Asakusa Park: A Collection of Short Stories

An Eclectic Collection of Ryunosuke Akutagawa’s Untranslated Stories

This collection of twenty-six short stories offers a glimpse into many facets of Ryunosuke Akutagawa’s imagination. Most of the stories featured in this collection have not previously been translated into English. From fantastical worlds seen through a child’s or frogs’ eyes, to themes of heroism, love, guilt, and the musings of the leader of the Forty-Seven Ronin, the stories explore humor, darkness, and human nature. Several of the stories feature a character named Yasukichi Horikawa, believed to be Akutagawa’s alter ego.

Kan Kikuchi was a writer, a publisher, and a close friend of Ryunosuke Akutagawa. This collection also includes a composition by him about his friend’s death and the suicide note sent to him by Ryunosuke Akutagawa.

Contents

The Sake Bug

Early Spring

The Tiger Stories

The Monkey

Shino

A Day in the Life of Ōishi Kuranosuke

Unrequited Love

The Hell of Loneliness

Frogs

San’emon’s Crime

The Dream

The Foundling

Asakusa Park

Ten Needles

Taneko’s Melancholy

Doubts

The Quality of a Hero

Father

The Riverside Fish Market

From Yasukichi’s Notebook

The Bow

A Romance Novel

Compositions

Youth

The Cold

A Ten Yen Bill

About the Author (by Kan Kikuchi)

A Note Sent to an Old Friend