The Smile of the Gods and Other Writings

A missionary walks among roses and olive trees in a Japanese garden, but something in the country unsettles him. One night, ancient gods appear inside his church. Their warning is unexpected: a foreign faith may spread, yet the power that transforms everything arriving in Japan will endure.

The Smile of the Gods and Other Writings gathers seven works by Akutagawa Ryūnosuke. Doubt traces a man’s horrifying uncertainty after an earthquake. White follows a dog whose failure of courage leads him through danger and unexpected fame. The Lily returns to childhood, where one coveted plant becomes the center of a desperate contest.

The Birth Hut imagines a strange ordeal in a mythic world. Clothing turns a dream’s judgments of garments into a sharp literary satire, while My Views on Hokku reflects on poetic form through examples by Chinese and Japanese masters.