Yam Gruel and Other Writings

A shabby retainer dreams of one simple pleasure: eating his fill of yam gruel. When a powerful companion offers to fulfill that wish, a surprising journey begins. Akutagawa turns an old tale into a delicate, ironic study of longing, humiliation, and the uneasy arrival of happiness.

Yam Gruel and Other Writings brings together four complete works by Akutagawa Ryūnosuke. Notes on Bashō explores the great poet’s language, book design, ambition, humor, and relation to his age, quoting poems and conversations that reveal a lively and contradictory artist.

The Capacity for Heroism places a sharp philosophical exchange in the aftermath of a Chinese battle. An Account of the Funeral follows the author through Natsume Sōseki’s final farewell, tracing grief through awkward conversation, ceremony, tears, and exhaustion.