Rashomon
Subjective truth phenomenon
Rashomon refers to contradictory accounts of the same event, each told from a different perspective and each internally coherent.
The term comes from Akira Kurosawa's 1950 film, in which witnesses to a crime give irreconcilable testimonies.
A Rashomon effect or Rashomon situation describes any case where truth remains elusive because participants remember or interpret events differently: Every family dinner becomes a Rashomon—nobody agrees on what actually happened.
Legendary Japanese film director
- 1950Mid-twentieth century year
- samuraiFeudal Japanese military caste
- woodcutterOne who fells trees
- banditArmed roadside thief
priest · medium · gate · forest · courtyard · testimony · black-and-white · cinematography
Personal viewpoint coloring perception
- contradictionOpposing claims, incompatible together
- biasUnfair inclination or prejudice
- eyewitnessOne who saw events
- testimonySworn statement as evidence
unreliable memory · discrepancy · ambiguity · self-serving · truth · perception · recollection · false memory
Involuntary past memory
- unreliable narratorStoryteller whose credibility wavers
- multiple perspectivesSeveral distinct viewpoints
- contradictionOpposing claims, incompatible together
- nonlinearNot in sequence
storytelling · structure · framing device · voiceover · retelling · confession · subjective truth
Brief prose fiction
- adaptationFitting to new conditions
- KyotoJapan's former imperial seat
- demonsMalevolent supernatural beings
- decayGradual organic breakdown
Recurring narrative device
- cultural referenceShared societal knowledge marker
- legal studiesAcademic examination of law
- journalismNews gathering and dissemination
- historiographyStudy of history-writing
film studies · homage · remake · parody · Gone Girl · courtroom drama
Kurosawa
Legendary Japanese film director
- 1950Mid-twentieth century year
- samuraiFeudal Japanese military caste
- woodcutterOne who fells trees
bandit · priest · medium · gate · forest · courtyard · testimony · black-and-white · cinematography · dappled light
subjectivity
Personal viewpoint coloring perception
- contradictionOpposing claims, incompatible together
- biasUnfair inclination or prejudice
- eyewitnessOne who saw events
unreliable memory · testimony · discrepancy · ambiguity · self-serving · truth · perception · recollection · false memory · motivated reasoning
flashback
Involuntary past memory
- unreliable narratorStoryteller whose credibility wavers
- multiple perspectivesSeveral distinct viewpoints
- contradictionOpposing claims, incompatible together
nonlinear · storytelling · structure · framing device · voiceover · retelling · confession · subjective truth
short story
Brief prose fiction
- adaptationFitting to new conditions
- KyotoJapan's former imperial seat
- demonsMalevolent supernatural beings
trope
Recurring narrative device
- cultural referenceShared societal knowledge marker
- legal studiesAcademic examination of law
- journalismNews gathering and dissemination
historiography · film studies · homage · remake · parody · Gone Girl · courtroom drama
- Taisho LiteratureNaomi
- Classic FilmsCasablanca, Citizen Kane, Gone with the Wind, Some Like It Hot, Vertigo
- samuraisamurai, katana, ronin, bushido, shogun
- Japanese LiteratureNorwegian Wood, Confessions, Kappa, Genji, Haruki Murakami
- World CinemaJapanese cinema, national cinema, European cinema, Asian cinema, French New Wave
Rashomonobjective truth
Reality independent of perception
absolute truth · objective reality · documentary evidence · certainty · clarity
Rashomonomniscient narrator
Storyteller with unlimited knowledge
linear narrative · cinéma vérité · security footage · bodycam footage