The Woodcutter
The Woodcutter is a man who has come upon a murder in the woods. After hearing three different versions of the story before the authorities from the bandit Tajomaru, the spirit of the murdered samurai, and his wife Masako, he has begun to lose faith in man’s ability to be good and tell the truth. But, while he appears to have lost his understanding in others, it is himself and his own soul he does not understand, as he, too, failed to tell the truth about what he saw in the forest.
The Priest
The Priest accompanies The Woodcutter at the Rashomon gate as the rain pours down. We learn that he had seen the samurai and his wife traveling the same day that they were murdered, but he did not see anything more. He has come to be baffled by the multiple accounts of what happened and because of this, his faith is challenged by the corrupt nature of man. In the end, he and The Woodcutter come face to face with a decision abandon their beliefs or continue to find the good in the world by doing good themselves when a small child is left at the gate and the thief takes the kimono wrapping the infant. The Woodcutter's decision to care for the child restores the Priest's wavering faith.
The Commoner
The Commoner comes to take shelter from the rain under what remains of the Rashomon gate with The Priest and The Woodcutter. This man neither saw the events that took place nor heard the testimonies before the authorities. He hears what happened from the two men’s account. The Commoner's opinions very much mirror the opinions of the world and it’s often too simple of an explanation for why things are the way they are, and he also contends that humans by nature are selfish. He becomes the moral sounding board against which The Woodcutter and The Priest are challenged in their beliefs.
Tajomaru
Tajomaru is an infamous bandit known for doing evil. He is at the center of this story as the samurai and his wife cross his path while traveling through the woods. Tajomaru is able to subdue and tie up the samurai and attacks his wife Masako, raping her. He then kills the samurai with his sword, and is found by the river with the stolen arrows of the murdered man stuck in his back. He gives his account before the authorities, admitting that he murdered the man and forced himself on the woman, but his version of the story is different than that of the woman and the spirit of the samurai.
Masako
Masako is a woman traveling with her samurai husband through the woods when the bandit Tajomaru assaults them and forces himself on her. She tells her story before the authorities: that she had fainted after her husband looked upon her with such loathing, and when she awoke, her dagger was in her husband’s heart. She attempts suicide but fails, and at the end of her testimony asks the court what a woman like herself should do.
The Samurai
The Samurai died after an encounter with the bandit Tajomaru in the woods. His spirit is later channeled through a medium in order for him to tell his version of what happened that day. After his wife and Tajomaru have told different versions of his death, he provides yet another version. He says that after the bandit raped his wife he took his own life, plunging his wife’s dagger into his heart. He curses his wife for placing him in a state of suffering in darkness in the afterlife.
The Medium
The Medium is the conduit for the spirit of the samurai, who appears in court so that The Samurai may give his testimony before the authorities. She wears traditional face-paint and performs a ritual dance before summoning the spirit of The Samurai. She collapses after he finishes his testimony, and does not appear again elsewhere in the story.
