Author · 1888–1948

菊池寛Kikuchi Kan · きくち かん

Kikuchi Kan (1888–1948) was a novelist, playwright and publisher from Takamatsu in Kagawa Prefecture. He was a friend and contemporary of Akutagawa Ryūnosuke. He is known for short historical fiction such as 恩讐の彼方に (Onshū no Kanata ni), for the play 父帰る (Chichi Kaeru), and for popular serial novels such as 真珠夫人 (Shinju Fujin). He founded the magazine 文藝春秋 (Bungei Shunjū), and he established the Akutagawa Prize and the Naoki Prize, which are still among Japan's most important literary awards. He was a major figure in the literary and publishing world of his time.

形 — The Scarlet Surcoat

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形 (Katachi, literally 'Form' or 'Outward Appearance') is a very short historical tale by Kikuchi Kan, set when rival lords divided the Kinai region among themselves. Its hero is Nakamura Shinbē, a spearman so famous that enemy soldiers…