Ryunosuke Akutagawa

Introducing Little Clothbound Classics—irresistible, mini editions of short stories, novellas, and essays from the world's greatest writers, designed by the award-winning Coralie Bickford-Smith. Akutagawa was one of the towering figures of modern Japanese literature and is considered the father of the Japanese short story. This paradigmatic selection, which includes the stories that inspired Akira Kurosawa's 1950 film Rashomon, showcases the...

A unique new selection, bringing together Akutagawa's undisputed masterpieces and several less well-known tales, never before translated into English. Ryūnosuke 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. Rashomon and In a Bamboo Grove inspired Kurosawa's magnificent film and depict a past in which...

Fifty new books at £1 each, celebrating the pioneering spirit of the Penguin Modern Classics series, from inspiring essays to groundbreaking fiction and poetry. Oh the cruelty of time, that destroys all things! Beguiling, strange and hair-raising tales from early 20th century Japan—Nagai's Behind the Prison, Uno's Closet LLB and Akutagawa's deeply macabre General Kim.

These are short stories from an unparalleled icon of modern Japanese literature. Sublimely crafted and shot through with a fantastical sensibility, they offer dazzling glimpses into moments of madness, murder, and obsession. A talented and spiteful painter is given over to depravity in pursuit of artistic brilliance. In the depths of hell, a robber spies a single spider's thread being...

A famous samurai murder mystery is finally brought to life in graphic novel form! A sword-swinging samurai, a corpse-robbing crone, and a falsely accused trans man stand at the centre of these four iconic tales, which unfold panel by panel in exciting manga form for the first time. The stories in this volume by Ryunosuke Akutagawa—the renowned "father of the...

A compelling horror story about the lengths an artist will go to for the sake of his art! Based on a traditional tale, the plot centres around the great artist, Yoshihide, who despite his talent is rude, lazy and avaricious. His one saving grace is his love for his beautiful daughter, Yuzuki. Yoshihide is employed to create paintings for the...

In early 20th-century Japan, a lone hiker falls through a hole in the ground into Kappaland. This is a place ruled by amphibious creatures who share characteristics with tigers and turtles, but who, for all their strangeness, shed light on the human condition. In Kappaland children choose whether or not to be born, intellectuals think nothing of drinking themselves to...

The Life of a Stupid Man is part of the Little Black Classics series, launched to celebrate Penguin's 80th anniversary. "What is the life of a human being - a drop of dew, a flash of lightning? This is so sad, so sad." This collection features autobiographical stories from Ryunosuke Akutagawa, one of Japan's masters of modernist storytelling. These pieces...