1915 The university's literary newspaper, Teikoku Bungaku (Imperial Literature), published "Rashomon" in 1915, when he was 23 years old. It was just the author's third attempt into the short story form. The piece was then published as the title tale of Akutagawa's debut collection two years later. It has been said that "Rashomon" is the perfect short story; it tells its audience exactly what they want to know about the events of the past while leaving everything else ambiguous. It is a classic example of the mystery novel, featuring detectives searching for clues and informants who may have seen something but are not willing to talk due to the consequences. The protagonist, Okamoto Ronshu, is a lawyer who takes on cases where no one will help him. He decides to travel off by himself into the forest with only his servant as a guide, and during his search he comes across the scene of a crime: A murder has been committed and several important items are missing. With no one to turn to, Okamoto must find the truth by himself. Akutagawa used this story as the basis for his first collection, which was published two years after writing it. In this book, titled Rashomon (Red Pine Tree), the main character is given the task of investigating a murder case in Kyoto. He travels there alone by horse and cart, and during his investigation, other cases come up that seem similar to the first one.