Director
Akira Kurosawa
Leading Actors/Actresses
Toshiro Mifune, Takashi Shimura, Machico Kyo
Supporting Actors/Actresses
Minoru Chiaki, Masayuki Mori, Kichijiro Ueda
Genre
Crime, Drama, Mystery
Language
Japanese
Awards
Nominated for Academy Award for Best Art Direction-Set Direction (Black and White), Won Honorary Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film Released in the United States
Date of Release
1950
Producer
Minoru Jingo
Setting and Context
12th-century Japan at the Rashomon Gate (southern entrance to the capital city), and the road through a countryside forest
Narrator and Point of View
There are multiple points of view. Tajomaru, Masako, The Samurai, The Woodcutter all tell their version of what has happened.
Tone and Mood
Serious and dark with elements of the sublime
Protagonist and Antagonist
The woodcutter, Masako, the samurai are variously protagonists and antagonists, while Tajomaru is a clear antagonist.
Major Conflict
Tajomaru, Masako, the samurai, and the woodcutter all tell completely different versions of what happened when Tajomaru raped Masako and her husband, the samurai, was killed.
Climax
The woodcutter tells the thief/commoner and the priest that he saw everything that happened and did not tell the truth at the trial, because he didn't want to get involved.
Foreshadowing
Each character who gives an account of what happened to the authorities sits in shadow. This foreshadows that the truth is shrouded in their darkness.
Understatement
Innovations in Filming or Lighting or Camera Techniques
Kurosawa shoots directly into the sun, which was a first in cinema.
Allusions
The Rashomon gate that the woodcutter, the priest and the thief sit beneath for shelter has been badly damaged and with no sign of is being repaired. This alludes to the traditional aristocracy in the Japanese culture losing its power, and more broadly to the crumbling of society.
Paradox
By choosing not to get involved and telling a lie as to what happened, the woodcutter becomes even more heavily involved as his conscience and the weight of his guilt and fear trap him into only being able to think about what has happened and how his faith in people's ability to do good is in crisis.
Parallelism
Each time a character gives their account of what happened it is paralleled with imagery that creates their false reality for us to view.
