Kappa (Peter Owen Modern Classic)

Wonderfully strange little story. Feels good to read from someone who also dealt with some schizophrenia and was extremely well read.

Akutagawa takes a satirical look into the human condition by journeying to the fantastical land of the Kappa. He plunges beneath social norms and polite behavior to uncover some fairly base motivations. He takes these base motivations and produces wonderful comedy.His treatment of the relations of the sexes is hilarious. The female Kappa aggressively pursue male Kappa and use both subtle and aggressive strategies to conquer their prey. Kappaland is plagued by a perpetual Sadie Hawkins day. The only one apparently not being hunted down to serve female ends is the homely philosopher Mag. Mag confesses that he desires the attention of the female Kappa even as he calls them loathsome creatures.Akutagawa not only satirizes traditional gender relations, but he takes a hard look at the modern economy. His protagonist socializes with Kappa business tycoon, Gael, and discovers how the Kappa deal with the problem of unemployment - they eat the unemployed. Gael explains how this act is merciful since it spares them the misery of starving to death or the inconvenience of having to kill themselves. Such a stark presentation of the cruelty of the modern economy reveals how many view the capitalist system - a vicious form of cannibalism. Interestingly enough the viciousness of the system is propelled by Mrs. Gael - a lady Macbeth who does not make an appearance on the stage of the story.Akutagawa parodies gender relations, business, family - the traditional institutions of society - and he does not spare culture or religion. His poets and artists are obsessed with the cult of the super Kappa - reminiscent of the Nietzschean ubermensch. They are vain and quarrelsome and obsessed over trivial differences that mark their excellence. The religion of the Kappa is obsessed with the goods things of this life - eating rice, drinking wine, and having sex. Of course, Tok, the poet, blasphemes against this faith by taking his life.Finally, Akutagawa turns his satire on the afterlife. Tok, who is contacted by a psychic medium, is obsessed with his reputation in the world that he abandoned. The answers regarding his reputation are not particularly satisfying - adding to the comic impact of Kappa. When asked about the afterlife, it is presented as similar with the ordinary world. The great philosophers in the afterworld meditate on the virtues of spiritual existence and ponder whether they should leave it for an ordinary life.Finally, the human protagonist decides to leave the Kappa and go back to Tokyo. In the end, he of course is dissatisfied with his decision and decides to return to the land of the Kappa. The story began in the psychiatric ward with our protagonist as the patient who began the story of his adventures in Kappaland. The story now ends with our patient being visited by his Kappa friends and hearing news that one of his acquaintenances in Kappaland was also hospitalized for psychiatric reasons.The work is a masterpiece of social satire and is tinged with the pathos that this is Akutagawa's final story before he takes his life. It is easy to perceive the influence of Nietzsche's eternal recurrence of the same in the circle of desires that drive the plot of Kappa.At the end of the story, the protagonist reads a poem from his deceased friend, Tok, the poet who killed himself.In the palm flowers, among the bamboo,Buddha long went fast asleepWith the withered fig tree by the roadside,Christ, too, is already dead.But we all need our rest -Even in front of the stage setWhen you look behind the set,You find only patched canvas.The pathos is palpable. The modern age goes on - much as other ages - but without its holy men. Its bare mechanics are revealed and human beings are disappointed. Our raccous satire Kappa is in the end a profound critique of modernity.

Without the preface of this edition, the story reads as a flat, mildly amusing fairy tale. I agree with some of the other reviewers, that the introduction was more interesting than the story itself, and it allows for at least a biographical reading of the text that gives the story a little depth. I wish the introduction had given us a little more bearing on some of the aspects of Japanese society that Akutagawa is potentially satirizing, as I feel like this has turned into a research project because I don't understand it. I enjoyed some of his other short stories better. (Specifically reviewing the Tuttle edition that isn't available on Amazon)

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.

First published in 1927 'Kappa' is barely a novel, being a little under 100 pages long (although this edition has an excellent 43 page critical biography on Akutagawa). The book bears a striking comparison with 'Gulliver's Travels' partly because of the economy of the language, partly because of the satirical intent - but mainly because there's a psychological spring at work here that makes the fantasy disturbingly trenchant. It's telling that once back in the 'real world' both Gulliver and 'Patient No 23' are filled with a sense of disgust and a longing to get back to a land where they actually felt themselves to be an inferior species. A classic short story; although, rather like Soseki's 'I am a Cat', its aim of criticising the Japanese society of its era might restrict its broad appeal.

The book is very good but the seller was awful.

I found this book an entertaining read.It was humerous but insighhtful. It fitted in well to my programme of developing an interest in Japanese literature.

語学リテラシーの低い、当方は単語を辞書でひいて苦戦していますが必ずや読み切りたいものと考えております。