Kappa

About

Narrated by Patient No. 23, a madman in a lunatic asylum, Kappa recounts a journey to the land of the kappa — the scaly, frog-like water creatures of Japanese folklore known for drowning children. In this fantastical country, everything is inverted: unborn children choose whether to be born, workers celebrate unemployment, and poets are revered while being deeply mistrusted. It is, of course, Japan — seen from the only angle that tells the truth. Akutagawa's final work, written months before his suicide, is a satire disguised as a fairy tale — or a fairy tale disguised as a confession. The kappa's world is absurd, but its absurdity has the terrible logic of a society viewed by someone who can no longer participate in its pretenses. A farewell from one of Japan's greatest writers — poignant, fantastical, and sharp enough to cut, even through the laughter.