I'll open by saying that I picked Rashomon up because of how critical it is in the movie Ghost Dog (quick piece; Forest Whitaker plays a person who works for them mob from time to time as a hitman. He only works for one person in the mob and he follows the code of bushido. Rating it on the Amazon scale, I'd rate it 4.5 out of 5!).

Rashomon is a series of short stories written by Akutagawa in the early 1900's describing life in medieval Japan. All of these stories have excellent descriptions of people and how the people act/react to the story being told. As a matter of fact, when reading this book, the characters reminded me of Kurosawa's character development in his movies. As for the stories themselves, Akutagawa often uses biting satire to describe things much as O'Henry did (actually, in reading Rashomon I was reminded of O'Henry more than once).

If you have an interest in medieval Japan or stories with character, I highly recommend Rashomon. My personal rating, 4.5 out of 5. Since Amazon doesn't permit half stars, round it up to 5! Btw, there is a similarity between Ghost Dog and Rashomon; character development and the way the story unfolds!

This is the second Ryunosuke Akutagawa book that I have read, the first one being "Kappa." The change in tone was a bit of a shock for me, for whereas "Kappa" is a wry, witty political commentary, the stories collected in "Rashomon and Other Stories" are bleak and brilliant.

Each of the stories, while very short indeed, packs a powerful punch. Akutagawa managed to condense despair into its basest elements, then packaged it raw and hurting, yet beautiful and human. The title story, "Roshomon," is a scant 9 1/2 pages long yet you would not wish for a single extra word to be included.

Of course, not all the stories in this collection are so dismal. The longest tale, "Yam Gruel," shows something of the wittiness and lightness of "Kappa." Some of the stories, such as the catholic influenced, "The Martyr," might be considered uplifting if you take a spiritual lesson from it. "In the Grove," the story that is the basis for the Kurosawa film "Rashomon," is an engaging story on the truth and ego and interpretation. But bleak nonetheless.

The translation of "Rashomon and Other Stories" is excellent, and captures the style and intent beautifully. It is a very old translation, as can be shown by the translator feeling the need to include a note explaining what "sushi" is.

My single complaint about this book is that, for the price, it is very small indeed. It could have contained at least double the amount of Akutagawa short stories, which certainly exist, and been a better collection.

To clarify some possible misunderstandings about this book:

1. This is not an "old" book, like The Book of Five Rings or Hagakure. It was written in the 1900's.

2 It's a book of short stories, not a novel or even a novella (together the stories total only 109 pages.)

3 Yes, Kurosawa's film was based on one of the stories, "In a Grove," which examines the circumstances of a rape from differing points of view. This story is about 13 pages. While the story is not bad, I would imagine that one would have to be a pretty hard-core fan of that film to buy this book just for that.

4. There is, however, a story called "Rashomon" in this collection, but this heavy-handed tale has little connection to the Kurosawa film, though Kurosawa may have lifted the tone and setting of his film's opening from the opening of this story. For you to decide.

5. What is or was the "Rashomon"? This is something I didn't know... To quote from the book (31n): "The 'Rashomon' was the largest gate in Kyoto, the ancient capital of Japan. It was 106 feet wide and 26 feet deep, and was topped with a ridge-pole; its stone-wall rose 75 feet high. This gate was constructed in 789 when the then capital of Japan was transferred to Kyoto. With the decline of West Kyoto, the gate fell into bad repair, cracking and crumbling in many places, and became a hide-out for thieves and robbers and a place for abandoning unclaimed corpses."

Though weighing in at a sparse 110 pages, this collection of short stories has exactly what is needed to catch your attention: Story. Each short story exists only long enough to allow Akutagawa enough time to develop the scene and characters and to tell their story.

The book is a quick read, and that may be its only failing. But the book never overstays its welcome and Akutagawa's writing style(s) is fun to read.

For little more than the price of a supermarket paperback, you can have this gem on your bookshelf. I highly recommend it.

I really can't describe it in great detail, but his cynical themes, though I may not agree with them entirely, are fantastically placed in all his tales. Rashomon, the actual story the book is named after is usually overlooked because the fantastic work "In a Grove" is what took its name. In a Grove is an awesome story which shows how four different people view the exact same thing, but Rashomon itself is also good. The story is an ironic type, showing that no matter how low people can go in society, worst exists. Saddening but true themes are manifested in this book, which makes it a much needed book to have if you like excellent stories.