Akutagawa’s Rashomon and Other Stories: The Manga Edition

    (Tuttle, 2024)

A sword-swinging samurai, a corpse-robbing crone and a falsely accused trans man stand at the center of these four iconic tales, once the inspiration for a classic film, now turned into stunning graphic novellas. The stories in this volume by Ryunosuke Akutagawa—the renowned 'father of the Japanese short story' are captured by manga masters mkdeville and Philippe Nicloux in these four action-packed adaptations. Rashomon: A houseless servant pits morality against survival in a post-apocalyptic world where thievery and the desecration of the dead are necessary for survival. In the Grove: Conflicting statements and competing narratives call into question the notion of objective truth in a searing tale of rape and revenge. Otomi’s Virginity: Pride, honor and dignity are at stake when a young servant is confronted by an unexpected aggressor at her employer’s abandoned house. The Martyr: A pious Jesuit with a dark secret faces excommunication and death in 16th-century Japan, when Christianity was introduced and then banned by order of the Shogun. Stunning graphic adaptations turn these iconic tales into thrilling page-turners, following in the footsteps of the famous Kurosawa film.
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