The Action takes place in Kyoto, Japan, about a thousand years ago at

• an edge of the Rashomon gate
• at a police court
• and in a nearby forest.
  

Before the time of our play, Rashomon was the largest gate in Kyoto, the ancient capital of Japan. It was 106 feet wide and 26 feet deep, its wall rising 75 feet and topped by a ridge - pole. With the decline of West Kyoto, the gate fell into bad repair and became a decayed relic with an unsavory reputation, a hideout for thieves and a dump for unclaimed corpses.