蜘蛛の糸

About this story

作品について

Akutagawa wrote this in 1918 for the first issue of Akai Tori (The Red Bird), a new magazine that set out to give Japanese children real literature. It was his first story for young readers, and it became a classic of Japanese childhood. Its roots are international: scholars trace it to "The Spider-Web," a Buddhist tale by the American writer Paul Carus, and readers of Dostoevsky will recognize a similar idea in the story of the onion in The Brothers Karamazov. What makes Akutagawa's version unforgettable is its shape. Paradise and hell, calm and panic, one thread between them. Because it was written for children, the Japanese is clear and gentle, which makes it one of the best first steps into real Japanese literature.