Why “The Nose” by Ryunosuke Akutagawa Is Still Worth Reading Today

I read this story as a teenager and thought it was funny. I read it again as an adult and realized it was about me.

This story is read by many Japanese senior high school students in their textbooks.

I’m sharing it with you because it is truly a good read.

It’s not by Haruki Murakami.

It is very short, but humorous and profound.

When I first read it, I loved it because the descriptions were so detailed, funny, and witty.

After a few decades, I read it again. I found that it was still funny, but I also discovered many deeper meanings in the story as an adult.

It is a comical story about a monk who doesn’t want others to know about his inner struggle.

Don’t we feel the same way? To be honest, I don’t want others to see my inner struggles either.

The title of the novel is “The Nose,” written by Ryunosuke Akutagawa in 1916.

It has been translated into English. It is very short, only about 5 to 10 pages, so you can read it in about 15 minutes.

The monk has a 15-to-18-centimeter-long nose. Of course, it is fiction. The monk struggles with his nose because monks are not supposed to care about their appearance. Such concerns are considered too worldly.

One day, one of his followers learns how to shorten the monk’s nose, and the monk decides to try it.

The story is about the changes in the monk’s feelings and psychology, as well as the behavior of the people around him. Akutagawa describes them amazingly well.

That is why this novel is often included in textbooks for senior high school students in Japan.

I believe that understanding and feeling such details is something that can only be done through reading books. It cannot be fully experienced by watching videos or movies, because we need as much time as necessary to digest what the expressions mean. With books, we can pause, think, digest, and start reading again.

Akutagawa, who lived from 1892 to 1927, is a classic Japanese novelist and one of the most famous writers in Japan. He often drew inspiration from classical Japanese literature, including works from the 12th and 13th centuries.

In Japan, we have a famous literary prize called the Akutagawa Prize, which is given to emerging writers of serious literature. It is one of the most prestigious literary prizes in Japan.

In “The Nose,” Akutagawa humorously describes the monk’s psychology in detail. What is fascinating is that it feels very similar to my own psychology as well. It is as if he is describing something inside me.

That is why I feel the story is universal and timeless. You may feel something similar, too, if you read this story.

The novel is very short, easy to read, funny, and yet very profound.

Through this story, you may discover something deep about human psychology.

It is worth investing 15 minutes of your life to read it, so I would like to invite you to try it. It is available online for free.

If you like the story, you can also explore other works by Akutagawa.

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