Akutagawa Ryūnosuke

Akutagawa Ryūnosuke

▪ Japanese author
pseudonym  Chōkōdō Shujin  or  Gaki  
born March 1, 1892, Tokyo, Japan
died July 24, 1927, Tokyo

      prolific Japanese writer known especially for his stories based on events in the Japanese past and for his stylistic virtuosity.

      As a boy Akutagawa was sickly and hypersensitive, but he excelled at school and was a voracious reader. He began his literary career while attending Tokyo Imperial University (now the University of Tokyo), where he studied English literature from 1913 to 1916.

      The publication in 1915 of his short story "Rashōmon" led to his introduction to Natsume Sōseki, the outstanding Japanese novelist of the day. With Sōseki's encouragement he began to write a series of stories derived largely from 12th- and 13th-century collections of Japanese tales but retold in the light of modern psychology and in a highly individual style. He ranged wide in his choice of material, drawing inspiration from such disparate sources as China, Japan's 16th-century Christian community in Nagasaki, and European contacts with 19th-century Japan. Many of his stories have a feverish intensity that is well-suited to their often macabre themes.

      In 1922 he turned toward autobiographical fiction, but Akutagawa's stories of modern life lack the exotic and sometimes lurid glow of the older tales, perhaps accounting for their comparative unpopularity. His last important work, "Kappa" (1927), although a satiric fable about elflike creatures (kappa), is written in the mirthless vein of his last period and reflects his depressed state at the time. His suicide came as a shock to the literary world.

      Akutagawa is one of the most widely translated of all Japanese writers, and a number of his stories have been made into films. The film classic Rashomon (1950), directed by Kurosawa Akira, is based on a combination of Akutagawa's story by that title and another story of his, "Yabu no naka" (1921; “In a Grove”).

Additional Reading
Beongcheon Yu, Akutagawa (1972), is a biography with a description of Akutagawa's major works.

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Universalium. 2010.

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  • Akutagawa Ryunosuke — Akutagawa Ryūnosuke (zweiter von links) Akutagawa Ryūnosuke (jap. 芥川龍之介 Akutagawa Ryūnosuke, * 1. März 1892 in Tokio; † 24. Juli 1927 ebenda) war ein japanischer Dichter und Schriftsteller. Neben …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Akutagawa Ryūnosuke — (zweiter von links) Akutagawa Ryūnosuke (jap. 芥川 龍之介; * 1. März 1892 in Tokio; † 24. Juli 1927 ebenda) war ein japanischer Dichter und …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Akutagawa Ryunosuke — Ryūnosuke Akutagawa Photographie de 1919. Le deuxième à gauche est Ryūnosuke Akutagawa. Tout à gauche se trouve Kan Kikuchi. Ryūnosuke Akutagawa (芥川竜之介, Akutagawa Ryūnosuke …   Wikipédia en Français

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  • Akutagawa Ryūnosuke — Ryūnosuke Akutagawa Photographie de 1919. Le deuxième à gauche est Ryūnosuke Akutagawa. Tout à gauche se trouve Kan Kikuchi. Ryūnosuke Akutagawa (芥川竜之介, Akutagawa Ryūnosuke …   Wikipédia en Français

  • AKUTAGAWA RYUNOSUKE — (1892–1927)    Akutagawa Ryunosuke was born in Tokyo, the son of a milkman. His mother went insane shortly after his birth, so he was adopted and raised by his maternal uncle. He began writing while at Tokyo University studying English literature …   Japanese literature and theater

  • AKUTAGAWA RYUNOSUKE PRIZE —    The Akutagawa Ryunosuke Prize (Akutagawa Ryunosuke sho) is Japan’s most prestigious literary award. Established by Kikuchi Kan in 1935 in memory of writer Akutagawa Ryunosuke, it is sponsored by the Association for the Promotion of Japanese… …   Japanese literature and theater

  • Akutagawa, Ryunosuke — ► (1892 1927) Escritor japonés. Inspirado en la tradición china y japonesa (ss. XII XIII). Comunica una intensidad malsana. Autor de La landa muerta (1919) y Las puertas del infierno (1918), entre otras …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • Akutagawa — Akutagawa, Ryunosuke …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • Ryūnosuke Akutagawa — Born 1 March 1892(1892 03 01) Tokyo, Japan Died 24 July 1927 …   Wikipedia

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