CARROLL, Lewis - AKUTAGAWA, Ryunosuke, & Kan Kikuchi (trans.).

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Arisu monogatari (Alice's Adventures in Wonderland). First edition of this translation by the father of the Japanese short story. Akutagawa Ryunosuke (1892-1927) never completed his work due to his untimely death. The project was then completed by Kikuchi Kan, a fellow author and playwright who set up the Akutagawa Literary Prize in his friend's honour.Alice was first introduced to Japan in 1899 with Through the Looking-Glass and since then over 500 translations of the canon have been produced. Akutagawa's rendition is recognized for its satirical humour and subtle changes to the main character, making her "ever so slightly more agreeable and assiduous" (Elwood) for a Japanese audience.Akutagawa's works were mainly set in Japan's past, such as Rashomon (1915), the inspiration for Kurosawa's cinematic epic. Yet he was also familiar with the Western canon, studying English literature at the University of Tokyo. He is one of Japan's most widely translated authors and a founding influence on modern Japanese literature.

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