Rashomon
Rashomon
[English Translation]
Free DownloadTurned into a film by Akira Kurosawa, now available for free at archive.org.
Book Excerpt
single desire filled my mind. This was not only lust, as you might think. At that time if I'd had no other desire than lust, I'd surely not have minded knocking her down and running away. Then I wouldn't have stained my sword with his blood. But the moment I gazed at her face in the dark grove, I decided not to leave there without killing him.
But I didn't like to resort to unfair means to kill him. I untied him and told him to cross swords with me. (The rope that was found at the root of the cedar is the rope I dropped at the time.) Furious with anger, he drew his thick sword. And quick as thought, he sprang at me ferociously, without speaking a word. I needn't tell you how our fight turned out. The twenty-third stroke... please remember this. I'm impressed with this fact still. Nobody under the sun has ever clashed swords with me twenty strokes. (A cheerful smile.)
When he fell, I turned toward her, lowering my blood-stained sword. But to my great astonishment she was gone. I wondered to where
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I loved it! All of his stories are amazing, especially the first two! However, They forgot in the first story to add a header for Tajōmaru's Perspective.
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I just found out about this book. Will buy it the following days and looking forward to read it, it seems a good from what you've said. Thank you!
08/03/2010
It's a good story.
Such a shame that there isn't
more Akutagawa stuff on the internets.
I borrowed a collection of his
short stories from a library and I think I'll buy it to read some of the stories again.
The brillance of this particular story is based on the different perspectives of the narrators.
Up to the very last moment the reader can never be sure
whom to trust...
Such a shame that there isn't
more Akutagawa stuff on the internets.
I borrowed a collection of his
short stories from a library and I think I'll buy it to read some of the stories again.
The brillance of this particular story is based on the different perspectives of the narrators.
Up to the very last moment the reader can never be sure
whom to trust...
10/03/2009
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FEATURED AUTHOR - Six-time BRAG Medallion Honoree, #1 Best-selling Historical Fantasy author Maria Grace has her PhD in Educational Psychology and is a 16-year veteran of the university classroom where she taught courses in human growth and development, learning, test development and counseling. None of which have anything to do with her undergraduate studies in economics/sociology/managerial studies/behavior sciences. She pretends to be a mild-mannered writer/cat-lady, but most of her vacations require helmets… Read more