The Nose (鼻, Hana) is a satirical short story by Ryūnosuke Akutagawa based on a thirteenth-century Japanese tale from the Uji Shūi Monogatari.
Zenchi Naigu, a Heian period Buddhist priest, is more concerned with diminishing his overly long, dangling nose than he is with studying and teaching the sūtras.
One autumn, a disciple reveals he has learned a new technique to shrink noses from a friend, a Chinese doctor who has become a high-ranking priest at the Chōrakuji temple in Kyoto.
This vanity eventually breeds disfigurement and a coldness from his peers,[6] recognizing Naigu's egotism taking precedence over his religious studies and teaching.
As is typical with Akutagawa, these inherently modern psychological themes are directly injected into ancient stories and myth.
[2]The story makes numerous references to the Buddhist scriptures, mentioning many characters from them, such as Mokuren, Sharihotsu, Ryūju, Memyō, and the Bodhisattvas.