Foreword

Foreword

This edition of Akutagawa Ryūnosuke’s Short Fiction was produced from several translations of his short stories.

“Rashōmon” and “Lice” were translated by Glenn W. Shaw and originally published in 1920 and 1921 in the magazine Eigo Seinen. “Tobacco and the Devil,” “The Nose,” “The Handkerchief,” “The Spider’s Thread,” “The Wine Worm,” “The Badger,” “The Ball,” “The Pipe” and “Mōri Sensei” were also translated by Shaw and first published in Tales Grotesque and Curious in 1930.

“The Story of a Fallen Head” was translated by Eric S. Bell and Ukai Eiji; “Tu Tzuchun” was translated by Eric S. Bell and Tada Yoshinobu. Both translations were first published in Eminent Authors of Contemporary Japan, in 1930.

Hendrik Kaiber

Santa Maria, Brazil, March 2026