Momotarō and Other Writings

A boy born from a peach sets out for Ogre Island with three animal followers. In Akutagawa’s unsettling retelling, the familiar adventure becomes a story of conquest, exploitation, and the resistance left behind by victory.

Momotarō joins seven other complete works in a collection of sharply different journeys. Du Zichun follows a seeker of immortality through a trial of silence and compassion. The Withered Field gathers disciples around the dying poet Bashō, revealing emotions far more complicated than grief alone.

A weary writer finds renewal in an autumn park. Impressions of Matsue explores wooden bridges, water, and the destruction of beauty in the name of progress. Brief notes on writing accompany two mountain accounts, where rocks, cold, insects, and a taciturn guide unsettle the traveler’s expectations.