As has been said, the servant was waiting for a break in the rain. But he had no particular idea of what to do after the rain stopped.Ordinarily, of course, he would have returned to his master's house, but he had been discharged just before.The prosperity of the city of Kyoto had been rapidly declining, and he had been dismissed by his master, whom he had served many years, because of the effects of this decline.Thus, confined by the rain, he was at a loss to know where to go.And the weather had not a little to do with his depressed mood.The rain seemed unlikely to stop.He was lost in thoughts of how to make his living tomorrow, helpless incoherent thoughts protesting an inexorable fate.Aimlessly he had been listening to the pattering of the rain on the Sujaku Avenue.
The rain, enveloping the Rashomon, gathered strength and came down with a pelting sound that could be heard far away. Looking up, he saw a fat black cloud impale itself on the tips of the tiles jutting out from the roof of the gate.
He had little choice of means, whether fair or foul, because of his helpless circumstances. If he chose honest means, he would undoubtedly starve to death beside the wall or in the Sujaku gutter.He would be brought to this gate and thrown away like a stray dog.If he decided to steal… His mind, after making the same detour time and again, came finally to the conclusion that he would be a thief.But doubts returned many times.Though determined that he had no choice, he was still unable to muster enough courage to justify the conclusion that he must become a thief.
After a loud fit of sneezing he got up slowly. The evening chill of Kyoto made him long for the warmth of a brazier.The wind in the evening dusk howled through the columns of the gate.The cricket which had been perched on the crimson-lacquered column was already gone.
Ducking his neck, he looked around the gate, and drew up the shoulders of the blue kimono which he wore over his yellow thin underwear. He decided to spend the night there, if he could find a secluded corner sheltered from wind and rain.He found a broad lacquered stairway leading to the tower over the gate.No one would be there, except the dead, if there were any.So, taking care that the sword at his side did not slip out of the scabbard, he set foot on the lowest step of the stairs.