Susanoo-no-Mikoto: and Other Stories: 11

Spring comes to Takamagahara. Susanoo, a young man of immense strength but rough manners, seeks a place of his own amid the envy and derision of companions who compete at archery and lifting stones. When he entrusts a young girl with a magatama that belonged to his mother, suspicion rises; his direct, ardent nature is shaken by jealousy and anger.The title story, "Susanoo-no-Mikoto," portrays a god of Japanese myth as a young man alive with pride, loneliness, love, and impulse. It is joined by "The Aged Susanoo-no-Mikoto," which reflects the god in later years; "The Dogs and the Flute," a tale of animals and music; and "The Three Treasures," a legend of precious objects.Gods' realms, village youths, magatama, flutes, and journeys: drawing on ancient lore, Akutagawa turns the moments when strength isolates a person and desire unsettles a community into vivid fiction. Mythic grandeur shares the page with the immaturity and cruelty of youth.By Ryunosuke Akutagawa, author of Rashōmon and Hell Screen, this collection of mythic and fantastic tales does not leave the gods of antiquity as distant idols. It brings their heat of feeling and their wounds close.