The Hunan Fan and Other Writings

A traveler in Hunan meets an old friend whose easy charm conceals a disturbing cruelty. At a seaside inn, two young writers linger after the summer crowds have gone. In a hot-spring town, the life of a giant carpenter emerges through gossip, affection, and an unexpected legacy.

The Hunan Fan and Other Writings gathers eight works by Akutagawa Ryūnosuke, moving between fiction, remembrance, and essay. A neglected marsh painting becomes a test of artistic judgment, while a great lord’s gold pipe exposes the vanity of both its owner and the men who covet it.

Two intimate sketches return to Natsume Sōseki’s study, among crowded bookshelves, winter draughts, and memories of his kindness. A Register of the Dead recalls Akutagawa’s parents and the sister he never knew, tracing the uneasy relation between grief, distance, and love.