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
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 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.
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
In the end, you cannot understand the things men do.
Woodcutter
I'm the one who should be ashamed. I don't understand my own soul.
Woodcutter
It's a lie. It's all a lie. Tajômaru's story and the woman's.
Commoner
It's human nature to lie. Most of the time we can't even be honest with ourselves.
Priest
That may be. But it's because men are weak that they lie, even to themselves.
Commoner
Not another sermon. I don't care if it's a lie, as long as it's entertaining. What story did the woman come up with?
Priest
Well, it's completely different from Tajômaru's story. So different that her face didn't even show the fierceness he spoke of. She was so docile, she was almost pitiful.
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.
Woodcutter
Damn it. Everyone is selfish and dishonest. Making excuses. The bandit, the woman, the man, and you!
Priest
A human life is truly as frail and fleeting as the morning dew.
Priest
Dead men tell no lies.
Tajômaru
I saw the couple three days ago. It was a hot afternoon. Suddenly a cool breeze rustle the leaves. If it hadn't been for that wind, I wouldn't have killed him.
Tajômaru
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.
Commoner
I wanted to hear a story, not one of your sermons.
Commoner
If men lie in this world, what makes you so sure they'll be honest in the next?
Commoner
It sounded interesting, at least while I kept out of the rain. But if it's a sermon, I'd sooner listen to the rain.
Masako
It's you two who are weak! [to Takehiro] If you are my husband, kill this man, then you can tell me to kill myself! But you're not a real man. That is why I was crying. I'm tired of this farce. [She continues laughing, and turns to Tajomaru] I thought Tajomaru might find some way out. [She clutches the bandit by his rags] I thought that if he would save me I would do anything for him! I wanted you to take me away. I would have been yours! [She spits in his face and laughs again] But he's not a man, either. He's just like my husband. [Tajomaru cringes] Remember, a woman loves a real man only. A man has to make a woman his by his sword.