Rashomon and Seventeen Other Stories (41 page)

41
.
Red Lights
:(
Shakk
ō
) Sait
ō
Mokichi's first poetry collection was published in 1913 (translated into English in 1989). Notable here for themes of madness, death of the mother, and the color red. See also note 19.

42
.
my own self-portrait
: Akutagawa finished “Kappa” on 11February 1927.

43
.
Sparrow of Joy
: The magpie, a sign of good luck when it enters the home.

44
.
four separate times
: The number four in Japanese can be a homonym for “death.”

45
.
Horsehead Kannon
: Usually a gentle, androgynous Buddhist god(dess) of mercy, Kannon (or Kanzeon; Sanskrit: Avalokitesvara). In this variation, wearing a crown containing the image of a horse's head (or with a full horse's head), Bat
ō
Kannon (Sanskrit: Hayagr
Ä«
va) is a fierce deity designed to defeat all evil spirits and passions; in early modern times, it was often worshiped as a protector of horses.

46
.
my wife's younger brother
: Akutagawa's in-laws had brought their tubercular son to Kugenuma for extended rest therapy; hence the Akutagawas' stay there in an attempt to soothe Akutagawa's own mental and physical ills.

*
For this and other stories with historical backgrounds, see the headnote to each story in the Notes.