The Essential Akutagawa
by Ryūnosuke Akutagawa
Translated by Richard Medhurst
A timeless collection that captures the beauty, cruelty, and humor of human nature through twenty-two unforgettable stories.
What It’s About
I’ve always liked trying out new-to-me authors with their short stories. You get to know their rhythm, the translator’s touch, and whether their world feels livable for you as a reader. The Essential Akutagawa is exactly the kind of collection that makes you want to stay awhile.
This book gathers twenty-two stories that move easily between the ordinary and the surreal. Some are about daily life. Some draw on folklore and magic. A few are dark or gruesome in that “bowels of humanity” way that Akutagawa is known for, but even those are written with a kind of sharp humor and humanity that keeps you reading.
What Stuck With Me
What surprised me most was how readable this felt. I read it straight through in just a few days. It never felt heavy or academic, even when the themes were dark. The voice is confident and clear, and the tone shifts from funny to horrifying to tragic without losing that sense of control.
Stories like Hell Screen lingered with me for their brutality, but many others made me smile. Some poke fun at superstition. Others look at human nature from every angle: greed, desire, cruelty, compassion. What connects them is how grounded they feel. These people don’t seem like figures from a distant time. They feel familiar.
You can also see how his writing changes as his life unfolds. Once you know a bit about Akutagawa’s story, the later works read differently, more introspective, more searching, but always deliberate.
Would I Recommend It?
Absolutely. This is a wonderful starting point for anyone curious about Japanese classics. It’s modern enough in tone to be readable, rich enough to be memorable, and honest enough to show both the beauty and ugliness of being human.
There are moments of violence and references to SA, so some readers should be aware of that going in. But for those who can handle that, this collection is deeply rewarding. It’s easy to fall into, and once you do, it reminds you how timeless good storytelling really is.
Thank you to Tuttle Publishing for sending me a copy of this book.
Available on Amazon and Bookshop.org.
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Set the Mood
Ceramic Matcha Bowl – for slow reading mornings.
Muji Notepad – perfect for jotting lines or story favorites.
Japanese Incense Sticks – light smoke, clean scent, nostalgic.
Japanese Bookmark Set – quiet elegance for classic reads.
Yuzu Green Tea Blend – bright, calming, and pairs beautifully with short fiction.
