Kappa

From the author of Rashomon comes a Swiftian satire of Japanese society thinly disguised as the fictitious Kappaland. Peopled with creatures from Japanese folklore, Kappaland serves as a vehicle for the humorous examination of the moral foibles of Japanese society in the early 20th century.
Author Bio: Ryunosuke Akutagawa was born in the Irifunecho district of Tokyo in 1892. Although his father was a tradesman, he was descended on his mothers side from an ancient samurai family and it was from his mothers more prestigious family that he took his name. At the time of his birth Irifunecho was still set aside primarily for foreign residents. Blessed with an abundance of talent and ample raw material, Akutagawa began his writing career shortly after his graduation from Tokyo Imperial University. He quickly came to the fore as a leader of the new literati, and published several novels to great acclaim and some commercial success within the space of a few years. Shortly after Kappa was first published in 1927, Akutagawa committed suicide.