More than any other thieves in town, this Tajomaru gave the women trouble. A woman was murdered along with her daughter in the autumn of last year when they went to pray at the mountain behind the Toribe temple. I often suspected the crime was of his doing. If it is true that Tajomaru killed this man, I do not wish to think of what became of the woman he accompanied. I trust, and hope, that you will do all in your power to bring justice to the departed, sir.
The Old Woman’s Testimony to the High Commissioner
Yes, the murdered man was married to my daughter. But he was not from Kyoto. He was a samurai from Kokufu in Wakasa prefecture. His name was Takehiko Kanazawa, and he was 26 years of age. No sir, he was a very kind man, so I cannot imagine why anyone would have a grudge against him.
My daughter? Her name was Masago; she was 19 years old. She was a tough girl—she could stand up to any man, but she had never been with any other man besides Takehiko. She was a little dark, and had a mole at the corner of her left eye. Her face was small and beautiful.
She left for Wakasa with Takehiko yesterday—I do not wish to imagine the end they have met with. I know there is nothing we can do about my son-in-law, but I am very worried about the fate of my daughter. I beg of you, do whatever it takes to find her. More than anything, I hate this thief you speak of, Tajomaru or whatever you say his name is. To lose not only my son-in-law, but also my daughter...
(Breaks into tears and can no longer continue)
Tajomaru’s Confession
I killed him, but not her. So where’d she go? I don’t know. Hey, hold on a minute here—you can torture me if you want but I don’t know and torture won’t make me know it. I’m not going to do any more cowardly running or hiding.
I met the couple yesterday, a little past noon. The breeze blew through and pulled back the silk scarf draped over the woman and I saw her face for just a moment. It was just a second, because then I couldn’t see it anymore. Maybe that was the reason, I’m not sure, but she looked like she’d fallen from heaven and I made up my mind then and there to steal her away, even if it meant killing the man.
Look, killing a man is not the big thing you make it out to be. Besides, if you are going to take a woman, you need to kill the man. Here’s the thing: When I kill a man I use my sword. When you do it you kill them with your power, with your money—sometimes you kill them while pretending to help them. Oh sure, they don’t bleed. Oh sure, the men are still living, but you’ve killed them nonetheless. Think of the depths of our sins and tell me: Who is worse, you or me? I’m not so sure.
(He smiles ironically)
But if I could get the girl without killing the man, that would have been fine too. Actually, I would have preferred it, and at the time I’d made up my mind to try and avoid killing the man if it was possible. Either way, I couldn’t do anything out there on the Yamashina road, so I came up with a plan to get the two of them to follow me out into the mountains.
It was easy. After I took up walking with them I told them that I’d found a large burial mound in the mountains, and that digging into it I’d discovered an impressive stash of old mirrors and swords. I told them that I’d taken them and buried them in a grove to keep them safe, and if they wanted I could sell them at a very low price. I could see them man growing more and more interested. And then . well what do you think? Desire’s a wicked thing, isn’t it? In a matter of minutes the two of them were following me down the path to the grove. I stopped before the grove and told them it was inside, follow me. The man had gold flashing in his eyes, so he didn’t even stop to think about it. She stayed on the horse and said that she would wait outside. I had expected her to say so—the grove was so thick. Everything was going as planned, so I left the woman there and led the man into the trees.
For the first hundred feet or so there’s nothing but bamboo, but once you get into the interior there are some cedars also. It was the perfect place. Pushing through the thick bamboo, I told him the treasure was buried under a cedar—it was a good lie, a plausible lie. You could just make out some thin cedars through the bamboo then, so when he heard me talk of the cedars he started stomping through the bamboo with renewed vigor.
We came upon a clearing where the bamboo was sparse and there stood a line of cedars. In a flash I was on him, pinning him down. He wore a large sword, and looking at him you would think he was a strong, trained warrior. But I surprised him from behind and there was nothing he could do. I quickly tied him to the roots of a nearby cedar. The rope? Any thief worth his salt keeps a rope! You never know when you’ll need it to get over a wall. I had one tied around my waist. Of course I couldn’t have him yelling for help either, but it was simple enough to stop him: I stuffed his mouth with bamboo leaves.
After I took care of him I ran to tell the woman that her husband had suddenly fallen ill and she needed to come check on him. Of course she fell for it. She removed her hat and followed me through the trees, but the moment she caught sight of the man tied up she pulled a dagger from her pocket and flew at me. I’ve never seen such a ferocious woman. If I had been off my guard for a second she would have slipped the blade between my ribs. I dodged her first swipe, but she kept slashing at me. Who knows what she could have done to me—but I’m not your average thief. I’m Tajomaru. I managed to knock the dagger from her hand without having to draw my own sword. She was a spirited woman, but I finally got what I wanted—and all without having to kill the man.
Yes, that’s right. I had no intention of killing him. Once I’d finished the woman collapsed in tears, so I made to run from the grove but she reached out and clung to my arm like a madwoman. She was shouting herself raw, but with effort I realized she was saying that either her husband or I should die. She would rather die than have her shame known by two men. She was whimpering. She didn’t care who lived, but she wanted the survivor to take her with him. At her words I felt a flame grow in me and I came to want the man dead.
(Melancholy excitement)
I’m sure this makes me appear cruel, even more so than yourself. But you didn’t see her face. You didn’t see the way her eyes burned when she said it. When I saw her face, let God strike me dead, I had to have her for my wife. I had to have her—that was the only thought in my head. I know what you are thinking, but I wanted more than her body. If all I wanted was her body I would have kicked her to the ground and run from the grove. If I had, his blood would not have stained my sword. The moment I saw her face in the dark shadows of the grove, I knew that I couldn’t leave without killing him.
But if I was going to kill him I wanted it to be honorable. I untied him and challenged him to a duel (The rope at the cedar was mine—I forgot to take it with me). His face contorted with rage as he drew his sword. Without saying a word he suddenly jumped at me. I suppose I don’t need to tell you how the duel turned out. After our swords clashed twenty-three times, I stabbed him through the chest. Twenty-three times I tell you! Whatever you do don’t forget the number. He was the only man ever to make it past twenty with me.
(Smiles with joy)
The man fell back, my sword now stained with his blood, and I turned to the woman. And can you believe it? She’s not there! I tried to discover where she’d run to through the cedars, but there were no discernible tracks on the bamboo leaves. I strained to listen for her, but all I heard were the moans of the dying man. If someone came after me they’d kill me in a heartbeat, so I took his sword, bow, and arrows and ran back to the mountain road. Her horse was there, quietly eating at the grass. I don’t think what happened after all this needs any more elaboration. When I made it back to Kyoto I had already thrown away the sword.
That’s all I have to say. I know you’ll have me hanging in chains in no time. Go on and give me the worst punishment you’ve got.
(Appears smug)
The Repentance of a Woman at Kiyomizu Temple
My husband was tied to a tree. The man in the dark blue kimono smiled at him while he violated me. It must have been terri
ble for him to watch, but no matter how much he struggled to escape nothing worked. The ropes just dug into him even more. I ran to his side, or tried to. The moment I stood the man kicked me to the ground, and it was just then that I saw a glint—it’s hard to describe it, but there was a glint in my husband’s eyes. I don’t know how to describe it, but just the memory of it sends shivers down my spine. He couldn’t speak, but that look in his eyes showed his thoughts. That flash—there was no anger, no sadness in it. All I saw was repugnance. It was the cold glint of despise, wasn’t it? That flash in his eyes hurt me more than the kicks of the man in blue. I shrieked and fainted as if he had hit me square across the face.
When I came to, the man in blue had left. My husband was still tied to the cedar before me. I dragged myself out of the bamboo leaves and looked to my husband. His eyes still bore the same cold disdain as before. They were filled with the same repugnant hatred. Suddenly everything came boiling within me—the shame, sadness, anger—I don’t know what to call it. I staggered to my feet and walked to my husband’s side.
“Darling, I know we cannot stay together after what has happened to me. I am ready to die. But darling, darling! Please come with me. You have seen me violated, and I cannot leave you behind.”
He still looked at me with hatred. My heart felt torn from my chest. I looked around for his sword, but it appeared as though the thief had stolen it along with the bow and arrows for they were nowhere to be seen in the grove. But I was lucky—there was a dagger lying at my feet. I raised the dagger and spoke to my husband once again.
“Now then, it is your time. I will follow soon behind you.”
Upon hearing these words he finally made as if to speak, but I could not hear him; his mouth was stuffed with bamboo leaves. I couldn’t hear him, but from the look on his face I knew what he said. “Do it.”
I felt as though I was only half there. Half awake, half in dream, I swiftly stabbed the dagger through his light bluekimono and deep into his chest.
I fainted once again, and when I awoke I found him dead and tied to the tree. I could see the sun setting in the west through the cedar and bamboo. It dropped a ray of light across his pale face. I held back my desperate sobs as I untied him and threw away the rope. And then? What became of me? I do not have the will to speak of it, but in the end I did not have the strength to meet death on my own. I tried stabbing the dagger into my throat. I tried flinging myself into a pond at the foot of the mountain. I tried all kinds of things, but I could not die, and here I am. Do not think me proud.
(Lonely smile)
Perhaps the gods and the Buddha have turned their eyes from a soul as wretched as mine. But I have killed my husband, I have been violated by a thief— what else is left to me? I... I...
(Falls into violent sobs)
The Murdered Man Speaks Through a Medium
After the thief violated my wife he sat by her side and began to comfort her. I could not speak. I was tied to the root of a cedar tree. While he was speaking to her I tried time and time again to signal her with my eyes. I wanted to tell her not to believe what he said. I tried to tell her that he was lying. But she grew dejected and sat in the bamboo leaves, her eyes fixed on her lap. I tell you, she certainly looked like she was listening to him. I started to writhe with jealousy. But the thief kept on with his smooth and wicked lies. He told her that she couldn’t stay with me after she had been sullied. That she should leave me and marry him instead. That it was his passion for her that caused his violence. He had all sorts of smooth things to say.
She listened to all he said and then lifted her face. I have never seen a woman so beautiful. But what do you think that beautiful woman said to that thief? What do you think she said? Before me, her husband, tied to a tree? No matter how lost my soul may be I will never forget what she said then. It fills me with burning anger. She said it just like this: “Well then, take me with you.”
(Long silence)
But that is not the end of her sins. If that were all she had done I would not be suffering here in the dark. She took him by the hand and they made to leave the grove when she stopped. All the color flushed from her face when she turned back and thrust her finger in my direction. “Please kill him,” she said. “If he lives I cannot go with you.”
It was as if she had gone insane. She screamed over and over. “Kill him! Kill him!” Like a violent storm, even now those words threaten to suck me into oblivion. Have you ever heard a human speak such evil words? Have such cursed and filthy words ever been spoken? Has it ever—
(Suddenly winces)
Even the thief went pale when he heard them.
My wife slipped her arm under his and shouted again. “Kill him!”
He looked her in the eyes and remained silent, giving no clue if he would listen to her or not. Suddenly, he slapped her arm back and kicked her violently to the ground.
(Winces again)
He crossed his arms and looked me in the eyes. “What’ll you do with this woman? Will you kill her or save her? Just nod your head to answer. Will you kill her?”
These words alone are enough to forgive his sins, are they not?
(Another long silence)
I hesitated for a moment when my wife shrieked and ran from the grove. The thief bolted after her, but apparently was unable to catch her. I just sat, as if half-dead, and watched the scene unfold.
After my wife disappeared the thief returned and took my sword and bow and arrows. I remember he whispered to himself when he cut my bonds, “They’ll be coming for me.” He ran from the grove as well. The grove was silent, or I thought it was. Straining my ears in the quiet, I could just make out the sound of someone crying. Soon I discovered that it was only my own quiet sobs that filled the clearing.
(Third long silence)
I finally managed to wriggle free from the ropes. I was exhausted. My wife’s dagger lay shining at my feet. I took it up and stabbed it into my chest. A bloody clump rose in my mouth, but it didn’t hurt. As my chest went cold, the grove fell silent again. It was so quiet. The grove lay in the shadow of the mountain. There were no birdsongs on the wind. A sad shadow played over the leaves of the bamboo and cedar. The shadow. even the shadows soon grew dim. I could no longer see the cedars or bamboo. I lay on my back as the silence enveloped me.
Someone came up to me, stepping softly over the leaves. I tried to turn and look, but the grove was already filled with darkness. A hand came and pulled the dagger from my chest. When the blade left me I felt my mouth fill with blood, and I sunk into darkness.
Table of Contents
Front Matter
Contents
Preface
Rashomon
A Christian Death
Agni
In a Grove
Ryūnosuke Akutagawa, 3 Strange Tales
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