“Would you dance with me?” | The Ball — Ryūnosuke Akutagawa | Audiobook

On the night of November 3, Meiji 19 (1886), seventeen-year-old Akiko climbs the broad, gaslit staircase of the Rokumeikan with her father, between deep rows of chrysanthemums, to her first ball. She dances, she is asked to dance again, and a young officer in a foreign uniform offers her his arm. This is “The Ball” (「舞踏会」), a short story by Ryūnosuke Akutagawa (1892–1927), first published in 1920. Japan Lit Lantern reads it aloud in a new English translation. Viewer note: a work of fiction from 1920 about a night in the Meiji era. The original contains expressions of its time that may be considered inappropriate today. They are translated faithfully as part of the work. Japan Lit Lantern brings Japanese classics into English: newly translated, read aloud, and illustrated. Subscribe for the next story. Credits Original work: 「舞踏会」 (The Ball) by Ryūnosuke Akutagawa (芥川龍之介, 1892–1927), first published in 1920 English translation: Japan Lit Lantern (new translation) Narration: AI voices (Google Cloud Text-to-Speech) Illustrations: AI-generated with Krea 2 Turbo (LoRA “Aesthetic Quality Modifiers – Masterpiece” by motimalu) Thumbnail and opening image: created with OpenAI image generation Ending jingle made with Suno. Ending card made with ChatGPT. Japanese source text: Aozora Bunko, card no. 28 (file 28_15270.html, input: j.utiyama; proofreading: 野口英司), based on 『現代日本文学大系43 芥川龍之介集』 (筑摩書房, 1968) https://www.aozora.gr.jp/cards/000879... Aozora Bunko card data is licensed under CC BY 4.0. Aozora Bunko is not affiliated with this video. English translation, narration and video © 2026 Japan Lit Lantern. No rights are claimed in Akutagawa’s original Japanese text. #JapaneseLiterature #JapaneseShortStory #Audiobook