Mystery
A recurring idea that shapes In a Grove.
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In a grove near Yamashina, a man is found stabbed. Seven testimonies—woodcutter, priest, policeman, mother, thief Tajōmaru, wife Masago, and the dead man's spirit—give conflicting accounts of rape, murder, and flight. The thief confesses a duel; the wife says she killed at her husband's command; the husband's spirit says she betrayed him and he suicided. No single truth is established.
A man's body is discovered in a grove near Yamashina. The woodcutter reports finding a stabbed corpse in bluish robes; a priest recalls seeing the man with a veiled woman on a horse the prior day; a policeman states he captured the known thief Tajōmaru with the victims' bow and horse. The wife's mother identifies the dead man as her son-in-law Kanazawa no Takehiko and the woman as her daughter Masago. In his confession, Tajōmaru claims he lured the couple into the grove, bound the husband, took the wife, and—after she demanded one man die—killed Takehiko in a duel (23rd stroke). He says the wife then vanished. Masago's account (at Kiyomizu Temple) states Tajōmaru raped her before the bound husband, whose look of contempt broke her; she says he mouthed 'kill me', and she stabbed him, then failed to die by her own hand. The husband's spirit, spoken via a medium, asserts the wife consented to leave with Tajōmaru, urged the thief to kill the husband, then fled; the spirit says he took her dropped knife and killed himself. The woodcutter's initial report mentions only rope and comb at the scene, not the knife or weapons later described. No chapter resolves the contradictions.
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In a Grove belongs to the literary and cultural world of Public-domain literature.
A man's body is discovered in a grove near Yamashina. The woodcutter reports finding a stabbed corpse in bluish robes; a priest recalls seeing the man with a veiled woman on a horse the prior day; a policeman states he captured the known thief Tajōmaru with the victims' bow and horse. The wife's mother identifies the dead man as her son-in-law Kanazawa no Takehiko and the woman as her daughter Masago. In his confession, Tajōmaru claims he lured the couple into the grove, bound the husband, took the wife, and—after she demanded one man die—killed Takehiko in a duel (23rd stroke). He says the wife then vanished. Masago's account (at Kiyomizu Temple) states Tajōmaru raped her before the bound husband, whose look of contempt broke her; she says he mouthed 'kill me', and she stabbed him, then failed to die by her own hand. The husband's spirit, spoken via a medium, asserts the wife consented to leave with Tajōmaru, urged the thief to kill the husband, then fled; the spirit says he took her dropped knife and killed himself. The woodcutter's initial report mentions only rope and comb at the scene, not the knife or weapons later described. No chapter resolves the contradictions.
Begin by following how mystery and psychological fiction shape the work’s central choices.
Source and editorial notice
Public-domain source information is preserved with the published edition. This reading guide was created with AI assistance and reviewed before publication.