Rashomon, and Other Stories by Ryunosuke Akutagawa

POSTSCRIPT

I have in my collection a book entitled 'Legenda Aurea' which was published by the Nagasaki Church. It doesnot, however, contain only golden legends of Western Europe. It includes not only the words and deeds ofEuropean saints but also the religious devotions of Japanese Christians, presumably to serve evangelicalpurposes.

This book consists of two volumes, Parts I and II, printed on 'mino' paper (a kind of tough Japanese paper) in'hiragana' (the cursive form of the Japanese syllabary) mixed with Chinese characters in cursive style. Thelettering is so indistinct that it makes us wonder whether it was printed or not. On the title−page of Volume I,the Latin title is written crosswise, and under the title are written two vertical Chinese lines, "Printed at thebeginning of March, the year of Grace 1596." At either side of the date is a picture of an angel blowing atrumpet. It is technically very crude but has a charm of its own. The title−page of Volume II is identical withthat of Volume I except the word, "Printed in the middle of March."

Both volumes contain about sixty pages. Volume I carries its golden legends in eight chapters, and Volume IIin ten chapters. Each volume opens with a preface by an unknown writer and a table of contents intermixedwith Latin words.

To the Japanese scholar the writing of the preface leaves something to be desired. Here and there we find suchintermixtures of literal translation of European writing which makes us wonder if it was not written by a Jesuitpriest.

'The Martyr' , here introduced, was taken from Volume II of 'the Legenda Aurea.' This story is presumably atruthful record of a happening which took place in a Christian church at Nagasaki in those days. However, theactuality of the great fire as recorded in this story is impossible to ascertain even by referring to 'the NagasakiMinatogusa' (Miscellanies of the Port of Nagasaki) and other books. Much less is it possible to ascertain theexact date of the occurrence.

For publication, I ventured to add some literary embellishment to 'The Martyr.' I hope that the simple andrefined style of the original has not been impaired.

(August, 1919.)