In A Grove.pdf. This story revolves around the murder of Takehito.

in a grove

1. J
r
INAGROVE
(I1~~)

2. THETESTIMONY OFAWOODCUlTER QUESTIONED
BYAHIGHPOLICECoMMISSIONER
)
YES,SIR.Certainly,itwasIwhofoundthebody.
Thismorning,asusual,Iwenttocutmydaily
quotaofcedars,whenIfoundthebodyinagrove
inahollowinthemountains.Theexactlocation?
About150metersofftheYamashinastageroad.
It'sanout-of-the-waygroveofbambooand
cedars.
Thebodywaslyingflatonitsbackdressedin
"abluishsilkkimonoanditwrinkledhead-dress
oftheKyotostyle.Asinglesword-strokehad
piercedthebreast.Thefallenbamboo-blades
arounditwerestainedwithbloodyblossoms.No,
"thebloodwasnolongerrunning.Thewound
haddriedup,Ibelieve.Andalso,agad-flywas
stuckfastthere,hardlynoticingmyfootsteps.
YouaskmeifIsawaswordor-anysuchthing?
No,nothing,sir.Ifoundonlya"ropeatthe
. .. .•..
rootofacedarnearby.And•••well,inaddi-
tiontoarope,Ifoundacomb.Thatwasall.
Apparendyhemusthavemadeabattleofit
beforehewasmurdered,becausethegrassand
fallenbamboo-bladeshadbeentrampleddown
allaround.
\
1
:
,
\,
.
i
i
"Ahorsewasnearby?" ,
No,sir.It'shardenoughforamantoenter,\
letaloneahorse. \
f,

3. THETESTIMONY OFATRAVELING BUDDmST
.PnrssrQUESTIONED BYAHIGHPOLICE
CoMMISSIONER
.I
\
Thetime?Certainly,itwasaboutnoonyester-
day,sir.Theunfortunatemanwasontheroad
fromSekiyamatoYamashina,Hewaswalking !
towardSekiyamawithawomanaccompanying
himonhorseback,whoIhavesincelearnedwas
hiswife.Ascarfhangingfromherheadhidher
facefromview.An-Isawwasthecolorofher
clothes,alilac-coloredsuit.Herhorse. wasa
sorrelwithafinemane.Thelady'sheight?Oh,
aboutfourfeetfiveinches.SinceIamaBuddhist
priest;Itooklittlenoticeaboutherdetails.Well,
themanwasarmedwithaswordaswellasa
bowandarrows.AndIrememberthathecar-
riedsometwentyoddarrowsinhis-quiver.
LittledidIexpectthathewouldmeetsucha
fate.Trulyhumanlifeisasevanescentasthe
morningdeworaflashoflightning.Mywords
areinadequatetoexpressmysympathyforhim.
f
/

4. THE TESTIMONY OFAPOLICEMAN QUESTIONED
BYAHIGHPOLICECoMMISsIONER
ThemanthatIarrested?Heisanotorious
brigandcalledTajomaru.WhenIarrestedhim,
hehadfallenoffhishorse.Hewasgroaningon
thebridgeatAwataguchi.Thetime?Itwasin
theearlyhoursoflastnight.Fortherecord,I
mightsaythattheotherdayItriedtoarresthim,
butunfortunatelyheescaped.Hewaswearinga
darkbluesilkkimonoandalargeplainsword.
And,asyou'see,hegotabowandarrowssome-
where.Yousaythatthisbowandthesearrows
lookliketheonesownedbythedeadman?Then
Tajomarumustbethemurderer.Thebow
woundwithleatherstrips,theblacklacquered
quiver,theseventeenarrowswithhawkfeathets
-thesewereallinhispossessionIbelieve.Yes,
sir,thehorseis,asyousay,~sorrelwithafine
mane.AlittlebeyondthestonebridgeIfound
thehorsegrazingbytheroadside,withhislong
reindangling.Surelythereisscme-providence
inhishavingbeenthrownbythehorse.
OfalltherobbersprowlingaroundKyoto,this
Tajomaruhasgiventhemostgrieftothewomen
intown.Lastautumnawifewhocametothe
mountainbackofthePindoraoftheToribe
Temple,presumablytopayavisit,wasmur-
dered,alongwithagirl.Ithasbeensuspected
thatitwashisdoing.Hthiscriminalmurdered
theman,youcannottellwhathemayhavedone
withtheman'swife.Mayitpleaseyourhonor
tolookintothisproblemaswell.
!
l

5. -THETESTIMONY OFANOLDWOMAN QUESTIONED
B¥AHIGHPOLICECoMMISSIONER
Yes,sir,thatcorpseisthemanwhomarried
mydaughter.HedoesnotcomefromKyoto.
HewasasamuraiinthetownofKokufuinthe
provinceofWakasa.HisnamewasKanazawa
noTakehiko,andhisagewastwenty-six.Hewas
ofagendedisposition,soIamsurehedidnoth-
ingtoprovoketheangerofothers. i
Mydaughter?HernameisMasago,andherI,.
ageisnineteen.Sheisaspirited,fun-lovinggirl,
butIamsureshehasneverknownanyman
exceptTakehiko.Shehasasmall,oval,dark-
complectedfacewithamoleatthecomerofher
lefteye.
YesterdayTakehikoleftforWakasawithmy
daughter.Whatbadluckitis~:ltthingsshould
havecometosuchasadend!Whathasbecome
ofmydaughter?Iamresignedto,.¢vingupmy
son-in-lawaslost,butthefateofmydaughter
worriesmesick.Forheaven'ssakeleavenostone
unturnedtofindher.IhatethatrobberTajo-
maru,orwhateverhisnameis.Notonlymyson-
in-law,butmydaughter•••(Herlaterwords
weredrownedintears.)

6. THECoNFESSION OFAWOMANWnoHAs
CoMETOTHEShimizuTEMPLE
Thatmaninthebluesilkkimono,afterforc-
ingmetoyieldtohim,laughedmockinglyashe
lookedatmyboundhusband.Howhorrifiedmy i
husbandmusthavebeen!Butnomatterhow
hardhestruggledinagony,theropecutintoi
himallthemoretightly.InspiteofmyselfIranI
stwnblinglytowardhisside.OrratherItriedto\
runtowardhim,butthemaninstantlyknocked
medown.Justatthatmoment'Isawanin-
describablelightinmyhusband'seyes.Som~-
thingbeyondexpression••.hiseyesmakeme
shudderevennow.Thatinstantaneouslookof
myhusband,whocouldn'tspeakaword,told
meallhisheart.Theflashinhiseyeswasneither
angernorsorrow•••onlyacoldli&ht, ~look1
ofloathing.Morestruckbythelookinhiseyes1
th~bYftheblflowdoffllth~thief,.Icalledoutin1\_
spIte0myseaneunconscious,
InthecourseoftimeIcameto,andfoundthat.
themaninbluesilkwasgone.Isawonlymy
husbandstillboundtotheroot'ofthecedar.I
raisedmyselffromthebamboo-bladeswithdiffi-
culty,andlookedintohisface;buttheexpression
inhiseyeswasjustthesameasbefore.
Beneaththecoldcontemptinhiseyes,there
washatred.Shame,grief,andanger...Idon't
knowhowtoexpressmyheartatthattime.
Reelingtomyfeet,Iwentuptomyhusband.
"Takejiro,"Isaidtohim,"sincethingshave
cometothispass,Lcannotlivewithyou.I'm
determinedtodie,•••butyoumustdie,too.
Yousawmyshame.Ican'tleaveyoualiveas\i
youare."
ThiswasallIcouldsay.Stillhewenton
gazingatmewithloathingandcontempt.MyIi
heartbreaking,Ilookedforhissword.Itmust
havebeentakenbytherobber.Neitherhis
swordnorhisbowandarrowsweretobeseen
inthegrove.Butfortunatelymysmallswordi
waslyingatmyfeet.Raisingitoverhead,once
moreIsaid,"Nowgivemeyourlife.I'llfollow
.h "youngtaway. .
Whenheheardthesewords,hemovedhislips
withdifficulty.Sincehismouthwasstuffedwith
leaves,ofcoursehisvoicecouldnotbeheardat
all.Butataglance1understoodhiswords.De-
spisingme,hislooksaidonly,"Killme."Neither
consciousnorunconscious,Istabbedthesmall
swordthroughthelilac-coloredkimonointohis
breast.. -,
Againatthistime1musthavefainted.Bythe
timeImanagedtolookup,hehadalready
breathedhislast-stillinbonds.Astreakofsink-
ingsunlightstreamedthroughtheclumpof
cedarsandbamboos,andshoneonhispaleface.
Gulpingdownmysobs,1untiedtheropefrom
.hisdeadbody.And 00•andwhathasbecomeof
mesinceIhavenomorestrengthtotellyou.
,AnrwayIhadn'tthestrengthtodie.1stabbed
myownthroatwiththesmallsword,Ithrew
myselfintoapondatthefootofthemountain,
andItriedtokillmyselfinmanyways.Unable
toendmylife,Iamstilllivingindishonor.(A
lonelysmile.)WorthlessasIam,Imusthave
'beenforsakenevenbythemostmercifulKwan-
non.Ikilledmyownhusband.1wasviolatedby
therobber.WhatevercanIdo?Whatevercan
1,00~1••0(Gradually,violentsobbing.)

7. THESTORYOFTHEMURDERED MAN,ASTOLD
THROUGH AMEDIUM
Afterviolatingmywife,therobber,sitting
there,begantospeakcomfortingwordstoher.
OfcourseIcouldn'tspeak.Mywholebodywas
tiedfasttotherootofacedar.Butmeanwhile1
winkedathermanytimes,asmuchastosay
"Don'tbelievetherobber."Iwantedtoconvey
somesuchmeaningtoher.Butmywife,sitting
dejectedlyonthebambooleaves,waslooking
hardatherlap.Toallappearances,shewaslis-
teningtohiswords.Iwasagonizedbyjealousy.
Inthemeantimetherobberwentonwithhis
clevertalk,fromonesubjecttoanother.The
"robberfinallymadehisbold,brazenproposal.
)"Onceyourvirtueisstained,youwon'tget
alongwellwithyourhusband,sowon'tyoube
mywifeinstead?It'smyloveforyouthatmade
mebeviolenttowardyou."
Whilethecriminaltalked,mywiferaisedher
faceasifinatrance.Shehadneverlookedso
beautifulasatthatmoment.Whatdidmybeauti-
fulwifesayinanswertohimwhileIwassitting
boundthere?Iamlostinspace,butIhavenever
thoughtofheranswerwithoutburningwith
angerandjealousy.Trulyshesaid,•••"Then
takemeawayWithyouwhereveryougo."
Thisisnotthewholeofhersin.1£thatwere
all,Iwouldnotbetormentedsomuchinthe
dark.Whenshewasgoingoutofthegroveasif
inadream,herhandintherobber's,shesuddenly
turnedpale,andpointedatmetiedtotherootof
thecedar,andsaid,"Killhim!Icannotmarry
youaslongashelives.""Killhim!"shecried
manytimes,asifshehadgonecrazy.Evennow
thesewordsthreatentoblowmeheaJuong into
thebottomlessabyssofdarkness.Hbsucha
hatefulthingcomeoutofahumanniouthever
before?Havesuchcursedwordseverstrucka
humanear,evenonce?Evenoncesuc~a.••(A
suddencryofscorn.)Atthesewordstherobber
himselfturnedpale."Killhim,"shecried,cling-
ingtohisanus.Lookinghardather,heanswered
neitheryesorno•••buthardlyhadIthought
abouthisanswerbeforeshehadbeenknocked
downintothebambooleaves.(Againacryof
scorn.)Quietlyfoldinghisarms,helookedatme
andsaid,"Whatwillyoudowithher?Killher
orsaveher?Youhaveonlytonod.Killher?"
ForthesewordsaloneIwouldliketopardon
hiscrime.
WhileIhesitated,sheshriekedand.raninto
thedepthsofthegrove.Therobberinstantly
snatchedather,buthefailedeventograspher
sleeve. i
Mtersheranaway,hetookupmysword,and"1"'
mybowandarrows.Withasinglestrokehecut".
oneofmybonds.Irememberhismumbling,"My
fateisnext."Thenhedisappearedfromthe
grove.Allwassilentafterthat.No,Iheard
someonecrying.Untyingtherestofmybonds,I
listenedcarefully,andInoticedthatitwasmy
owncrying.(Longsilence.)
Iraisedmyexhaustedbodyfromtherootof
thecedar.Infrontofmetherewasshiningthe
smallswordwhichmywifehad.dropped.Itook
it~andstabbeditintomybreast.Abloody
lumprosetomymouth,butIdidn'tfeelany
pain.Whenmybreastgrewcold,everythingwas
assilentasthedeadintheirgraves.Whatpro-
foundsilence!Notasinglebird-notewasheard
intheskyoverthisgraveinthehollowofthe
mountains.Onlyalonelylightlingeredonthe
cedarsandmountains.Byandbythelightgradu-
allygrewfainter,tillthecedars"andbamboowere
losttoview.Lyingthere,Iwasenvelopedin
deepsilence. . "
Thensomeonecreptuptome.Itriedtosee
whoitwas.Butdarknesshad"alreadybeen"
gatheringroundme.Someone•••thatsomeone
drewthesmallswordsofdyoutofmybreastin
itsinvisiblehand.Atthesametimeoncemore
bloodflowedintomymouth.Andonceandfor
allIsankdownintothedarknessofspace.
j
!

8. TAJoMARu'sCoNFESSION
Ikilledhim,butnother.Where'sshegone?I
can'ttell.Oh,waitaminute.Notorturecan
makemeconfesswhatIdon'tknow.Nowthings
havecometosuchahead,Iwon'tkeepanything
fromyou.
YesterdayalittlepastnoonImetthatcouple.
Justthenapuffofwindblew,andraisedher
hangingscarf,sothatIcaughtaglimpseofher
face.Instantlyitwasagaincoveredfrommy
view.Thatmayhavebeenonereason;shelooked
,likeaBodhisattva.AtthatmomentImadeupmy
JmindtocaptureherevenifIhadtokillherman.
Why?Tomekillingisn'tItmatterofsuch
greatconsequenceasyqumightthink.Whena
womaniscaptured,hermanhastobekilled
anyway.Inkilling,IusetheswordIwearatmy
side.AmItheonlyonewhokillspeople?You,
youdon'tuseyourswords.Youkillpeoplewith
yourpower,withyourmoney.Sometimesyou
killthemonthepretextofworkingfortheir
good.It'struetheydon'tbleed.Theyareinthe
bestofhealth,butallthesameyou'vekilled
them.It'shardtosaywhoisagreatersinner,.
youorm~.(Anironicalsmile.) . \
ButitwouldbegoodifIcouldcapturea\
womanwithoutkillingherman.So,Imadeup
mymindtocaptureher,anddomybestnotto
killhim.Butit'soutoftheguestiononthe
,"
Yamashinastageroad.SoImanagedtolurethe
coupleintothemountains.
Itwasquiteeasy.Ibecametheirtrllvelingcom.-
panion,andItoldthemtherewasanoldmound
inthemountainoverthere,andthatIhaddugit
openandfoundmanymirrorsandswords.Iwent
ontotellthemI'dburiedthethingsinagrove
behindthemountain,andthatI'dliketosell.
themnt"lowpricetonnyonewhowouldcnro!
tohavethem.Then•••yousee,isn'tgreedter-'
rible?Hewasbeginningtobemovedbymytalk
beforeheknewit.Inlessthanhalfanhourthey
weredrivingtheirhorsetowardthemountain
withme.
Whenhecarneinfrontofthegrove,Itold
themthatthetreasureswereburiedinit,andI
askedthemtocomeandsee.Themanhadno
objection-hewasblindedbygreed.Thewoman
saidshewouldwaitonhorseback.Itwasnatural
for.hertosayso,atthesightofathickgrove.
Totellyouthetruth,myplanworkedjustasI
wished,soIwentintOthegrovewithhim,leav-
ingherbehindalone.
Thegroveisonlybambooforsomedistance.
Aboutfiftyyardsaheadthere'sarather~pen
clumpofcedars.Itwasaconvenientspotformy
purpose.Pushingmywaythroughthegrove,I
toldhimaplausibleliethatthetreasureswere
buriedunderthecedars.WhenItoldhimthis,
hepushedhislaboriouswaytowardtheslender
cedarvisiblethroughthegrove.Afterawhilethe
bamboothinnedout,andwecarnetowherea
.numberor"cedarsgrewm:arow.Assoonaswe
gotthere,Iseizedhimfrombehind.Becausehe
wasatrained,sword-bearingwarrior,hewas
quitestrong,buthewastakenbysurprise,so
therewasnohelpforhim.Isoontiedhimup
totherootofacedar.WheredidIgetarope?
Thankheaven,beingarobber,Ihadaropewith
me;sinceImighthavetoscaleawallatany
mOl~1ent.Ofcourseitwaseasytostophimfrom
callingoutbygagginghismouthwithfallen
bambooleaves.
WhenIdisposedofhim,Iwenttohiswoman
andaskedhertocomeandseehim,becausehe
seemedtohavebeensuddenlytakensick.It's
needlesstosaythatthisplanalsoworkedwell.
'Thewoman,hersedgehatoff,carneintothe
depthsofthegrove,whereIledherbythehand.
Theinstantshecaughtsightofherhusband,she
drewasmallsword.I'veneverseenawomanof
suchviolenttemper.IfI'dbeenoffguard,I'd
havegOtathrust: inmyside.Idodged,butshe
keptonslashingatme.Shemighthavewounded
medeeplyorkilledme.ButI'mTajomaru.I
managedtostrikedownhersmallswordwithout
drawingmyown.Themostspiritedwomanis
defenselesswithoutaweapon.AtleastIcould
satisfymydesireforherwithouttakingher
husband'slife.
Yes,..•withouttakinghislife.Ihadnowish
tokillhim.Iwasabouttorunawayfromthe
grove,leavingthewomanbehindintears,when
shefranticallyclungtomyann.IIIbrokenfrag-

9. mentsofwords,sheaskedthateitherherhusbandI
orIdie.Shesaiditwasmoretryingthandeath,Ii
rohavehershameknowntotwomen.Shegasped~
outchatshewantedtobethewifeofwhichcvcr.i].
survived.Thenafuriousdesiretokillhimseized"r
me,(Gloomyexcitement.) I
TeUingyouinthisway,nodoubtIseemai
c~elcrmanthanyou.B~ltthat'sbeca~youl
didn'tseeherface.EspeciallyherbummgeycsI.
atthatmoment.As.1sawh~eyetoeye,IwantedI'
tolD2kehermywifeevenifIweretobestruck
bylighming.Iwantedtomakehermywifc•••I
.thissingledesirefilledmymind.This-wasnot
onlylUst.asyoumightthink.AtthattimeifI'd
hadnootherdesirethanInst,I'dsurelynethave
mindedknockingherdownand'runninga~y...
lJtenIwouldn'thavesainedmyswordwithbis1
blood.ButthemomentIguedatherfaccinthe!
darkgrove,Idecidednottoleave,thereWithoutI
killinghim. ' I
'ButIdidn'tliketoresorttounfairmeansto
killhim.Iuntied.himandtoldbimtocrossI
. I
swordswithme.(Theropethatwasfoundati
therootofthecedaristherope11iroppedatthe:'
time.)Furiouswithanger,hedrewhisthickI
sword.And'quick' asthought.hesprangatme!
ferociously;withoutspeakingaword.Ineedn't:'
tellyouhowour'fightturnedout.vThetwenty-'i
thirdstroke•••pleaserememberthis.I'mim-;'
pressedwith,this,factstilLNo~odyunderthe\
sunhas·evercl2shedswordsWIthmetwentyJ
strokes.(Acheerfulsmile.) '\
Whenh~fell,Iturnedtowudher,lowebng
myblood-st2inedsword.Buttomygreataston-
,.':'ishmentshewasgone,Iwonderedtowhereshe
,hadrunaway.Llookedforherintheclumpof
cedars.1listened,butheardonlyagroaning
soundfromthethroatof'thedyingIruUL
AsSOOllaswestartedtocrossswords,shetmy
haverunawaythroughthegrovetocaUlorr.
help.Whenlilioughtoftht.'I.deeideditwas II:
amatteroflifeanddeathtome.So,1'Qbbinghim
ofhissword,andbowandarrows.IDUoutto
themo~t3inroad.Th¢rcIfoundhethone,still
grazing·qUiedy.'ItwouldbeamereW2StCof
wordstotellyouthelatetdetaib,butbeforeI
enteredtownIhada1readyparted" withthe
sword.That'sanmyconfession.Iknowthat,my
headwillbehunginchainsanywaYfsoputme
downfortheuwdmumpenalty.(Adefiantat-
titude.)