Rashomon and Other Stories [Paperback]

Ryunosuke Akutagawa (Author), M. Kuwata (Illustrator), Takashi Kojima (Translator), Howard Hibbett (Introduction)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 1999

This fascinating collection gave birth to a new paradigm when Akira Kurosawa made famous Akutagawa's disturbing tale of seven people recounting the same incident from shockingly different perspectives.

Writing at the beginning of the twentieth century, Ryunosuke Akutagawa created disturbing stories out of Japan's cultural upheaval. Whether his fictions are set centuries past or close to the present, Akutagawa was a modernist, writing in polished, superbly nuanced prose subtly exposing human needs and flaws. "In a Grove," which was the basis for Kurosawa's classic film Rashomon, tells the chilling story of the killing of a samurai through the testimony of witnesses, including the spirit of the murdered man. The fable-like "Yam Gruel" is an account of desire and humiliation, but one in which the reader's sympathy is thoroughly unsettled. And in "The Martyr," a beloved orphan raised by Jesuit priests is exiled when he refuses to admit that he made a local girl pregnant. He regains their love and respect only at the price of his life. All six tales in the collection show Akutagawa as a master storyteller and an exciting voice of modern Japanese literature.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“Because I was a Japanese major in college, a very nice edition of a translation of Rashomon and Other Stories by Ryunosuke Akutagawa had been left for me at my bedside, to read while I was there and to take with me when I left. Thoughtful, I thought. And fitting. Even more fitting, that friend and I no longer speak, and I am sure we have very different versions as to why that is.” (David Rakoff - The New York Times Book Review )

About the Author

Ryunosuke Akutagawa (1892–1927) was one of the most famous Japanese writers of the last century and was the author of Rashomon and other works. The Akutagawa Prize is named in his honor.

Product Details

• Paperback: 120 pages
• Publisher: Liveright (December 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0871401738
• ISBN-13: 978-0871401731
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.4 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #278,863 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

79 of 81 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellence, November 6, 2001

By 

Kurt A. Johnson (North-Central Illinois, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Rashomon and Other Stories: (Paperback)

This book is a collection of short stories written by the eminent Japanese author, Ryunosuke Akutagawa (1892-1927). These six stories tend to revolve around moral ambiguities. 1) In A Grove is the story of a murder, whose witnesses all tell different, often mutually exclusive stories. 2) Rashomon is the story of a discharged servant who must choose between death and a life of crime and dishonor. 3) Yam Gruel tells the story of Goi, a samurai whose life falls to pieces as he dreams of the rare delicacy yam gruel, and who finds that having is not always as wonderful as wanting. 4) The Martyr reaches back to the 16th Century, to tell the story of a model Christian young man, who is excommunicated when he refuses to recognize a child attributed to him, but the truth he hides is not what everyone thinks. 5) Kesa And Morito is a tale of lust and betrayal. 6) The Dragon is the story of Hanazo, or priest who sets out to play a joke, but learns the power of belief.

These stories are quite varied from each other, and all are excellently written. In A Grove is confusing (as is life), while Rashomon is somewhat depressing, and The Martyr is uplifting. But, all the stories are excellently written, and quite interesting. I highly recommend this book.

To demonstrate the excellence of these stories, let me submit to you the following line from The Martyr: "For the sublimity of life culminates in the most precious moment of inspiration. Man will make his life worth living, if he tosses a wave aloft high into the starry sky, o'er life's dark main of worldly cares, to mirror in its crystal foam the light of the moon yet to rise."

42 of 45 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful stories of human nature, September 12, 2000

By 

M. J. Smith (Seattle, WA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Rashomon and Other Stories (Paperback)

These stories are excellent - well written in a technical sense, very observant of humanity. They capture the multiplicity of truth as seen by multiple people.

In a Grove, the basis of the movie Rashomon, consists of the testimony of several people (including the victim through a medium) in which three people take responsibility for the death - a robber, the victim himself and the victim's wife. Each version appears to be true; each interprets the expressions of others differently than the person whose expression is described.

Rashomon tells of a dismissed servent's decision to become a thief; he is then confronted with what others have chosen as necessary to survive.

Yam Gruel tells of an official who is taunted and abused, receiving his one goal in life - to eat his full of yam gruel - only to discover that receiving the gruel is not as he anticipated.

The Martyr tells of an orphan boy, raised by Jesuits, accused of fathering a child out of wedlock. He becomes a hero in a way that forces those who accused and shunned him to reconsider their actions.

Kesa and Morito is a love triangle that will end in murder - but the love triangle is loveless.

The Dragon is a practical joke gone awry; or is it really a joke?

All the stories are well worth your time - enjoyable and thought-provoking.

21 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Died a suicide in 1927 at the age of 35, April 1, 2000

By 

Steffan Piper (Palm Desert, CA) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Rashomon and Other Stories (Paperback)

After ordering this book, I sat completely transfixed while reading due to the absolute simplicity of Akutagawa's writing style. All 6 stories flow beautifully fast as you quietly become emotionally wrapped up in them. The deceptive sheen of these stories almost antagonizes you into finding something amiss, only that you'll discover later, after some thought, that there was yet another unseen perspective or line of thought within the work.

'In A Grove' is a very unsetteling story, and obviously the most well-known, but I felt that 'The Matyr' and 'Kisa and Morito' are both very witty, and also my favourites. I imagine, that a lot of people will now get a chance to read this book due in part to the media coverage that came from the movie 'Ghost Dog', with Forest Whittaker, where the book itself played a supporting role. It's not hard to understand, after reading, why. This book gives you insight into persepctive, humiliation, accepting fate - even if it is not a good one, and following the path you've chosen.

This book conatins some great uses of fantasy, realism, symbolism surrealism, and in a time and place where a Western reader might not expect it.