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Ryūnosuke Akutagawa Biography
Ryūnosuke Akutagawa (March 1, 1892 – July 24, 1927) was a Japanese writer active in Taisho period Japan. He is regarded as the “Father of the Japanese short story”, and is noted for his superb style and finely detailed stories that explore the darker side of human nature.
Akutagawa was born in the Kyōbashi district of Tokyo, the son of a milkman (Toshizō Shinbara (新原敏三 Shinbara Toshizō?)). He later claimed that he was named “Ryūnosuke” (“Dragon Son”) because he was born in the Year of the Dragon, in the Month of the Dragon, on the Day of the Dragon, and at the Hour of the Dragon, although an examination of the calendar indicates that this was not actually the case. His mother (Fuku Shinbara) went insane shortly after his birth, so he was adopted and raised by his maternal uncle, Akutagawa Dosho, from whom he received the Akutagawa family name. He was interested in classical Chinese literature from an early age, as well as the works of Mori Ōgai and Natsume Sōseki, both of whom were popular when he was growing up.
He entered the First High School in 1910, developing relationships with classmates such as Kan Kikuchi, Kume Masao, Yamamoto Yūzō, and Tsuchiya Bunmei, all of whom would later become famous authors. He began writing after entering Tokyo Imperial University in 1913, where he studied English literature.
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 Fumi 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.
After graduation, he taught briefly at the Naval Engineering School in Yokosuka, Kanagawa as an English language instructor, before deciding to devote his full efforts to writing.
In 1914, Akutagawa and his former high school friends revived the literary journal Shinshichō (“New Currents of Thought”), publishing translations of William Butler Yeats and Anatole France along with their own works.
Akutagawa published his first short story Rashōmon the following year in the literary magazine Teikoku Bungaku (“Imperial Literature”), while still a student. The story, based on a fantasy from late Heian period Japan, with a sharp twist of psychological drama, was largely unnoticed by the literary world, except by noted author Natsume Sōseki. Encouraged by the praise, Akutagawa thereafter considered himself Sōseki’s disciple, and began visiting the author for his literary circle meetings every Thursday. It was also at this time that he started writing haiku under the haigo (or pen-name) Gaki.
These meetings led to Hana (“The Nose”, 1916), which was published in Shinshicho, and again highly praised by Sōseki. Akutagawa followed with a series of short stories set in Heian period, Edo period or early Meiji period Japan, and were based on the themes of the ugliness of egoism and the value of art. These stories reinterpreted classical works and historical incidents from a distinctly modern standpoint.
Noted examples of these stories include: Gesaku zanmai (“A Life Devoted to Gesaku”, 1917) and Kareno-shō (“Gleanings from a Withered Field”, 1918), Jigoku hen (“Hell Screen”, 1918); Hokōnin no shi (“The Death of a Christian”, 1918), and Butōkai (“The Ball”, 1920).
Akutagawa was a strong opponent of naturalism, which had dominated Japanese fiction in the early 1900s. He continued to borrow themes from old tales, and giving them a complex modern interpretation, however the success of stories like Mikan (“Mandarin Oranges”, 1919) and Aki (“Autumn”, 1920) prompted him to turn increasingly towards more modern settings.
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, Yabu no naka (“In a Grove“)
