"We all wear masks, and the time comes when we cannot remove them without removing some of our own skin"
André Berthiaume
Funny thing though, these stories are not nearly as creepy as the cover might suggest.
Another mystery series about folklore, I hear you say. The last two years, I read a lot of Mitsuda Shinzou's horror-mystery Toujou Genya series, about a writer of horror stories with an interest in folklore, who always gets involved with impossible murders related to esotoric religious ceremonies. Kitamori's Renjou Nachi Fieldwork series sounds somewhat similar at first, though the execution is completely different: both series are ultimately based on real, folkloristic and anthropological research, but Toujou Genya uses that to set-up unique religious ceremonies and local deities, with fully fleshed-out, but fictional histories. Renjou Nachi Fieldwork in comparison is built much more tightly upon real world research, and most of what you read and hear here, is actually applicable to the real world. In that sense it's very similar to the Professor Munakata manga series, though the latter isn't a murder mystery (not always/most of the time, at least). Mitsuda's Toujou Genya also has a distinct horror tone with some hints of the supernatural, while the Renjou Nachi Fieldwork is far livelier, with a lot of comedy. I haven't read much of Kitamori, but the two series I have read (the Minor Kyoto Mysteries series and the Tekki & Kyuuta series) also involve folklore, though of specific locations (the cities of Kyoto and Fukuoka). Renjou Nachi Fieldwork in contrast is about historical research into folklore.
The first story, Kifuu'e ("The Gathering To Seal The Oni"), start with Renjou getting a message from one of her students. Tsutsuki has made a video of a rare New Year's ritual of the Aotsuki clan of the Okayama Prefecture. While similar to ceremonies like the Shuni'e, there's a decisive difference with the better known variations of the ceremony, as in this case, the figure wearing an Oni mask is actually robbed of its mask, indicating a decapitation. Renjou is of course interested in this new variation and travels to Okayama to learn more about it, but then learns her student Tsutsuki was killed, and by none other than Aotsuki Emiko, daughter of the family. It appears Tsutsuki had been stalking her for some years now, and that she stabbed him this time when he visited her again. Most of the plot revolves around the true meaning of the Ceremony to Seal the Oni, which in turn shines a new light on Tsutsuki's death. While the truth behind Tutsutsuki's death isn't particularly shocking, it links up well with the historical interpretation of the Ceremony to Seal the Oni. It's kinda hard to guess the truth behind the ceremony, even with the hinting going on, but it's actually quite convincing as a historical hypothesis and on the whole, this is a pretty entertaining story.
The titular Kyoushoumen ("The Mask With The Accursed Smile") was found in an old storage of the Taniyama family. The wooden mask was apparently acquired in the Meiji period, but many in the village died after it was bought, after which it was sealed away in the storage. Back in the present, the last heir of the family, Reiko, has hired the ruthless antiques dealer Akutsu to appraise and sell the contents of the family storage, and Akutsu in turn send a mail to Renjou about the Mask with the Accursed Smile, saying he'd like her to examine it. Renjou accepts, even if she knows Akutsu is up to no good, but the day after her arrival, Akutsu is found murdered inside the locked storage. Reiko immediately becomes the main suspect as she has the only key, but Reiko not only proves her innocence, but even finds out who really did Akutsu, and more importantly, why. A somewhat chaotic story. I love the immediate motive for the murder, but the set-up for that is a bit sloppy, with vague hypotheses about the meaning of the mask being talked about as fact. I do like what the real purpose of the mask actually is, and how it was hinted at, but the step from there to the motive is too large, even if the motive itself is good. The locked room aspect of the story is basically waved away early on, so don't expect too much of that.
The locked room in Kaerazu no Ya ("The Room of No Return") is far more interesting in comparison. Renjou is asked to investigate an annex room in the paternal home of Moriya Kikue, a well-known feminist and scholar. Kikue believes the room to be a "Woman's Room", where women who had their period were locked up because it was believed that it was impure, and she wants Renjou to prove it. The next morning however, Kikue herself is found dead in the annex room, with the only footprints in the snow in the pathway from the main house being those of the servant who discovered her body. This is the best story of this collection, as the connection between the topic of research (the room) is connected directly to the murder mystery: solving one problem means solving the other, while in the other stories, solving one problem usually only means having set one (big) step towards the solution of the other problem. The real purpose of the room is horrifying, and the hints pointing towards the truth actually presented quite openly, though it takes a lot of imagination and courage to be able to arrive at the true identity of the room. Once you know how the room works though, it's a small step towards who killed Kikue and how.
In Soushishin ("The Deity of Double Death"), Renjou's assistant is approached by a local amateur folklorist, who thinks he has found a brand new interpretation of the legend of the Daidarabotchi (a kind of giant believed to have lived in Japan). He hopes he can do a joint research with Naitou and have it published. Naitou travels, without Renjou's knowledge, to the amateur researcher, who says he has discovered an ancient iron furnace site in the mountains. The first visit is just a preliminary one, but Naitou's friend doesn't show up the other day, and figuring the man may have gone into the mountains alone, Naitou decides to go out himself, where he finds that the man was crushed by a landslide which also destroyed the furnace cave. The mystery then revolves around whether the accident was really an accident, and what the victim's hypothesis on the Daidarabotchi really was. This is the least interesting story: there's some interesting historical sleuthing going on based on the meaning behind actual historical writings regarding the introduction of weapons in Japan, but the modern mystery is really a let down, basically a 'it was all a conspiracy!' solution.
Renjou is sent two research essays by two different people, but both from the same place and both regarding Kakure Kirishitan ('underground Christians') in Jashuubutsu ("The Heretic Buddha"). Both essays use a Buddhist statue which was recently discovered in a small vilage as the focus of their research. One of the essays includes a picture of the statue, which seems to be a Buddha statue whose arms were cut off. Interested in the statue, Renjou and Naitou travel to the village, only to learn that the author of one of the essays was murdered, and what's more, his body was left in a manner that resembles the statue! An okay story, but ultimately, the historical meaning about the statue, and the mystery of the murder don't really connect: the statue is involved with the murder as an object, but the historical backstory is not directly related to the murder. Like I said with the earlier story Kaerazu no Ya, I think this series is at its best when the two do link up in a meaningful manner, so I was a bit disappointed with this. The hinting for the murder is done quite well, but because the historical and murder mystery kinda run parallel, without crossing in a significant manner, the story can feel a bit cramped.
But did I like Kyoushoumen - Renjou Nachi Fieldwork I in the end? Sure! Kitamori has done a lot of research for these stories, and the folklore discussed here is truly captivating, with exciting interpretations of historical events and traditions offered. Readers of Professor Munakata should definitely read this. As a murder mystery, I do find it a shame not all stories manage to propose a truly meaningful link between the modern day murder, and the historical mystery plot, but on the whole, this first short story collection definitely has me longing for more. I do have to say the series is perhaps best read by minor (Japanese) history buffs: obviously, the stories do help you ease into each specific topic, but you do need some prior knowledge about Japanese pre-modern history and culture if you want to be able to put everything into perspective. With zero historical and cultural knowledge of pre-modern Japan, I think it may be hard to really get into each story.
Original Japanese title(s): 北森鴻 『凶笑面 蓮丈那智フィールドファイルI』：「鬼封会」/「凶笑面」/「不帰屋」/「双死神」/「邪宗仏」
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