"In a Grove" is an early modernist short story consisting of seven varying accounts of the murder of a samurai, Kanazawa no Takehiro, whose corpse has been found in a bamboo forest near Kyoto. Each section simultaneously clarifies and obfuscates what the reader knows about the murder, eventually creating a complex and contradictory vision of events that brings into question humanity's ability or willingness to perceive and transmit objective truth. It is the basis for Kurosawa's "Rashoumon."

『藪の中』（やぶのなか）は、芥川龍之介の短編小説。1922年（大正11年）、月刊雑誌「新潮」1月号に発表された。
(from Wikipedia)

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A translated version is available: http://www.feedbooks.com/book/4205

Language: Japanese

Published in: 1922

Word count: 66 words (≈ less than a minute)

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