Ryūnosuke Akutagawa

Japanese writer (1892–1927)

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Lived 1892–1927, aged 35Japan

Japan WritersWriter / Author

Fame42.2
Momentum2.2
Japan rank#24
Writers rank#82
Wikipedia61.2K

Wikipedia
72 languages
Cross-language footprint
Rank in Japan
#24
Writers
Era
1892–1927
Aged 35

Summary

Updated 2026-05-29

Pioneered the Japanese short story during the Taishō period and lent his name to Japan's most prestigious literary prize. Akutagawa died by suicide at 35, leaving behind work that fundamentally shaped modern Japanese fiction.

Biography

About

Ryūnosuke Akutagawa , art name Chōkōdō Shujin (澄江堂主人), was a Japanese writer active in the Taishō period in Japan. He is regarded as the "father of the Japanese short story", and Japan's premier literary award, the Akutagawa Prize, is named after him. He took his own life at the age of 35 through an overdose of barbital.

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