Ryunosuke Akutagawa (1892-1927) is one of Japan's foremost stylists - a modernist master whose short Stories are marked by highly original imagery, cynicism, beauty and wild humour.
And in later works such as '
Death Register', '
The Life of a Stupid Man' and '
Spinning Gears', Akutagawa drew from his own life to devastating effect, revealing his intense melancholy and terror of madness in exquisitely moving impressionistic stories.. '
Rashoemon' and '
In a Bamboo Grove' inspired Kurosawa's magnificent film and depict a past in which morality is turned upside down, while tales such as '
The Nose', '
O-Gin' and '
Loyalty' paint a rich and imaginative picture of a medieval Japan peopled by Shoguns and priests, vagrants and peasants.
Ryunosuke Akutagawa (1892-1927) is one of Japan's foremost stylists - a modernist master whose short Stories are marked by highly original imagery, cynicism, beauty and wild humour
