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In a Grove

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In a Grove
In a Grove
Akutagawa, Ryūnosuke
(Translator: Takashi Kojima)

Published: 1922
Categorie(s): Fiction, Mystery & Detective, Psychological, Short Stories
Source: http://www.scribd.com/doc/3682435/In-a-Grove-byRyunosuke-Akutagawa

1

About Akutagawa:
芥川 龍之介（あくたがわ りゅうのすけ、1892年3月1日 - 1927年7月24
日）は、日本の小?家。号は澄江堂主人、俳号は我鬼を用いた。 その作
品の多くは短編で、「芋粥」「藪の中」「地獄?」「?車」など、『今昔
物語集』『宇治拾遺物語』などの古典から題材をとったものが多い。
「蜘蛛の糸」「杜子春」など、童話も書いた。 1927年7月24日未明、友
人にあてた遺書に「唯ぼんやりした不安」との理由を残し、服毒自殺。
35?という年?であった。後に、芥川の業績を記念して菊池?が芥川龍之介
賞を設けた。戒名は懿文院龍之介日崇居士。 Ryūnosuke Akutagawa (芥
川 龍之介, Akutagawa Ryūnosuke) (March 1, 1892 - July 24, 1927) was a
Japanese writer active in Taishō period Japan. He is regarded as the
"Father of the Japanese short story", and is noted for his superb style and finely detailed stories that explore the darker side of human nature.
(source: Wikipedia, English/日本語)
Also available on Feedbooks for Akutagawa:
• Rashoumon (1915)
Copyright: This work is available for countries where copyright is
Life+70 and in the USA.
Note: This book is brought to you by Feedbooks http://www.feedbooks.com Strictly for personal use, do not use this file for commercial purposes.

2

The Testimony of a Woodcutter Questioned by a High Police
Commissioner

Y

es, sir. Certainly, it was I who found the body. This morning, as usual, I went to cut my daily quota of cedars, when I found the body in a grove in a hollow in the mountains. The exact location? About
150 meters off the Yamashina stage road. It 's an out-of-the-way grove of bamboo and cedars.
The body was lying flat on its back dressed in a bluish silk kimono and a wrinkled head-dress of the Kyoto style. A single sword-stroke had pierced the breast. The fallen bamboo-blades around it were stained with bloody blossoms. No, the blood was no longer running. The wound had dried up, I believe. And also, a gad-fly was stuck fast there, hardly noticing my footsteps.
You ask me if I saw a sword or any such thing?
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