Review: “Rashomon and Other Stories” by Ryunosuke Akutagawa

Thumbs up for Rashomon and Other Stories by Ryunosuke Akutagawa. Literature.

I have not seen the movie Rashomon, but I am familiar with the plot, so I was surprised to discover (later confirmed by Wikipedia) that the plot was taken from the story “In The Grove,” while the setting (at the gate called Rashomon) and title were taken from the story “Rashomon,” the original plot of which has nothing whatsoever to do with the plot of the movie. Confused? Yeahhhh. Well, anyway, this is a good selection of stories, though I am a modern enough reader to wish that they concluded rather than merely stopping. Read it for yourself to decide whether that bothers you.

“Flocks of crows flew in from somewhere. During the daytime these cawing birds circled round the ridgepole of the gate. When the sky overhead turned red in the afterlight of the departed sun, they looked like so many grains of sesame flung across the gate. But on that day not a crow was to be seen, perhaps because of the lateness of the hour. Here and there the stone steps, beginning to crumble, and with rank grass growing in their crevices, where dotted with the white droppings of crows. The servant, in a worn blue kimono, sat on the seventh and highest step, vacantly watching the rain. His attention was drawn to a large pimple irritating his right cheek.”
—“Rashomon”