Short Fiction · Chapters
Chapters explained
Chapter companions for Short Fiction by Akutagawa Ryūnosuke.
Chapter 1
Short Fiction
This chapter presents a collection of Akutagawa Ryūnosuke's short stories, exploring themes of moral ambiguity, self-identity, and the clash between illusion and reality. The stories range from historical tales like 'Rashōmon' and 'The Nose' to modern narratives such as 'The Handkerchief' and 'The Wine Worm,' each delving into the complexities of human nature and societal hypocrisy.
Chapter 2
Rashōmon
A jobless lackey takes shelter under the Rashōmon gate in decaying Kyoto, contemplating whether to starve or turn thief. He discovers an old hag pulling hair from corpses to make wigs, and after initially condemning her, he is swayed by her justification of survival, ultimately robbing her and embracing a life of crime.
Chapter 3
Tobacco and the Devil
The Devil arrives in Japan with tobacco seeds hidden in his ear, intending to tempt the Japanese. He borrows a field and cultivates the plants, but when a cattle dealer asks what they are, the Devil proposes a wager: if the dealer guesses the name, he gets the plants; if not, the Devil takes his body and soul. The cattle dealer, after three days of desperate thought, tricks the Devil by driving his cow into the field, causing the Devil to shout the name 'tobacco' in anger. The dealer guesses correctly and wins the plants, but the Devil succeeds in spreading tobacco throughout Japan, suggesting that even apparent victories over temptation may lead to unforeseen consequences.
Chapter 4
The Nose
Zenchi Naigu, a Buddhist priest with an unusually long nose, suffers from deep self-consciousness and wounded pride. He tries various methods to shorten it, eventually succeeding with a disciple's help. However, his relief is short-lived as he finds that others now laugh at him even more, revealing the contradictory nature of human sympathy and egoism. In the end, his nose returns to its original length overnight, and he feels a sense of relief, believing that no one will laugh at him now.
Chapter 5
The Handkerchief
Professor Hasegawa, a law professor at the Imperial University, reads Strindberg's Dramaturgy on his veranda, reflecting on Japanese civilization and Bushidō. He receives a visit from a mother, Nishiyama Atsuko, who recounts her son's death with a composed smile, but the professor notices her trembling hands and the handkerchief she nearly tears. He later praises her as an example of Bushidō, but after reading Strindberg's critique of theatrical gestures, he questions the sincerity of such mannerisms.
Chapter 6
Lice
In this chapter, a group of samurai from Kaga are on a ship bound for the Chōshū expedition. Amidst the cramped and uncomfortable conditions, they discover that they are infested with lice. Mori Gonnoshin, one of the samurai, advocates for keeping the lice, arguing that they provide warmth and companionship during the cold nights. His suggestion is met with ridicule and anger from his fellow samurai, leading to a heated dispute that nearly escalates to bloodshed. The tension is only defused when a captain of foot intervenes, and the samurai ultimately decide to keep the lice, albeit with lingering resentment.
Chapter 7
I
In 1886, seventeen-year-old Akiko attends her first formal ball at the Rokumeikan with her father. She is admired for her beauty, and a French naval officer asks her to dance. They dance the waltz, and he is fascinated by her, a Japanese girl in Western dress. Later, over ice cream, he reassures her that Japanese women are beautiful too, comparing her to a princess in a Watteau painting. On the balcony under the stars, he reveals he was thinking of fireworks, which he says are like our lives, suggesting a moment of shared melancholy and reflection on transience.
Chapter 8
II
In the autumn of 1918, the elderly Madame H—, formerly known as Akiko, encounters a young novelist on a train to Kamakura. She shares her reminiscences of a ball at the Rokumeikan, prompted by the chrysanthemums he carries. When he asks about the French naval officer she mentioned, she reveals his name as Julian Viaud, not Pierre Loti, causing the young man's excitement and her puzzled repetition.
Chapter 9
III
The Buddha observes Kandata's fall back into Hell from the brink of the Lotus Pond of Paradise, feeling pity for his cold heart, while the lotuses bloom indifferently around him.
Chapter 10
IV
Narihiro, having been wheedled out of his gold pipe by Kōchiyama Sōshun, feels a surprising satisfaction rather than regret. His pride was not in the pipe itself but in the symbol of his million koku, and giving it away willingly satisfies his vanity even more than possessing it. He returns to his residence in Hongo, cheerfully telling his retainers that he gave the pipe to Sōshun.
Chapter 11
The Wine Worm
In this story, a man named Liu Tai-cheng is bound and left in the sun as punishment. From his body, a wine worm emerges, a creature that thrives on alcohol. The tale explores themes of obsession, transformation, and the consequences of one's vices.
Chapter 12
I
In 1886, seventeen-year-old Akiko attends her first formal ball at the Rokumeikan with her father. She is admired for her beauty, and a French naval officer asks her to dance. They dance the waltz, and he is fascinated by her, a Japanese girl in Western dress. Later, over ice cream, he reassures her that Japanese women are beautiful too, comparing her to a princess in a Watteau painting. On the balcony under the stars, he reveals he was thinking of fireworks, which he says are like our lives, suggesting a moment of shared melancholy and reflection on transience.
Chapter 13
II
In the autumn of 1918, the elderly Madame H—, formerly known as Akiko, encounters a young novelist on a train to Kamakura. She shares her reminiscences of a ball at the Rokumeikan, prompted by the chrysanthemums he carries. When he asks about the French naval officer she mentioned, she reveals his name as Julian Viaud, not Pierre Loti, causing the young man's excitement and her puzzled repetition.
Chapter 14
III
The Buddha observes Kandata's fall back into Hell from the brink of the Lotus Pond of Paradise, feeling pity for his cold heart, while the lotuses bloom indifferently around him.
Chapter 15
IV
Narihiro, having been wheedled out of his gold pipe by Kōchiyama Sōshun, feels a surprising satisfaction rather than regret. His pride was not in the pipe itself but in the symbol of his million koku, and giving it away willingly satisfies his vanity even more than possessing it. He returns to his residence in Hongo, cheerfully telling his retainers that he gave the pipe to Sōshun.
Chapter 16
The Pipe
The chapter tells the story of Maeda Narihiro, a daimyo who is immensely proud of his pure gold pipe. When the priest Kōchiyama Sōshun visits, he admires the pipe and then wheedles it out of Narihiro, who gives it away despite his attachment. Afterward, Narihiro feels a strange sense of satisfaction and relief, but soon switches to a silver pipe, which creates a new problem as he becomes obsessed with the new pipe's appearance.
Chapter 17
I
In 1886, seventeen-year-old Akiko attends her first formal ball at the Rokumeikan with her father. She is admired for her beauty, and a French naval officer asks her to dance. They dance the waltz, and he is fascinated by her, a Japanese girl in Western dress. Later, over ice cream, he reassures her that Japanese women are beautiful too, comparing her to a princess in a Watteau painting. On the balcony under the stars, he reveals he was thinking of fireworks, which he says are like our lives, suggesting a moment of shared melancholy and reflection on transience.
Chapter 18
II
In the autumn of 1918, the elderly Madame H—, formerly known as Akiko, encounters a young novelist on a train to Kamakura. She shares her reminiscences of a ball at the Rokumeikan, prompted by the chrysanthemums he carries. When he asks about the French naval officer she mentioned, she reveals his name as Julian Viaud, not Pierre Loti, causing the young man's excitement and her puzzled repetition.
Chapter 19
III
The Buddha observes Kandata's fall back into Hell from the brink of the Lotus Pond of Paradise, feeling pity for his cold heart, while the lotuses bloom indifferently around him.
Chapter 20
IV
Narihiro, having been wheedled out of his gold pipe by Kōchiyama Sōshun, feels a surprising satisfaction rather than regret. His pride was not in the pipe itself but in the symbol of his million koku, and giving it away willingly satisfies his vanity even more than possessing it. He returns to his residence in Hongo, cheerfully telling his retainers that he gave the pipe to Sōshun.
Chapter 21
V
Narihiro's household is surprised by his generosity in giving away a gold pipe. Three loyal samurai, Yamazaki Kanzaemon, Iwata Kuranosuke, and Ueki Kurouemon, worry about the financial implications of such gifts and decide to replace the pipe with a less coveted metal. They debate between silver and brass, ultimately compromising on silver first.
Chapter 22
VI
Narihiro, having given away his gold pipe, now carries a silver one, but finds it less satisfying. The attendants, no longer intimidated by gold, pester him for the silver pipes, and he gives them away freely. His retainers, Yamazaki, Iwata, and Ueki, are confounded when Narihiro orders a return to gold pipes to escape the attendants' importunities.
Chapter 23
VII Kōchiyama Sōshun
Kōchiyama Sōshun, driven by pride and avarice, watches as other attendants vie for silver pipes from Narihiro. He refuses to join them, but when he spots Narihiro with a pipe he believes is pure gold, he schemes to get it. He tricks Ryōtetsu into believing it is brass, then successfully wheedles the pipe from Narihiro. However, he later throws the pipe at Ryōtetsu, revealing it is indeed brass, and Ryōtetsu stamps on it in disgust.
Chapter 24
VIII
After Kōchiyama and Ryōtetsu reveal that Narihiro's pipe is brass, his retainers commission a pure gold pipe to restore his pride. However, when Narihiro brings the new pipe to the castle, no one asks for it, and Kōchiyama politely declines it, leaving Narihiro feeling uneasy and his sense of power diminished.
Chapter 25
The Badger
This chapter traces the origins and evolution of the badger's ability to assume human form and bewitch people in Japanese folklore. It begins with the first recorded instance in the second month of the thirty-fifth year of Emperor Suiko, where a badger sang like a man. The narrative then recounts a romantic tale of a Michinoku girl and a salt maker, whose nightly trysts lead to the girl attributing the man's song to a badger to deceive her mother. This story spreads, and soon many claim to hear the badger's song, and eventually, a man claims to have seen the badger singing. The chapter concludes with a philosophical reflection on belief, drawing parallels between the badger's bewitching and the human tendency to believe in things, citing Yeats's The Celtic Twilight.
Chapter 26
The Spider's Thread
One morning, the Buddha is strolling by the lotus pond in Paradise and glimpses Hell below. He recalls Kandata, a great thief who once spared a spider, and decides to offer him salvation. The Buddha lowers a single spider's thread into Hell. Kandata, clinging to the thread, begins to climb, but when he looks down and sees countless other sinners climbing after him, he selfishly cries out for the thread to be his alone. At that moment, the thread snaps above him, and Kandata falls back into the darkness. The Buddha, having witnessed this, resumes his stroll, saddened by Kandata's lack of compassion.
Chapter 27
I
In 1886, seventeen-year-old Akiko attends her first formal ball at the Rokumeikan with her father. She is admired for her beauty, and a French naval officer asks her to dance. They dance the waltz, and he is fascinated by her, a Japanese girl in Western dress. Later, over ice cream, he reassures her that Japanese women are beautiful too, comparing her to a princess in a Watteau painting. On the balcony under the stars, he reveals he was thinking of fireworks, which he says are like our lives, suggesting a moment of shared melancholy and reflection on transience.
Chapter 28
II
In the autumn of 1918, the elderly Madame H—, formerly known as Akiko, encounters a young novelist on a train to Kamakura. She shares her reminiscences of a ball at the Rokumeikan, prompted by the chrysanthemums he carries. When he asks about the French naval officer she mentioned, she reveals his name as Julian Viaud, not Pierre Loti, causing the young man's excitement and her puzzled repetition.
Chapter 29
III
The Buddha observes Kandata's fall back into Hell from the brink of the Lotus Pond of Paradise, feeling pity for his cold heart, while the lotuses bloom indifferently around him.
Chapter 30
Story of a Fallen Head
Khashoji, a Chinese cavalryman, is mortally wounded during a skirmish in the Sino-Japanese War. He flees on his horse through millet fields, tormented by pain and existential despair. After being thrown from his horse, he experiences a vision of his past and a profound sense of regret. The story then shifts to a year later, where Major Kimura and Mr. Yamakawa discuss a newspaper article about Khashoji's bizarre death—his head fell off during a bar fight, reopening an old war wound. The narrative explores themes of mortality, suffering, and the absurdity of fate.
Chapter 31
Mōri Sensei
The narrator recalls his middle school English teacher, Mōri Sensei, a man with a bald head, purple necktie, and a shrill voice, who was ridiculed by students for his earnest but ineffective teaching. Years later, the narrator encounters Mōri Sensei in a café, where he is voluntarily teaching English to waiters, still with the same passion and poverty. The narrator feels a mix of nostalgia and respect, but chooses not to reveal himself, reflecting on the passage of time and the enduring nature of Mōri Sensei's character.
Chapter 32
The Ball
The chapter 'The Ball' is not included in the provided excerpts. Therefore, no summary can be generated.
Chapter 33
I
In 1886, seventeen-year-old Akiko attends her first formal ball at the Rokumeikan with her father. She is admired for her beauty, and a French naval officer asks her to dance. They dance the waltz, and he is fascinated by her, a Japanese girl in Western dress. Later, over ice cream, he reassures her that Japanese women are beautiful too, comparing her to a princess in a Watteau painting. On the balcony under the stars, he reveals he was thinking of fireworks, which he says are like our lives, suggesting a moment of shared melancholy and reflection on transience.
Chapter 34
II
In the autumn of 1918, the elderly Madame H—, formerly known as Akiko, encounters a young novelist on a train to Kamakura. She shares her reminiscences of a ball at the Rokumeikan, prompted by the chrysanthemums he carries. When he asks about the French naval officer she mentioned, she reveals his name as Julian Viaud, not Pierre Loti, causing the young man's excitement and her puzzled repetition.
Chapter 35
Tu Tzuchun
Tu Tzuchun undergoes a series of trials to become a magician, enduring terrifying visions and temptations while maintaining silence. However, when his parents are tortured in the palace of Senlotien, he breaks his silence out of compassion. The old man Tiehkuantzu reveals that he would have killed Tu Tzuchun if he had remained silent, and instead offers him a new life of honesty and humanity.
