YES, SIR. Certainly, it was I who found the body. This morning, as usual, I went to cut my daily quota ofcedars, when I found the body in a grove in a hollow in the mountains. The exact location? About 150 metersoff the Yamashina stage road. It's an out−of−the−way grove of bamboo and cedars.
The body was lying flat on its back dressed in a bluish silk kimono and a wrinkled head−dress of the Kyotostyle. A single sword−stroke had pierced the breast. The fallen bamboo−blades around it were stained withbloody blossoms. No, the blood was no longer running. The wound had dried up, I believe. And also, agad−fly was stuck fast there, hardly noticing my footsteps.
You ask me if I saw a sword or any such thing? No, nothing, sir. I found only a rope at the root of a cedar nearby. And... well, in addition to a rope, I found a comb. That was all. Apparently he must have made a battle ofit before he was murdered, because the grass and fallen bamboo−blades had been trampled down all around.
"A horse was near by?"
No, sir. It's hard enough for a man to enter, let alone a horse.
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Rashomon, and Other Stories by Ryunosuke Akutagawa
Short StoryThis collection features a brilliant new translation of the Japanese master's stories, from the source for the movie Rashōmon to his later, more autobiographical writings. Ryūnosuke Akutagawa (1892-1927) is one of Japan's foremost stylists - a moder...
