Friday Features | "In a Grove" by Ryūnosuke Akutagawa | (Rashōmon) Short Story

The Rabbit Hole's Friday Feature! "In a Grove"
or Yabu no Naka is a short story by Ryūnosuke Akutagawa; it first appeared in the January 1922 edition of the Japanese literature monthly Shinchō.
Akira Kurosawa the Japanese film director and screenwriter regarded as one of the most important and influential filmmakers in the history of cinema—used “In a Grove” as the basis for the plot of his award-winning movie Rashōmon.

Akutagawa Ryūnosuke born on the 1st of March 1892 until the 24th of July 1927, was a Japanese writer active in the Taishō period in Japan. He is regarded as the "Father of the Japanese short story" writing over 150 short stories in his brief life and named in his honor is his legacy, Japan's premier literary award, the Akutagawa Prize, meant for promising new writers.
He was named "Ryūnosuke" meaning ("Son [of] Dragon") because he was born in the Year of the Dragon, in the Month of the Dragon, on the Day of the Dragon, and at the Hour of the Dragon.

Culture and the formation of a cultural identity is a major theme in several of Akutagawa's works, his stories were influenced by his belief that the practice of literature should be universal and can bring together western and Japanese cultures. During periods in history where Japan was most open to outside influences, he explores the formation of cultural identity through his writing and stories.

Seen here apart from his portraits, the images and artworks I included unfortunately are not part of the story. I stumbled upon them from an article online where an abundance of public domain artworks are made available and you can find them on metmuseum.org, if ever you are interested. The collection is wide and varied so I encourage you to give it a visit.
I collected this short summary from online sources and I am sure you can find more information available out there
But then I think reading his work gives a better glimpse of who this master truly is.


With that I offer you “In a Grove”

Thank you. I do hope you enjoyed this story as much as I did. And if you did, please hit that like button. And let us know what you think.
Reading is always a treat for me, it helps not only how I read and speak but also how I write.
Again I appreciate the time you spent here in the Rabbit Hole.
Until next time.


The Rabbit Hole is a channel dedicated to stories, illustrations, music and everything that can fit in story telling.



Like and Subscribe

thank you

#rashomon #shortstory #therabbithole #withme