Christ in Nanking and Other Writings

A young woman in Nanking places her trust in Christ while a stranger’s arrival transforms her life. A struggling writer weighs his dignity against a ten-yen note. In war-torn Japan, a woman’s plea exposes a ruler’s shifting judgments; elsewhere, three confessions turn the repayment of kindness into a contest of pride and revenge.

These seven writings reveal Akutagawa Ryūnosuke’s remarkable range. Alongside the stories are a farewell letter, a brief portrait of Uchida Hyakken, and ten sharp reflections on art, morality, confession, and language. Humor and compassion mingle with unease as each voice reveals more than it intends.

First published between 1916 and 1927, the complete works appear here in a new English translation with concise notes on names, customs, wordplay, and historical references. Akutagawa, one of modern Japan’s most influential short-story writers, finds the strange and the troubling within apparently ordinary acts of generosity and belief. AI-assisted translation.