Akutagawa, Ryunosuke
Akutagawa, Ryunosuke
(ryo͝onô`so͝okĕ' äko͞o`tä`gä`wä), pseud. ofChōkōdō Shujin
(chōkō`dō sho͞o`jĭn), 1892–1927, Japanese author. One of Japan's finest short-story writers, he derived many of his tales from historical Japanese sources, but told them with psychological insights in an individualistic style. "Rashomon" (1915) and "In a Grove" (1921) were made into the classic 1950 film Rashomon, directed by Akira KurosawaKurosawa, Akira, 1910–98, Japanese film director, scriptwriter, and producer, b. Tokyo. He is regarded as one of the world's greatest directors. In Rashomon (1950), he introduced Western audiences to Japanese film.
..... Click the link for more information. . His later writings, largely autobiographical fiction, were not successful, and this lack of popular response may have contributed to his suicide.