Kappa

The Kappa is a creature from Japanese folklore described as a scaly, child-sized being with a face like a tiger and a sharp, pointed beak. In the hands of Ryunosuke Akutagawa, one man's journey to Kappaland becomes the vehicle for a critique of Japanese life and customs in the tradition of Swift and Kafka. A perfectly formed gem from the pen of one of Japan's most important modern writers, this tale is at once a fable, a comedy, and a brilliant satire.

"Patient No. 23 tells his story to anyone in the asylum who will listen: on his way home through the valley, he fell into a deep abyss while chasing a nimble creature with a face like a tiger and a sharp beak. The creature was a Kappa, and when he awoke he was in Kappaland." One man's initiation into the rites of this parallel world becomes the vehicle for a critique of contemporary Japanese life and customs in the tradition of Swift and Kafka.

Ryunosuke Akutagawa was the author of more than 100 short stories as well as translations of the works of Anatole France and Yeats. Akutagawa was regarded as a major author during his lifetime, and the Akutagawa Prize, established after his death, is now one of Japan’s most prestigious literary awards. Two of the stories from his collection Rashomon formed the basis of the award-winning film of the same title by Akira Kurosawa.