English language
Published Nov. 14, 2000

Ryūnosuke Akutagawa: Kappa (2000)
English language
Published Nov. 14, 2000
Kappa (Japanese: 河童, Hepburn: Kappa) is a 1927 novella written by the Japanese author Ryūnosuke Akutagawa. The story is narrated by a psychiatric patient who claims to have travelled to the land of the kappa, a creature from Japanese mythology. Critical opinion has often been divided between those who regard it as a biting satire of Taishō Japan and those who see it as expression of Akutagawa's private agony.
Kappa (Japanese: 河童, Hepburn: Kappa) is a 1927 novella written by the Japanese author Ryūnosuke Akutagawa. The story is narrated by a psychiatric patient who claims to have travelled to the land of the kappa, a creature from Japanese mythology. Critical opinion has often been divided between those who regard it as a biting satire of Taishō Japan and those who see it as expression of Akutagawa's private agony.