“Akutagawa Ryunosake opened a hole in our consciousness. We circled the edge of the abyss, peering into its depths. Yokomitsu RiichiThe truth is not the only relative subject that Akutagawa Ryunosake questions in his short story "In a Grove." The text is an enigmatic take on everything from traditional Japanese symbolism to traditional gender roles. These paradoxes are reflected not only in the questions raised by each character's version of the truth, but also in the subverted stereotypes of traditional Japanese symbols and revealed in each witness's response to the crime. Interestingly, Akutagawa wraps the entire story within the framework of an old Japanese folk tale Konjaku and rewrites it to tell a modern tale where everything is in opposition to traditional Japanese perception. As reflected in the era in which he wrote the story, Akutagawa throws tradition on its ear and fills the story with contradictions. When examining the text of “In the Grove,” through the lens of Japanese symbolism, every detail of the story is a commentary that opposes a traditional reading of the text. It becomes clear that Akutagawa not only confuses traditional notions of truth, but that his depictions of the thief, the samurai, and the woman's account of rape reveal a modernist interpretation of this crime and present a "new" response to these ideas in its history. At first glance, it may seem like this story is a laundry list of stereotypical rape myths, but the gender roles presented by Akutagawa in this story are representative of a new woman taking charge of her destiny. Rape is a terrible crime that is the ultimate violation of a person's deepest self. The crime of rape in the story "In the Grove" is presented differently due to culture and its...... middle of paper ......l Episodes, legendary characters, folk myths, religious symbolism , illustrated in the arts of ancient Japan. Rutland, VT: John Lane, 1908. June 7, 2010. Web. April 25, 2014. Mackie, Vera. “Gender and Modernity in Japan’s “Long Twentieth Century”” Journal of Women’s History 25.3 (Fall 2013): 62-91. MUSE project. Internet. April 15, 2014. Marran, Christine L. Poison Woman: Understanding Female Transgression in Modern Japanese Culture. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota, 2007. Print. Matsui, Yayori. “The plight of Asian migrant women working in Japan’s sex industry.” Japanese Women: New Feminist Perspectives on the Past, Present, and Future. Ed. Kumiko Fujimura-Fanselow and Atsuko Kameda. New York: Feminist in the City of New York, 1995. 309-16. Print.Tsuruta, Kinya. "Akutagawa's 'In a Grove'" Essays on Japanese Literature (1977): 95-104. Web. April 15. 2014.