...it's like TV Tropes, but LINKED DATA!

Rashomon

459 statements
90 feature instances
27 referencing feature instances

Rashomon	type	TVTItem
Rashomon	label	Rashomon
Rashomon	page	Rashomon
Rashomon	comment	Rashomon is a 1950 Japanese film produced at Daiei, directed by Akira Kurosawa and starring Toshiro Mifune as the bandit and Machiko Kyo as the wife.A samurai went out for a walk with his wife, encountered a bandit, and was murdered — and that's all anyone knows for sure about the situation. Each eyewitness to the crime — the Bandit, the Wife, and the Dead Samurai (through a medium) — give vastly different accounts of what happened, and each eyewitness portrays themselves as the most sympathetic figure in their story. What's more baffling is that each witness also claims to be directly responsible for the man's death, albeit with reasonable motives.Which story, if any, is the closest to the truth? That's the question that a woodcutter and a priest mull over as they explain the situation to a third person (and, by extension, the audience) while they wait out the rain under the gatehouse roof of the ruined Rashomon temple. As the stories are explained, a fourth story emerges from the Woodcutter, who eventually admits that he actually saw what happened — but his story contradicts the participant's accounts just as much as their stories contradicted each other's. By the film's end, neither the characters nor the audience are any closer to uncovering the truth, but the concluding events do provide some reassurance that even though humans lie and steal, they're still capable of goodness.The plot is based not on Ryūnosuke Akutagawa's Rashōmon (from which it takes only the "waiting out the rain in the ruined gatehouse" part) but on a later short story by the same author, In a Grove. The film itself inspired two play adaptations and the naming of a psychological effect. This is the film that introduced Kurosawa and Japanese cinema to the West.The Trope Namer of "Rashomon"-Style, a plot that mimics the narrative style of this film.
Rashomon	fetched	2023-08-30T12:14:59Z
Rashomon	parsed	2023-08-30T12:14:59Z
Rashomon	processingComment	Dropped link to ForeignRemake: Not a Feature - ITEM
Rashomon	isPartOf	DBTropes
Rashomon / int_113472aa	type	Miles Gloriosus
Rashomon / int_113472aa	comment	Miles Gloriosus: Tajoumaru is not as big a fighter as he appears to be.
Rashomon / int_113472aa	featureApplicability	1.0
Rashomon / int_113472aa	featureConfidence	1.0
Rashomon	hasFeature	Rashomon / int_113472aa
Rashomon / int_1181a575	type	The Unsolved Mystery
Rashomon / int_1181a575	comment	The Unsolved Mystery: The film never reveals who actually killed the samurai. Similarly, it is ambiguous whose version of events was the closest to the truth.
Rashomon / int_1181a575	featureApplicability	1.0
Rashomon / int_1181a575	featureConfidence	1.0
Rashomon	hasFeature	Rashomon / int_1181a575
Rashomon / int_137f2d7	type	Card-Carrying Villain
Rashomon / int_137f2d7	comment	Card-Carrying Villain: Tajōumaru portrays himself as an unrepentant murderer and rapist, laughing evilly throughout his testimony. The other testimonies subvert this trope and paint him as a scared, pathetic, only-somewhat-thuggish bum.
Rashomon / int_137f2d7	featureApplicability	1.0
Rashomon / int_137f2d7	featureConfidence	1.0
Rashomon	hasFeature	Rashomon / int_137f2d7
Rashomon / int_1439161f	type	Heroic BSoD
Rashomon / int_1439161f	comment	Heroic BSoD: The Woodcutter and the Priest are not exactly the heroes of the story (although, from a certain viewpoint, they are the closest this movie gets to actual heroes), but they both seem to be suffering this at the beginning of the film. After relating his version of events, the Woodcutter is blasted by the commoner about the pearl inlaid knife, originally wielded by the Samurai's Wife; this results in the Woodcutter experiencing BSOD and leads to the admission "I'm the one who should be ashamed. I don't understand my own soul."
Rashomon / int_1439161f	featureApplicability	1.0
Rashomon / int_1439161f	featureConfidence	1.0
Rashomon	hasFeature	Rashomon / int_1439161f
Rashomon / int_14ed6ab7	type	Does This Remind You of Anything?
Rashomon / int_14ed6ab7	comment	Does This Remind You of Anything?: After Tajōumaru sees the wife's face, he sits by the tree in a trance, grasping his tsurugi in a suggestive manner.
Rashomon / int_14ed6ab7	featureApplicability	1.0
Rashomon / int_14ed6ab7	featureConfidence	1.0
Rashomon	hasFeature	Rashomon / int_14ed6ab7
Rashomon / int_1869b4b1	type	Unreliable Narrator
Rashomon / int_1869b4b1	comment	Unreliable Narrator: One of the most famous examples of this trope in film. All of the eyewitnesses are unreliable due to personal biases and ulterior motives, even the Woodcutter, as they tend to portray themselves in a better light and the other eyewitnesses as villains when recounting the events, resulting in four contradictory stories. The film even spawned a term called the Rashōmon Effect, which acknowledges how unreliable eyewitness testimony can be.
Rashomon / int_1869b4b1	featureApplicability	1.0
Rashomon / int_1869b4b1	featureConfidence	1.0
Rashomon	hasFeature	Rashomon / int_1869b4b1
Rashomon / int_18d15922	type	Title Drop
Rashomon / int_18d15922	comment	Title Drop: The name of the gate where the movie takes place is Rashōmon and written in Chinese characters on a sign at the top of it as a shot shows. Rashōmon gate is explicitly stated by the characters later in the story, but averts this trope as the dialogue gives it little fanfare. The closest thing to a traditional title drop is the Commoner alluding to the myth of how the demon that once lived at the gate fled from fear of the ferocity of man while convincing the Woodcutter to tell his real story.
Rashomon / int_18d15922	featureApplicability	1.0
Rashomon / int_18d15922	featureConfidence	1.0
Rashomon	hasFeature	Rashomon / int_18d15922
Rashomon / int_19dcd4bc	type	Sand in My Eyes
Rashomon / int_19dcd4bc	comment	Sand In My Eyes: The samurai's story has him say he heard someone crying after his wife had disappeared from his midst, when the visuals clearly show him crying.
Rashomon / int_19dcd4bc	featureApplicability	1.0
Rashomon / int_19dcd4bc	featureConfidence	1.0
Rashomon	hasFeature	Rashomon / int_19dcd4bc
Rashomon / int_1b4e322c	type	Mr. Fanservice
Rashomon / int_1b4e322c	comment	Mr. Fanservice: Tajōumaru is an arguably inadvertent example. Wearing rags to show how animalistic he was. However, he's still played by muscular, handsome Toshiro Mifune and shows a lot of skin.
Rashomon / int_1b4e322c	featureApplicability	1.0
Rashomon / int_1b4e322c	featureConfidence	1.0
Rashomon	hasFeature	Rashomon / int_1b4e322c
Rashomon / int_1c21e3fb	type	The Place
Rashomon / int_1c21e3fb	comment	The Place: A sign above the ruins reads "Rashōmon".
Rashomon / int_1c21e3fb	featureApplicability	1.0
Rashomon / int_1c21e3fb	featureConfidence	1.0
Rashomon	hasFeature	Rashomon / int_1c21e3fb
Rashomon / int_21d70919	type	Crapsack World
Rashomon / int_21d70919	comment	Crapsack World: One of Kurosawa's first depictions of feudal Japan which strays into this trope. The characters' disillusionment with humanity is as much about the events themselves and how, in a world fraught with so much death and violence, even a simple murder case is something to which people refuse to give a clear answer. Turned into A World Half Full by the end.
Rashomon / int_21d70919	featureApplicability	1.0
Rashomon / int_21d70919	featureConfidence	1.0
Rashomon	hasFeature	Rashomon / int_21d70919
Rashomon / int_21e5b9c7	type	Failed a Spot Check
Rashomon / int_21e5b9c7	comment	Failed a Spot Check: The court should have been able to deduce whether the man was more likely to have been killed by the sword or the dagger by looking at the size and depth of the entry wound. That would have ruled out at least one of the three / four different stories about what happened and made things a bit more comprehensible to the people in attendance.
Rashomon / int_21e5b9c7	featureApplicability	1.0
Rashomon / int_21e5b9c7	featureConfidence	1.0
Rashomon	hasFeature	Rashomon / int_21e5b9c7
Rashomon / int_22cf536c	type	Chekhov's Gun
Rashomon / int_22cf536c	comment	Chekhov's Gun: All three of the stories told by the three individuals involved in some way involve the woman's ornate dagger, but none of them explain why the woodcutter didn't find it when he found the body. When the woodcutter explains what he saw of the affair, the dagger doesn't appear at all. Eventually, the Commoner figures out what is going on: the woodcutter stole the dagger after everyone else had died or left.
Rashomon / int_22cf536c	featureApplicability	1.0
Rashomon / int_22cf536c	featureConfidence	1.0
Rashomon	hasFeature	Rashomon / int_22cf536c
Rashomon / int_28a5213a	type	Small Name, Big Ego
Rashomon / int_28a5213a	comment	Small Name, Big Ego: Tajoumaru's story largely has him say how totally cool he is... assuming he was lying. The other stories, and The Woodcutter's true story paint him as extraordinarily pathetic, and scared.
Rashomon / int_28a5213a	featureApplicability	1.0
Rashomon / int_28a5213a	featureConfidence	1.0
Rashomon	hasFeature	Rashomon / int_28a5213a
Rashomon / int_319e4a2f	type	Even Evil Has Standards
Rashomon / int_319e4a2f	comment	Even Evil Has Standards: In the dead man's version of the story, the wife orders Tajōumaru to kill her husband, and Tajōumaru looks shocked and refuses.
Rashomon / int_319e4a2f	featureApplicability	1.0
Rashomon / int_319e4a2f	featureConfidence	1.0
Rashomon	hasFeature	Rashomon / int_319e4a2f
Rashomon / int_33d5b7f2	type	Adapted Out
Rashomon / int_33d5b7f2	comment	Adapted Out: One of the initial testimonies given in "In A Grove" is from the wife's mother, a character completely omitted from the film. Interestingly, this cut leaves the husband and wife completely nameless, matching with the other characters sans Tajōmaru.
Rashomon / int_33d5b7f2	featureApplicability	1.0
Rashomon / int_33d5b7f2	featureConfidence	1.0
Rashomon	hasFeature	Rashomon / int_33d5b7f2
Rashomon / int_345a4c75	type	Interrogation Flashback
Rashomon / int_345a4c75	comment	Interrogation Flashback: The film has two nested layers of framing devices. The first layer involves a woodcutter and a priest explaining a recent trial to a third man (and by extension, the audience). The second layer is the trial itself, where three witnesses to a crime give very contradictory explanations of what happened.
Rashomon / int_345a4c75	featureApplicability	1.0
Rashomon / int_345a4c75	featureConfidence	1.0
Rashomon	hasFeature	Rashomon / int_345a4c75
Rashomon / int_372bc105	type	Sliding Scale of Idealism Versus Cynicism
Rashomon / int_372bc105	comment	Sliding Scale of Idealism Versus Cynicism: Idealism is represented by the priest and the woodcutter, who believe they've lost all faith in human nature from the conflicting stories they've heard (indicating some very bold lies somewhere), and the commoner represents cynicism by laughing off the supposed badness and selfishness of every human at the end before suiting words to deeds by stealing the clothes around a baby abandoned in the ruins of the shrine. The Woodcutter's willingness to take the child in and raise it despite his own poverty — "I already have six children, what's one more?" — restores both men's faith.
Rashomon / int_372bc105	featureApplicability	1.0
Rashomon / int_372bc105	featureConfidence	1.0
Rashomon	hasFeature	Rashomon / int_372bc105
Rashomon / int_373e2b9f	type	Murder the Hypotenuse
Rashomon / int_373e2b9f	comment	Murder the Hypotenuse: Set up by the Wife in the Woodcutter's story, who says the decision is not hers in response to Tajōumaru's begging for her to marry him and frees her husband from his bonds, but does not outright turn Tajōumaru down. They both flat-out disagree with starting such a thing over her, but they later do fight when she mocks them both as not being men by the samurai's unwillingness to avenge his wife's virtue and Tajōumaru's refusal to fight for his desires.
Rashomon / int_373e2b9f	featureApplicability	1.0
Rashomon / int_373e2b9f	featureConfidence	1.0
Rashomon	hasFeature	Rashomon / int_373e2b9f
Rashomon / int_38ad0e6a	type	BreakingSpeech
Rashomon / int_38ad0e6a	comment	Breaking Speech: The commoner decries Woodcutter's assertions that stealing the kimono with the child is evil by pointing out that he has reasoned the Woodcutter stole the valuable pearl inlaid knife that was mentioned by the other testimonies but unaccounted for in the Woodcutter's story.
Rashomon / int_38ad0e6a	featureApplicability	1.0
Rashomon / int_38ad0e6a	featureConfidence	1.0
Rashomon	hasFeature	Rashomon / int_38ad0e6a
Rashomon / int_396e1c2a	type	Face Death with Dignity
Rashomon / int_396e1c2a	comment	Face Death with Dignity: Tajōumaru tries to pull this. He states that he knew that the authorities would have his head sooner or later, so he tries to make himself look better in the flashback while still admitting to the murder.
Rashomon / int_396e1c2a	featureApplicability	1.0
Rashomon / int_396e1c2a	featureConfidence	1.0
Rashomon	hasFeature	Rashomon / int_396e1c2a
Rashomon / int_39b7a7cd	type	Amazon Chaser
Rashomon / int_39b7a7cd	comment	Amazon Chaser: Tajōmaru claims in his story that the wife's supposed Silk Hiding Steel personality is what drew him to her.
Rashomon / int_39b7a7cd	featureApplicability	1.0
Rashomon / int_39b7a7cd	featureConfidence	1.0
Rashomon	hasFeature	Rashomon / int_39b7a7cd
Rashomon / int_3dd3a9eb	type	Tone Shift
Rashomon / int_3dd3a9eb	comment	Tone Shift: Tone changes with the testimonies. In the Bandit's story, he is dirty and the scene resembles a botched crime film; contrast this style with the Woman's story and the Woodcutter's second testimony.
Rashomon / int_3dd3a9eb	featureApplicability	1.0
Rashomon / int_3dd3a9eb	featureConfidence	1.0
Rashomon	hasFeature	Rashomon / int_3dd3a9eb
Rashomon / int_40cc0c7e	type	Bittersweet Ending
Rashomon / int_40cc0c7e	comment	Bittersweet Ending: The true events of what transpired to kill the Samurai are still in doubt, the case's ruling is never stated and it is unknown if the Woodcutter ever bothered with coming out with what he supposedly saw to the court, but the Woodcutter altruistically takes the abandoned baby to raise as another one of his children, which restores the faith of him and the Priest in humanity.
Rashomon / int_40cc0c7e	featureApplicability	1.0
Rashomon / int_40cc0c7e	featureConfidence	1.0
Rashomon	hasFeature	Rashomon / int_40cc0c7e
Rashomon / int_43f2f606	type	Annoying Arrows
Rashomon / int_43f2f606	comment	Annoying Arrows: A constable finds Tajōmaru with a bunch of arrows sticking out of his back.
Rashomon / int_43f2f606	featureApplicability	1.0
Rashomon / int_43f2f606	featureConfidence	1.0
Rashomon	hasFeature	Rashomon / int_43f2f606
Rashomon / int_44fc28e8	type	Honor Before Reason
Rashomon / int_44fc28e8	comment	Honor Before Reason: The Bandit, the Samurai, and the Wife all try to justify themselves by somehow involving honor. Completely absent in the Woodcutter's tale, which makes them all look like dishonorable fools.
Rashomon / int_44fc28e8	featureApplicability	1.0
Rashomon / int_44fc28e8	featureConfidence	1.0
Rashomon	hasFeature	Rashomon / int_44fc28e8
Rashomon / int_49f20c6a	type	Gory Discretion Shot
Rashomon / int_49f20c6a	comment	Gory Discretion Shot: We never get a view of how either the sword or the dagger kills the husband, or of the corpse thereafter.
Rashomon / int_49f20c6a	featureApplicability	1.0
Rashomon / int_49f20c6a	featureConfidence	1.0
Rashomon	hasFeature	Rashomon / int_49f20c6a
Rashomon / int_4ae690ca	type	Laughing Mad
Rashomon / int_4ae690ca	comment	Laughing Mad: During the Woodcutter's real testimony, the Samurai's wife breaks out in hysterics, at one point. One possible interpretation of the Wife's laughter within the Woodcutter's telling, as both Tajōumaru and her husband outright rejected her or that they're both too cowardly to win her affection.
Rashomon / int_4ae690ca	featureApplicability	1.0
Rashomon / int_4ae690ca	featureConfidence	1.0
Rashomon	hasFeature	Rashomon / int_4ae690ca
Rashomon / int_4b1afa0d	type	Spiteful Spit
Rashomon / int_4b1afa0d	comment	Spiteful Spit: In the woodcutter's account, the wife spits into the bandit's face when he refuses to fight for her.
Rashomon / int_4b1afa0d	featureApplicability	1.0
Rashomon / int_4b1afa0d	featureConfidence	1.0
Rashomon	hasFeature	Rashomon / int_4b1afa0d
Rashomon / int_4e7c4536	type	Wham Line
Rashomon / int_4e7c4536	comment	Wham Line: The commoner at the end of the story.
Rashomon / int_4e7c4536	featureApplicability	1.0
Rashomon / int_4e7c4536	featureConfidence	1.0
Rashomon	hasFeature	Rashomon / int_4e7c4536
Rashomon / int_539e3dc1	type	Restored My Faith in Humanity
Rashomon / int_539e3dc1	comment	Restored My Faith in Humanity: The Priest by the Woodcutter's offering to take and care for the orphaned baby like another child of his own; he names this trope almost word for word.
Rashomon / int_539e3dc1	featureApplicability	1.0
Rashomon / int_539e3dc1	featureConfidence	1.0
Rashomon	hasFeature	Rashomon / int_539e3dc1
Rashomon / int_549a92e7	type	Minimalism
Rashomon / int_549a92e7	comment	Minimalism: Only eight actors, two only seen briefly, and three locations, four counting a shot of the police finding an injured Tajomaru. The temple set is rather expensive, but that's about it.
Rashomon / int_549a92e7	featureApplicability	1.0
Rashomon / int_549a92e7	featureConfidence	1.0
Rashomon	hasFeature	Rashomon / int_549a92e7
Rashomon / int_54f999c	type	AlternateCharacterInterpretation
Rashomon / int_54f999c	comment	Alternate Character Interpretation: invoked In-universe: the characters' personalities vary greatly between the different testimonies, each fitting the moral perception of the narrator: Tajōmaru's story is written like a traditional samurai epic in a way befitting his pride, and the characters are written as such. Consequently, he is portrayed as a cunning and brave Card-Carrying Villain, the wife is a woman who despite being a victim of his possesses Silk Hiding Steel, and the samurai a Worthy Opponent who he slew in a Duel to the Death. The wife filters everything through her own personal despair. As a result, Tajōmaru is just a violent maniac who flees after raping her, and she's a helpless victim silently denounced by her husband, who doesn't even speak or show strong emotion. The deceased samurai is built around making his victimhood and hatred for others most apparent. The result is that Tajōmaru is a violent thug with some ethics who is told by the wife, here a full-blown villain, to kill her husband. He, a noble samurai, is so crushed by the betrayal to where he is Driven to Suicide. The woodcutter, who sees the absolute worst in humanity, portrays the characters as the worst versions of themselves, with Tajōmaru as a perverted, moronic bum, the wife a woman in the midst of a mental breakdown drawn from disillusionment with her husband, and the husband a misogynistic Jerkass who dies begging for his life.
Rashomon / int_54f999c	featureApplicability	1.0
Rashomon / int_54f999c	featureConfidence	1.0
Rashomon	hasFeature	Rashomon / int_54f999c
Rashomon / int_567e7c4d	type	Wounded Gazelle Gambit
Rashomon / int_567e7c4d	comment	Wounded Gazelle Gambit: Mentioned by the cynical commoner as a common ploy by women, used by the Wife and/or the samurai's telling of themselves within their stories if they lied, accused of toward the samurai's wife by the samurai and Tajōumaru within the woodcutter's story, leading both of them to reject her.
Rashomon / int_567e7c4d	featureApplicability	1.0
Rashomon / int_567e7c4d	featureConfidence	1.0
Rashomon	hasFeature	Rashomon / int_567e7c4d
Rashomon / int_5a40d6a	type	Adaptation Distillation
Rashomon / int_5a40d6a	comment	Adaptation Distillation: The story significantly trims down on the early, incidental testimonials from "In a Grove" in favour of focusing on the testimonials of three people directly involved in the incident, as well as expanding the Woodcutter and Priest from incidental characters into a central part of the plot.
Rashomon / int_5a40d6a	featureApplicability	1.0
Rashomon / int_5a40d6a	featureConfidence	1.0
Rashomon	hasFeature	Rashomon / int_5a40d6a
Rashomon / int_5b1a2f4e	type	Ain't Too Proud to Beg
Rashomon / int_5b1a2f4e	comment	Ain't Too Proud to Beg: The husband begs for his life but is killed by Tajōmaru in the woodcutter's final testimony.
Rashomon / int_5b1a2f4e	featureApplicability	1.0
Rashomon / int_5b1a2f4e	featureConfidence	1.0
Rashomon	hasFeature	Rashomon / int_5b1a2f4e
Rashomon / int_5cd8680b	type	Doorstop Baby
Rashomon / int_5cd8680b	comment	Doorstop Baby: After the Woodcutter tells his story, an orphaned baby is heard crying and found in the gate.
Rashomon / int_5cd8680b	featureApplicability	1.0
Rashomon / int_5cd8680b	featureConfidence	1.0
Rashomon	hasFeature	Rashomon / int_5cd8680b
Rashomon / int_5ce7dbb9	type	Central Theme
Rashomon / int_5ce7dbb9	comment	Central Theme: The whole point of the film is that everybody who witnessed the crime has some motive to distort their account of what happened.
Rashomon / int_5ce7dbb9	featureApplicability	1.0
Rashomon / int_5ce7dbb9	featureConfidence	1.0
Rashomon	hasFeature	Rashomon / int_5ce7dbb9
Rashomon / int_5ee26f31	type	Adaptation Amalgamation
Rashomon / int_5ee26f31	comment	Adaptation Amalgamation: The movie combines elements from two different Ryuonosuke Akutagawa stories. Most of the plot came from "In a Grove", while the framing device (of travelers trapped in a gate because of a rainstorm) and the title came from "Rashomon".
Rashomon / int_5ee26f31	featureApplicability	1.0
Rashomon / int_5ee26f31	featureConfidence	1.0
Rashomon	hasFeature	Rashomon / int_5ee26f31
Rashomon / int_627264e0	type	Death Glare
Rashomon / int_627264e0	comment	Death Glare: The Samurai's wife's reason for slaying her husband after her rape. It frightened her so much, the only way to stop it was to take the dagger and kill him.
Rashomon / int_627264e0	featureApplicability	1.0
Rashomon / int_627264e0	featureConfidence	1.0
Rashomon	hasFeature	Rashomon / int_627264e0
Rashomon / int_6774150c	type	If I Can't Have Youâ€¦
Rashomon / int_6774150c	comment	If I Can't Have You…: Tajoumaru threatens to kill the samurai's wife if she won't marry him in the Woodcutter's version.
Rashomon / int_6774150c	featureApplicability	1.0
Rashomon / int_6774150c	featureConfidence	1.0
Rashomon	hasFeature	Rashomon / int_6774150c
Rashomon / int_68068108	type	Evil Laugh
Rashomon / int_68068108	comment	Evil Laugh: Tajōumaru, the Bandit, all throughout his testimony. It counts as an Annoying Laugh, too. In the Woodcutter's actual testimony, from the Woman — either she's laughing at the Bandit's failure to kill her husband or she is laughing bitterly about the Bandit's feelings not being true and the fact that her "honorable samurai" is a wimp. Take your pick.
Rashomon / int_68068108	featureApplicability	1.0
Rashomon / int_68068108	featureConfidence	1.0
Rashomon	hasFeature	Rashomon / int_68068108
Rashomon / int_688238d6	type	Wimp Fight
Rashomon / int_688238d6	comment	Wimp Fight: In the Woodcutter's version of the duel between the Samurai and the Bandit, they run around swinging desperately at each other with their weapons. It's often taken as one of the hints that his testimony isn't exactly truthful - a trained Samurai wouldn't have done such a thing - but this was how Kurosawa commonly depicted fights. This may also be explained by the men's mutual unwillingness to fight- and apparent mutual respect for each other- until the Wife goaded them into it.
Rashomon / int_688238d6	featureApplicability	1.0
Rashomon / int_688238d6	featureConfidence	1.0
Rashomon	hasFeature	Rashomon / int_688238d6
Rashomon / int_69fb91e8	type	Chewing the Scenery
Rashomon / int_69fb91e8	comment	Chewing the Scenery: Tajōumaru, the Bandit. Heck, he doesn't just chew it—he grinds it up, spits it out, wallows in it, and chews it up again!
Rashomon / int_69fb91e8	featureApplicability	1.0
Rashomon / int_69fb91e8	featureConfidence	1.0
Rashomon	hasFeature	Rashomon / int_69fb91e8
Rashomon / int_6d332aea	type	Driven to Suicide
Rashomon / int_6d332aea	comment	Driven to Suicide: The Samurai (or medium "channeling" him) claims to have committed Seppuku in his story, after witnessing the unfaithfulness of his wife. The wife also claimed to have tried and failed to drown herself after running away from the grove where she was Defiled Forever.
Rashomon / int_6d332aea	featureApplicability	1.0
Rashomon / int_6d332aea	featureConfidence	1.0
Rashomon	hasFeature	Rashomon / int_6d332aea
Rashomon / int_6d9bc945	type	Babies Ever After
Rashomon / int_6d9bc945	comment	Babies Ever After: The movie's sole high-note amongst the lies, cruelty, and confusion rampant in it is the discovery of an orphaned baby and the Woodcutter's pledge to raise it like another one of his children.
Rashomon / int_6d9bc945	featureApplicability	1.0
Rashomon / int_6d9bc945	featureConfidence	1.0
Rashomon	hasFeature	Rashomon / int_6d9bc945
Rashomon / int_71fef6f7	type	Every Japanese Sword is a Katana
Rashomon / int_71fef6f7	comment	Every Japanese Sword is a Katana: Averted. Tajoumaru wields a tsurugi, and the Samurai wields a tachi.
Rashomon / int_71fef6f7	featureApplicability	-1.0
Rashomon / int_71fef6f7	featureConfidence	1.0
Rashomon	hasFeature	Rashomon / int_71fef6f7
Rashomon / int_74ea714e	type	Unusual Eyebrows
Rashomon / int_74ea714e	comment	Unusual Eyebrows: The Wife seems to lack eyebrows (logically shaved off) and instead has makeup on representing them. This was a staple of Japanese standards of beauty at the time - higher eyebrows were seen as desirable. The medium also has very unusual eyebrows.
Rashomon / int_74ea714e	featureApplicability	1.0
Rashomon / int_74ea714e	featureConfidence	1.0
Rashomon	hasFeature	Rashomon / int_74ea714e
Rashomon / int_79a60aec	type	For Want of a Nail
Rashomon / int_79a60aec	comment	For Want of a Nail: Tajōumaru admits that if it hadn't been windy that day, he wouldn't have seen the wife's face and the whole situation wouldn't have happened.
Rashomon / int_79a60aec	featureApplicability	1.0
Rashomon / int_79a60aec	featureConfidence	1.0
Rashomon	hasFeature	Rashomon / int_79a60aec
Rashomon / int_79f9249	type	Horrifying the Horror
Rashomon / int_79f9249	comment	Horrifying the Horror: The Commoner claims that a demon once haunted the temple but that it was scared away by the ferocity of humankind.
Rashomon / int_79f9249	featureApplicability	1.0
Rashomon / int_79f9249	featureConfidence	1.0
Rashomon	hasFeature	Rashomon / int_79f9249
Rashomon / int_7bb1296b	type	"Rashomon"-Style
Rashomon / int_7bb1296b	comment	"Rashomon"-Style: The Trope Namer and Trope Codifier, as Tajōmaru, the wife, the samurai, and the woodcutter all have different recollections of the samurai's murder. Most of the variants that have followed don't bring the dead guy to the party.
Rashomon / int_7bb1296b	featureApplicability	1.0
Rashomon / int_7bb1296b	featureConfidence	1.0
Rashomon	hasFeature	Rashomon / int_7bb1296b
Rashomon / int_7d89315b	type	"The Reason You Suck" Speech
Rashomon / int_7d89315b	comment	"The Reason You Suck" Speech: The Samurai's wife to both Tajōumaru and her husband in the Woodcutter's real testimony after both refuse to fight over her. Who saw that coming?
Rashomon / int_7d89315b	featureApplicability	1.0
Rashomon / int_7d89315b	featureConfidence	1.0
Rashomon	hasFeature	Rashomon / int_7d89315b
Rashomon / int_7de3aec2	type	What Does She See in Him?
Rashomon / int_7de3aec2	comment	What Does She See in Him?: The Bandit claims that the man's wife submitted to him after he forced himself on her, and begged for him to take her away from her husband. Not surprisingly, the Wife's own account completely avoids this.
Rashomon / int_7de3aec2	featureApplicability	1.0
Rashomon / int_7de3aec2	featureConfidence	1.0
Rashomon	hasFeature	Rashomon / int_7de3aec2
Rashomon / int_80eb641c	type	Straw Nihilist
Rashomon / int_80eb641c	comment	Straw Nihilist: The commoner is a belittling Jerkass who shares the woodcutter and priest's view of humanity, but embraces it as a view of never valuing other people.
Rashomon / int_80eb641c	featureApplicability	1.0
Rashomon / int_80eb641c	featureConfidence	1.0
Rashomon	hasFeature	Rashomon / int_80eb641c
Rashomon / int_813afa05	type	Defiled Forever
Rashomon / int_813afa05	comment	The wife also claimed to have tried and failed to drown herself after running away from the grove where she was Defiled Forever.
Rashomon / int_813afa05	featureApplicability	1.0
Rashomon / int_813afa05	featureConfidence	1.0
Rashomon	hasFeature	Rashomon / int_813afa05
Rashomon / int_819b6384	type	Sympathetic Murderer
Rashomon / int_819b6384	comment	Sympathetic Murderer: The woman tries to paint herself as one, driven past the despair horizon by the Death Glare her husband gave her after being raped, and claiming not to remember killing him in the heat of passion.
Rashomon / int_819b6384	featureApplicability	1.0
Rashomon / int_819b6384	featureConfidence	1.0
Rashomon	hasFeature	Rashomon / int_819b6384
Rashomon / int_82b1fd4f	type	WorldHalfFull
Rashomon / int_82b1fd4f	comment	World Half Full: Despite the bleakness of the setting, the despair of the priest and the woodcutter, and the nihilist ramblings of the commoner, the woodcutter's ability to do good, despite having done evil, restores the two men's hope. This is shown beautifully in the film's final shot of the temple, showing both the side of it as a burnt-out wreck on one side, and the other a still proud place of spiritual worship.
Rashomon / int_82b1fd4f	featureApplicability	1.0
Rashomon / int_82b1fd4f	featureConfidence	1.0
Rashomon	hasFeature	Rashomon / int_82b1fd4f
Rashomon / int_85557b38	type	Reality Is Unrealistic
Rashomon / int_85557b38	comment	Reality Is Unrealistic: During the bandit Tajōumaru's testimony, he boasts that he crossed blades over twenty times with the samurai in the course of their duel. This is all movie fighting; in a real sword fight they would cross far fewer times. A very realistic example of such is performed by Kyūzō early on in Seven Samurai - and shown in the Woodcutter's testimony - the two men spend more time trying to desperately dodge and read each other's motions, and when they swing, they hit empty air.
Rashomon / int_85557b38	featureApplicability	1.0
Rashomon / int_85557b38	featureConfidence	1.0
Rashomon	hasFeature	Rashomon / int_85557b38
Rashomon / int_863fa679	type	What Happened to the Mouse?
Rashomon / int_863fa679	comment	What Happened to the Mouse?: The official ruling of the inquest, if there was one, is never revealed.
Rashomon / int_863fa679	featureApplicability	1.0
Rashomon / int_863fa679	featureConfidence	1.0
Rashomon	hasFeature	Rashomon / int_863fa679
Rashomon / int_86b21114	type	Badass Boast
Rashomon / int_86b21114	comment	Badass Boast: Tajōumaru's entire story is this; accepting he'll be executed, he goes all out in his story to not only make himself look good but to portray the Samurai and the Bride as impressively (and honorably) as possible.
Rashomon / int_86b21114	featureApplicability	1.0
Rashomon / int_86b21114	featureConfidence	1.0
Rashomon	hasFeature	Rashomon / int_86b21114
Rashomon / int_884c13a4	type	Hime Cut
Rashomon / int_884c13a4	comment	Hime Cut: The Samurai's Wife sports this kind of haircut.
Rashomon / int_884c13a4	featureApplicability	1.0
Rashomon / int_884c13a4	featureConfidence	1.0
Rashomon	hasFeature	Rashomon / int_884c13a4
Rashomon / int_8aa496df	type	Rape Discretion Shot
Rashomon / int_8aa496df	comment	Rape Discretion Shot: The scene cuts from the wife dropping the knife and giving in to the bandit's kiss to him at court explaining that he scored with her and then back to the flashback where he is about to leave the scene.
Rashomon / int_8aa496df	featureApplicability	1.0
Rashomon / int_8aa496df	featureConfidence	1.0
Rashomon	hasFeature	Rashomon / int_8aa496df
Rashomon / int_8c41d6e9	type	Nameless Narrative
Rashomon / int_8c41d6e9	comment	Nameless Narrative: No one besides Tajōumaru is given a name. Oddly, in In a Grove, the man and his wife did have names: Takehiro and Masago Kanazawa.
Rashomon / int_8c41d6e9	featureApplicability	1.0
Rashomon / int_8c41d6e9	featureConfidence	1.0
Rashomon	hasFeature	Rashomon / int_8c41d6e9
Rashomon / int_8c681acc	type	Third-Person Person
Rashomon / int_8c681acc	comment	Third-Person Person: Tajōumaru speaks a little like this.
Rashomon / int_8c681acc	featureApplicability	1.0
Rashomon / int_8c681acc	featureConfidence	1.0
Rashomon	hasFeature	Rashomon / int_8c681acc
Rashomon / int_8e3b5b4d	type	Minimalist Cast
Rashomon / int_8e3b5b4d	comment	Minimalist Cast: There are only eight actors in this film.
Rashomon / int_8e3b5b4d	featureApplicability	1.0
Rashomon / int_8e3b5b4d	featureConfidence	1.0
Rashomon	hasFeature	Rashomon / int_8e3b5b4d
Rashomon / int_8ed5c6e4	type	Asshole Victim
Rashomon / int_8ed5c6e4	comment	Asshole Victim: The husband in the woodcutter's story is a misogynist who cruelly tells his wife to go kill herself after her possible rape by Tajōmaru.
Rashomon / int_8ed5c6e4	featureApplicability	1.0
Rashomon / int_8ed5c6e4	featureConfidence	1.0
Rashomon	hasFeature	Rashomon / int_8ed5c6e4
Rashomon / int_96709930	type	Posthumous Narration
Rashomon / int_96709930	comment	Posthumous Narration: The samurai gives his story through a medium.
Rashomon / int_96709930	featureApplicability	1.0
Rashomon / int_96709930	featureConfidence	1.0
Rashomon	hasFeature	Rashomon / int_96709930
Rashomon / int_97926168	type	Rewatch Bonus
Rashomon / int_97926168	comment	Rewatch Bonus: Once the victim's spirit mentions the dagger, the woodcutter becomes visibly unnerved...
Rashomon / int_97926168	featureApplicability	1.0
Rashomon / int_97926168	featureConfidence	1.0
Rashomon	hasFeature	Rashomon / int_97926168
Rashomon / int_985e1866	type	Circular Drive
Rashomon / int_985e1866	comment	Circular Drive: The famous long dolly shot at the beginning was achieved by having the actor walk in a figure eight pattern that crossed the dolly tracks twice. It looks like the camera is following him through the woods but he is actually walking around it.
Rashomon / int_985e1866	featureApplicability	1.0
Rashomon / int_985e1866	featureConfidence	1.0
Rashomon	hasFeature	Rashomon / int_985e1866
Rashomon / int_9ab2d4a	type	The Blade Always Lands Pointy End In
Rashomon / int_9ab2d4a	comment	The Blade Always Lands Pointy End In: When the Wife drops her dagger when the bandit starts kissing her, a close-up shot shows the blade landing pointy end into the ground.
Rashomon / int_9ab2d4a	featureApplicability	1.0
Rashomon / int_9ab2d4a	featureConfidence	1.0
Rashomon	hasFeature	Rashomon / int_9ab2d4a
Rashomon / int_9dfd7154	type	Fridge Logic
Rashomon / int_9dfd7154	comment	Fridge Logic: This is actually a main point of the film — every testimony contains inconsistencies, like the Woodcutter walking around in a forest obviously not intent on cutting wood when he said otherwise, a trained samurai overpowered by a filthy, obviously untrained bandit, the Bandit not acting like the thug he claimed to be in his testimony, the Samurai acting like a scared civilian in a fight for his life, and so on. invoked
Rashomon / int_9dfd7154	featureApplicability	1.0
Rashomon / int_9dfd7154	featureConfidence	1.0
Rashomon	hasFeature	Rashomon / int_9dfd7154
Rashomon / int_a1ca3743	type	Believing Their Own Lies
Rashomon / int_a1ca3743	comment	Believing Their Own Lies: Possibly everyone who told a story but lied. The commoner's Breaking Speech makes the Woodcutter realize he did this as the Commoner figured out the Woodcutter did not mention the valuable dagger spoken of by all the other stories and thus reasoned he stole it, giving the Woodcutter a Heroic BSoD as he found he can't even understand and trust his own soul.
Rashomon / int_a1ca3743	featureApplicability	1.0
Rashomon / int_a1ca3743	featureConfidence	1.0
Rashomon	hasFeature	Rashomon / int_a1ca3743
Rashomon / int_a65288e2	type	Ascended Extra
Rashomon / int_a65288e2	comment	Ascended Extra: The Woodcutter in "In a Grove" is an incidental character whose only role is to provide the testimony regarding the discovery of the crime scene. The movie makes him into the closest thing the story has to a central protagonist.
Rashomon / int_a65288e2	featureApplicability	1.0
Rashomon / int_a65288e2	featureConfidence	1.0
Rashomon	hasFeature	Rashomon / int_a65288e2
Rashomon / int_a6cda066	type	Rule of Three
Rashomon / int_a6cda066	comment	Rule of Three: There are three characters for the sign above the Rashōmon gate saying Rashōmon, there are three settings in the movie (the forest, the courtyard, and Rashōmon gate), three people delivered testimony in the courtyard, there are three people at Rashōmon gate discussing the stories of the samurai's death.
Rashomon / int_a6cda066	featureApplicability	1.0
Rashomon / int_a6cda066	featureConfidence	1.0
Rashomon	hasFeature	Rashomon / int_a6cda066
Rashomon / int_affd3825	type	Dream Sue
Rashomon / int_affd3825	comment	Dream Sue: Tajōumaru's story has him seduce a man's wife with but a kiss, releases the Samurai to let him die honorably, and proceeds to win a duel against him while controlling the fight completely. He also insists he did not fall off the horse he stole which resulted in his arrest, but got a stomachache from what must have been some bad water he drank.
Rashomon / int_affd3825	featureApplicability	1.0
Rashomon / int_affd3825	featureConfidence	1.0
Rashomon	hasFeature	Rashomon / int_affd3825
Rashomon / int_b2a06892	type	Fourth Wall Psych
Rashomon / int_b2a06892	comment	Fourth Wall Psych: Played with in the scenes from the inquest, where the camera's point of view is that of the officials interrogating the characters. We neither see nor hear the officials themselves, but the characters speak directly into the camera and respond as though they are being questioned.
Rashomon / int_b2a06892	featureApplicability	1.0
Rashomon / int_b2a06892	featureConfidence	1.0
Rashomon	hasFeature	Rashomon / int_b2a06892
Rashomon / int_c78d3e08	type	Seppuku
Rashomon / int_c78d3e08	comment	Seppuku: According to the medium, the husband committed honorable suicide this way with the wife's dagger.
Rashomon / int_c78d3e08	featureApplicability	1.0
Rashomon / int_c78d3e08	featureConfidence	1.0
Rashomon	hasFeature	Rashomon / int_c78d3e08
Rashomon / int_cb70651c	type	Maybe Magic, Maybe Mundane
Rashomon / int_cb70651c	comment	Maybe Magic, Maybe Mundane: The deceased samurai's testimony hinges on whether or not you accept that his spirit really was channeled into the spirit medium. On one hand, his account was quite detailed; on the other, in a story about liars, it's not outside the realm of possibility that the spirit medium is also lying.
Rashomon / int_cb70651c	featureApplicability	1.0
Rashomon / int_cb70651c	featureConfidence	1.0
Rashomon	hasFeature	Rashomon / int_cb70651c
Rashomon / int_d4f5426	type	Absence of Evidence
Rashomon / int_d4f5426	comment	Absence of Evidence: One of the final reveals is that the Woodcutter, who at that point is the only person the viewer would be inclined to believe entirely, stole a valuable dagger mentioned by all the other witnesses even though he'd specifically denied seeing it. This is what causes the commoner to suss it all out and mock him.
Rashomon / int_d4f5426	featureApplicability	1.0
Rashomon / int_d4f5426	featureConfidence	1.0
Rashomon	hasFeature	Rashomon / int_d4f5426
Rashomon / int_d7b34c31	type	Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep"
Rashomon / int_d7b34c31	comment	Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep": The names of the Priest, the Woodcutter, and the Commoner are not revealed.
Rashomon / int_d7b34c31	featureApplicability	1.0
Rashomon / int_d7b34c31	featureConfidence	1.0
Rashomon	hasFeature	Rashomon / int_d7b34c31
Rashomon / int_dda99fa8	type	Despair Event Horizon
Rashomon / int_dda99fa8	comment	Despair Event Horizon: The woodcutter and especially the priest have suffered such after the trial, as the constant lies of the witnesses have caused them to lose all faith in humanity. The woodcutter's choice to adopt an abandoned child restores it.
Rashomon / int_dda99fa8	featureApplicability	1.0
Rashomon / int_dda99fa8	featureConfidence	1.0
Rashomon	hasFeature	Rashomon / int_dda99fa8
Rashomon / int_e0aced16	type	Giggling Villain
Rashomon / int_e0aced16	comment	Giggling Villain: Tajōmaru laughs constantly.
Rashomon / int_e0aced16	featureApplicability	1.0
Rashomon / int_e0aced16	featureConfidence	1.0
Rashomon	hasFeature	Rashomon / int_e0aced16
Rashomon / int_e3cee2e7	type	Empathic Environment
Rashomon / int_e3cee2e7	comment	Empathic Environment: The immensely heavy rain which symbolizes the woodcutter and priest's despair clears up as the woodcutter makes a decision that restores their faith in humanity.
Rashomon / int_e3cee2e7	featureApplicability	1.0
Rashomon / int_e3cee2e7	featureConfidence	1.0
Rashomon	hasFeature	Rashomon / int_e3cee2e7
Rashomon / int_e407c172	type	Silk Hiding Steel
Rashomon / int_e407c172	comment	Silk Hiding Steel: Tajōumaru's telling has him tell of the Wife trying to fight him off with a dagger and says he was attracted by this fierce spirit before he rapes her. While the Wife's telling has her not fit this much bolder character Tajōumaru stated of her, none of the other stories explicitly contradict that she tried to fight him off, as they take place after the rape.
Rashomon / int_e407c172	featureApplicability	1.0
Rashomon / int_e407c172	featureConfidence	1.0
Rashomon	hasFeature	Rashomon / int_e407c172
Rashomon / int_eb8ec7c8	type	Jerkass
Rashomon / int_eb8ec7c8	comment	Jerkass: The Commoner, who spends the whole movie berating and mocking the Priest and the Woodcutter and then leaves after literally stealing from a baby.
Rashomon / int_eb8ec7c8	featureApplicability	1.0
Rashomon / int_eb8ec7c8	featureConfidence	1.0
Rashomon	hasFeature	Rashomon / int_eb8ec7c8
Rashomon / int_ed358a04	type	Jidaigeki
Rashomon / int_ed358a04	comment	Jidaigeki: The story is set in Heian-era (feudal) Japan.
Rashomon / int_ed358a04	featureApplicability	1.0
Rashomon / int_ed358a04	featureConfidence	1.0
Rashomon	hasFeature	Rashomon / int_ed358a04
Rashomon / int_f0e85546	type	Unbuilt Trope
Rashomon / int_f0e85546	comment	Unbuilt Trope: The film actually deconstructs many aspects of the oft-imitated plot structure that it lends its name to. Instead of using its famous "Three contradictory flashbacks" format as a simple plot gimmick (like most of its imitators do), it's a deeply philosophical character study that uses the format as a vehicle for discussing human beings' inherent inability to tell the truth, examining the moral implications of this idea in full. At one point, one character even concludes that almost all of mankind's evils arise from their attempts to avoid confronting the truth by lying to themselves. By the end, the story has ceased to be about a murder trial at all, and become the story of said character's struggle to regain his faith in humanity. Notably, the traditional "final true flashback" (which has grown into a common conclusion for Rashomon Plots) is also strongly hinted to be another lie. We're initially led to believe that the Woodcutter (a neutral witness to the murder) is the only one reluctantly telling the truth...until it turns out that he may have stolen the murder weapon.
Rashomon / int_f0e85546	featureApplicability	1.0
Rashomon / int_f0e85546	featureConfidence	1.0
Rashomon	hasFeature	Rashomon / int_f0e85546
Rashomon / int_f807e541	type	Fantastic Legal Weirdness
Rashomon / int_f807e541	comment	Fantastic Legal Weirdness: One of the witnesses at a murder trial is a medium speaking on behalf of the victim. It doesn't actually help much; in this case, there was never any question about who killed him and the hearing is more about why and whether there were mitigating circumstances, on which points the victim is just as self-centered and unreliable as all the other witnesses.
Rashomon / int_f807e541	featureApplicability	1.0
Rashomon / int_f807e541	featureConfidence	1.0
Rashomon	hasFeature	Rashomon / int_f807e541
Rashomon / int_fdf22cfd	type	Evil Is Hammy
Rashomon / int_fdf22cfd	comment	Evil Is Hammy: Tajōumaru deliberately invokes this to make himself look bigger and tougher than he is.
Rashomon / int_fdf22cfd	featureApplicability	1.0
Rashomon / int_fdf22cfd	featureConfidence	1.0
Rashomon	hasFeature	Rashomon / int_fdf22cfd
Rashomon / int_name	type	ItemName
Rashomon / int_name	comment
Rashomon / int_name	featureApplicability	1.0
Rashomon / int_name	featureConfidence	1.0
Rashomon	hasFeature	Rashomon / int_name
Rashomon / int_name	itemName	Rashomon

The following is a list of statements referring to the current page from other pages.

Rashomon	hasFeature	Absence of Evidence / int_75a8287b
Rashomon	hasFeature	Adaptation Amalgamation / int_75a8287b
Rashomon	hasFeature	Combat Breakdown / int_75a8287b
Rashomon	hasFeature	Cool, Clear Water / int_75a8287b
Rashomon	hasFeature	Dead Person Conversation / int_75a8287b
Rashomon	hasFeature	Defiled Forever / int_75a8287b
Rashomon	hasFeature	Dream Sue / int_75a8287b
Rashomon	hasFeature	Every Japanese Sword is a Katana / int_75a8287b
Rashomon	hasFeature	False Confession / int_75a8287b
Rashomon	hasFeature	Fantastic Legal Weirdness / int_75a8287b
Rashomon	hasFeature	From Entertainment to Education / int_75a8287b
Rashomon	hasFeature	Horsing Around / int_75a8287b
Rashomon	hasFeature	Indirect Kiss / int_75a8287b
Rashomon	hasFeature	Interrogating the Dead / int_75a8287b
Rashomon	hasFeature	Interrogation Flashback / int_75a8287b
Rashomon	hasFeature	Jidaigeki / int_75a8287b
Rashomon	hasFeature	Madonna-Whore Complex / int_75a8287b
Rashomon	hasFeature	Minimalism / int_75a8287b
Rashomon	hasFeature	Moody Mount / int_75a8287b
Rashomon	hasFeature	Never Trust a Title / int_75a8287b
Rashomon	hasFeature	"Rashomon"-Style / int_75a8287b
Rashomon	hasFeature	Samurai Stories / int_75a8287b
Rashomon	hasFeature	Self-Serving Memory / int_75a8287b
Rashomon	hasFeature	The '50s / int_75a8287b
Rashomon	hasFeature	The Nothing After Death / int_75a8287b
TheyShootPicturesDontThey	seeAlso	Rashomon
Rashomon	hasFeature	When It Rains, It Pours / int_75a8287b

Copyright of DBTropes.org wrapper 2009-2013 DFKI Knowledge Management. Imprint. - Thanks to Bakken&Baeck for hosting. Contact.
Copyright of data TVTropes.org contributors under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License.