Maps of Movies

Rashomon (1950)

Where Rashomon says it takes place, and where it was really shot.

A ruined gate, a studio courtyard and two Japanese forests: the whole film was shot on three sets and a few woods.

Scenes and places

Three men sheltering at the Rashomon gate

Under the broken gate, a woodcutter and a monk sit stunned, still shaken by a trial they have just left. A passing commoner asks what they are talking about, and the first account begins.

Set in Rashōmon gate, Heian-kyō (Kyoto) — The ruined main gate of Heian-era Kyoto, where a woodcutter, a monk and a commoner wait out a downpour. Google Maps · Apple Maps

The story's gate stands at the site of the historical Rajōmon, the south gate of Heian-kyō; the film built its own at a studio.

Filmed at Daiei Kyoto Studio open set, Kyoto — The ruined gate was a full-size open set built in a 600-tsubo plot of the studio; the film's gate scenes were shot here. The rain was water tinted with black ink so cameras could record it. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there:

The courtyard testimonies

The woodcutter and the monk give their evidence about the body found in the woods. A captured bandit is brought in and a very different account begins.

Set in Kebiishi courtyard (police office garden), Heian-kyō — The courtyard of the Heian-era police office where witnesses give evidence about a samurai's death.

A studio set stands in for the Kebiishi courtyard; the film shot it in high-key white tones.

Filmed at Daiei Kyoto Studio open set, Kyoto — The police courtyard was the second open set built at the studio. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there:

The woodcutter walks into the mountain

The woodcutter shoulders his axe and climbs into the forest, where he will find the evidence of a killing.

Set in Mountain path into the forest — The wooded mountain where the woodcutter goes to cut wood and finds a body.

Filmed in a primeval forest outside the studio, where the shoot started.

The forest where the samurai dies

Three accounts replay the same afternoon: the bandit lures the samurai away from the road, and the couple's meeting with him goes differently in each telling. Each version makes the teller look better.

Set in The forest grove — The woods where a bandit meets a samurai and his wife, and the samurai ends up dead.

Sunlight filtered through leaves, with mirrors and a stretched net to place the shadows.

Filmed at Kōmyō-ji back hill, Nagaokakyō — Forest scenes were shot on the hill behind Kōmyō-ji from 17 July, alternating with the rainy gate scenes depending on the weather. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there:

A baby cries at the gate

The sound of a crying baby interrupts the three men. What they do with the child tests what each of them still believes about people.

Set in Rashōmon gate, Heian-kyō (Kyoto) — The gate again, where a child is found abandoned in the rain. Google Maps · Apple Maps

The same studio gate as the opening, now with the story's accounts finished.

Filmed at Daiei Kyoto Studio open set, Kyoto — Same open gate set as the opening; the final gate scene was shot here. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there:

Characters

• Woodcutter — The man who found the body and testifies at the trial.
• Monk — A Buddhist monk who saw the couple on the road and heard the testimonies.
• Commoner — A stranger who joins the two under the gate and asks to hear the story.
• Tajōmaru — The captured bandit accused of the samurai's death.
• Masago — The samurai's wife, who appears in every account.
• Takehiro Kanazawa — The samurai who dies in the woods.