Author · 1909–1942
中島敦Nakajima Atsushi · なかじま あつし
Nakajima Atsushi was born in Tokyo into a family of scholars of the Chinese classics, a background that shows clearly in his style. After studying Japanese literature at Tokyo Imperial University, he taught at a girls' school in Yokohama. He later went to Palau, then under Japanese administration, to prepare Japanese-language textbooks for the South Seas Bureau. His small body of work includes several stories drawn from Chinese history and legend, among them Meijinden and Riryō.
Stories by Nakajima Atsushi
名人伝 — The Making of a Master
名人伝 is a short fable set in ancient China, told in Japanese prose that carries the rhythm of classical Chinese. Kishō, a man of Kantan, resolves to become the greatest archer in the world, and the story follows him through years of strange…
文字禍 — What the Letters Whisper
Set in Nineveh, capital of ancient Assyria, this short story begins with a rumour: strange voices are heard whispering in the royal library at night. King Ashur-bani-apal orders an elderly scholar to investigate whether spirits dwell in…
山月記 — Moonset on the Mountain Road
Sangetsuki is a short tale set in Tang-dynasty China, retold by Nakajima Atsushi from an older Chinese story about a man who becomes a tiger. Ri Chō, a gifted and proud scholar, abandons his official career to win fame as a poet, fails, and…