Rashōmon and Seventeen Other Stories

“I was filling the world of this story with supernatural beasts, one of which was becoming my own self-portrait.” one of the more strongly autobiographical works in the tradition of the japanese i-novel. i honestly preferred the purely fictional stories more; the old potter’s tale and green onions were my personal favorites for their portrayal of pride and cunning. the pair of stories about early christianity in japan were quite interesting, especially when compared to endo’s silence. there’s a thread running through this collection, of akutagawa’s immense distaste for the world. it’s fought off at moments by beauty and poetry, most notably in daidoji shinsuke: the early years and the terse imagery in life of a stupid man, but altogether the impression is of a man who despises himself and can’t help but transfer his contempt to the world at large. i’ve been think about emerson’s self-reliance recently, and akutagawa more than any other “classical modern” japanese author seems to be possessed by the past. it seems to make his outlook on himself particularly bleak by offering a vast repository of references to which he may compare himself. in the end, i couldn’t help but think: i wish someone could tell him about christ! what freedom akutagawa would have felt upon receiving salvation. a hard but good read (tm).

3.5