Akutagawa wrote, in the margins of one of his manuscripts, of one of his characters, that his tragedy was that he endeavored to be great but found himself to be small.
What I like about Japanese fiction of that era, and shortly after, is the way it suggests an entirely different way to live: Kawabata, Tanizaki, Soseki, et al.
What I like about Japanese fiction of that era, and shortly after, is the way it suggests an entirely different way to live: Kawabata, Tanizaki, Soseki, et al.