Rashomon
Rashomon (Japanese: 羅生門, Hepburn: Rashōmon) is a 1950 Jidaigeki [Note 1] drama film directed and written by Akira Kurosawa, working in close collaboration with cinematographer Kazuo Miyagawa. Starring Toshiro Mifune, Machiko Kyō, Masayuki Mori, and Takashi Shimura as various people who describe how a samurai was murdered in a forest, the plot and characters are based upon Ryunosuke Akutagawa's short story "In a Grove", with the title and framing story being based on "Rashōmon", another short story by Akutagawa. Every element is largely identical, from the murdered samurai speaking through a Shinto psychic to the bandit in the forest, the monk, the assault of the wife and the dishonest retelling of the events in which everyone shows their ideal self by lying.
The film is known for a plot device that involves various characters providing subjective, alternative and contradictory versions of the same incident. Rashomon was the first Japanese film to receive a significant international reception; it won the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival in 1951, was given an Academy Honorary Award at the 24th Academy Awards in 1952, and is considered one of the greatest films ever made. The Rashomon effect is named after the film.
Plot
In Heian-era Kyoto (794 to 1157 AD), a woodcutter and a priest, taking shelter from a downpour under the Rashōmon city gate, recount a story of a recent assault and murder. Baffled at the existence of several conflicting accounts of the same event, the woodcutter and the priest are joined by a commoner. The woodcutter claims he had found the body of a murdered samurai three days earlier, alongside the samurai's cap, his wife's hat, cut rope, and an amulet. The priest claims he had seen the samurai travel with his wife on the day of the murder. Both had testified in court, where a witness presented a captured bandit named Tajōmaru.
Tajōmaru testifies that he had followed the couple after spotting them traveling in the woods. He claims to have tricked the samurai into stepping off the mountain trail with him to look at a cache of ancient swords he had discovered. He then subdued the samurai and attempted to rape his wife, who initially tried to defend herself with a dagger. Tajōmaru seduces her. Afterward, the wife, ashamed of the dishonor of having been with two men, asks Tajōmaru to duel her husband so she may go with the man who wins. Tajōmaru agrees; the duel is fierce, and Tajōmaru claims to have killed the samurai only to find the wife had fled. At the end of his testimony, Tajōmaru states he had forgotten of the wife's dagger, lamenting its loss. The priest notes that men lie even to themselves because they are weak.
The wife's testimony is different; she claimed that Tajōmaru did assault her but afterward left immediately. She freed her husband from his bonds, but he stared at her with contempt and loathing. Distressed by his disdain, the wife fainted with the dagger. She awoke to find her husband dead, having committed suicide with the dagger. In shock, she wandered through the forest until she found a pond. She attempted to drown herself but failed. The commoner notes that women use their tears to hide lies and end up fooling themselves.
The samurai's testimony is heard through a medium. He claimed that after the assault, Tajōmaru asked the wife to marry him. To the samurai's shame, she accepts, asking Tajōmaru to kill the samurai first. This disgusted Tajōmaru, who then gave the samurai the choice to let her go or have her killed. Through the medium, the samurai expresses approval for this gesture. The wife then broke free and fled, and Tajōmaru unsuccessfully gave chase. After being set free by an apologetic Tajōmaru, the samurai states he committed suicide with his wife's dagger. Later, he felt someone remove the dagger from his chest but could not tell who.
The woodcutter fiercely proclaims that all three stories are falsehoods and admits that he saw the samurai killed by a sword instead of a dagger. The commoner pressures the woodcutter to admit that he had witnessed the events while declining to testify. According to the woodcutter, Tajōmaru begged the wife to marry him. She instead freed her husband, expecting him to kill Tajōmaru. The samurai refused to fight, explaining that he would not risk his life for a ruined woman. Tajōmaru rescinded his promise to marry the wife; the wife rebuked them for failing to keep their promises. The two men unwillingly enter into a feeble duel that results in Tajōmaru's victory. The woodcutter ends his account by stating that the wife fled afterward and that Tajōmaru stole the samurai's sword and limped away.
The woodcutter, the priest, and the commoner are interrupted by a crying baby. They find a child abandoned in a basket along with a kimono and an amulet; the commoner steals the items, for which the woodcutter rebukes him. The commoner overpowers the woodcutter in a scuffle and deduces that the woodcutter refused to testify because he had stolen the wife's dagger. He leaves, claiming that all men and women are motivated only by self-interest.
Meanwhile, the priest has been attempting to soothe the baby. The woodcutter attempts to take the child after the commoner's departure; the priest, having lost his faith in humanity after the trial and the exchange under Rashōmon gate, strongly recoils. The woodcutter explains that he intends to raise the child. Having seen the woodcutter's true and well-meaning intentions, the priest hopes to continue to trust others. As the woodcutter prepares to leave, the rain stops and the clouds part, revealing the sun.
Wikipedia article: Rashomon ↗
Notes
- ↑ Jidaigeki (時代劇) is a genre of film, television, video game, and theatre in Japan. Literally meaning "period dramas", they are most often set during the Edo period of Japanese history, from 1603 to 1868.
External links
- Review Rashomon at the Internet Movie Database
- Rashomon at All Movie Guide
- Review Rashomon at the Turner Classic Movie Database
- Rashomon at Rotten Tomatoes
- "The Rashomon Effect", an essay by Stephen Prince at the Criterion Collection
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