In our latest review of the book ‘Kappa’, we dive into Ryunosuke Akutagawa’s celebrated novella, which explores modern societal norms through the lens of mythical creatures.
Summary
“Kappa”, offers a captivating and fantastical critique of modern human society. Narrated by “Patient No. 23”, a schizophrenic patient, the story unfolds as he finds himself in a mysterious land following an accident. This country is inhabited by the legendary Japanese creature known as the Kappa. Humanoid in form with distinctive frog-like features, the Kappa navigate a society much like own, albeit with exaggerated capitalist norms and structures familiar to humans. Despite this, the Kappas harbor a strong sense of superiority over humans, reflecting a critique on ethnocentric moral superiority. Through this narrative, Akutagawa masterfully satirizes various facets of human society, including art, suicide, labor exploitation, and childbirth and many more.
Review of “Kappa”
I went into this book without reading any summaries or reviews and I cannot say I have any regrets. The plot is very upfront about the allegory and the satire is so outlandish that the message cannot be overlooked. Every chapter highlights the insanity of Kappa Land. One of the most profound aspects that stood out to me is undoubtedly the culture around labor exploitation and unemployment.
Those factory workers were all killed and made into food. Here, look at this newspaper. Just this month, 44,764 laborers were dismissed, so the price of meat has gone down accordingly.1
The manner in which the Kappa Land corporations deal with laid-off employees is in line with the society’s obsession over “being rational”. It is no different than casually discussing the way supply and demand affects the prices of goods. After all, humans are just another resource in most societies.
Shame Culture
It saves workers the trouble of committing suicide or starving to death. Think of it as a state sponsored shortcut! They just give them a little toxic gas, it doesn’t hurt a bit.2
The state sponsored suicide assistance was another aspect that stands out. Assisted suicide is a complex topic and a discussion that I feel is worth having. However, Kappa Land citizens discuss suicide so flippantly and rationally in the book, like applying for unemployment benefits by going through a bureaucratic process. This speaks volumes regarding their view on unemployed citizens being a burden to society. The easiest and most logical solution is to take the “state sponsored shortcut”. A part of me wonders if Akutagawa’s satire regarding unemployment and suicide is mocking Japan’s shame culture. This can be seen in a historical example many of you may recognize: Samurai and Harakiri (seppuku).
If you were samurai and lost your honor, you had only one way to preserve it: harakiri. By killing yourself in such a painful, but at the same time, fearlessly heroic way, you were able to sustain your honor and eradicate shame. 3
Fast forward to the 2000s for a more recent historical example. The shame culture still continues strongly. During the recession of 2008, Japan saw a steep rise in suicide over unemployment in comparison to other parts of the world. Far higher than the U.S, U.K, Spain, and other western countries. Data suggests that it is not merely a coincidence.4
But of course, Kappa was published many decades before the recession, but I do think it is worth noting that Japan seems to attach shame in failure at levels significantly higher than many of us are familiar with, and has been for centuries.
Final Thoughts
Yes, I’m sure you can tell I enjoyed Kappa from this book review. Ryunosuke Akutagawa is a brilliant author and I can’t help but imagine how tired he must have been with the society he lived in to write this novella. He might have had Taisho Japan in mind, but I think a sizable portion of his commentary is applicable to all modern societies. This work can be analyzed from multiple angles and my book review of ‘Kappa’ barely scratches the surface! Let me know your thoughts about the novella or if you plan to add it to your reading list! Have fun reading!
- Akutagawa, Ryunosuke. Kappa. Translated by Allison Markin Powell and Lisa Hofmann-Kuroda, New Directions Publishing, 6 June 2023, pp. 32–33. ↩︎
- Akutagawa, Ryunosuke. Kappa. Translated by Allison Markin Powell and Lisa Hofmann-Kuroda, New Directions Publishing, 6 June 2023, pp. 33. ↩︎
- McCrann, Takako. “Shame, Honor, and Duty.” Pbs.org, 2019, www.pbs.org/mosthonorableson/shame.html. ↩︎
- Tanisho, Yukiko. “Economic Distress and Suicide in Japan.” Oct. 2013. ↩︎