Rōnen
1915	羅生門 Rashōmon	Rashōmon
1916	鼻 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