akutagawa autumn mountian
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A U T U M N M O U N T A I N S 337
very cold one, these dis t r ic ts were
prac t ica l ly des t i tu te of l ight and fue l ,
as there a re no loca l fores t s . T he Ger -
man colonis t s opera te some 30,000
looms in their own hom es. In s pi te of
th e ma nifold dif f icul t ies th ey are ex-
per iencing, the people here seem to us
marvelous ly prosperous in compar i son
wi th what we had seen in Russ ia
here tofore .
[Japan Advertiser (American Dai ly) ,
December
2k 1920]
A U T U M N M O U N T A I N S
B Y R Y U N O S U K E A K U T A G A W A
[Mr. Aku tagaw a is one of th e leading youn g
writers of fict ion in Japan and his work is ad-
mired for the combination of cynicism and ro-
ma nticism which connoisseurs find in i t . Th e
following shor t s tory is f rom th e New Year num -
ber of Kaizo (Reconst ruc t ion) . ]
S P E A K I N G
of H u an g Ta i -ch ih , ' sa id
W a n g T a n - k u , o n e a u t u m n e v e n i n g t o
h i s hos t , Yun Nan- t i en , ' r eminds me
of h is p i c tu r e , A u tu m n M ou nta in s .
Have you ever seen i t ? '
' N o t y e t . A n d y o u ? '
T h e good o ld H u an g Tai -chih , was
cer tainly one of the divine geniuses of
paint ing in the per iod of Yuan and his
ce lebr i ty equaled tha t of Mei Taojen
a n d H u a n g h a o S h a n g c h i a o . Y u n N a n -
t ien fel t as i f the masterpieces drawn
by tha t pa in ter loomed up before h i s
eyes.
'Wel l , I may have seen i t and may
no t . I t is one of th e s t r an ge e xper i -
ences of my life. '
'M a y have seen i t or . . . ' r ep ea ted
his host glancing at the vis i tor wi th
dubious eyes . 'You mean, then , i t was
a facs imi le which you sa w ? '
'Not a facs imi le , but the or ig ina l , I
shou ld say . ' W ang T an -k u smi led
though t fu l l y , d r i nk ing h i s t ea . 'T h e
origin al an d no t I alo ne saw it ,
but our honorable Yenko and Hsiangpi
ha ve also seen i t . If you hav e no ob-
jection, I will tel l you how I came to
see this famous picture. '
Yu n N an -t ien , poking the f i re in th e
brazier, l istened to the art ist .
' I t was in the days when our hon-
orab le Ssupo wa s st i l l l iving. One da y
he was talking about pictures wi th the
good old Yenko, when suddenly he
asked the old man if he had seen the
pic ture A utu m n M oun ta ins . As you
know, old Yenko is a student of the
school of Huang Tai-chih, and we may
presume that he s tudied every picture
drawn by H ua ng . B ut cur ious to say ,
he never saw the p ic ture Autumn
Mounta ins .
' " N o . Bu t I never heard tha t there
was any such a p ic ture by Huang." As
he replied, we are told, he felt ashamed
of his ignorance.
' "Then you must see i t a t the
earliest possible op po rtu nit y. I t is a
s t r iking example of the master ' s hand,
far surpassing ei ther his Summer
M ou ntain s or Floa t ing M ist . One of
the dis t inguished masterpieces of the
good old Tai-chih, I suppose."
' "One of the d i s t inguished mas ter -
pieces? Oh , ho w I wo uld like to see it
soon W ho is the presen t own er?"
' " I t i s the prope r ty of Chan g a t
Junc how . I f you ha pp en to pass by
the Chinshangssu temple , you might
call on him. I will give you a n in tro-
duct ion ."
'The good o ld Yenko s ta r ted for
Junc how as soon as he received the let -
ter of int ro du ct ion . T he tho ug ht of
finding other valuable collections of
ancient mas terp ieces a t Chang ' s pre-
vented this zealot of paint ing f rom
staying at his s tudio in the West
Garden.
' H e arrived a t Jun ch ow to find the resi-
dence of M r. Ch ang, th ou gh in spacious
ground s , bu t a desola te cot tage . Ivy
cl imbed up the wal ls and the garden
was covered w ith long grass, while hens
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338 A U T U M N M O U N T A I N S 338
and ducks looked at the strange visitor
w ith questioning eyes. T he good old
Yen ko began to suspect the sincerity of
his honorab le teac her ; he could no t be-
lieve that the master of such a dirty
cottage could own the valuable pic-
ture. B ut at any ra te he gave his card
and the letter of introduction to a
boy, and told him th at he cam e fro m a
remote part of the country to see the
picture.
'He was ushered into a parlor where,
though it was furnished with chairs an d
tables of m ahog any, a cool scent of d us t
was floating. The shade of desolation
lurked on the tiled floor. The host was
a
fr il
bu t good-natured old man, with a
pale countenance and slender hands,
which gave him an aristocratic air.
After saluting the master of the cot-
tage, the good old Yenko asked him at
once to show the picture of the famous
genius of the Yuan dyna sty. Yenko
afterward told me that he fel t at that
time as if the pictu re would vanish into
thin air if he missed the opportunity.
'The host consented with pleasure,
and ordered his servant to hang the
picture on the bar e wall of the cha m ber.
'" T h is is Autumn M ountains ," sa id
he.
' Good old Yenko gave vent to a f ai nt
cry of admiration at the first glance. A
soft tone of greenish gray pe rvad ed th e
whole picture, which represented ser-
pentine streams wandering through
scattered groups of houses or under
tiny bridges and a high peak of the
mountains looming up behind the vil-
lages. A band of floating cloud sur-
rounding the side of the m ountains was
painted with shades of chalk. Th e con-
tr as t of the vermilion of the dead leaves
of the woods with the delicate blue of
the mountains fresh from an early rain
was of indescribable charm . T he p er-
fection of touch and the magn ificence
of the composition gave the splendid
picture an air of vastness and serenity.
'Good old Yenko, dumb-struck and
absent-minded, looked at the picture.
The more closely he scrutinized it, the
more charms he saw.
'"How do you l ike i t?" asked the
owner with a smile.
' "A divine masterpiece," replied the
you ng ar tis t. " Surely no othe r work of
Huang can rival this ."
' " Rea lly ? D o you thin k t ha t it is his
mas te rp iece?"
'" W h y n ot ?" replied Yenko, won-
dering what made the owner doubt his
sincerity.
'"There is no part icular reason why
I should doubt the value of your criti-
cism, bu t . . . , " the host blushe d like
a maiden, and with a faint smile he
resum ed. " T o tell the tru th , every
time I look at the picture, I feel as if I
were dreaming with m y eyes open. It
is a charming picture, it is true, but I
wonder if it is I alone who find its
charm,—• if other peo ple have t he same
impression; because it is no more than
a worthless piece of painting to many
people, too charming to be appreciated
by mortal eyes? I don't know what is
th e caus e of the stran ge feeling of doubt
which I experience before the picture.
This is why I asked your opinion."
'B u t Yenko paid no at ten tion. M any
years passed since I heard the story
from Yenko, when I heard a rumor
th a t Wan g had secured the picture. I
rejoiced at the rumor, for I found the
picture had not yet been lost and I
could have an opp ortu nity to see it . I
has tene d to Chincha ng to call on Wang
and asked him to show me the picture.
'M r . W ang with an air of tr iumph
said, " I expect to-d ay our Yen ko and
Hsiangpi at my house, but I must first
show you the picture."
. ' So saying h e hung the picture on
th e wall. Th e groups of houses dotted
w ith the red of dead leaves, th e streams;
the white clouds filling the valleys; the
blue peak s of m ountain s looming in the
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A U T U M N M O U N T A I N S
339
d is tance . . . a m in ia tu re l andscape
most delicate and most charm ing, l ike
tha t described, and by H ua ng Tai-chih,
was before m y eyes. Pa lpita t ing with
delight, I fixed my eyes on it and
pondered.
' Surely it was draw n b y Hu an g; no
one can excel him in the p ow er of touch
and the splendor of color. B ut -— bu t it
is no t th e . pictu re wh ich Yen ko saw
at the house of M r. Ch ang . I t is an-
other work of Huang, inferior to that.
' I was surrounded by M r. Wan g an d
other guests, who were eagerly strain-
ing their ears to catch the first word of
criticism fro m m y lips. I had m ade a
painful effort in vain no t to betr ay m y
disappointment, for M r. W ang asked
impat ient ly :
" ' H o w do you l ike i t ?"
'I had to reply, "A divine master-
piece. I t is no wo nder th a t our honor-
able Yenko was transported by ad-
mirat ion at i t ."
'Mr. Wang seemed reassured, but
still his lowered eye-brows indicated a
shade of discontent . Ju st at tha t mo-
ment the good old Yenko entered the
room with his countenance brightened
up with a smile.
' " I saw the picture a t a desolate cot-
tage of Mr. Chang fifty years ago,"
said he. "N ow it is an e xceptional
pleasure for me to find th e sam e p icture
at this splendid mansion of our honor-
able hos t , Mr. Wang."
'With that he looked up at the
painting. Whether the picture was the
same one which he had seen at Cha ng's
or not depended on his judg m ent. W e
fixed our eyes on him . T o our gre at
astonishment his countenance clouded
over.
'Silence reigned. Mr. Wang timidly
asked, "H o w do you find it? Ou r
honorable Tan-ku has just given his
high opinion on it, b u t. . . ."
'Secretly I was afraid of his frank
opinion. B ut he replied in the m ost
cordial m anner, " I con gra tulate you on
having such a valuable treasure to add
to the glory of your eollection."
'But Mr. Wang's countenance be-
came darker than before, when, to our
great relief, Mr. Hsiangpi arrived.
'"Is it the picture? he asked simply
and fixed his eyes upon it. H e was
silent for some minutes, biting his
moustache.
'" Our honorable Yenko saw it fifty
years ago," rem arked M r. W ang, whose
anxiety did not allow him remain
silent. " W ell, m ay I ask y our opinion ?"
'T h e teach er of painting heaved a
sigh and did not lift his eyes from the
picture. '
' " I should be mu ch obliged to know
your opin ion on the p ic tu re . . . " M r .
W ang urged him w ith a forced smile on
his lips.
" 'Y o u mean . . . you mean this
pictu re . . . this . . ." stam m ered he.
'"W el l, yes, it is. How . . .? "
' " This . . . this is . . . is the best
picture ever drawn by H uang — jus t
look at this touch, these black and
white clouds. What power, what
vividness T h e tone of the woods is th e
m anif estatio n of divine genius. Look
at that mountain, a single touch of the
brush illuminates the whole composi-
tion."
'Our honorable Hsiangpi, who had
been silent, suddenly turned his face to
Mr. Wang and began to speak, point-
ing out beauties and giving credit to
the genius of the distinguished master
of the Y uan period. I exchanged a look
secretly w ith Yenko and asked, "R ea lly
is it that picture?" at which he shook
his head a t m e with a stra ng e expression.
'"E ve ry th in g is l ike a dream ," said
he. " I w onder if the owner of th e pic-
ture, M r. C hang, was an incarn ation of
the fox-spirit ."
' This is the story of the pic ture
Autumn Mountains, ' said Wang Tai-
chih, takin g up the cup of tea. 'M r .
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340
T H E P R O F I T E E R
Wang made an inves t iga t ion af te rward
but no o ther p ic ture was found.
Whether our honorable Yenko saw a
copy of the same picture or i t was the
fa ul t of his m em ory , I d on ' t know, b ut
at an y ra te it i s t ru e th at he vis i ted th e
house of Mr. Chang. '
' B ut th e impression of the pictu re he
saw there remains as vivid as ever in
the m ind of our ho no rab le Yen ko. . .
' Ye s, I m yself can see it as viv idly as
he saw it there. '
' T he n there is no need of ou r regret -
t ing, i f the genuine picture was lost . '
T he tw o ar t is ts , c lapping their hand s,
laughed.
[Heraldo de Madrid (Liberal D ail y) ,
December Jf\
T H E P R O F I T E E R
B Y L U I S A N T O N D E L O L M E T
[The following article is from a prominent
'bourgeois' newspaper.]
L O O K a t h im Th ere he goes down
the s t reet , that ta l l , vigorous, def iant
looking ma n. N ot e the grea t wr inkle
across his fac e. I t looks l ike a s car .
In de ed i t is one. I t is th e scar of mo ral
combat — a memento of war — a fur -
row plowed by sleepless nigh ts. F or
yo ur prof i teer is no t a hap py m an . .
Whenever he moves , the varni sh
fai r ly crackles . H is tw en ty dol lar
shoes squeak; his si lk socks sparkle;
h is bra nd new overco at rus tl es . T he
prof i teer shines ou t f ro m every angle —
from his r ing, his scarf pin, and his
watch cha in .
H e walks wi th an abs t rac ted a i r , bu t
he is real ly embarrassed and sel f -con-
scious. H e does no t enjoy his we al th.
I t ham pers and chokes him. And a t
hear t he is s t i l l unsat isf ied, aspir ing
for things he wil l never have, e ternal-
ly d i scontented , torm ented [by the
unat ta inable .
To what does he owe his for tune?
People commonly say to h i s bold ven-
ture s . Befo re th e wa r , he owned a
l i t t le vessel . He juggled i t out of a
ba nk ru pt cy . At once he pu t i t in ser -
vice, t rading with the All ies , a t enor-
mo us ch a r t e r ra t e s . Ev e ry tr i p b rough t
him a for tun e . W i th in six m on ths he
was a l re ad y a we al thy man . B ut his
av ar ice took a la rm . Germ an sub-
m ar ine s Th ey mig ht torped o h is
vessel . So un der cover of darkn ess , he
got in touch wi th German spies and
offered to supply gasol ine to their U-
boats in exchange for immuni ty .
H is of fer was acce pted . H e was able
to car ry to England food and muni -
t ions . B u t the very s team er th a t de-
l ivered these cargoes in Brit ish ports,
would hal t on the high seas in the
myster ious hours of the night to supply
the submar ine p i ra tes wi th fue l and
arms to commit the i r c r imes
How many t imes , when repor t s of a
new torpedoing arr ived with their l i s ts
of human vict ims, did this prof i teer
m ed i ta te : I d id i t I d id i t
So his double prof i ts mul t ipl ied his
for tune , and made h im speedi ly a b ig
bus iness man. He bought two or three
addi t ional vessels , and playing both
sides of the game, deal ing s imul tane-
ously w ith t he Allies an d th eir enem ies,
be t raying the men to whom he owed
h is fo r tun e , he accum ula t ed unbounded
w eal th . T he i ll - favored , shabbi ly-
dressed bankrupt was conver ted in to a
brand new plu tocra t , not by the l abor
of his hands, not by his business fore-
s ight and abi l i ty, but by his readiness
to be t r ay and b y the d epth , to which
his avar ice would s toop.
He bought houses , founded banks ,
scattered his gold in many l ines of busi-
ness l ike the tentacles of an enormous,
gree dy oc topus . W hen the wa r was
ove r and t he oppor tun i t y fo r abnor -
mal prof i ts passed, his revenues con-
t inued to be bount i fu l .
T h
e r e u
P
o n
he began to lead an
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