Rashomon and Seventeen Other Stories

When your short stories inspire a Kurosawa movie, they must be something special. This collection includes Rashomon and In a Bamboo Grove, two stories set in medieval Japan that inspired the movie Rashomon. It also mixes stylistically vivid pieces that explore moral ambiguity, can be witty and cynical, and are deeply poignant. 

That’s especially true in stories where Akutagawa writes of his own personal struggles—he took his own life aged just 35 in 1927. As Haruki Murakami puts it, Akutagawa’s work is “spine-tingling brilliance.”

When researching historical fiction, one often falls down many rabbit holes. One such gap led me to China, where printing technology was in use 150 years before Gutenberg was born.

These short stories, woven from the tapestry of ancient Eastern folklore, offer both entertainment and profound insights. They not only provide a rich education in Eastern literature, but they also highlight the timeless truth that humanity's essence remains constant, whether in the East or West, regardless of era.

People's daily lives are fraught with mysteries and uncertainties that transcend geographical boundaries. While the distinct Eastern cultural prism through which these… show more.