Rashomon by Ryunosuke Akutagawa - Short Story Summary, Analysis, Review 羅生門

[@TheCodeXCantina]

Ryunosuke Akutagawa Playlist: kzbin.info/www/bejne/aoTanWBposZrgs0 Support us on Patreon: www.patreon.com/thecodexcantina BOOKMARKS: Publication Info: @0:32 Plot Summary: @2:37 Analysis: -The Gate's History: @4:24 -Symbols: @7:04 -Poverty and Sin: @12:47

[@dixieenormis1783]

Ohhhhhh is this what u mentioned sometbjng related to "Nadeko Snake"? Btw I can't wait for the Nadeko Snake review!

[@TheCodeXCantina]

The snake part? Yeah, I suspect there will be a point there. We also wanted to work on that Shinto video and understanding before moving forward. It was a lot of work :D

[@autopls3476]

Really awesome discussion, I really loved the depth of the analysis of Rashomon and In a Grove. I love watching through y'all's discussions after reading these books and short stories. You guys are also my go to for figuring out new classics to read. On a different note, I was wondering if you all would ever read the series short story Humans, Beasts and Ghosts by Qian Zhongshu and at some point could do a discussion on it. I thought they were very weird but also interesting reads.

[@TheCodeXCantina]

I think that's a great idea, we'll see if we can add it to the queue!

[@billcipher1602]

Great Analysis. made me understand the story much better as pretty much all of the symbolism went over my head so this was really helpful.

[@o-tera]

羅生門の奥深さを再認識できた気がします。素晴らしい分析でした。 Great analysis. Thank you.

[@TheCodeXCantina]

どうもありがとうございました。

[@Starscreamlive]

It's the never ending cycle of poverty and dire circumstances making people do bad things in order to survive. Which brings about the question: do the ends justify the means(and vice versa)? Not sure we'll ever truly have an answer to that question. The ending of this short work felt very similar to the ending of Chekhov's short story "A Problem".

[@TheCodeXCantina]

I haven't read "A Problem." Perhaps I should remedy that!

[@BradProctorReads]

Great discussion guys! I think I'm going to go back and read this again after learning about some of the symbology that you all talked about regarding the significance of the rain and the animals.

[@TheNerdyNarrative]

^ that right there is exactly why I love this channel. It teaches me cool stuff I never would know otherwise.

[@TheCodeXCantina]

We can all learn from each other. I really liked the way Brad presented some of his info too. A great story always results in great conversation

[@BradProctorReads]

@@TheNerdyNarrative I totally agree. It always makes me feel smart watching their videos.

[@BradProctorReads]

@@TheCodeXCantina not all of my info, just some lol jk jk. 🤣🤣

[@andrettax6052]

You were totally right about the Rojoomon term, but that was not the name at the time, but close enough, but nowadays that is the correct yea. But the term Rashomon actually comes from the Noh play called like that, Ryunosoke called the story based on that play, because of how name Rashomon reflects better the chaotic era of the end of the Heian Period. But amazing video nonetheless, loved every bit of it.

[@koswia]

Thank you guys, great analysis.

[@TheCodeXCantina]

Our pleasure!

[@LiteratureScienceAlliance]

I really love all the research you guys put into these to provide appropriate context. Excited to see what next week brings!

[@TheCodeXCantina]

Thanks, Angela! We might put a bit of elbow grease into these 😀

[@LucasMyFriends]

I can't believe this was two years ago...I'm doing these two stories soon and rewatching the movie.

[@TheCodeXCantina]

I try not to watch stuff over two years old of ours. Makes me cringe sometimes with all the things I want to say differently :D

[@icedtoast8119]

Wow thank you for this video! Read the story and I don’t know much about Japanese symbolism, so this is really insightful! :D

[@davidecoppola3731]

I'm going to take an exam of history of cinema and I really loved your video, it helped me a lot to understand better this great movie. Thank you from Italy🇮🇹

[@TheCodeXCantina]

Best of luck!

[@leighjustin365carilimdilim7]

the gate of the unwanted .

[@TheCodeXCantina]

Insert drama music

[@biancasilvaribeiro9922]

Is anyone here from bungo stray dogs?

[@MrWeebs-gc2jj]

Hell yeah

[@finezyjnafantazja2495]

Me too

[@Yesica1993]

I've never been a fan of short stories. They always leave me wanting more. If it's a happy or a wondrous story, I feel as though I don't have enough time to fully enjoy it. If it's a complicated and/or emotionally difficult story like both of these, I feel as though I don't have enough time to either understand it or mentally/emotionally process what has happened. But I am glad I took a chance here. The background/discussion was so helpful. I'm glad I chose to read them first. Sometimes I get too "thinky" right up front and don't let myself experience it as art, firsthand. Thank you for making me aware of two stories that I never would have discovered otherwise.

[@TheCodeXCantina]

Yesica1993 That’s great for you to try it! What was it that made you chose these two out of curiosity?

[@Yesica1993]

@@TheCodeXCantina Just a whim, I guess. I enjoy your discussions and I knew it wouldn't make much sense without reading the material. I didn't want to be left out!

[@dixieenormis1783]

true enufff fam

[@ramblingraconteur1616]

I love the discussion of symbolism in this story and really appreciate the insight! I had read the story twice (and seen the Kurosawa film a half dozen times, so I have a vivid picture of the ruined gate in the rain), but the symbolism helps so much in exploring Ryunosuke Akutagawa’s ideas. Looking forward to “In a Grove”. The story that dug deepest into my mind from his work was “Spinning Gears”, but these two are masterpieces as well. Kurosawa definitely had a feel for gates in the setting for his early works: Rashomon and even Throne of Blood’s genesis from the gate at Nara.

[@TheCodeXCantina]

Thanks for sharing your thoughts on "Spinning Gears." I haven't heard of that one and it looks like it's not in my collection. I'll look around to see if I can find it. I have a feeling that instead of grabbing a beer to chat, we'd grab a Kurosawa film to watch if we ever hung out :D

[@dimitrikorsakov2570]

I would love to see you guys cover Akutagawa's Kappa. It's regarded as his masterpiece and provides a ton of material for analysis.

[@TheCodeXCantina]

If there is one thing we know, it’s that Kappa are not of this world!! I love that story. Look for it next month or the following!!

[@dimitrikorsakov2570]

@@TheCodeXCantina Sweet!

[@Rajathon]

I am glad they are easily available I will go check them out.

[@TheCodeXCantina]

Yaaassss

[@MrWeebs-gc2jj]

As akutagawa once said: A O R H O S M N 羅 生 門 M D N E O 悪 魔 R R A O M 甲 冑 Edit:If you watch an anime named bungou stray dog you will get the joke

[@TheCodeXCantina]

:D

[@Yesica1993]

WELL THAT WAS DEPRESSING THANKSALOT!

[@TheCodeXCantina]

Yesica1993 😂

[@ivanariverosarteaga4625]

love the video but could you please give your sources for the symbolism you found?

[@TheCodeXCantina]

Thanks. I don't think mentioning my Japanese instructor nor the monks/Japanese individuals in Japan count when I was there count as good sources for anything other than a casual conversation. Cheers.

[@ChristyLuisDostoevskyinSpace]

I didn't know the significance of the cricket, but I knew you two would 😆 So crickets aren't lucky in Japan? (In Disney's Mulan, the cricket was supposed to bring luck, so I always just assumed that that was the case in China.) This was so disturbing (when the lady admits her motivations, and when the guys shoves her *shiver*). Loved hearing your breakdown. Thank you for researching it.

[@TheCodeXCantina]

Christy Luis - Dostoevsky in Space I was poor in the transition of that thought there to Fall. I apologize. Crickets are sometimes representative of fall coming as symbols of harvest timing (this is where I jumped too quick). Yes, they can be thought of as good luck at least when harvest is good as a symbol of that. Many crickets like the, Bell Cricket and other Koorogi, are raised. I believe the singing ones are the most popular. With that said, what about when harvests are bad? Fictionally the crickets can be a foreshadow of death (the bodies under the gate that was coming in the story) when harvests are bad and the season of Fall approaches like in this story. Fall is more a symbol of death post harvest of course. I was interpreting it more in this manner with the lack of crows and not practicing symbolic Misogi from the servant. Sorry for being unclear with how I took that.

[@ChristyLuisDostoevskyinSpace]

The CodeX Cantina Wow, thank you for explaining how the symbolism changes with the seasons and harvest. That is so beautiful and complex! I appreciate that you unpacked it further for me.

[@deanie3824]

Do you have a statue of a cricket? I don't know if I'd compare the "ghoul" in the story to what is happening now with the pandemic but I would agree with the cyclical nature of decay and poverty. I found myself questioning if the man would only justify his thievery if he did it other "sinful" people. Would he go on to steal from someone he viewed as good? And then we get into the differing perspectives of what sinful is and whooo boy that'd be a lot. The story really makes you think!

[@TheCodeXCantina]

Yeah. Wonderful discussion for what would happen next. That sounds along the stance Krypto had with wanting to see bad-to-bad is okay but will we see other side.

[@leeturton9254]

I just don't understand..i just don't understand

[@TheCodeXCantina]

Oh no