Summary Of Temple By Tajomaru

Most of the characters in the story have ambiguous tales, but the statement of the woman who has come to the Shimizu temple, also known as the wife of the murdered man, is one of the most controversial. Based on the information from the testimonies of the dead husband and Tajomaru, its deduced she was violated in some way by Tajomaru. She goes through traumatic events that make her account untrustworthy. For example, she gives a radically, contradicting detail about her husband on page 5, “Beneath the cold contempt in his eye, there was hatred. Shame, grief, and anger...I don’t know how to express my heart at that time”. Contrary, her mother, describes her son-in-law “of gentle disposition, so I am sure he did nothing to provoke the anger of

others” (2). The mother's approval of the son exemplifies his nature because she would not let her daughter marry an inferior man. Furthermore, the wife gathers she should kill a man from a supposed look in her husband's eyes. Then she tries to commit suicide multiple times, but is unsuccessful. She is clearly not stable and finishes talking by breaking into “violent sobbing” (6). The wife's narrative creates confusion for the reader because they do not know who tells the truth. Ultimately, the author's use of unreliable narrative in the structure of his text added mystery to the plot and the individual behind the murder.
Moreover, Tajomaru is another character with an unreliable narrative.

He is a robber and is also suspected to be the a killer in a previous crime. After he claims he fought the husband to the death, he is steadfast in his emotions and says he is ready for the maximum penalty from the police. Tajomaru is erratic because he is controlled by single desires that consume his mind in seconds. Tajomaru first saw the couple in the afternoon and he says, “That may have been one reason; she looked like a Bodhisattva. At that moment I made up my mind to capture her even if I had to kill her mind” (2). His resolve to kill a man for a girl was made after a glimpse of her face when the wind briefly blew her scarf. In addition, when Tajomaru concocted a plan that did not require the death of the husband, he decided it was good enough to leave him tied to a tree. But when the wife asks him to kill the husband, he says, “Then a furious desire to kill him seized me” (4). A mere request enveloped his mind into one thought and destroyed his resolve to keep the man alive. Tajomaru is not reliable because he does not think of the consequences of his actions and lives only in the present second. The capriciousness and fickleness of his character make his testimony unreliable. Tajomaru was the first to claim responsibility for the murder of the husband. His narrative adds suspense to the plot and readers are sitting on the edge of their chairs, biting their nails, and fervently reading on to find

out what happened next and who the killer is. Unfortunately, the story results in a inconclusive murderer, adding tension to the piece. The lack of definite conclusion opens endless debates on who is the killer.
Others might argue that the narratives are reliable based on the nature of their job titles or positions. Yet almost every single person has a trait or quality that makes their testimony unreliable, including their title. Although the policeman is the law and is expected to tell the truth, he has a burning desire to incarcerate Tajomaru and surmises Tajomaru is the culprit. The Buddhist priest is religious and that affects how he describes what he saw. Tajomaru has questionable morals and he is a robber. The Old Woman is the mother of the wife so she is biased to protect her daughter. The wife has gone through traumatic events and her emotional state is suspicious. And finally, the title of the husband's testimonial is, "The Story of the Murdered Man, as Told Through a Medium" (6). His narrative is definitely unsound because his version is being told by someone else. Those who do not believe in mediums will not even consider his words as truth. The medium could have fabricated or altered the details.
The narratives muddled the truth and clouds the story with mystery and suspense for those seeking the truth. Nonetheless, the open ended conclusion leaves readers tense at all the different possibilities and loose ends left by the author and his use of unreliable narratives.