Rashomon and Other Stories

by Ryūnosuke Akutagawa, Takashi Kojima (Translator)

Writing at the beginning of the twentieth century, Ryunosuke Akutagawa created disturbing stories out of Japan's cultural upheaval. Whether his fictions are set centuries past or close to the present, Akutagawa was a modernist, writing in polished, superbly nuanced prose subtly exposing human needs and flaws. "In a Grove," which was the basis for Kurosawa's classic film Rashomon, tells the chilling story of the killing of a samurai through the testimony of witnesses, including the spirit of the murdered man. The fable-like "Yam Gruel" is an account of desire and humiliation, but one in which the reader's sympathy is thoroughly unsettled. And in "The Martyr," a beloved orphan raised by Jesuit priests is exiled when he refuses to admit that he made a local girl pregnant. He regains their love and respect only at the price of his life. All six tales in the collection show Akutagawa as a master storyteller and an exciting voice of modern Japanese literature.

Genres: Short Stories, Fiction, Classics, Japan, Japanese Literature, Literature, Asia

110 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 1915

About the author

Akutagawa Ryūnosuke (芥川 龍之介) was one of the first prewar Japanese writers to achieve a wide foreign readership, partly because of his technical virtuosity, partly because his work seemed to represent imaginative fiction as opposed to the mundane accounts of the I-novelists of the time, partly because of his brilliant joining of traditional material to a modern sensibility, and partly because of film director Kurosawa Akira's masterful adaptation of two of his short stories for the screen.

Akutagawa was born in the Kyōbashi district Tokyo as the eldest son of a dairy operator named Shinbara Toshizō and his wife Fuku. He was named "Ryūnosuke" ("Dragon Offshoot") because he was born in the Year of the Dragon, in the Month of the Dragon, on the Day of the Dragon, and at the Hour of the Dragon (8 a.m.). Seven months after Akutagawa's birth, his mother went insane and he was adopted by her older brother, taking the Akutagawa family name. Despite the shadow this experience cast over Akutagawa's life, he benefited from the traditional literary atmosphere of his uncle's home, located in what had been the "downtown" section of Edo.

At school Akutagawa was an outstanding student, excelling in the Chinese classics. He entered the First High School in 1910, striking up relationships with such classmates as Kikuchi Kan, Kume Masao, Yamamoto Yūzō, and Tsuchiya Bunmei. Immersing himself in Western literature, he increasingly came to look for meaning in art rather than in life. In 1913, he entered Tokyo Imperial University, majoring in English literature. The next year, Akutagawa and his former high school friends revived the journal Shinshichō (New Currents of Thought), publishing translations of William Butler Yeats and Anatole France along with original works of their own. Akutagawa published the story Rashōmon in the magazine Teikoku bungaku (Imperial Literature) in 1915. The story, which went largely unnoticed, grew out of the egoism Akutagawa confronted after experiencing disappointment in love. The same year, Akutagawa started going to the meetings held every Thursday at the house of Natsume Sōseki, and thereafter considered himself Sōseki's disciple.

The lapsed Shinshichō was revived yet again in 1916, and Sōseki lavished praise on Akutagawa's story Hana (The Nose) when it appeared in the first issue of that magazine. After graduating from Tokyo University, Akutagawa earned a reputation as a highly skilled stylist whose stories reinterpreted classical works and historical incidents from a distinctly modern standpoint. His overriding themes became the ugliness of human egoism and the value of art, themes that received expression in a number of brilliant, tightly organized short stories conventionally categorized as Edo-mono (stories set in the Edo period), ōchō-mono (stories set in the Heian period), Kirishitan-mono (stories dealing with premodern Christians in Japan), and kaika-mono (stories of the early Meiji period). The Edo-mono include Gesaku zanmai (A Life Devoted to Gesaku, 1917) and Kareno-shō (Gleanings from a Withered Field, 1918); the ōchō-mono are perhaps best represented by Jigoku hen (Hell Screen, 1918); the Kirishitan-mono include Hokōnin no shi (The Death of a Christian, 1918), and kaika-mono include Butōkai(The Ball, 1920).

Akutagawa married Tsukamoto Fumiko in 1918 and the following year left his post as English instructor at the naval academy in Yokosuka, becoming an employee of the Mainichi Shinbun. This period was a productive one, as has already been noted, and the success of stories like Mikan (Mandarin Oranges, 1919) and Aki (Autumn, 1920) prompted him to turn his attention increasingly to modern materials. This, along with the introspection occasioned by growing health and nervous problems, resulted in a series of autobiographically-based stories known as Yasukichi-mono, after the name of the main character. Works such as Daidōji Shinsuke no hansei(The Early Life of

Reviews

[Adina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ryūnosuke Akutagawa is a well known pre-war short-story writer who died too young, at the age of 35. Two of his stories had become successful movies, Rashomon being one of them. His stories are dark, sometimes grotesque and show the cruel part of the human soul. Sometimes, they almost feel supernatural. In Rashomon, corpses are thrown around the ruins of Rasho city gates. Only thieves have the courage to gather there. The story explores how low can a person sink in order to survive. It was very short but it does not mean it wasn’t disturbing.

I wish I remembered more about the other stories but I know they are worth reading.

[Luís · Rating 5 out of 5]

These novels are most often chilling. With exceptional mastery, Akutagawa reveals the cruelest and most grotesque aspects of the human condition. As a naturalist writer, he insists on the most macabre details. Feelings of humanity are quickly overcome by implacable necessity, or appear unexpected or even supernatural. Two short stories in this collection inspired Kurosawa for his film "Rashômon." He is in terrible distress after several years of cataclysms at the time of Heian Kyôto. The ruined door of Rashô is now only a shelter for foxes and thieves. Corpses are thrown into his gallery, piling up there. It is there that a man waits to protect himself from heavy rain. His boss and his family have just fired him, and he wonders whether becoming a thief or starving is a better option. Walking through the gallery, he sees a faint glow and the silhouette of an older woman who grabs the hair of a corpse. This short story, "Rashômon," is undoubtedly the most striking collection to which she gives her title. Again, Akutagawa plunges with disturbing fascination into the depths of the human heart.

[Flo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Concatenated thoughts #1 - #2

There was a man sitting by the ruins of a gate known as Rashōmon, listening to the sound of the rain that was falling over the city of Kyoto. That man had been dismissed by his master and had nowhere to go. So there he was, looking at that gloomy landscape. His thoughts were wandering inside his mind like withering leaves on a windy day. Thinking about a tomorrow when there was nothing to hope for. As the pouring rain started to increase and the day became colder with every passing minute, the man found himself with only two options concerning his inevitable future. He revolved those options in his mind as a set of morals started to make pressure over them. The world had nothing more to give to him. Fate had nothing more to give to him. It was one of those times when responsibility is too much to bear; when freedom interweaves with absurdity and we wish for some Providence to give us a hand. When being alone is the only truth that can be obtained.
Two options. Nothing more. To die of hunger and become another one of those corpses that were taken to the gate. Or to dedicate his life to crime, and thus, keep himself alive.

For although the servant acknowledged that he had to do whatever he could to get by, he didn't have the courage to bring the sentence to its foregone conclusion: "I am bound to become a thief."

Amid such internal struggles, the mind begins to fabricate reasons. Justifications to lighten the weight of any decision that might jeopardize everything that is righteous, honorable, expected. But it was not the rationalization of such matter that helped him make his decision. It was a fire. Her dim firelight, on top of the gate, on that rainy night, barely illuminating the corpses no one would ever remember.

At that moment, if someone again raised the question that the servant had been thinking about under the gate—whether he would starve to death or become a criminal—the servant would almost certainly have chosen starvation, without an ounce of regret. Like the torch the old woman had jammed between the floorboards, this was how ardently the man's heart burned against all that was evil.

A dark, stormy weather that seems to evoke the collapse of an entire society. A flawless use of symbolism to illustrate the vanishing line between a man and a beast.
A savage place where once rational people now just do what they have to do. And yet, I wonder how rational can you be when your life's at stake.

You might have heard of a film named after this short story. A 1950 movie directed by Akira Kurosawa, starring Toshiro Mifune—an actor I love since the very first time I saw him impressing everyone in Seven Samurai. I decided to only watch this movie after reading two short stories. First, Rashōmon that provided the setting. The plot and the characters were taken from another short story named... [click next...]

[Sawsan · Rating 4 out of 5]

قصص كُتبت بإبداع, زادت من إعجابي بالأدب الياباني
قصص في عالم وثقافة مختلفة, فيها خيال وغرابة وتشويق
الشخصيات نرى في كل منها جانب من الانسان بكل ما في نفسه من خير أو شر
تميز في أفكار القصص وأسلوب السرد, والترجمة جميلة للأستاذ كامل يوسف حسين

كتب المترجم مقدمة عن حياة ومراحل إبداع الكاتب الياباني رايونوسوكي أكوتاجاوا الذي كتب أكثر من مائة قصة لم يُترجم منها للعربية إلا القليل
وفي آخر حياته ازداد قلقه وخوفه من المرض العقلي وأنهى حياته بالانتحار عام 1927 وهو في سن الخامسة والثلاثين
وتم تأسيس جائزة أدبية سنوية للأعمال المميزة تحمل اسمه تكريما له

[Tadiana ✩Night Owl☽ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Six deceptively simple (or simply deceptive?) short stories from early twentieth century Japanese author Ryūnosuke Akutagawa, who died at the too-early age of 35.



My favorite is the first story, "In a Grove," where the police commissioner interviews various (unreliable) witnesses, trying to pin down exactly what happened in an apparent murder/rape scene.

In "Rashomon," a laid-off servant lingers under a dilapidated gate, caught between an living an honest life that might be the end of him and adopting a life of thievery. An odd occurrence leads him to his choice.

The main character in "Yam Gruel" is distinctly reminiscent of the pitiful, picked-upon Akaky in The Overcoat. Sometimes getting what you've always wanted leaves you emptier than when you started.

Another standout was "Kesa and Morito," in which a man and woman who've had a brief fling decide to kill the woman's husband - and neither of them really wants to do so. Love and contempt are mixed together in their hearts, one melting into the other until they're almost indistinguishable.

There are no easy answers in any of these painful stories. Truth twists away from you and becomes elusive, in one tale after another.

I would actually kind of like to taste yam gruel now, and to see a yam that's actually three inches wide and five feet long...

[Jibran · Rating 4 out of 5]

I tried to philosophise it by jotting down some cryptic lines but realised that such exegetic discourse is not quite justified for a short story. Suffice it to say that Akutagawa's few pages of condensed writing made me pore over the precepts of morality on which the human society stands. Stealing, in this case, which evokes the larger question of the truth of necessity transcending the narrow, easily defined strictures about good and evil. When it becomes a question of mere survival, things are far from clear, regardless of what the frozen statutes in law tomes say, or the trite commands in religious scriptures enjoin and forbid. It is always easy to be self-righteous on a full stomach - and Akutagawa knows that!

It is set in the later years of the Heian period (795-1185) when social order is collapsing and the cosmic order crumbling (a gothicy touch?); and there a menial servant who has been relieved from employment struggles with his innate human morality to die or stay afloat. I don't normally write on individual short stories but this time round I wanted to get a taste of Akutagawa before committing to buy his story collection. I will. I am convinced.

I'm sure it sounds better in the original Japanese, as the author is known for developing a new style of writing and drawing upon Japanese tradition and history. I can see a glimpse of innovation in how Akutagawa introduces the servant sitting under the Rashomon gate and then corrects rather than add to the perspective by injecting new information, but I'll save that for later.

In a most striking image he says of the abandoned corpses:

The bodies looked so much like clay dolls, that you might doubt that any of them had ever been alive.

Chilling...

October '15

[Guille · Rating 2 out of 5]

Después de mucho tiempo tras estos relatos, y seguramente por ello, si tuviera que elegir una palabra que describiera la experiencia de su lectura sería la de decepción: buenas ideas torpemente desarrolladas. Tampoco, y esto siempre es crucial, me ha dicho nada su estilo.

Por lo que me han chirriado algunos detalles, no descarto que pueda existir algún problema con la traducción y con la edición en general de mi ejemplar de la extinta editorial Miraguano, algo también he leído por ahí al respecto.

[Dan Schwent · Rating 3 out of 5]

In a Grove: A man is found stabbed to death in a grove. Some people of interest and the key players give their accounts.

Yeah, I'm a fan of this. Lots of narrators with varying degrees of reliability. If the other stories are this good, this collection is going to be stellar.

Rashomon: A samurai's servant sits under the Rashomon during a rain storm, pondering whether he should become a thief or starve to death.

I didn't like this story as much as the first but it was still interesting. I never thought of making wigs in that way.

Yam Gruel: Goi, a samurai who is the butt of everyone's jokes, has a life-long craving for Yam Gruel. But what will he do when he's offered all he can ever eat?

This was an odd one, more like a fable than the previous two. I felt bad for Goi and really hoped he'd go on a killing spree but, alas, it was not to be.

The Martyr: When the umbrella maker's daughter becomes pregnant, everyone suspects, Lorenzo, the orphan raised by Jesuits.

Huh. This was an odd one about protecting the people you love at all costs.

Kesa and Morito: The tale of a love triangle from two of its participants. This was another story with unreliable narrators. It was well written and fairly twisted.

The Dragon: An old man tells the story of a big nosed priest named Hanazo and the prank he played on a village that backfired.

All in all, this was an enjoyable collection. By far, my favorite tales were In a Grove and Kesa and Morito, the two unreliable narrator tales. The others were good to mediocre. 3.5 out of 5 stars.

[Mizuki · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars.

I read the Chinese translation of this short stories collection, which selects Mr. Akutagawa's best short stories...and Mr. Akutagawa committed suicide at around age 32.

Well...the main reason for me to finally bring my lazy butt to read Akutagawa's novels is this:


(LINK: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bungo_S...)

Plus right now I am also moving to read Bungo Stray Dog fanfics online as well. *sweatdrops*

Spider's Thread and Hell Screen must be best of the best among these handful of short stories in the collection. The haunting feeling of madness, despair and an artist's obsession with the art captured and described in Hell Screen really is really masterful.

The story's outline of Hell Screen: in ancient Japan, a powerful, wealthy Duke ordered his painter to paint a scene of Hell on a screen. Soon afterward the painter reported to the Duke that he could not finish the painting and bring the sight of a living, burning Hell to his lord; if he couldn't witness, with his own eyes, a carriage being burnt to ash. Surprisingly, the Duke granted his wish by setting his own expansive carriage on fire, but the fulfillment of the painter's strange desire came with a heavy price...

Oh well, turned out the painter's beloved daughter was dressed prettily and chained to the carriage to be burnt alive (she was chosen as a victim because she had refused the Duke, I guess?), sad to know the daughter's pet monkey is the only one who cared for her enough to throw itself to the flame and burnt with her. And more shockingly still, despite the painter's utter horror and pain, he watched his daughter being burnt alive in an twisted kind of ecstasy. How terrifying.

PS: I also read parts of Akutagawa's last novel before he offed himself, damn...the writing really is depressing and upsetting as shit.

PSS: Mr. Akutagawa was heavily influenced by both Japanese's ancient folktales and ancient Chinese literature, both influences show quite strongly in his story telling and the subjects he chose to write about.

My review for No Longer Human (originally by Dazai Osamu, manga adaptation by Junji Ito) https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Tawfek · Rating 4 out of 5]

الراجل ده ممتاز جدًا بيفكرني بتوفيق الحكيم بس مع فرق كبير هو ان ريونوسوكي اسلوبه اقوي عشر مرات عن توفيق الحكيم، اديب بجد مش مجرد واحد بيحول حكم لقصص.
كل قصة وراها حكمة وراها فكرة.
قصة في الغابة بعد محادثة مع صديق عرفني انها عن نسبية الحقيقة.
القصة بتحكي عن ساموراي اتقتل و اعترف بجريمة القتل تلات اشخاص مختلفين و كل واحد علي حسب كلامه انه قتل الساموراي فعلًا و هي عمومًا اقوي قصة في الرواية.
قصة راشومون الحكمة اللي وراها بتكمن في ان عمل الشر ممكن نشوفه علي انه خير حسب الظروف
السيدة العجوز بتنتزع شعر الاموات لبيعه لصناع الشعر المستعار و هذه هي الطريقة الوحيدة لكي تحيا
و كذلك الرجل اللي علي وشك الموت من الجوع مش هنشوفه شرير لما يسرق ملابس السيدة العجوز نفسها
قصة عصيدة إليام بنشوف فيها أمنيات الانسان اللي بتبقي دايمًا تمنيها افضل من الحصول عليها نفسه
لاننا لما بنوصلها بنكتشف انها حاجة عادية و مكنتش تستحق كل اللي عملناه عشان نوصلها
قصة الضحية ممكن نقول تاني افضل قصة في المجموعة و حاسس انها مالوفه جدًا بالنسبة ليا
الكاهن اللي بتتهمه البلد كلها انه زنا ببنت عشان يكتشفه لما مات ان الكاهن نفسه كان بنت من البداية و ان البنت ادعت انه زنا بيها عشان مرضاش يحبها
قصة بتبين معاناة الاشخاص الصادقين جدًا في حياتهم هما مفيش في ايدهم حاجة يعملوها عزة نفسهم مستمحلهمش بالاستماته في الدفاع عن نفسهم هما صادقين ولا يكذبوا و مش شايفين ليه ممكن الناس ممكن يكذبوهم اصلًا.
قصة كيسا و موريتو و الاحساس بالخواء اللي بيتبع الزنا و ان العلاقة ككل مكنتش تستحق كل ده مننا و ده هنلاقيه بس عند الشعوب اللي بتقدس الشرف زي اليابانيين و العرب لان نفسيًا بيبقي فيه عوامل كتير جدًا بتضغط عليهم و بتفسد العلاقة مهما كانت جميلة و في حالة اخواتنا اليابانين من الواضح ان السبيل الوحيد لغسل العار ان حد يموت الزوج بقي الزوجه مش مهم المهم ان حد يموت عشان التاني لا يعيش بعاره قدامه بقيت حياته
و اخيرًا قصة التنين و ازاي كذبه بسيطة اتحولت لحدث قومي كبير و ازاي واحد حب ينتقم من اهل بلده لقي نفسه و بدون قصد خدع اهالي البلاد المجاورة جميعًا و فكرة القصة بان الكاتب دعي الناس لكي يحكوا لهم اغرب الحكايات التي سمعوها في حياتهم كانت ممكن تتطور و تستخدم لعمل الف ليلة و ليلة صينية ندفع دم قلوبنا عشان نشتريها.
تقييمي للترجمة نفسها 3/5 و اختيار رائع من قبل المترجم بس هو مش متمكن من ادواته.

[Fabian · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful, clear-cut gems these 6 brilliant stories all. They are similar to Flannery O'Connor's, about the undercarriage of humanity, the darkness that no matter what people tell you, they all have at least some measure of. With rapes, killings, and the worst types of betrayals imaginable, R. Akutagawa has made up prototypes for future stories of evil. Indispensable to all big fans of the Short Story.

[Elyse Walters · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are six Japanese short stories in this collection.
We learn from the very start that the author committed suicide at age 35....
His stories are dark... including murder, grief, infidelity, humiliation, isolation, desire, greed, and good & evil, ...

I didn’t like these stories nearly as much as I did the short novel I read recently “Kokoro”, by Natsume
Soseki ....
but they are written beautifully.....
most were unsettling....

The author was cynical it seemed to me pretty much about everything.
After awhile -I was ready to move on from all the bleakness.

[Eloy Cryptkeeper · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rashōmon(Relato) 4.5*
En la puerta de Rashōmon,en la ciudad de Kioto. Ciudad devastada tras sufrir catastróficos terremotos, tifones e incendios. En medio de este lugar, donde se apilaban los cadáveres que no fueron reclamados. Se nos presenta al sirviente de un Samurai, el cual se esta resguardando de la intensa lluvia. Esta tan absorto como si no hubiese reparado que prescindieron de sus servicios y que esta solo en ese sitio devastado donde deberá buscar sustento.
A partir de aquí se genera todo un dilema moral entre la racionalidad, honorabilidad y el instinto salvaje de supervivencia. La persecución mental por encontrar razones y justificaciones que te quiten la carga de las espaldas y el peso de la culpa.
Durante este debate mental y sentimental, el protagonista se topara con una Anciana. Su encuentro Será el condicionante y desencadenante(su justificativo) para tomar su decisión final.

En situaciones extremas ¿como se comporta cada individuo? ¿Como se comporta una sociedad?.... ¿la presa o el cazador? ¿o a caso hay una tercera opción?).
Un muy buen relato con peso especifico e histórico. Filosófico y Simbólico. No te deja ni indemne

[Mehmet]

"Demek ki insanoğlu, gün doğunca uçup giden bir çiğ tanesi gibi fani ve ömrü de çakıp sönen bir şimşek kadar kısacık..." (s.147)

Savaş öncesi Japon edebiyatının en şaibeli isimlerinden birisi olan Akutagava'nın öykülerinden oluşan kitabın; Meiji hanedanlığı döneminden itibaren yükselişe geçen Japonya'nın, buna paralel yükselen edebiyatının da bir eseri.

Japonya her ne kadar Batıdan beslenerek kendine özgü bir kültür, sanayi, politika ve bilim üretebildiyse; edebiyatta da aynı şekilde Strindberg, Dostoyevski gibi isimlerden etkilenen ama kendine özgü bir tarz oluşturan Akutagava da bu bayrağı omuzlamış.

Kitapta beni en çok etkileyen öykü Çalılıklar Arasında isimli öykü oldu. Hafızam beni yanıltmıyor ise yıllar yıllar önce izlediğim, 1950 yapımı; yönetmen koltuğunda Akira Kurosawa'nın oturduğu Rashomon isimli film de bu öyküden uyarlama. Gerçekliğin farklı açılarından bakılarak yazılan kitabın kendisinden çok sonra gelen; Miramar gibi pek çok esere kıyasla 1922 yılında yazıldığı göz önünde bulundurulmalı.

Kitabın ürpertici havasını soluduğumuz bir diğer öykü olan Cehennem Tablosu en beğendiğim ikinci öykü oldu. Bu öykü her ne kadar karanlık bir ruh haletinin yansıması olsa da (Yazarın her zaman taşıdığı melankoliye de uygun) insanın aklına kazınan bir konuya sahip.

August Strindberg'ten oldukça etkilenen, hatta bazı öykülerinde onu karakter olarak dahi kullanan yazarın tıpkı Strindberg gibi son derece melankolik bir ruh taşıdığı öykülerde rahatlıkla anlaşılıyor.

Burada değinmek istediğim bir diğer konu ise Çevirmen Oğuz Baykara'nın çevirisindeki kelime çeşitliliği. Çevirmenin kelime dağarcığının ne denli güçlü olduğu çevirisinden rahatlıkla anlaşılıyor.

Her ne kadar 13 günde bitirsem de, ağır fakat keyifli bir okuma oldu benim için. Bazı öyküleri gerçekten çok beğensem de bazı öykülerde zorlandığımı itiraf etmeliyim.

M.B.

https://agacingovdesi.com/2021/04/01/...

[Lauren · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Yes, sir. Certainly, it was I who found the body. This morning as usual, I went to cut my daily quota of cedar, when I found a body in a grove..."

Opening lines of "In a Grove", from RASHŌMON and Other Stories by Ryūnosuke Akutagawa, translated by Takashi Kojima // originals 1910s-1920s in Japanese, translated and collected in English 1952.

Akutagawa is known as the "father of the Japanese short story" - this distinction, as well as my love for short stories made him a must read for my January in Japan queue. In his short life, he wrote 150 stories and gained popularity and prestige for his work. So much so that one of Japan's major literary prizes is named in honor of him - the Akutagawa Prize.

This collection gathers only 6 of his short stories, and was a wonderful introduction to his style. It contains two of his #classics - In a Grove, and Rashōmon.

*Fun Fact* Akira Kurasawa's famous Rashōmon film (1950), despite its name, is actually based on "In a Grove" short story. The film popularized the multiple viewpoints/perspectives and emphasized the subjective nature of truth and justice, regularly referred to as "Rashōmon effect".

Akutagawa's stories are immersive, eerie, and dark. All good combinations for me!

[Иван Величков · Rating 5 out of 5]

Не напразно една от най-престижните литературни награди за млади автори в Япония носи името на рано преселилия се в земите на Буда Акутагава Рюноске. Разказите подбрани в тази малка книжка са писани между двадесет и третата и тридесетата му годишнина, което за пореден път ми припомни един отдавнашен спор относно "младите" автори и изкуственото инфантилизиране на младежта по света.
Разказите са кратки и бият право в целта. С пестеливи описания, авторът заковава природни картини на листа и ги кара да резонират с душевните състояния на героите. С умение далеч надскочило възрастта му, Акутагава успява да изкара най-добрите и най-лошите черти и стре��ежи на Човека, като не ги осъжда или възхвалява, а просто ги показва на читателя пълни и такива каквито са. Принципно избягвам да оценявам литературно произведение според избора му за екранизация, но, хей, в случая със заглавния разказ - Куросава не е някой холивудски роб нахвърлял нещо си там.

Маската - Обществото нахлузва маски на приличие на всички избрали да вървят в неговите коловози. Някой ги носят естествено като собствената си кожа, други - не успяват да влязат в моралните му устои и това ги убива.
Вратата Рашомон - Какво е кражба и до ко��ко е оправдано извършването ѝ. Оправдано лие да обереш мъртвец, който е крал цял живот? А мародера обиращ този мъртвец?
Маймуната - Йордан Вълчев има подобен разказ на име "Срам". Ако един човек е оставен задълго далеч от човешкото и в пристъп на слабост извърши престъпление в името на някой друг, дали изгарящият го срам не е по-страховито наказание от това, което властите могат да му наложат? И как можем и колко да го съдим от псевдоморалните си тронове?
Mensura Zoili - Една сатирична гротеска, засягаща любимите на всички литературни критици и най-вече друг аспект по който споря от години. Защо нашите не минават под същата балтия като чуждите? И ако го правим, как така ни се изсипва ада на главите?
Разказ за търкулването на главата - Усмивката на Буда премилостивия може да огрее всеки, но след колко време забравяме искрящата и доброта? Той не забравя, обаче.
Паяжината - Темата от предходния разказ направена като притча. Личи си влиянието на Достоевски.
Мъките на ада - Кошмарна картина на желанието за самодоказване и доминация в дадена област. В случая рисуването. До къде ще стигне един художник, за да запази името си като най-добрия в Япония? Отговорът е разтърсващ.
Учителят Мори - Дали е за възхищение постоянният стремеж към осъвършенстване и цел в живота, колкото и да не ни се отдава? Да, поне според автора.
Мандарините - За книгата не се съди по корицата. Всеки, независимо от социалното си положение и външен вид, таи късче божественост в себе си.
Съмнение - Сякаш излязла из под перото на По морална дилема, която бавно изяжда разсъдъка на един иначе кротък и добър човечец.
Изкуството на магията - Безкористността е единственото условие да станеш велик. И явно най-непостижимото.
Светец - Наивност ли е да понасяш всичко в името на нещо велико? Само с постоянство се разкъсва кръгът на самсара.

[مجید اسطیری · Rating 4 out of 5]

یک مجموعه "جامع" به معنای واقعی کلمه است از میراث ادبی یک نویسنده در زمینه داستان کوتاه
یعنی اینجا داستان هایی که از چهار دوره زندگی اکتاگاوا را میخوانید
جالب است بدانید که داستان معروف "در بیشه" که "Akira Kurosawa" فیلم "راشومون" را بر اساس آن ساخت جزو داستان های دوره اول فعالیت آکوتاگاوا است. این فیلم در واقع نتیجه قرار گرفتن داستان "در بیشه" در داستان "راشومون" است
خواندن مقدمه ای که "هاروکی موراکامی" بر این کتاب نوشته واقعا ارزشمند و لازم است و با خواندن آن درخواهید یافت سیر زیبایی شناسی آکتاگاوا چطور تغییر کرده و در هر دوره او چه زمانه ای از فرهنگ ژاپن را سوژه آثارش قرار داده.
بخش دوم کتاب که فقط سه داستان از آن انتخاب شده به مسئله "شک" و "ایمان" و "عاقبت" میپردازد که داستان های فوق العاده ای دارد
بخش سوم شما را کمی یاد نویسندگان بی قید و بند ایتالیایی چون بوتزاتی و مخصوصا کالوینو با آن طنز پست مدرنش خواهد انداخت
ضعیف ترین بخش هم بخش چهار است که مربوط به دوره اوج شهرت آکوتاگاوا است که نشریات مرتبا از او درخواست داستان میکردند و طبیعتا میرفت که کفگیر ذوق او به ته دیگ بخورد و چند تا از داستان ها رسما خاطره هستند و در پایان نویسنده از بابت نوشتنشان از خواننده عذرخواهی میکند. با این حال اخرین داستان کتاب یعنی "چرخ دنده ها" که گویا باید آخرین چیزی باشد که آکوتاگاوا قبل از خودکشی نوشته یک گزارش خیلی شفاف و دردناک از سرگیجه یک روشنفکر وازده از شرق و غرب در گرداب بیماری روانی است. میدانیم که مادر آکوتاگاوا نهایتا در بیمارستان روانی مرد و او هم ترس عمیقی از بستری شدن در آسایشگاه روانی داشت.

[Cem · Rating 5 out of 5]

İnsanın içini ürperten, kanını donduran, okuru düşündürtmenin ötesine geçirten, hepsi ayrı ayrı beş yıldızı hakeden hikayeler...
Aşağı yukarı tüm öykülerin arka planındaki inanç-din, cennet-cehennem, iyilik-kötülük meseleleri, kesinlikle basmakalıp olmayan, sıra dışı bir dille anlatılmış.
Bu arada Japon edebiyatıyla tanışıklığım arttıkça daha çok sevmeye başlıyorum.
******************************************************

Şubat/Mart 2018’de tüm öyküleri ikinci defa okuduktan sonra yazmış olduğum yorumdur:

Muhteşem çeviriyi yapan Oğuz Baykara’nın diliyle, “düşündüren, iğneleyen, bazen güldüren ya da azarlayan, bazen de yumuşacık bir duygusallık taşıyan” öyküler bunlar...
Akutagava mükemmeliyetçidir. Şöyle der: Sanatın vatanında mükemmel olmayan hiçbir şeye yer yoktur. Bir sanat eseri ancak mükemmel olduğu sürece ölümsüz olur.

RAŞOMON : Anladığım kadarıyla Uşak aklını devreye sokmadan gördüğünden duyduğundan etkilenerek gerçekleştiriyor edimlerini. Açlık, çaresizlik umutsuzluk, her türlü kötülüğe zemin hazırlıyor. İnsan kendinden kötü olmuyor. Elinde olmadan aleyhine gelişen olaylar onu kötü olmaya zorluyor. İnsan durup dururken kötü olabilir mi?

BURUN: Başkalarının bizi nasıl gördüğünün , biz farketmesek de aslında, ne kadar da umurumuzda olduğu net bir şekilde bu öyküde sergileniyor. Bir de insanların bizim iyi durumda olmamızdan çok kötü durumda olmamız mı hoşlarına gidiyor acaba diye bir soru işareti doğuyor kafamızda, üzülerek belirtmek gereken... İnsan birbirinin kötülüğünü mü istiyor gerçekten içten içten, kendine bile itiraf edemese bile... Biz kötüden iyi duruma geçince çaktırmadan rahatsız mı oluyor insanlar...

MENDİL: Buşido; mutsuzluğun yanılgı ve yanlış anlaşılmaların bir sonucu olduğunu söyleyen Japon yaşam sanatı...Her zaman gülümse ve unutma ki mutsuzluklar yanılgı ve yanlış anlaşılmaların sonucudur.

ÖRÜMCEK İPİ: Kandata, kendi yaşamının riske girme olasılığı binde bir olsa bile, tüm diğer insanların yaşam haklarını hiçe sayabiliyor.

CEHENNEM TABLOSU: Yoşihide’nin yaptığı resmi Horikava Efendi beğeniyor, Baş Rahip Yokava beğeniyor; insan gibi görünenlerin içinde dahi iblis mi var yoksa... İnsanın kanı donuyor.

MANDALİNALAR: Yorgunluğumuzu, sıkıntılarımızı ve hayatın anlamsızlığını, adiliğini ve tekdüzeliğini biraz olsun unutturacak bazı sıradan ama hiç de göründüğü gibi olmayan basit olaylara ihtiyacımız oluyor bazen...

ÇİNLİ İSA: Gizemli güçler iyiyi ödüllendirip, kötüyü cezalandırıyor. Mutluluğumuzu başkalarının mutsuzluğunda aramamamız öğütleniyor sanki...

TOŞİNUN: Varsa pulun, herkes senin kulun; yoksa pulun, cehenneme kadar yolun... Ancak bir istisnası var bunun; ana babamız... Bir de önemli olan, yalnız insana yakışır dürüst bir hayat yaşamak...

SONBAHAR: Ablanın kardeşe yaptığı inanılmaz büyük bir fedakarlık; ve kardeşin ablaya..... :(( Kıskançlıkla özveri, buruklukla şefkat kolkola...

BALO: Öyküde krizantemlerin bolca geçmesi hiç de tesadüf değilmiş... Yaşamış olduğumuz bazı güzel anlar bizde öyle yoğun etkiler bırakır ki, sanatkar ruhlu insan için işte bu anlar mükemmel bir sanat eserinin kaynağıdır, malzemesidir. Boşuna dememişler: Nefes aldığımız günlerin değil, nefesimizin kesildiği anların toplamıdır hayat...
Pièrre Loti de Madam Krizantem adlı eserini nefesinin kesildiği bir andan esinlenerek yazmış olmalı.

ÇALILIKLAR ARASINDA: Hırsızın, öldürülen adamın karısının ve öldürülen adamın ayrı ayrı vicdan muhasebesine tanık oluyoruz, yine tabii ki çok değişik bir kurguyla...

VAGON: Hayatın iniş çıkışlarından zevk alarak yaşamalı, ama bunun bir istisnası var; geçim sıkıntısı sınırının altına düşmemek kaydıyla. Geçim derdi işin içine girdiyse iniş çıkışlar ızdırap olabiliyor. Çocukken bunun farkına varmıyoruz. Yazar burada - doğru anladıysam- çocukken Ryohey’in yolunu kaybedip korkmasıyla, büyüdükten sonra içine girdiği geçim sıkıntısı arasında bir benzetme yapmaya çalışmış.

ÇARKLAR: Bu öykü Akutagava’nın belki de en karamsar ama bir o kadar da bizi içine çeken öyküsü. Yazıldığı tarihe dikkat ettim; Akutagava’nın hayattaki son yılı... Paranoya, kuşku, korku vs. son evresinde artık... Okuduğu, gördüğü, yaşadığı herşeyde kendiyle ilgili mutlaka olumsuz bir taraf görüyor, hatta öyle bir ruh haline geliyor ki, karısı onu gördüğünde ölmüş zannedebilecek kadar...

SERAP: Akutagava’nın en son yazdığı ve ölümünden sonra yayımlanan temasız öykü örneklerinden biriymiş bu Serap... Ona göre edebi bir yapıtın temasının güçlü olması gerekmez, çünkü şair ruhlu bir yazar en basit konuyu bile şaheser haline getirebilir.

[Steven Godin · Rating 5 out of 5]

The story that became the namesake for Akira Kurosawa's 1950 film, and in typical of Akutagawa's style, it provides fewer answers than questions, drawing a lot of thinking on behalf of the reader, it's complex, but carries with it far more than meets the eye, It is riveting in its presentation of “truth” in many layers, presented as a conversation among three people: a woodcutter, a priest and a commoner who take shelter under the ramshackle Rashomon city gates to escape a downpour. The story is the death (murder?) of a man, the rape (?) of a woman and the capture of a bandit responsible (?) for both: as the story unfolds, the differences in the widely varying testimonies of the people involved force us to have a rethink on what “truth” means. The short nature of the story shouldn't be a put off, it remains one of the most enduring stories because of its complex and nuanced telling of the ethical dilemma faced by many in times of poverty, all the while the rain and darkness pervade, giving this story a bleak and pessimistic quality. A masterpiece.

[Enrique · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reseña solo de Rashomon.
Breve e intensa, demasiado breve tal vez. El ambiente que crea es bueno, de buen narrador, recreandose en pequeños detalles o metáforas (un grillo, un grano "purulento") y la pregunta que lanza y deja sin resolver del todo, tambien fantástica.

[Matthew Ted · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've wanted to read Akutagawa for some time, so I'm disappointed. Years ago I went through a big Japanese lit phase (which was recently replaced, in a way, with my Norwegian-lit phase) where I was reading everything I could get my hands on: Murakami, Mishima, Kawabata, Kawakami, Ōe, Abe, Yoshimoto, Tsushima, Matsumoto, Tanizaki, Murata, Endō, Dazai, Ogawa, etc., and I think I certainly overdid it to a point. This felt like classic Japanese lit, simple sentences but powerful in their way, but I just found myself bored by the stories for the most part. Some I liked more than others, naturally, but I was glad it was only a short collection of six.

[Sharon Barrow Wilfong · Rating 3 out of 5]

Collection of short stories by the pre-war Japanese author, Ryunosuke Akutagawa. Akutagawa wrote around 150 short stories before he committed suicide in 1927.

The stories are creepy and eerie, but very well done. Perhaps they are even more beautiful in the original Japanese. Nevertheless, there is something dismal and Sartresque about them. Another descriptive word would be thought-provoking as each tale grapples with evil and the hopelessness of man.

Though the author is from the 20th century, the tales show an medieval, traditional Japan. Maybe Akutagawa saw that this way of life was on the verge of disappearing.

These perhaps were meant to be moral tales, hoping to provoke the readers into recognizing their own guilt and lack of compassion for their fellow man, much like the Indian writer and poet, Rabindranath Tagore.

The first one is probably the most interesting to me. In A Grove, is about a murder with no third person narrator, but several first person narrators. The entire story is through dialogue. Each gives their testimony as to what happened. As each new person gives their version of events, new information is added and enlightens the reader to the actual character of the previous witness. Finally, even the victim gives his testimony through a medium.

Spoiler:

Another dark yet provoking tale is Rashomon. A recently fired servant visits a place where unclaimed corpses are dumped. While there he discovers a old woman stealing the hair from the corpses to sell.

He is angry that someone would stoop to desecrating the dead, but the woman insists she must do so to survive. She then claims the dead woman whose hair she is stealing stole fish when she was alive, but she, too, did it only to survive. So is it evil when one is only doing what one is forced to do?

The servant answers her, that if that is the case, he is justified in stealing from her. So he violently takes her clothes from her body and runs off, leaving the old woman naked among the dead.

I think it is a point well taken. When one begins to justify evil, where is the line drawn? It's just a matter of might making right.

The last story, The Dragon, is the most suspenseful. A priest, tired of being mocked and bullied by his community decides to play a practical joke. He sets up a sign next to a lake that where his temple is that at a certain date, a black dragon that resides at the bottom of the lake will rise to the heavens.

As more and more people read the sign, word gets around and increasing hordes of people from all over Japan start arriving to see the spectacle. The priest begins to feel uneasy. He meant it as a joke so he could laugh at his fellow villagers. Now what will happen when everyone is disappointed?

The ending is not predictable and rather beautiful.

[P.E. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Un recueil de contes et de récits brefs publiés entre janvier 1916 et février 1927. Ryûnosuke Akutagawa, traduit par Mori Arimasa, manifeste un goût certain pour les lettres occidentales, pour les appartés du narrateur à son lecteur, pour les jeux de points de vue croisés. Il laisse souvent une belle part à l'imagination du même lecteur.



Figures infernales

Un récit terriblement efficace dans son utilisation du point de vue et de la rumeur.

Un Seigneur favorise un peintre dissolu et vicieux et élève sa fille au rang de demoiselle d'honneur, contre sa volonté. Le narrateur, membre de sa suite, implique directement le lecteur dans l'interprétation de son récit, qui laisse apparaître des comportements de plus en plus inquiétants.


Le nez

Le Grand Aumônier Zenchi souffre en secret à cause de la longueur extraordinaire de son nez. Il essaie différentes méthodes pour le raccourcir et ne plus être la risée d'Ikenoo.


Rashômon

C'est l'époque de Heian (794-1192) à Kyôto.
Un homme misérable et inquiet attend à l'abri d'une porte en ruine que la pluie s'arrête. Il rumine des problèmes inextricables quand une solution lui vient en tête...


Dans les fourrés

L'histoire qui a servi de modèle à la partie principale du film Rashômon d'Akira Kurosawa.
Un homme est retrouvé mort dans un sous-bois près de Kyôto. Un officier interroge divers témoins, on assiste à leurs dépositions partielles, partiales et contradictoires.


Gruau d'ignames

'Depuis cinq ou six ans, Goi était étrangement attiré par le gruau d'ignames. (...) Lui-même n'avait pas, semblait-il, une nette conscience qu'il s'agît là du but de sa vie. Mais il n'empêche qu'il ne vivait que dans ce but. Il arrive parfois qu'un homme consacre sa vie entière à un désir qu'il ne pourra peut-être jamais réaliser. Celui qui se moque d'une telle illusion ne connaît rien à la vie.'


Les vieux jours du vénérable Susanoo

L'histoire mythique de Susanoo, seigneur de guerre respecté sur Nenokuni, qui décide de s'exiler avec sa fille Suseri sur une île déserte pour y finir ses jours et atteindre à la divinité.

Par certains traits, ça m'a beaucoup fait penser aux aventures des dieux Vainamoinen, Lemminkäinen et Kullervo dans le Kalevala, les aventures de ces dieux trop humains :)

The Kalevala


Le fil d'araignée

Pris de compassion pour un damné qui de son vivant a épargné la vie d'une petite araignée, le bienheureux Çakyamouni, lui tend un fil d'araignée pour qu'il se hisse jusqu'au Paradis Bouddhique, s'il le peut.


Le martyr

Un conte qui se passe à Nagasaki à la fin du 16e siècle. Un petit orphelin est recueilli par l'église catholique Santa Lucia, où il devient enfant de chœur. Bientôt, Lorenzo devient l'objet de soupçons graves : il aurait eu des relations avec la fille du marchand de parapluie. En effet, quelques mois après leur première rencontre, la voilà enceinte...


Le rapport d'Ogata Ryosai

Le rapport fait par un médecin aux autorités sur les agissements blasphématoires des adeptes de la secte des Chrétiens.


Ogin

Une nouvelle qui complète Le rapport d'Ogata Ryôsai, puisque racontée du point de vue d'un chroniqueur chrétien. Le narrateur rapporte ici l'apostasie de deux adeptes adultes et d'une enfant qu'ils ont adoptée.


L'illumination créatrice

L'histoire de l'écrivain Bakin, en plein blocage dans l'écriture de son Hakkenden.

'Par expérience, Bakin savait qu'entendre dénigrer ses œuvres était pour lui plus néfaste que désagréable. Il ne s'agissait pas du découragement que l'auteur en ressentirait, mais plutôt d'un certain aspect artificiel qu'il introduirait dans ses œuvres futures pour réagir contre cette critique.'


Chasteté d'Otomi

La rencontre de Shinkô du clan Minamoto, déguisé en clochard, et de la servante Otomi, envoyée par sa maîtresse chercher le chat Miké la veille de la bataille entre les troupes gouvernementales et la bande de Shôgi, opposée aux réformes de l'ère Meiji.
C'est la rencontre entre deux êtres probes, bien que de conditions très différentes.


Villa Genkaku.

L'histoire des Genkaku, pendant les derniers jours du chef de famille. La famille est minée par les jalousies, la désunion et la maladie, qu'observe avec un plaisir mauvais l'infirmière Koono.


Le mouchoir

Le professeur de Droit Kinzô Hasegawa lit la Dramaturgie de Strindberg. Le même jour, il observe chez la mère d'un étudiant défunt une manifestation de tristesse contenue qu'il juge sincère et emblématique de l'esprit du Bushidô. Puis, il remarque que c'est une technique qui est citée dans le livre parmi les jeux scéniques de mauvais goût.


Les Kappa

L'histoire d'un interné en asile psychiatrique qui raconte à qui veut l'entendre son séjour au pays des Kappa, êtres mythiques de la mythologie japonaise.

Histoires voisines de ce voyage chez les Kappa :
Gulliver's Travels
The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath
The Dream of a Ridiculous Man



Accompagnement musical :
Beyond the Ghost - Remembering the World as it used to be

[Oguzcan Yesilyaprak · Rating 5 out of 5]

Muhteşem bir eser daha. Kitaptaki hikayeler çok başarılı ve özellikle son hikaye efsane. Yalnız anlamadığım bir şey var bazı yayınlarda olan bir iki hikaye burada yok gibi neden böyle durumu çözemedim.

[Nickolas B. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Μαγικά διηγήματα βγαλμένα από τις ιαπωνικές παραδόσεις και πηγή έμπνευσης για το αριστούργημα "Ρασομόν" του Ακίρα Κουροσάβα.

[Azin · Rating 4 out of 5]

اگر طرفدار انیمه باشید و انیمه ی سگ های ولگرد بونگو رو دیده باشین حتما از قبل با آکوتاگاوا و راشومون اونجا آشنا شدین!
یکی از اقدامات جالب ژاپن در جهت شناسوندن بزرگان ادبیاتش به جهان ساخت همین انیمه بوده!
اسم تمامی شخصیت های این انیمه از نویسنده های ژاپنی و دیگر کشورها گرفته شده و هر کدوم از شخصیتها دارای موهبتی خدادادی هستن که اسم اون موهبت ها هم بر اساس آثار و کتابهای همون نویسنده ها انتخاب شده!!!
آکوتاگاوای انیمه و قدرتش که راشومون نام داشت هم، از شخصیت های مورد علاقه ی من توی این انیمه بود :))
این روزها که مشغول جست و جو در زمینه ی ادبیات ژاپن بودم به این کتاب برخوردم و دیدم به فارسی ترجمه شده
بلافاصله از طاقچه خریدمش برای این روزها که کتاب خاصی برای خوندن دم دستم نبود :)
راجع به خود کتاب هم بگم که مجموعه ای از شش داستان کوتاهه که همشون حرفی برای گفتن داشتن و یک حس عجیب به همراه کشش و هیجان کافی در سرتاسر داستانها وجود داشت.
در کل من هنوز هم داستان کوتاه دوست ندارم ولی قطعا از خوندن داستانهای کوتاه ژاپنی در آینده نخواهم گذشت! :)

[Phrodrick slowed his growing backlog · Rating 4 out of 5]

Author Ryūnosuke Akutagawa is considered the “Father of the Japanese Short story and to this day the top literary award in Japan is named for him. This collection, Rashomon and Other Stories are from several period in his life. He was a teenager when the newly modernized Japan handed Russia stunning and surprising defeats in major sea battle. The politics of this period were increasing nationalistic, but it was heavily influenced by European and America culture. Akutagawa besides being a writer and reporter was also an English language instructor and in his early years a translator of Yeats and Anatole France.

Early on he lost his mother to mental health, a fact that would color the women in his works and he would also suffer from mental health issues, finally committing suicide at age, 35 (much from Wiki)

Included in this collection are most if not all of his most highly regarded short stories. The first, “In a Grove” would inspire Akira Kurosawa’s break out movie, Rashomon, which is also the title of the second short story in this collection.
In a Grove reads as the contents of a police investigation. The victims and perpetrator of a murder/rape each tell their version of the events. How much each person is lying, and how much is the truth is for the reader to determine. In Rashomon a man facing slow death by poverty. He confronts an old woman, herself staving off death by poverty by sealing hair from the dead. The balance of the story is the question of morality and survival.

Next is The Marytr a community renders honor to one of their own (a Christian) that they had hectored to death and now believe was their best.
Ryunosuke Akutagawa regarded himself as a modernist and abjured the naturalists. In either case he made use of traditional themes and older stories. Throughout he is less than sympathetic towards religion, and is alert to the uses of deformities, usually an extremely large nose. In fact the name of the included story “Hana” means The Nose. His tone tends to the ironic. Ambiguity, detachment and a literal rather than symbolic are what to expect from these stories.

In style these are slice of life stories, but exactly how typically Japanese or universal is a question for the academically trained to debate. At the time I read them I found myself effected by the questions the author is asking us to solve. Then I forgot about them entirely, only to find that the briefest of summaries brought them back in full force. Together these 6 stories are not that many pages. Are they a window into the Japan in the early 20th century? Perhaps. The author wants you to face something’s about yourself. What is in your mirror?

[Ali moharamkhani · Rating 5 out of 5]

به معناي واقعي اين كتابرو مزه مزه كردم. دوست نداشتم زود تموم شه. چون از طع�� پخته ي داستان هاش ميخواستم لذت ببرم. به عنوان اولين مجموعه داستان ژاپني كه خوندم بسيار راضي كننده بود. گرچه همه ي داستان ها جذابيت يكساني برام نداشتن. ولي در اولين فرصت دوباره اين شاهكار رو ميخونم. مقدمه ي هاروكي موراكامي هم مهر تأييدي بود بر بزرگيه نويسنده و پختگي قلمش.
بهترين هاي اين كتاب از نظرم:
راشومون، بيشه ي خيزران، چرخ دنده ها، پرده دوزخ.
وجالب بود برام كه اولي و دومي لوكيشن و مضمون يه فيلم از كروزاوا به نام راشومون هستن.
از خوندنش لذت ببريد.
يك تكه از داستان بيشه خيزران:
آه همسرم!
به خاطرآنچه روي داده است، ديگر نميتوانم با تو زندگي كنم. من براي مرگ آماده ام. اما تو... مي خواهم تو نيز بميري. تو شرمساري مرا شاهد بوده اي. نمي توانم تو را با علم به آنچه گذشت، تنها بگذارم.
راشومون
ديونوسكه_آكتاگاوا
با مقدمه هاروكي موراكامي
انتشارات_اميركبير

[Kate O'Shea · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've been meaning to read Rashomon for a while now. I tend to read more modern Japanese literature but there's still that niggly list of "the classics" to be read as there is with every country.

What makes a classic? I've no clue but if they're all as wonderful as Rashomon I'm not sure I care.

The title story is that of a samurai murdered by a man who takes a fancy to the wife. It is told as witness accounts but all the accounts vary so that their version makes them out to be the most injured party. In the end you believe nobody - not even the corpse speaking through a medium.

The other stories are almost cautionary tales - Yam Gruel is the story of a pathetic samurai who loves yam gruel but makes the mistake of telling a powerful comrade that he can never get enough of the stuff. Definitely be careful what you wish for.

The Martyr is parable-like telling the story of Lorenzo who is saint-like and honest but is destined to be martyred by his religious cohorts.

Kesa and Morito is the tale of a doomed and depraved love affair. And finally The Dragon is a tale of a joke turned prophecy (just maybe).

All these stories were perfect. I am assuming it's the translation that gives them such a modern feel but either way, they were engaging, interesting and despite the obvious cultural references were pretty universal stories.

Loved it. Tale of Genji is next.

[Traveller · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think I somehow missed the point of the Yam gruel story. I found the Rashomon story rather cruel and unsympathetic. I think I'll reserve judgment until after we've discussed these in our Brain Pain group.

Something that I definitely did notice, is that quite a bit of the original seems to be lost in translation, which might be partly the fault of the translator, but almost definitely also due to the fact that English and Japanese are two languages that seem to be difficult to translate mutually.

From all accounts that I've heard, it seems that there are some words and expressions that are almost untranslatable from the English to the Japanese, and I daresay vice versa too.

In any case, I do know of cases where certain single words in Japanese have no equivalent in English, and have to be "explained" via entire paragraphs or sentences. That doesn't really lend itself to elegance in the translated work. :(