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文豪ストレイドッグス: Rewriting literary masters

A deep dive into how real life writers are portrayed in BSD

Bungou Stray Dogs is a popular seinen manga series written by Kafka Asagiri (Japanese:朝霧カフカ) , illustrated by Sango Harukawa. The series has been serialized since 2012 in the Kadokawa Shoten’s seinen manga magazine known as Young Ace. Kafka drew a lot of inspiration from Japanese author Shusaku Endou’s work, mainly Ryuugaku (留学, "Foreign Studies"). His idea was to take multiple famed authors and poets from the late period, turn them into teenagers and young adults and give them supernatural powers based on their literary works.

The story revolves around two characters, Nakajima Atsushi and Dazai Osamu, who both work at the Armed Detective Agency. Naturally, everyone in the Agency is what they call “ability users”– people with supernatural powers. It all starts with Atsushi, who after being kicked out of his orphanage wanders around the streets ceaselessly. By pure coincidence he stumbles upon a drowning Dazai and decides to save him after much pondering. After their encounter, Atsushi discovers that he, just like Dazai, is an ability user. He learns that his dangerous ability was the reason as to why he got abused and kicked out of the orphanage; he can turn into a white tiger beast under the moonlight (a reference to Nakajima’s work “山月記 – Sangetsuki –The Moon Over the Mountain”). Following their confrontation, Dazai decides to recruit Atsushi into their Agency. At the Agency, Atsushi and the rest take on various cases and come face to face with the local Mafioso in Yokohama: the Port Mafia. An influential mafia organization filled with extremely capable Ability users.

However, that’s not all. They even have to save the city of Yokohama multiple times. It turns out that the ADA (short for Armed Detective Agency) not only provides detective services but they also are a powerful organization in charge of protecting not only Yokohama but also the world on multiple occasions. 

Sounds wack and complicated, I know. But Asagiri’s great writing makes this somewhat complex setting work. I encourage you to give this series a chance when you have the time.

The series is full of philosophical ideologies, and the characters themselves are written around certain ideological movements. In short, the story itself is one that is supposed to make you sit still for a moment and think; mainly about “justice and who or what is on the enemy side of evil” (a direct quote from Asagiri himself). This manga is best enjoyed when you are well versed in not only literature but also philosophy. Kafka uses the themes of contradiction, opposites and yin-yang a lot in his work. A bunch of the characters are opposites of one another, which can be seen not only in their design but also their writing. The idea of “opposite sides of the same coin” is repeated throughout the story, notably with the protagonist Nakajima Atsushi and antagonist Akutagawa Ryunosuke (nicknamed “the Mad Dog of the Port Mafia”). Both grew up as orphans; Atsushi in the orphanage and Ryunosuke on the streets, yet both of them ended up taking completely opposite paths in life. This is also reflected in their character designs, but more about that later.

Not only are the characters opposites in relations with each other, but so are the characters and their real life counterparts. Asagiri makes use of conflicting characteristics to draw a clear line between the real writers and the ones he has written. Certain relationships with the real life authors are also reversed in Asagiri’s world. Take for example Edgar Allan Poe and Edogawa Ranpo. In our world, Edogawa was a huge fan of Edgar, so much so that he dedicated his pen name to the Gothic author. Edogawa Ranpo is the japanese phonetic spelling of Edgar Allan Poe with some minute changes: Edoga Aran Poe. Contrary to real life, however, it is Poe that looks up to and is a fan of Ranpo. Both are renowned detectives in the story, a nod to how both wrote detective stories in real life. Another example is the relationship between Akutagawa Ryunosuke and Dazai Osamu. In Bungou Stray Dogs, it is Ryunosuke who looks up to Osamu like a crazed fanatic; his one purpose in life is to make Osamu proud. This is a direct contradiction to real life, where Dazai looked up to Akutagawa. So much so that when Akutagawa committed suicide, he turned to a life of alcohol and prostitution. It’s details like this that make Asagiri’s extensive knowledge about these authors and philosophies visible.

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Literacy and Orality: The story of a white tiger

From this point onwards, to make things easier, I will be referring to the fictional character as Atsushi and the real life author as Nakajima. Nakajima was known for his opinions regarding literacy and orality. His most known work, “山月記”/Sangetsuki”, which Atsushi is based on, talks about this dilemma. The main protagonist in the novel, a certain Li Cheng, turns mad and slowly becomes a white, man-eating tiger. However, it is not an immediate transformation; he does not become a beast instantaneously. Rather, it is a long process in which he loses his human consciousness piece by piece. It is in this fact that the real tragedy lies. The work itself contains certain gothic elements, notably the fact that the human personality is seen in balance. After all, every human has both good and bad aspects to them.

The story revolves around Li Cheng, an elite bureaucrat who leaves everything behind to devote his life to his true passion: poetry. This choice ultimately results in his downfall since it makes him turn into a tiger and lose all of his literacy, his knowledge. He is made aware of his transformation since he retains his human mind for most of it, which is what causes him to hurt the most. Humans and small forest animals are all afraid of him and see him as the beast he looks like on the outside and not as the kind, literate man he really is deep inside. You could compare this storyline to gothic novels, such as Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. In both works, the main protagonist is outcast and shunned by society because of the way they look, which is in direct opposition with how they are on the inside. Frankenstein’s monster is feared by society and even his own father rejects him. Nobody listens to Li Cheng’s woes after his transformation, not even small critters.

The same goes for Atsushi, who was abused at the orphanage and tortured by the director. He was called a monster, someone that cannot save anyone and only knows how to cause pain to others. The latter was told to him to such a frequent extent that Atsushi now fully believes that to be the case.

The suffering of these three characters does not stem from the fact they are being treated badly, but rather that they are made aware of it. After all, one cannot know what “suffering” is if they do not know what “suffering” means. What I’m trying to say is that their literacy, their ability to have critical thought, and their knowledge is what makes them so sensible to their pain. Essentially, their exterior (their outward appearance) and their interior (mind, heart) are clashing and results in suffering. If Li Cheng fully transformed into a tiger without keeping his human consciousness (=interior), he would not have had the literate ability to express his suffering in words and therefore his misery would not exist. Same goes for Frankenstein’s monster; had he not gained knowledge through eavesdropping on conversations, he would not have gained literacy and as a consequence would not suffer. Their literate ability results in them being able to recognize the injustice and pain they are experiencing. The real curse is not being a monster or turning into one, rather, it is knowledge.

Atsushi as a character represents this battle between literacy and orality. Similar to Li Cheng and Frankenstein’s monster, he also has been treated unfairly and like a monster throughout his life. This causes Atsushi to view his Ability, which is an allegory for literacy, as a curse. These two sides are at constant odds with one another, which is portrayed by the fact Atsushi cannot control his ability yet. He does not know how to use his knowledge and literacy in a good manner.

Which brings me to my next point. The discordance between literacy and orality was not the only topic Nakajima wrote about. In his work “悟浄出世/Gojo Shusse”, Xuan Zang, a river monster symbolizing Nakajima himself, dwells on questions such as what the meaning of life is. “What am I? Who am I? What is my worth?” such questions haunt him. One day, he sets on finding an answer to all of these and goes on to visit many astrologists, physicians, etc… But none of them have the answers he is looking for. Xuan’s venture does teach him a valuable lesson, however: “You should try to develop your unknown self rather than engage in fruitless issues/questions regarding abstract meaning.” After listening to this lesson delivered by the Bodhisattva, Xuang transforms into a human. This is a direct contrast to Li Cheng’s story wherein he transforms into a tiger, a beast. The difference lies in how they use their literacy. Whereas Li Cheng only realizes how to properly use his literacy moments before he fully transforms, Xuan-Zang manages to apply his knowledge properly which results in him becoming human. His exterior appearance, which used to be that of a monster, changes to fit his interior, which is that of a literate human being. I prefer to call this idea “enlightenment”. Nakajima’s enlightenment bears similarities to “orality”, since enlightened people remain pure despite having taken a bite out of the forbidden apple that is literacy and knowledge. Though, this is paired with a strong will and determination. Hence, this “enlightenment” is in actuality just… “well used literacy”. So, according to Nakajima, the same literacy that detaches people from reality (like it happened with Li Cheng), can enable them to overcome their flaws of speculative tendency and help them in growing morally as a person. 

I think Atsushi needs to do the same as Xuan in order to truly break away from the shackles of his past, and therefore rid himself of his pain. Because like I have mentioned countless times before, his pain stems from the disharmony between these two sides. At any given instant, his exterior and interior are not matching. Either he transforms into a tiger and remains a human on the inside, or he is a human but the tiger is inside of him. He has to go on a morally challenging journey in which he comes to realize that only he can prove and decide the worth of his life. As of now, this has yet to happen. The Director of the ADA, Fukuzawa Yukichi, provides temporary relief to Atsushi which is why he is seemingly able to control his Ability. Fukuchi’s ability, “All Men Are Equal” allows him to suppress the Abilities of the members in the Detective Agency. This makes it easier for the members to use their Abilities. I’d like to think of this as some sort of ignorance. They do say that ignorance is bliss, after all.

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Morality and Immorality: The story of a black dragon

Akutagawa Ryunosuke is no doubt my favorite character from the series and I cannot help but sympathize with him. Hell, I even see a bit of myself in him. His backstory is one of the most interesting to me. I’ll be following the same naming logic as I did with Atsushi. The character I will refer to as Ryunosuke, and the real life author I will refer to as Akutagawa.

Akutagawa is often referred to as the father of short stories. Ryunosuke is based on two of his most famous works; 羅生門/Rashomon and 蜘蛛の糸/The Spider’s Thread, both of which tackle morality as a topic. In Rashomon, an ex-servant of a samurai is left with 2 choices: either starve to death or steal (note that this is directly parallel to Atsushi, who in the BSD-storyline starts off with the same dilemma!). Arriving in front of the Rajomon gate, he decides to climb up the staircase. At the top of the stairs he sees an old woman. Upon taking a closer look, he notices that the woman is carefully plucking the hair strands of a female corpse. The protagonist, absolutely repulsed by this action, shouts at the old woman. He tells her that she is committing “an unpardonable crime”, forgetting the fact that just a moment ago he himself was contemplating thievery. The old hag justifies her actions by explaining how the dead woman used to scam people; she sold snake meat and passed it off as dried fish to unsuspecting soldiers. Anyhow, the elder empathizes with this deception, for it was done out of necessity. After all, does simply wanting to live not justify the wrongdoings? While listening to this, the servant finds the solution to his problem that he was facing earlier. He concludes that it is alright for him to steal if it is necessary for his survival. If the old woman can, why can’t he? He applies the same logic the hag uses to his situation and the story ends with him stealing her kimono. The old woman is left all alone, staring into the abyss, signifying that one cannot find fulfillment in life by stealing. It is only a downward spiral. 

Ryunosuke follows the same logic as the servant and the old woman. As a member of the Port Mafia, and the designated “mad dog” of the organization, his job is to kill all who get in the way of the mafia. Still, he doesn’t kill because he enjoys the act. Neither does he laugh maniacally while doing it, unlike some of his colleagues (mainly Motojiro Kajii). Of course, this is all due to his upbringing in the slums and the teachings of Osamu, the latter of which manipulated him and warped his worldviews completely. Growing up in the slums, a very hostile environment where survival solely depends on your luck, it was made clear to him that human life was not valued. He sees no value in life, because life itself sees no value in him. Throughout his childhood he has been treated as disposable, worthless, of no use. Osamu, after taking Ryunosuke under his wing, did nothing to change this view on life (mostly due to the fact that he shared the same opinion as his subordinate). Essentially, he views all life as equally worthless and that is why he can kill. What is the difference between the life of a child in the slums and that of a child in the city? Why can one die, but the other one cannot? Why does society care more for the child born in the city?

Murder is Ryunosuke’s paradoxal attempt at giving life, his life, meaning. He’s trying to prove that his life doesn’t only consist of misery and pain. In Ryunosuke’s world, everyone is struggling to get by so people take what they can from others, which is the main theme of Rashomon. He follows this mindset by killing and becoming the strongest. This is frowned upon by the story which is made clear by the last line wherein the woman stares in the darkness. We could draw parallels to Fyodor Dostoevsky’s “Crime and Punishment”, where Raskolnikov, a law student, commits a murder and looks for a way to justify what he has done. He uses the same logic as the ex-servant: “I can kill this fraudulent pawnbroker cause I need the money and she is a bad person.”

The second work which Ryunosuke seems to be based off of, is The Spider’s Thread. The protagonist, Kandata, has led a life full of crime and ends up in hell because of this. Despite that, in his life he did one, albeit small, good deed; he had spared the life of a single spider. This results in the Buddha sending a thin spider thread to hell, one which he can use to climb out of there. Kandata immediately rejoices and starts climbing the thread. But as he climbs, he notices others are trying to climb after him. Scared that the fragile thread will snap under the combined weight of everyone, he starts shaking the rope. Ultimately, the spider’s thread breaks because of his efforts to throw everyone off. What actually kept Kandata from reaching salvation was his lack of empathy for the suffering of others. This also is the case for Ryunosuke who does not seem to notice other people’s misery, notably Atsushi’s. He just does not get why Atsushi is the one chosen by Osamu, and by extension the one that got ‘salvation’. It is incomprehensible to him how others can receive help and get saved, everyone but him. It is exactly this selfishness that makes redemption impossible for him. In order for Ryunosuke to get what he so desperately longs for, he must first learn to see and empathize with the suffering of others.

In my opinion, there is a third book that fits Ryunosuke’s character. It is “La Divina Commedia” by Dante Alighieri. The story is an allegory for a sinner who has recognized his wrongdoings and is repenting. In the end, the sinner finds redemption and reaches heaven. Now, if we compare this to Ryunosuke’s character development we see a lot of similarities. He starts off as a crazed killer, taking the lives of others to give value to his own. But as Atsushi confronts him and his ideals more and more, he starts refraining from killing. He doesn’t unnecessarily kill anymore because instead of looking for answers through murder, he now is looking for them in Atsushi. At one point he even promises to Atsushi to not kill anyone for 6 months, a promise he keeps. In chapter 87 of the manga, he even sacrifices his *own life* to save his enemy, his rival; Atsushi. This is a major development, because as I have made clear, Ryunosuke is selfish. He does not see the pain of others. But just this once, he did, he saw Atsushi and he selflessly saved him. Personally, I would love it if Ryu followed the same premise as The Divine Comedy. 

The similarities do not end there! Ryunosuke’s Ability, Rashomon, makes him able to control and manipulate the cloth of his jacket. Rashomon is black and has a red glow to it; two colors that are important in the writings of Akutagawa. You see, Akutagawa suffered from many illnesses which made him very sensitive when it came to colors. Black, in particular, he associated with the sinners’ souls of Dante’s hell, while red he linked with blood and death. I’d like to think that this pairs up with the idea that Ryunosuke did not fall into hell, he was born there. This is one thing that separates him from the protagonists of the three aforementioned books.

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Yin-Yang: when the black dragon and white tiger meet

The yin-yang is a major and recurring motif in the story of BSD. Many characters are each other's complementary opposites. The main duo, Atsushi and Ryunosuke, are no exception. You cannot talk about one without having to mention the other: they are a package deal. These two are linked on multiple levels, not only with their writing but also their designs are perfect mirrors of one another. I have highlighted all the similarities in their designs in the image below.

Ryunosuke’s Ability, Rashomon, is represented by the color red. Meanwhile Atsushi’s Beast Beneath the Moonlight has a blue aura to it. These two colors are placed exactly oppositely on the color wheel, a hint to their yin-yang symbolism. Their hair is another hint, Ryunosuke has black hair with white ends; Atsushi has white hair with a black streak. Where Ryunosuke has white cuffs and a white collar, Atsushi has black gloves and a black tie. This might sound like a stretch, but Ryunosuke has 2 long sidebangs whereas Atsushi has 1 sidebang. 2 is often considered a ‘feminine’ number while 1 is considered ‘masculine’. The yin, the black side of the emblem, is said to be the feminine part, whilst yang, the white side, is supposedly masculine. Even their belts reflect this: Ryunosuke has 2 sides falling and Atsushi has only 1 side that is loose. My favorite detail lies in their eyes: Ryunosuke has dark gray eyes, similar to the color of the night sky. This is because the Port Mafia resides over Yokohama in the nighttime. Ryu is therefore the guardian of the night. Atsushi has sunset colored eyes because the ADA operates and resides over Yokohama during twilight; he is the guardian of the day. Ryunosuke’s name also means “son of dragon”, and Rashomon bears resemblance to a black dragon. Opposite to this, Atsushi is a white tiger.

The yin-yang is an emblematic of valuational equality, meaning that both sides are of equal importance. These two sides, however, used to exist separately before being combined into one. It can be interpreted in three ways:

as the coherent fabric of nature and mind, exhibited in all existence,

jiao (=interaction) between the waxing and waning,

 as the process of harmonization, ensuring a constant dynamic balance of all.

I think that the third definition is the one that fits Shin Soukoku (“New Double Black– codename for the duo consisting of Atsushi and Ryunosuke).

Ryunosuke represents the yin side, aka the black one. Things often associated with the yin are; darkness, death, femininity, cold, moon, passivity. This is a pretty spot on description of Ryunosuke, who has all of the aforementioned elements in his character. Even the passivity; due to his bad condition, his Ability is best used when supporting someone else, thus when playing a passive role in combat.

The yang, aka the white side, is represented by Atsushi. Light, life, masculinity, warmth, sun, activity are things often associated with it, which is another spot on description of the character. Beast Beneath the Moonlight is a great combat Ability and is best used actively in a fight. It also allows for Atsushi to regenerate any wounds, for this reason, unlike Rashomon it does not bring death but life.

Shin Soukoku is, however, not opposite forces of each other. They are of equal value (=yinyang) and even carry characteristics of the other one. Instead of competing against, they must find a balance and harmonize with one another. Both of their views on life are vastly different, but both are equally bad for their own mental health, and it is through this difference that they will challenge each other and finally grow as people. For clarification, Atsushi is super selfless and throws away his life on a whim to save anyone. By doing this, he hopes that he can earn the right to live. Ryunosuke believes the contrary, only by killing everyone and becoming the strongest can he earn the right to live and find value in doing so. They need to work together to move on from their past traumas. In a way, they are both each other’s pupils and mentors; they learn from one another and also teach things to the other. By constantly challenging each others’ mindsets, they are able to change and mature and even empathize with each others’ suffering. In short: they are one another's salvation. Quite poetic, in my opinion.

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Bibliography

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Cheng, Ching-mao. “Chinese History in the Writings of Nakajima Atsushi.” The Journal of the Association of Teachers of Japanese 8, no. 1 (1972): 45–57. https://doi.org/10.2307/489092.

“COLOR SYMBOLISM IN SCENERY DESCRIPTIONS OF RYUNOSUKE AKUTAGAWA’S STORIES AND NOVELLAS.” Ulakbilge Sosyal Bilimler Dergisi 3, no. 6 (2015): 147–54. https://www.ceeol.com/search/article-detail?id=685241.

Mambrol, Nasrullah. “Analysis of Dante’s Divine Comedy.” Literary Theory and Criticism, February 20, 2021. https://literariness.org/2021/02/20/analysis-of-dantes-divine-comedy/.

Martinsen, Deborah A. “Dostoevsky’s ‘Crime and Punishment’: A Reader’s Guide.” In Dostoevsky’s “Crime and Punishment.” Academic Studies Press, 2022. https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/9781644697856/html.

Rahman, Aulia, and Fakhria Nesa. “Akutagawa Ryunosuke’s Repertoire in the Short Story ‘Rashomon.’” IZUMI 12, no. 1 (June 24, 2023): 13–21. https://doi.org/10.14710/izumi.12.1.13-21.

“Rashomon (Rashomon) by Akutagawa Ryunosuke, 1917 | Encyclopedia.Com.” Accessed December 23, 2023. https://www.encyclopedia.com/arts/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/rashomon-rashomon-akutagawa-ryunosuke-1917.

“Ryūnosuke Akutagawa.” In Wikipedia, December 4, 2023. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ry%C5%ABnosuke_Akutagawa&oldid=1188313788.

“Yin and Yang.” In Wikipedia, December 10, 2023. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Yin_and_yang&oldid=1189158334.

“Yinyang (Yin-Yang) | Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy.” Accessed December 23, 2023. https://iep.utm.edu/yinyang/.