Rashomon at A Glance
Resource
臺大日本語文研究, 24, 27-50
Journal
臺大日本語文研究
Journal Issue
24
Pages
27-50
Date Issued
2012-12
Date
2012-12
Author(s)
川合康三
Abstract
Modern Japanese Literature roughly took form in the early Taisho Era. Using "Tales of Old" as the basis for his dynasty series, Akutagawa Ryunosuke quickly rose up in the literary world. Taking old stories, which stood face to face with modern times, as material had to have been both quite unexpected and novel at the time. He incorporates psychological descriptions and themes into the stories, making them modern. With Rashomon borrowing the heart of the original story as is, Akutagawa uses magnificent technique to interweave the character's state of mind into the unfolding of the story. Moreover, up until now, viewed as having a theme of human egoism, Rashomon was quite fitting for its modern era, but that is not to say it was ahead of its time. However, when thought to have the themes of the relativity of good and evil and the uncertainty of reason, it could then be read as a postmodern novel.
Izumi Kyoka's Koya Hijiri, following a different literary school from Akutagawa, has neither psychological descriptions nor easily identifiable themes. In direct opposition to Rashomon, irrational content together with and old-fashioned style indeed place it as a pre-modern piece. However, even now as a work of literature, it has not faded in the least. In fact, by not being modern, it is rather ahead of the modern time.
Just as the old woman pulled hair from a corpse, the servant stripped the old woman of her clothes. This evil cycle of claiming someone's body in order to survive, if taken to a further extreme, ultimately leads to the eating of a dead humans' flesh. In Shohei Ooka's Nobi, which depicted just that, God, or the exposed depths of one's ethical values taking the form of God, prevents one from eating human flesh. While both Rashomon and Nobi depict the doubts and decisions of people pushed to the limit, Takeda Taijun's Hikari Goke directs criticism towards those trying to judge cannibalism from a legal standpoint. Thus, the act stealing another's body to survive can be questioned more closely on an even broader stage.
Subjects
「羅生門」、「高野聖」、「野火」、「光蘚」、善惡
Type
journal article
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