The writer of Rashomon-Akutagawa Ryunoske has known to Korean, by awarding to You-miri’s “Family Cinema”. Akutagawa was born in a rich family and taught an elite course. And he gained fame as a writer. But he suicided himself at an age of 35. Why did he suicide himself? I have found the answer that I questioned in his novel.
This book composed of 8 short-stories, starts with “Rashomon” and ends with “a dwarf clown’s words”. Before we look into his world, we should access to his stories. So I summarize his novel by each story.
1. Rashomon
It’s famous of a great Japanese director, Gurosawa Akira’s movie which has a same name. But the movie has no relation with this story. Back to the story, it depicts a dreadful scenery of Kyoto after several big fires and famines. And there is a person who got axed under the rashomon, it‘s a Japanese two-floor structure. At night, he see an old woman plucking hair from corpses. After he listens to her justification, rob an old woman‘s clothes and run away.
2. Nose
There is a Buddhist priest with a long and thick nose. He’s always insecure about his nose and think how he could make his nose smaller. One day his disciple gives him a method which he heard from a famous Chinese priest. They execute the method and succeed to make his nose smaller. But everyman laugh at his nose. So he thinks his original nose is better than a small nose. Next morning after he recognizes his nose to be returned to an original size, he feels at ease on the contrary.
3. In the shrub
A thief has a mind set on rape woman and induces a couple into woods. When they reach into shrub, he suddenly attacks a man and binds him with a rope. And he rapes a man’s wife and steals his horse. This story concentrates on several people’s viewpoint. They argue for their place. Therefore their insistences march to different way. Finally a suicided man explains situation and truth at that time. And it illuminates other people lie for their interest.
4. The picture of the inferno
It’s a story about famous painter, Yoshihide who works for landlord-Horikawa. One day, painter was asked to draw a picture about inferno by landlord. He started to draw picture and nearly managed to complete his painting. But he can‘t paint an image of a noble woman in the firing carriage. So he requested landlord to burn his carriage for completing last image. Landlord accepted his request. As a promise, he set his carriage on fire. And shockingly painter‘s daughter is in that carriage. Painting is completed and Yoshihide suicides himself.
5. Robbery
A crowd of robbers commodes to rob a rich house. Their leader is an old woman, Inokuma. There is a brother-Taro and Jiro-in a gang. They all love Inokuma’s daughter, Shaking. Former days they were very intimate but now became a rival lover each other because of Shaking. But they swirl into Shaking’s trap and nearly go to death. But they survive and are back again to Shaking. Jiro kills her and Taro reprimands him with coerce behavior. And they ride a horse and run away.
6. The list of the dead
This story is all about his biography. He has 3 people on the list of the dead, they are mother, sister and father. And he gives a hint to readers why he has so many agony and these things drive him to decision to suicide himself. There are his family‘s annul and attitude on family.
7. Gotpa
A lunatic in hospital says about his experiences. He has believed that he went to the Gotpa’s world. Gotpa is a different species in other world-it is connected to our world. Their tradition and behavior are unique and bewilder him, but he is accustomed to their way of life. But as time goes by, he misses human world and seeks for exiting Gotpa’s world. And he succeed to come back to human world. But anyone who listens to his words thinks he goes nuts. So he happen to be brought this hospital.
8. A dwarf clown‘s words
This chapter is rather his philosophy than a novel. He say all his viewpoint about everything around him through clown. And he defines those things in a way of his own. There surely are so subjective problems that we hardly agree with him. But in other viewpoint, it gives us the other direction of life at the same time. Most of all, his words directly show his thoughts and ideas about the world in addition to understanding his writings.