"Rashōmon" (Japanese: 羅生門) is a short story by Akutagawa Ryūnosuke based on tales from the Konjaku Monogatarishū. A man considering whether or not to become a thief meets a woman stealing hair from corpses. Their conversation explores the morality of theft.

The story was first published in 1915 in Teikoku Bungaku. Despite its name, it provided no direct plot material for the Akira Kurosawa movie Rashōmon, which was based on Akutagawa's 1921 short story, In a Grove.

『羅生門』（らしょうもん）は、芥川龍之介による初期の小説。『今昔物語集』の「羅城門登上層見死人盗人語第十八」を題材にした短編小説。羅生門とは、朱雀大路にある平安京の正門のことである。正しくは羅城門であるが、人間の生を意識してあえて「羅生門」にしたと考えられている。高校教科書などでも採用され、広く知名度がある。
(source: Wikipedia)

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An English version is available on Feedbooks at: http://www.feedbooks.com/book/4254

Language: Japanese

Published in: 1915

Word count: 40 words (≈ less than a minute)

Copyright: This work is available for countries where copyright is Life+70 and in the USA.