Honjo and Ryōgoku

A walk through Honjo and Ryōgoku becomes a journey through the changing life of Tokyo. Akutagawa Ryūnosuke returns to the streets of his childhood with a newspaper colleague, crossing bridges, boarding a river steamer, visiting shrines, and searching for familiar shops and old friends.

The earthquake and fires of 1923 have destroyed much of what he remembers. Temporary buildings stand beside new hospitals, concrete schools, and construction works. Yet a surviving tree, a sweet shop, a grave, or a child’s insolent reply can suddenly bring the past into view.

First published in 1927, this complete fifteen-section account combines intimate recollection, social criticism, irony, and grief. Akutagawa remembers school cruelties as well as youthful delight, reflects on industrial life and poverty, and closes with a family conversation about everything that has disappeared. Brief notes explain historical terms, uncertain names, and literary quotations. AI-assisted translation, prepared and edited by Valentin Sarić.