Hell Screen: The Manga Edition

Tác giả: Ryunosuke Akutagawa

Nhà xuất bản: Tuttle Publishing

Năm xuất bản: 2025

Loại bìa: Bìa mềm

Số trang: 192 Trang

Ngôn ngữ: Tiếng Anh

ISBN: 9784805318232

Kích thước: 13 x 2.5 x 19.7 cm

A compelling horror story about the lengths an artist will go to for the sake of his art! Based on a traditional tale, the plot centers around the great artist, Yoshihide, who despite his talent is rude, lazy and avaricious. His one saving grace is his love for his beautiful daughter, Yuzuki. Yoshihide is employed to create paintings for the Lord of Horikawa, who one day decides to employ Yuzuki as a lady-in-waiting in his household. Yoshihide is not happy about this, especially when he learns that Yuzuki has been the victim of a rape attempt. But Yuzuki refuses to name the perpetrator. Yoshihide becomes furious. Having been commissioned by Horikawa to paint a folding hell screen depicting punishments in the afterlife, he tortures his apprentices so that he can depict human suffering more accurately. He then asks Horikawa to burn a beautiful woman, so this too, can be depicted realistically. Horikawa agrees, but it is Yoshihide's own daughter Yuzuki who ends up being burned to death. Yoshihide completes the hell screen painting, then kills himself. As with much of Akutagawa's work, this ancient tale is reworked to emphasize contemporary dilemmas—in this case, artistic obsession, which Akutagawa himself is said to have possessed. This horrific yet compelling story continues to resonate with admirers of Akutagawa's work to this day.

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Cũng như nhiều tác phẩm khác của Akutagawa, câu chuyện cổ tích này được viết lại để nhấn mạnh những vấn đề đương đại—trong trường hợp này là nỗi ám ảnh nghệ thuật, điều mà chính Akutagawa được cho là đã mắc phải. Câu chuyện kinh dị nhưng đầy sức hút này vẫn tiếp tục gây ấn tượng mạnh mẽ với những người hâm mộ tác phẩm của Akutagawa cho đến ngày nay.