Rashōmon

羅生門 Rashōmon

1 Source and/or Related Material

“The Sword,” 120-Verse Tale of the Heike

2 Author

Kanze Nobumitsu

3 Repertoire

Kanze, Hōshō, Kongō, Kita

4 Synopsis

The ancient hero Minamoto no Yorimitsu (wakitsure) is at a banquet with his retainers (tsure) celebrating his having vanquished every monster in the land, when Fujiwara no Yasumasa mentions that the Rashōmon, the southern gate to the capital, is haunted by an oni. Watanabe no Tsuna (waki) protests that no monster could possibly have escaped Yorimitsu’s strong arm, then gets Yorimasa’s permission to go investigate and plant a signboard declaring that Yorimitsu has cleaned up this town. While Tsuna is preparing to set off all by himself, his retainer (ai) comes to retell the story in plain speech. Tsuna returns holding a sword and a whip to indicate that he is on horseback. He sets out into the rainy night and comes to the Rashōmon. He sets up his signboard and turns to go home, when suddenly the demon (shite) grabs his helmet from behind. Tsuna has a raging fight with the demon and finally cuts off one of its arms, and it flees, defeated.