Ryūnosuke Akutagawa (芥川 龍之介)

Ryūnosuke Akutagawa is called the father of Japanese novels and short stories, his inborn writing talent was simply brilliant. He lived short, he died at the age of 35 but his life was rich and vibrant, his name is having an unusual translation “the son of a dragon” - indeed, he was a real “literary dragon”. His education consisted mostly of Chinese literature and works of Mori Ogai and Natsume Soseki. He loved reading, writing, after being admitted to Tokyo Imperial University he started writing short stories, he studied English Language and English Literature. He was in love in Yayoi Yoshida, yet, the relationship was forbidden, later on he married with his friend -  Fumi Tsukamoto, the couple had three children, each of them was very versatile and well-educated. In his novel he presents Japan assimilated with Western patterns and culture, Japan which is open to new, limitless ideas. The image of women in his works were always portrayed as mother; they were very dominant, selfish. The men on the other hand were portrayed as women’s prays, men were totally dominated, submissive and defeated by them. Most of his life he suffers chronic nervousness and fear. He has been mentally unease, the fear was a cause of his hallucinations. One of his most well-known books is “Rashōmon”.   In Akutagawa’s novels the language is very important, the dialogues are wit, the intellect stands forward, his novels are very poetic, very spiritual. He was very radical in his thought and speech, he believed that the one way to achieve is have intellectual freedom, and haven forbid – never write for publicity or simply as that, end life by committing suicide. For him studying, learning certain patterns is a key to succeed. The more turbulent and tragic life encounters event, the better and the happier it becomes later on … the rebirth of the souls gain innocence again. He saw innocence and beauty in nature, it was always his problem how see beauty in modern Japan, a concrete that comes up. He revolutionized the novels by publishing “On Ages Ago” – the novel is a masterpiece, it is vigorous, very dynamic, brutal, yet, the brutality, ruthlessness is beautiful, the beauty hides the misdeeds. The plot is simple, the man who is travelling alone throughout the countryside suddenly feels and urge to have an intercourse, the sexual drive overwhelms his senses.  What he does is obnoxious and ugly, but, undoubtedly it brought him a relief, namely,  he steals a turnip from the field and satisfies his desire by means of it. It is not the end, the turnip was eaten later on by a young girl, poor one, didn’t know what the turnip was used for and she ate it …. Got pregnant and gave a birth to a child, a child symbolises beauty and innocence, the turnip – brutal misdeed. The story is light, is funny, is amusing and has a ‘happy end’ in the end. In the novel “The Nose”  the hero ways of thinking shapes its plot, the hero is the narrator, the narrator has to find a peace of mind in the chaotic world, the world of War, and it is its psycho which help to scheme a certain pattern of behaviour, the psycho help to sort things out, eventually, the hero’s self-perseverance helps him not to be lost. Akutagawa always believed that sense of humor, the distance to the world help to reach self-knowledge, acknowledgement and certain judgement, he called it judgement of the moment and that moment doesn't let one to be lost, holds on irrationality and turns on rational thinking.  The structure and the plot is important to Akutagawa, according to him it has to show action and dynamism, the novel, the play must be well-done and coherent.