Rashômon

Commoner:
No one tells a lie after he's said he's going to tell one.

Commoner:
But is there anyone who's really good? Maybe goodness is just make-believe.

Priest:
What a frightening...

Commoner:
Man just wants to forget the bad stuff, and believe in the made-up good stuff. It's easier that way.

Priest:
If men don't trust each other, this earth might as well be hell.

Commoner:
Right. The world's a kind of hell.

Priest:
No! I don't want to believe that!

Commoner:
No one will hear you, no matter how loud you shout. Just think. Which one of these stories do you believe?

Woodcutter:
None makes any sense.

Commoner:
Don't worry about it. It isn't as if men were reasonable.

Commoner:
It's human to lie. Most of the time we can't even be honest with ourselves.

Priest:
I don't want to hear it. No more horror stories.

Commoner:
They are common stories these days. I even heard that the demon living here in Rashômon fled in fear of the ferocity of man.

Woodcutter:
I'm the one who should be ashamed. I don't understand my own soul.

Priest:
A man's been murdered.

Commoner:
So what? Only one? Why, up on top of this gate, there's always five or six bodies. No one worries about them.

Priest:
I, for one, have seen hundreds of men dying like animals, but even I've never before heard anything as terrible as this. Horrible, it's horrible! There's never been anything, anything as terrible as this, never! It's worse than fires, wars, epidemics, or bandits!

Commoner:
Well, men are only men. That's why they lie. They can't tell the truth, even to themselves.

Priest:
That may be true. Because men are weak, they lie to deceive themselves.

Commoner:
Not another sermon! I don't mind a lie if it's interesting.

Priest:
Dead men tell no lies.

Commoner:
We all want to forget something, so we tell stories. It's easier that way.

Woodcutter:
Selfish!

Commoner:
What's wrong with that? That's the way we are, the way we live. You just can't live unless you're what you call selfish.

Masako:
A man has to make a woman his by his sword.

Commoner:
No one tells a lie after he's said he's going to tell one.

Commoner:
But is there anyone who's really good? Maybe goodness is just make-believe.

Priest:
What a frightening...

Commoner:
Man just wants to forget the bad stuff, and believe in the made-up good stuff. It's easier that way.

Priest:
If men don't trust each other, this earth might as well be hell.

Commoner:
Right. The world's a kind of hell.

Priest:
No! I don't want to believe that!

Commoner:
No one will hear you, no matter how loud you shout. Just think. Which one of these stories do you believe?

Woodcutter:
None makes any sense.

Commoner:
Don't worry about it. It isn't as if men were reasonable.

Commoner:
It's human to lie. Most of the time we can't even be honest with ourselves.

Priest:
I don't want to hear it. No more horror stories.

Commoner:
They are common stories these days. I even heard that the demon living here in Rash?mon fled in fear of the ferocity of man.

Woodcutter:
I'm the one who should be ashamed. I don't understand my own soul.

Priest:
A man's been murdered.

Commoner:
So what? Only one? Why, up on top of this gate, there's always five or six bodies. No one worries about them.

Priest:
I, for one, have seen hundreds of men dying like animals, but even I've never before heard anything as terrible as this. Horrible, it's horrible! There's never been anything, anything as terrible as this, never! It's worse than fires, wars, epidemics, or bandits!

Commoner:
Well, men are only men. That's why they lie. They can't tell the truth, even to themselves.

Priest:
That may be true. Because men are weak, they lie to deceive themselves.

Commoner:
Not another sermon! I don't mind a lie if it's interesting.

Priest:
Dead men tell no lies.

Commoner:
We all want to forget something, so we tell stories. It's easier that way.

Woodcutter:
Selfish!

Commoner:
What's wrong with that? That's the way we are, the way we live. You just can't live unless you're what you call selfish.

Masako:
A man has to make a woman his by his sword.

Taj?maru:
[recalling staring transfixed at the man's wife] I thought I saw a goddess. At that moment I decided to have her, even if I had to kill her man. But if I could have her without killing, all the better.

Taj?maru:
[Presenting his sword to the husband] Here, take it. Look at it. Near here I found this old tomb with things like this in it. I broke it open and inside I found swords, daggers, mirrors... I buried them all here in the woods and no one but me knows where. But if you're interested I might sell some of them to you cheap.

Taj?maru:
[Recalls luring the wife to the grove after telling her her husband has been bitten] She became very pale and stared at me as though her eyes were frozen. She looked like a child when it turns suddenly serious. The sight of her made me jealous of that man. I started to hate him. I wanted to show her what he looked like, all tied up like that. I hadn't even thought of a thing like that before, but now I did.