Ryunosuke, Akutagawa

Born Mar. 1, 1892, in Tokyo; died July 24, 1927. Japanese writer, student of Soseki Natsume.

Ryunosuke began to be published in 1914. The short stories “Rashomon” (1915; Russian translation 1936) and “Nose” (1916) brought him acclaim. Skepticism and an aversion to militarism—the main themes of Ryunosuke’s world view—are reflected in his works Hell Screen (1918), Kappa (1927), and Life of an Idiot (1927). A well-honed, brilliant style is a distinguishing characteristic of his prose. He committed suicide. In 1935 the Akutagawa Literary Award was established in Japan.