‘s the old woman testimony The next testimony was from an old woman who claimed to be the mother of a girl that the victim was with. In an earlier date, Tajomaru was claimed to have been arrested by this guy, but the former escaped his clutches. The officer claimed to have noticed Tajomaru wearing a light blue silk kimono as well as having a sword, a bow, and a quiver of arrows. ‘s the policeman testimony The policeman finds an alleged marauder with the name of Tajomaru thrown of his horse and wailing on his back on a stone bridge. He could give an estimate on the number of arrows in the man’s quiver he noticed the robes, the veil on her face, and the woman’s height. Albeit he said nothing about the incident, spoke with much detail. ‘s the priest testimony The priest claimed he came across a couple riding a horse on the Yamishina Road around noon a day before he testified. Lastly, he mentions there was only a piece of rope and a comb on the grove the crime took place in no horse, no blade. Moreover, he assumes the presence of a struggle that happened due to the fallen bamboo blades. The woodcutter also notices that the dead man donned a blue silk kimono and Kyoto style hairdo. ‘s the woodcutter testimony The lumberjack tells us in his statement that he discovered a man soaked in blood that has dried on his clothes and where he lays. The thief, the young woman, and the victim’s spirit all have greatly varied versions of what entails the event proper. The testimonies vary slightly in detail, save for the ones who are presumably directly related and/or first hand witnesses. The magistrate listens to each with the goal of learning the truth of the incident. The characters namely, the woodcutter, the priest, a police officer, an old woman, a thief, and a spiritual medium one might also include the penitential confession of a young woman as a testimony since her story was related with the rest. The plot The story goes directly with a variety of characters retelling their affidavits on a certain event which happens to be related with a dead young man found within a thicket of bamboo and cedar. One might at first believe the clues to be the truths leading to the culprit, but towards the end, we find out that how dismal the shards of “truth” really are. At first, the author makes the reader look at the fine details of the scenes, in doing so misleads the reader into a “try-hard mode” at deciphering the given “clues” as to whom the killer is this is all but a mental trap. Introduction Ryunosuke Akutagawa’s In a Grove is not your typical noir case. Under this paper, each testimony is analyzed and compared to each other to see how well their statements hold up against and with each other. Since the story gives only each character’s account of the matter, it proves difficult to have an accurate and unanimous interpretation of the story when characters provide conflicting testimonies. In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the course English 11: Literature and Society under Professor Kristine ReynaldoĪbstract This paper intends to help readers analyze the testimonials from the characters of Ryunosuke Akutagawa’s “In A Bamboo Grove”. An Analysis of Testimonials in Ryunosuke Akutagawa’s “In A Bamboo Grove”