The Criminal

Ryūnosuke Akutagawa (1892–1927) was a Japanese novelist of the Taishō period. Born in Tokyo, he was originally surnamed Niihara and later took the surname Akutagawa after being adopted into the Akutagawa family. In 1915 he published "Rashōmon," which won the admiration of Natsume Sōseki. He is known for short stories such as "The Nose," "Hell Screen," and "In a Grove," and is regarded as the father of the Japanese short story; the Akutagawa Prize is named after him. His works often draw on history and classical sources, written in a restrained, precise style that reveals the subtle and absurd sides of human nature within a compact form. They are commonly classified as foreign literature and classics, and some pieces appear in examination selections. In 1927 he took sleeping pills and died at the age of thirty-five.

Natsume Sōseki, whose real name was Natsume Kinnosuke, is a representative author of modern Japanese literature. Born in Edo, he graduated from the English Department of Tokyo Imperial University and later studied in Britain. He rose to fame with I Am a Cat in 1905 and went on to write works such as Botchan, The Three-Cornered World, Sanshirō, and Kokoro, earning recognition as Japan's "national writer." He died of a stomach ulcer in 1916. His works often take the daily lives and inner worlds of intellectuals as their subject, with a humorous yet restrained style that combines satire of social manners with careful exploration of loneliness, selfhood, and moral dilemma. His writing spans novels, essays, and other forms, and his style gradually shifted from early light satire to deeper psychological portrayal, exerting a profound influence on the development of modern Japanese literature.

Mori Ōgai is an important modern Japanese writer whose name is often associated in Chinese-reading circles with the short story "The Dancing Girl" (Maihime). Five of his works are included in the library, and the representative works are all titled "The Dancing Girl," with editions in the "Yue Classic Series 18" and the "Duke Classic Library," which shows that this work has been circulated relatively concentratedly in the Chinese-speaking world. Available materials provide limited information about his nationality, dates of birth and death, and early life; public information is limited, making it difficult to describe his life in detail. Judging from the common categories, his works are classified as foreign literature, classic works, and social fiction. Their themes often involve the situation of modern intellectuals caught between ideals and reality, with a restrained tone tinged with melancholy and attention to the tension between inner conflict and social ethics. Readers may wish to note the calm narrative perspective and the undercurrent of emotion in the characters, which is one reason his works continue to be reread by Chinese readers.

Jun'ichirō Tanizaki was a modern Japanese novelist and a leading representative of aestheticist literature. Born in 1886 into a rice-merchant family in Tokyo, he studied in the Japanese literature department of Tokyo Imperial University before dropping out. In 1910 he made his name with the story "The Tattooer," which brought him attention in literary circles. After the Great Kanto Earthquake, he moved to the Kansai region, and his focus gradually shifted toward classical aesthetics. He left important works in both fiction and prose, including "The Makioka Sisters," "Naomi," "In Praise of Shadows," and "A Portrait of Shunkin." He also translated "The Tale of Genji" into modern Japanese, helping to spread the classical work. He died of kidney disease in 1965. His writing is delicate and refined, and he had a profound influence on modern Japanese aestheticist literature.

Izumi Kyoka was a modern Japanese novelist. Reliable public information about his exact life and nationality is limited, yet the eight works held in the collection reveal the contours of his writing. Representative titles include The Grass Labyrinth, The Holy Man of Mount Koya, The Hour of Encounters with Demons, The Love of Yushima, New Tales of Yoshiwara, Righteous Blood and Heroic Blood, and The Silver Cauldron. These works are often classified as foreign literature and classics, and some carry the flavor of martial-arts fiction. Izumi Kyoka's writing frequently draws on the worlds of townspeople, geisha, and wanderers, blending romance with the grotesque and moving between reality and illusion to create a distinctive narrative atmosphere. His prose emphasizes mood and sensory detail, with stories revolving around emotional entanglements, twists of fate, and the spirit of chivalry, retaining the readability of popular narrative while revealing a refined literary sensibility. Because sources are limited, biographical details are hard to set out, but these works suffice to show his distinctive place and lasting influence in modern Japanese literature.

Okamoto Kido is a modern Japanese author whose biographical details remain limited in Chinese-language sources, with basic information such as his dates of birth and death and nationality incomplete in publicly available material. What can be confirmed is that after his works were translated for the Chinese book market, they drew readers' attention for their distinctive blend of the weird tale and detective fiction. Three of his works are included here: the complete and ten-volume editions of Hanshichi Torimonocho, and Tamamo no Mae. The former is set in the Edo period and follows the investigations of the constable Hanshichi, combining street-level period atmosphere with mystery and deduction; the latter draws on classical Japanese legend and carries a strong fantasy flavor. These works are often categorized under mystery and detective fiction, classic works, and otherworldly fantasy, reflecting Okamoto Kido's distinctive position between popular storytelling and the Japanese tradition of strange tales.

Kōda Rohan is a representative writer in the history of modern Japanese literature, but the publicly available information about his life in this database is limited, and details such as his birth and death years, education, and honors received are not available. The database contains three of his works, commonly classified under foreign literature and miscellaneous prose. His representative work The Five-Story Pagoda centers on the spirit of craftsmanship and the supremacy of art, showing the protagonist's relentless pursuit of technical excellence through his dedication and perseverance in building the pagoda; Fate: On the Story of the Female Immortal and Emperor Jianwen draws on Chinese history and legend, reflecting the author's familiarity with foreign subjects and his narrative skill. His writing style combines classical elegance with realistic detail, and his language is concise and evocative, giving him a distinctive place in the modern Japanese literary world.

Sato Haruo is a modern Japanese author whose biography and educational background are only sparsely documented in public sources; his dates of birth and death and nationality are not specified in the available records. Three of his works are currently held, including Southern Travelogue and The Melancholy of the Countryside. Southern Travelogue belongs to the travelogue or travel-sketch genre, recording journeys and southern scenery in a meticulous, essayistic style, while The Melancholy of the Countryside leans toward lyrical prose, tracing rural landscapes and personal moods and displaying a sensitive, introspective literary temperament. Classified under both miscellaneous prose and foreign literature, his writing combines travel sketches with lyrical essays. Sato Haruo's style is plain yet receptive, and Chinese readers chiefly encounter him through translations of such prose, which offer some reference for understanding modern Japanese travel literature and lyrical essays.