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{{Short description|1915 short story by Ryūnosuke Akutagawa}}
'''"Rashōmon"''' (羅生門) is a short story by ] based on tales from the ].
{{Infobox Book | <!-- See Misplaced Pages:WikiProject_Novels or Misplaced Pages:WikiProject_Books -->
| name = Rashōmon
| title_orig = {{lang|ja|羅生門|i=no}}
| translator = ]
| author = ]
| country = ]
| language = ]
| genre = ]
| publisher = ]
| pub_date = 1915
| english_pub_date =
| pages =
| media_type = Print
}}


{{nihongo|'''''Rashōmon'''''|羅生門}} is a ] by ] based on tales from the '']''.
The story was published in 1915 in ]. Together with '']'', it provided the plot material for the ] movie '']''.


The story was first published in 1915 in '']''. ]'s film '']'' (1950) is in fact based primarily on another of Akutagawa's short stories, "]"; only the film's title and some of the material for the frame scenes, such as the theft of a kimono and the discussion of the moral ambiguity of thieving to survive, are borrowed from "Rashōmon".
{{spoiler}}


==Plot summary==
The story recounts the encounter between a fired servant and a poor woman, who is robbing hair from the dead bodies left in the dilapidated ].
The story recounts the encounter between a servant and an old woman in the dilapidated ], the southern gate of the then-ruined city of ], where unclaimed corpses were sometimes dumped. The current name of the gate in the story, but not the plot, comes from the ] play '']'' (c. 1420).


The man, just fired, contemplates whether to starve to death or to steal to survive in the barren times. Hearing a noise upstairs he encounters the woman, is disgusted, and decides then that he would take the path of rightousness even if it meant starving. He is furious with the woman. The man, a lowly servant recently fired, is contemplating whether to starve to death or to become a thief to survive in the barren times. He goes upstairs, after noticing some firelight there, and encounters a woman who is stealing hair from the dead bodies on the second floor. He is disgusted, and decides then that he would rather take the path of righteousness even if it meant starvation. He is furious with the woman.


But the old woman tells him that she steals hair to make wigs so she can survive. In addition, the woman whose body she is currently robbing cheated people in her life by selling snake meat and claiming it was fish. The old woman says that this was not wrong because it allowed the woman to survive -- and so in turn this entitles her to steal from the dead person, because if she doesn't, she will starve. The man responds "Then, it is right for me to steal from you too. If I don't, I will starve." He then brutally robs the woman of her ] and disappears into the night. The last line is "Nobody knows the man's whereabouts." But the old woman tells him that she steals hair to make ]s, so she can survive. In addition, the woman who she is currently robbing cheated people in her life by selling snake meat and claiming it was fish. The old woman says that this was not wrong because it allowed the woman to survive — and so in turn this entitles her to steal from the dead person, because if she doesn't, she too will starve. The man responds: "You won't blame me, then, for taking your clothes. That's what I have to do to keep from starving to death". He then brutally robs the woman of her robe and disappears into the night.

==Popular culture==
The story itself also plays a part in the 1999 movie '']'', directed by ].

The story is the inspiration for an ] tune of the same name composed by Japanese instrumental guitarist ] and originally played by Japanese instrumental rock group Takeshi Terauchi & Blue Jeans on their 1972 album, ''Rashomon''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://rateyourmusic.com/release/album/takeshi_terauchi_and_the_blue_jeans/%E7%BE%85%E7%94%9F%E9%96%80__rashomon_/|title=羅生門 (Rashōmon) by 寺内タケシとブルージーンズ &#91;Takeshi Terauchi & the Blue Jeans&#93; - RYM/Sonemic}}</ref>

The manga '']'' features a character named after Akutagawa with heavy references to Rashōmon.

The story is assigned for Modern Japanese high school coursework and quoted in the manga '']''.{{Citation needed|date=December 2023}}

The 2017 graphic novel ''Rashomon: A Commissioner Heigo Kobayashi Case'' by Victor Santos is also inspired from the short stories of Akutagawa and the eponymous movie of Kurosawa as well as by the '']'' episode, rendered in the eponymous book by ].

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
⚫ * {{cite book|author=Murray, Giles|year=2003|title=Breaking into Japanese literature|publisher=Kodansha|isbn=4-7700-2899-7}} A bilingual book containing both "In a Grove" and "Rashōmon."


==External links== ==External links==
{{Portal|Japan|Novels}}
{{Wikisourcelang|ja|羅生門}}
* (archived)
⚫ * {{gutenberg|no=1982|name=Rashōmon}} {{in lang|ja}}
* at ] {{in lang|ja}}
* {{in lang|ja}}


{{Ryūnosuke Akutagawa}}
⚫ * {{gutenberg|no=1982|name=Rash&#333;mon'' (in Japanese)}}
{{In a Grove}}
⚫ *{{cite book|author=Murray, Giles|year=2003|title=Breaking into Japanese Literature |publisher=Kodansha|id=ISBN 4770028997}} A bilingual book with "In a Grove" & "Rashomon"
{{Authority control}}


{{DEFAULTSORT:Rashomon (Short Story)}}
{{story-stub}}
]
]
]
]
]
]
]

Latest revision as of 18:13, 27 November 2024

1915 short story by Ryūnosuke Akutagawa
Rashōmon
AuthorRyūnosuke Akutagawa
Original title羅生門
TranslatorIvan Morris
LanguageJapanese
GenreShort story
PublisherTeikoku Bungaku
Publication date1915
Publication placeJapan
Media typePrint

Rashōmon (羅生門) is a short story by Ryūnosuke Akutagawa based on tales from the Konjaku Monogatarishū.

The story was first published in 1915 in Teikoku Bungaku. Akira Kurosawa's film Rashomon (1950) is in fact based primarily on another of Akutagawa's short stories, "In a Grove"; only the film's title and some of the material for the frame scenes, such as the theft of a kimono and the discussion of the moral ambiguity of thieving to survive, are borrowed from "Rashōmon".

Plot summary

The story recounts the encounter between a servant and an old woman in the dilapidated Rashōmon, the southern gate of the then-ruined city of Kyoto, where unclaimed corpses were sometimes dumped. The current name of the gate in the story, but not the plot, comes from the Noh play Rashōmon (c. 1420).

The man, a lowly servant recently fired, is contemplating whether to starve to death or to become a thief to survive in the barren times. He goes upstairs, after noticing some firelight there, and encounters a woman who is stealing hair from the dead bodies on the second floor. He is disgusted, and decides then that he would rather take the path of righteousness even if it meant starvation. He is furious with the woman.

But the old woman tells him that she steals hair to make wigs, so she can survive. In addition, the woman who she is currently robbing cheated people in her life by selling snake meat and claiming it was fish. The old woman says that this was not wrong because it allowed the woman to survive — and so in turn this entitles her to steal from the dead person, because if she doesn't, she too will starve. The man responds: "You won't blame me, then, for taking your clothes. That's what I have to do to keep from starving to death". He then brutally robs the woman of her robe and disappears into the night.

Popular culture

The story itself also plays a part in the 1999 movie Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai, directed by Jim Jarmusch.

The story is the inspiration for an instrumental rock tune of the same name composed by Japanese instrumental guitarist Takeshi Terauchi and originally played by Japanese instrumental rock group Takeshi Terauchi & Blue Jeans on their 1972 album, Rashomon.

The manga Bungo Stray Dogs features a character named after Akutagawa with heavy references to Rashōmon.

The story is assigned for Modern Japanese high school coursework and quoted in the manga After the Rain.

The 2017 graphic novel Rashomon: A Commissioner Heigo Kobayashi Case by Victor Santos is also inspired from the short stories of Akutagawa and the eponymous movie of Kurosawa as well as by the forty-seven rōnin episode, rendered in the eponymous book by Jirō Osaragi.

References

  1. "羅生門 (Rashōmon) by 寺内タケシとブルージーンズ [Takeshi Terauchi & the Blue Jeans] - RYM/Sonemic".

Further reading

  • Murray, Giles (2003). Breaking into Japanese literature. Kodansha. ISBN 4-7700-2899-7. A bilingual book containing both "In a Grove" and "Rashōmon."

External links

Ryūnosuke Akutagawa
Short stories
Novels
Other
Ryūnosuke Akutagawa's "In a Grove" (1922)
Films
Literature
Other
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