Ryūnosuke Akutagawa (芥川 龍之介 Akutagawa Ryūnosuke, March 1,1892 - July 24, 1927) was a Japanese poet and writer, regarded as the "Father of the Japanese Short Story".

Akutagawa wrote no full-length novels, focusing instead on the short story as his main medium of expression. During his short life, he wrote over 150 short stories, including The Nose, The Spider's Thread, The Hell Screen, Autumn, The Ball (Akutagawa story)The Ball, In a Grove, and Kappa. Akira Kurosawa directed the film Rashōmon (1950) based on Akutagawa's stories; the majority of the action in the film was actually an adaptation of In a Grove.

Akutagawa was born in Tokyo, the son of a milkman (Toshizoo Niihara). His mother (Fuku Niihara) went insane shortly after his birth, so he was adopted and raised by his maternal uncle, Akutagawa Dosho, from whom he got the family name "Akutagawa". He began writing after entering Tokyo Imperial University in 1913, where he studied English Literature. He supported himself by teaching English and editing a newspaper. At that time he published his short story Rashōmon (1914), which earned him the praise and encouragement by Soseki Natsume, and started The Nose, which would be finished only a couple of years later. It was also at this time that he started writing haiku under the haigo (or pen-name) Gaki.

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Right! Got myself an armchair in Starbucks, will now attempt to read Kappa by Akutagawa Ryunosuke without falling asleep. :O
sakuraso (Aleks D) Mon, 14 Dec 2009 16:39:55 -0000
Right! Got myself an armchair in Starbucks, will now attempt to read Kappa by Akutagawa Ryunosuke without falling asleep. :O
6 eps based on stories by Dazai Osamu, Akutagawa Ryunosuke, Kajii Motojiro, Mori Ogai, & Tanizaki Junichiro. Also hits cinemas next summer.
ryuganji (Don Brown) Mon, 14 Dec 2009 04:50:00 -0000
6 eps based on stories by Dazai Osamu, Akutagawa Ryunosuke, Kajii Motojiro, Mori Ogai, & Tanizaki Junichiro. Also hits cinemas next summer.

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