Tajamoro's Confession
Tajamoro may be lying in his confession to improve his overall reputation. The wanted criminal begins his confession by saying “I killed him, but not her” (Akutagawa 19). He was finally caught, so now he is being charged for all the crimes he has committed. At this point, he is done for and knowing this, can only do one thing, and that makes himself look good in ways that a criminal would. Tajamoro had nothing to lose since being caught, so he might have made up a story to show he gave the Samurai a fair chance, he “didn’t like to resort to unfair means…. He untied him” (Akutagawa 23). He takes pride in his actions when he took the Samurai to, “The twenty-third stroke…..please remember this. I’m impressed with this fact still. Nobody… Has ever