Ryūnosuke Niihara was born in Kyōbashi, Tokyo in Japan on the 1st March 1892. Sadly, his mother suffered severe mental illness after his birth and so, at only eight months old, he was sent to be raised by his maternal uncle and aunt, from whom he received the Akutagawa family name.

He was fascinated by classical Chinese literature from his early years and began writing after entering what was then the Tokyo Imperial University in 1913 to study English Literature.

The following year Akutagawa and his friends revived the literary journal ‘New Currents of Thought’ which published their own works and translations of such icons as W B Yeats and Anatole France.

Akutagawa published "Rashōmon" in 1915 and whilst it was disliked by his friends everyone else knew better. As other short stories followed so did his growing literary reputation as the father of the Japanese short story.

Much of his work reinterpreted former classical works and incidents and this, melded with his strong dislike of naturalism, produced a writer of rare and genuine quality. His character palette featured strong and domineering women, mainly based on his mother and the aunt who helped raise him.

In 1921, he spent four months in China as a reporter. Whilst there his health was compromised by several illnesses and both his physical and mental health spiralled downwards. He began to suffer from hallucinations and dreaded that he might have inherited his mother’s mental disorders.

Although he survived one suicide attempt Ryūnosuke Akutagawa died on the 24th July 1927 in Tokyo from an overdose of Veronal, a barbiturate. He was 35.

1 - Ryunosuke Akutagawa - A Short Story Collection - An Introduction

2 - In A Grove by Ryunosuke Akutagawa

3 - Rashomon by Ryunosuke Akutagawa

4 - The Cold by Ryunosuke Akutagawa

5 - The Mine Cart by Ryunosuke Akutagawa

6 - The Socialist by Ryunosuke Akutagawa