IN A GROVE

Akutagawa Ryūnosuke
AKUTAGAWA RYŪNOSUKE
Akutagawa Ryūnosuke, pseudonym Chōkōdō
Shujin or Gaki,
born March 1, 1892, Tokyo, Japan—died July 24,
1927, Tokyo
 Prolific Japanese writer known especially for his
stories based on events in the Japanese past and
for his stylistic virtuosity
AKUTAGAWA RYŪNOSUKE
 Akutagawa is one of the most widely translated of all
Japanese writers, and a number of his stories have been
made into films.
The film classic Rashomon (1950), directed by Kurosawa Akira, is
based on a combination of Akutagawa’s story by that title and
another story of his, “Yabu no naka” (1921; “In a Grove”).
 His last important work, “Kappa” (1927), although a satiric
fable about elflike creatures (kappa), is written in the
mirthless vein of his last period and reflects his depressed
state at the time.
 Cause of death: Suicide
IN A GROVE
 “In a Grove” (藪の中Yabu no Naka) is a short story that was first
published in 1922 in the Japanese literature digest Shincho.
 The story deals with the murder of a samurai, whose body is
found in a bamboo grove near Kyoto, and the three varying
accounts of what led to his death.
 Each section clarifies some things about what the reader already
knows about the murder, but also creates confusion about
certain details, as one person contradicts another person’s
account.
 Akira Kurosawa used this story as the basis for the plot of his
award-winning movie Rashōmon.
THE WOODCUTTER
 The story begins with a woodcutter finding a man’s
body in the woods. The woodcutter states that the
man died from a single sword wound to the chest,
and the trampled leaves around the body suggest
that there was a violent struggle. However, there is
no other physical evidence nearby. There are no
weapons present, and no horses. The only objects
near the body are a single piece of rope and a comb,
both covered in the blood of the murder victim.
BUDDHIST PRIEST
 The story then shifts to the perspective of a travelling
Buddhist priest, who met the murdered man, who was
traveling with a woman on horseback, about a day
before the murder. The man is said to have been
carrying a sword, a bow, and a black quiver full of
arrows. However, all of these items, including the
woman’s horse (described as a tall palomino with a short
mane), were missing when the woodcutter found the
man’s body.
PAROLED PRISONER AS
BOUNTY HUNTER
 The next testimony comes from a paroled prisoner,
who is bound to work for the police in a manner
similar to a bounty hunter. He has captured a
notorious criminal named Tajomaru, who was injured
when he fell from a horse that matches the
description of the woman’s missing horse. He was
reported to be carrying a bow and a black quiver. The
bounty hunter states that this proves that Tajomaru
was the killer, but the victim’s sword is still missing.
THE OLD WOMAN
 The next witness is an old woman, who reveals she is
the mother of the missing girl. She describes her
daughter as a beautiful, strong-willed girl of nineteen
named Masago. The girl is married to Kanazawa no
Takehiro, a samurai from Wakasa, who is seven years
Masago’s senior. She describes her daughter as
innocent and says she has never been with a man
other than Takehiro. She ends by pleading with the
police to find her daughter.
TAJOMARU
 Further evidence comes from Tajomaru himself, as
he confesses to the police. He says he met the
couple on the road, and upon seeing Masago,
decided to rape her. In order to do so, he planned to
separate the couple. Luring Takehiro away with
hints of buried treasure, he attacked him, tying him
to a tree and filling his mouth with leaves. He then
went after Masago. She saw her husband tied up
and tried to stab Tajomaru, but he knocked away
the knife and raped her.
TAJOMARU
. After the rape, she begged Tajomaru to either kill
himself or kill her husband, so that only one man
would know her shame. She promised to leave
with the survivor. Tajomaru agreed, untying
Takehiro so they could have a proper sword fight.
While they dueled, Masago fled. Tajomaru took
advantage of Takehiro’s confusion, killed him, and
took his sword, bow, and quiver, along with
Masago’s horse. He sold the sword along the way.
MASAGO
 She claims that Tajomaru fled after the rape, and that her
husband, still tied to the tree, looked at her with disgust.
She was ashamed, and wished to die, but she wanted her
husband to die with her. He agreed, or at least she thought
he did, because his mouth was still filled with leaves. So
she plunged her dagger into his chest. She then cut his
bonds and fled into the woods, where she attempted to
commit suicide. However, she says she was unable to die,
because her spirit was too strong. She breaks down crying.
TAKEHIRO’S SPIRIT
 He claims that Tajomaru persuaded Masago to leave
her husband and marry him. She agreed, but told him
that he must kill Takehiro. Tajomaru was disgusted,
and asked Takehiro if he should kill her for her
dishonor. Masgo, hearing this, fled into the forest.
Tajomaru cut Takehiro’s bonds and ran off. Takehiro
then committed suicide with Masgo’s dagger, but as
he died, he felt someone creep up and steal the
dagger. Takehiro’s testimony is brimming with anger
towards Masago.
CONCLUSION
What he did is provide us information, and it would
up to the readers to form the puzzle and make out
the story for it to be rational. This is a series of
testimonials about a murder. And as you go on
reading along, your former belief of what really
happened would be contradicted by another
person’s account… leaving the readers to wonder
what really happened after all. It is impossible to
know the truth of what happened.