Short Story Han's Crime By Naoya Shiga

The short story “Han’s Crime” by Naoya Shiga took placed one night during a theatre performance. This specific performance involved the protagonist, Han who is a noble Christian man, and his wife whereas Han’s wife died on site due to a knife that was thrown puncturing her in the neck. Han’s wife death was no accident because they were having martial issues, Han showed no remorse for his wife’s death, and he executed the crime during a high risk performance as a disguise. Throughout “Han’s Crime”, the martial issues of Han and his wife was often discussed. For instance, while the judge was interviewing Han, Han was asked what about the birth of their child changed things? Han responded, Because I knew it was not mine. I think it was my wife’s cousins. The child was born eight months after we were married” (West et al.217). Here, it was discovered that not only did Han’s wife bore a child that soon died after was not his, but she also had a previous affair with a cousin of hers. Later on, Han stated that even though he pondered about

With at least three years of experience, Han should have known that people would question his mistake since with that much experience, he should be an expert. When conversing with the judge, the theatre director explained that the incident was extremely unlikely, but then goes on to say, “I think we must admit that there was always the possibility of a mistake” (West et al.215). Even though the act came to as a surprise to many, the fact that mistakes occur cannot be ruled out. In “Han’s Crime”, Han carried out a well-executed plan to premeditatedly murder his wife. His reasoning was no far from the fact that him and his wife were having martial issues, he showed no remorse for his wife’s death, and he executed the crime during a high risk performance as a