アグニの神論

Abstract

This is a short children's（）tory that was pu（）ished in the magazine "Akai Tori" in 1921. Ryunosuke Akutagawa left behind nine children's stories in his lifetime.For Akutagawa, fairy tales were meant to pique the interest of children and to contain themes that showed children the rewarding of good and the punishment of evil.The story of "Agninokami" also depicts a morality tale in which Agni punishes and kills an old Indian woman with a bad appearance, returning Taeko to her father.Taeko is the daughter of the Japanese consul in Hong Kong, but is kidnapped by an old woman and used by her witchcraft.The old woman uses Taeko as a way to make money for herself, and what's more, she exploits the young, innocent Taeko.However, the Japanese gods and the God Agni each play their role and Taeko is able to escape safely from the old woman.The author, Akutagawa, places great importance on the harmony between the two gods, the "Japanese Gods" and the "God of Agni." At the beginning of the work, Akutagawa alludes to the conflict between the two countries by asking "When will there be a war between Japan and the United States?", but at the end of the work, he puts off the answer.This is nothing other than the sublimation of harmony rather than a clash between the two countries. This work is based on the "God Agni" and the "Japanese gods", and shows a mutual harmony between Japan and foreign countries, and Japanese culture and foreign culture, rather than a conflict or clash.