Widely acknowledged as "the father of the Japanese short story," Ryunosuke Akutagawa remains one of the most influential Japanese writers in history. Rashomon and Other Stories, a collection of his most celebrated work, resonates as strongly today as when it first published a century ago.

This volume includes:

• In a Grove: An iconic, contradictory tale of the murder of a samurai in a forest near Kyoto told through three varying accounts
• Rashomon: A masterless samurai contemplates following a life of crime as he encounters an old woman at the old Rashomon gate outside Kyoto
• Yam Gruel: A low-ranking court official laments his position all the while yearning for his favorite, yet humble, dish
• The Martyr: Set in Japan's Christian missionary era, a young boy is excommunicated for fathering an illegitimate child, but not all is as it seems
• Kesa and Morito: An adulterous couple plots to kill the woman's husband as the situation threatens to spin out of control
• The Dragon: A priest concocts a prank involving a dragon, but the tall tale begins to take on a life of its own