Kappa

Ryunosuke Akutagawa was the premier Short Story fiction author of early 20th century Japan. His career was cut short by his suicide at age of 34 following his descent into madness. Kappa is one of the last pieces that Akutagawa wrote, and true to his form, he was often influenced by ancient tales of mythological creatures. This particular novella is the story of a mental institution patient who describes his sojourn in the land of Kappa, Japanese water sprites. Indeed, except for the size, Kappaland mirrors Japanese society. Akutagawa uses various archetype characters to reflect on the changes in contemporary Japan - the student, the poet, the composer, the businessman. Also, in the detailed interest in suicide and death in this story, one sees the upcoming suicide of Akutagawa himself. All the major characters are male and in Kappa society, the female Kappa are the pursuer and wooer of the males, quite the opposite from Japanese society. Just as Akutagawa himself was heavily influenced by the newly "discovered" European writers and philosophers, the Kappa revere many of these same authors. During his life, Akutagawa was obsessed with Kappa and produced many drawings, alas none of which are in this volume. What is invaluable to the reader is Healey's lengthy introduction which includes a short biographical sketch of Akutagawa, and puts this story in the context of his life's work.

"Kappa" is told from the point of view of Patient 23, an asylum inmate who tells of his incredible journey into the heart of Kappaland, peopled by the Kappa, the magical creatures of Japanese folklore. In the tradition of "Gulliver's Travels," inside Kappaland, Akutagawa, author of "Rashomon" and "In the Grove," has created a twisted reflection of both his contemporary Japanese society and his own self-loathing. It has been a difficult tale to interpret in Japan, being hailed as either a children's story, a social satire or simply weird. Akutagawa himself feared insanity due to his mother's mental deterioration during his youth, and his own justified fear of the taint of madness in his blood.Akutagawa's mental state when writing "Kappa" is important background, and the paperback edition comes with an extensive mini-biography of the famous author that is almost the size of the story itself. Akutagawa never wrote novels, and it is strange to see a single story packaged in one book. The introduction/biography is well written as well, and helps to reveal the story.The writing in "Kappa" is sharp and quick-witted. The satire is equal parts clever and odd. Religion, marriage, arts and entertainment, all are in part skewered and skewed. The book is an incredibly fast read, and one that you will want to pass to your friends to read as well, so that you can see what someone else makes of it.

"Kappa" is one of the best books of Akutagawa - one of the least appreciated authors of pre-war Japan. Kappa can be compared to only one book that I remember of and that is Karel Capek's award winning "War with the Newts". Kappa was ages ahead of its time especially considering the society in which Akutagawa was living in. This is a story about interactions of a human being, whose sanity is in question, and the Kappas, some mythical creatures. This is a satire in the essence that Akutagawa draws critical picture of Japanese intellectual society and their egos and vanity. The Kappa society is an equitable representation of the human society with the same set of problems but different set of solutions. This is one of those books which is a must for a good collection.

It is difficult to fairly rate Kappa because, while it is excellent and entertaining, it is not equal to the exquisite Rashomon collection. Neither is the book the equivalent of Gulliver's Travels although there is a distinct similarity. Rather Kappa is the story of a human in the world of mythical water creatures, Kappa. The narrator is an unnamed patient in a mental hospital; thus the framework of the story is one of a narrator whose reliability is open to question. Within this framework, Akutagawa manages to build a credible world satirizing Japanese culture. He skewers art, politics, marriage, philosophers - all with a light but wicked wit that keeps you laughing and cringing in recognition.

One of Akutagawa's most famous novellas. Although not really comparable to his more serious work ("In the Grove", "Rashomon", "Hell Screen" & c.) it springs out of necessity for a brilliant man to view its world through the prism of satire. Even though it's basically a satire of Japanese society from the first half of 20th century, most of its themes, admonitions and ridicules are still quite valid today. What still amazes me about this book (and other Akutagawa's works as well) is how the writer manages to develop characters (and in this case an entire imaginary culture) to such fullness, given the rather (spatially) limited medium of a novella. Highly recommended reading.