Summary
Once upon a time, at the southern outskirts of the capital Kyoto, there was a very large gate called Rashomon. A big room was located at the top of the gate, and a narrow, decaying steep ladder was attached to the side of the gate leading up to it. However, few people noticed that there was a ladder there, and even those who did would not dare to climb it. It had a somehow gloomy and eerie atmosphere.
One day, a man who had fallen on hard times in the countryside came to Kyoto to steal something of value. He stood by a busy street known as Suzaku Avenue, observing the surroundings. (Suzaku Avenue runs north and south through the center of the capital.) "It's still bright. There's still some time until evening," he thought, and began looking for a place to hide. As he was about to pass through the gate, he suddenly noticed the top of the ladder. He became curious about where that ladder led. Carefully climbing the ladder, he opened the door and was hit by the stench of death; a pitch-black darkness stretched out before him. In the corner of the darkness, he saw the dim light of a candle, and next to it was the corpse of a woman. But that was not all—there were more bodies!
At that moment, he sensed some movement. An old woman with white hair was sitting beside the woman's corpse, holding a handful of hair and pulling out the long black hair of the corpse one strand after another. The man was taken aback. "Is that old woman a demon, a ghost, or perhaps... I will startle her and reveal her true nature." He quietly opened the door, drew his sword, rushed toward the old woman, and shouted, "Who are you? What are you doing here?"
The old woman startled and crawled to the man's feet. "This person was someone I served. She passed away yesterday, but no one has come to mourn her. In desperation, I brought her here." "You were pulling out her hair; why was that?" "I thought her beautiful long hair could make for a fine wig. I thought selling it would help me in some way. Please forgive me. Just spare my life," the old woman pleaded for her life.
"If that's the case, then give me that hair and your master's clothing. Then I will spare you," he replied. The old woman trembled and somehow managed to strip the clothing from the corpse and handed it over to the thief. The thief coldly said, "That belongs to you too." The old woman removed her clothing. "Now give me the hair. Stop dawdling!" The thief stuffed the loot into a large bag and said, "Stay still. Otherwise, you will lose your life."
With the bag on his shoulder, the man descended the ladder and disappeared into the crowd. The old woman lay quietly on the floor of the dark room, dressed only in her undergarment and sarong, like one of the many corpses around her.
"The Konjaku Monogatari" is a tale from the late Heian period. All the stories begin with the phrase "Once upon a time," which gives the collection its name. In total, there are 1,059 stories, and "Rashomon" is one of them.
