An investigation by the Japanese Museum of Modern Literature has revealed that a book of French novels owned by the literary giant Ryunosuke Akutagawa contained pressed flowers, which have the flower language of love. Experts believe that this may be part of an exchange between Akutagawa and his first love, calling it ``a valuable discovery from a period of great turmoil in Akutagawa's life.''
Two pressed flowers were found in an English translation of French author Anatole France's romance novel ``The Red Lily'' during a survey of a collection of approximately 2,600 books donated by Akutagawa's family to the Museum of Modern Literature.
When botanical researchers examined the pressed flowers, they discovered that they were yellow flowers called ``Evening Primrose'' and ``Fennel'', which is also used as a medicinal herb.
Among these, "Evening Primrose" has the same flower language as "Evening Primrose", and the flower language is "faint love", and in the novel, the main character's love is fulfilled and it is sandwiched between scenes where he cries out, "I love you!" That is to say.
The date of July 12, 1914 is written on the mount of the pressed flower, and according to Associate Professor Yusuke Sawanishi of Ryukoku University, who participated in the investigation, Akutagawa was 22 years old at the time, and during this period, he was dating his first love. Since Akutagawa also mentioned this book in his letter, it is possible that Akutagawa included the pressed flowers during his interactions with the woman and lent the book to the woman.
Akutagawa did not marry this woman due to his family's opposition, and previous research suggests that these events led to the egoism later portrayed in Rashomon.
Associate Professor Sawanishi said, ``I was moved when I discovered this, as it happened during a period of great turmoil in Akutagawa's life.His failure to get along with his first love had a big impact on his later career as a writer.'' In that sense, the pressed flowers that were picked just before are thought to be in the process of increasing their feelings."
The pressed flowers and books will be on display at the Akutagawa Ryunosuke exhibition at the Museum of Modern Japanese Literature in Meguro, Tokyo, until June 8th.