Ryūnosuke Akutagawa (1892-1927)

Ryūnosuke Akutagawa (1892-1927)
Selected Stories
Japanese
Modernism
Ryūnosuke Akutagawa (surname: Akutagawa), the so-called “father of the Japanese short story,” wrote a series of stories derived from Japan’s past (largely, 12th- and 13th-century Japanese tales) but inflected with a modern psychological perspective. He studied English literature at Tokyo Imperial University, which is now the University of Tokyo. His writing draws from diverse sources, such as Chinese, Japanese, and European materials and culture. As a writer, he received encouragement from Natsume Sōseki, a renowned Japanese novelist of his time. Many of his powerful stories, which often have chilling themes, have been turned into films. His short stories, “Rashomon” (1915) and “In a Grove” (1922), for example, were adapted into the single film Rashomon (1950), directed by Akira Kurosawa. Kurosawa’s film reflects the dismal worldview of the servant in the story “Rashomon” and also incorporates the general setting of the same short story—the decline of the Heian era (794-1185). (The Rashomon—”mon” meaning “gate”—refers to the southern entry gate to the city of Kyoto during the Heian era.) On the other hand, “In a Grove,” also a story set in the late Heian period, narrates the murder of a samurai named Takehiro from multiple characters’ perspectives in a modernist style. “In a Grove” is the short story that fuels the main narrative of Kurosawa’s film. Although Akutagawa had a brief life (suicide at age thirty five), his many stories are influential around the world.
Consider while reading:

1. In “In a Grove,” which characters claim to have killed the dead man (Takehiro)? If you were to pick one character, who do you think actually killed Takehiro, or do you think it was a suicide? Pick the most likely person to have killed Takehiro and provide supporting ideas from the text. At the same time, consider the reasons why your view might be doubted.
2. Do any of these testimonies and confessions seem to go along with, or go against, any stereotypes or biases related to gender or social status? Explain.
3. What do these contradictory testimonies and confessions say about the nature of truth, memory, and/or morality?
4. In “Rashomon,” what specific details (especially of the setting) are used to describe the declining of Kyoto or the city in ruins?
5. What is the old woman’s justification for pulling out hair from the corpse?
6. How do the male servant’s attitudes and feelings towards the old woman change over time?
7. What is the male servant’s main inner conflict? What decision does the servant make, and why? Why might the servant’s decision be significant in the context of the whole story?

Written by Kyounghye Kwon