The Professor and the Puzzle

 "Archaeology is the search for fact ... not truth."

"Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade"

Like I mentioned in the review of the first volume in this series: despite the cover art, these stories aren't scary at all. I'd love to read a series with the atmosphere invoked by this art though! I really have a weakness for occult-historical mysteries.

Most students who sign up for Renjou Nachi's folklore course are lured by her looks, but it usually doesn't take long for them to drop out: Renjou may have a reputation as one of the better known figures in the academic field of Japanese folklore and anthropology, but that's because she's highly unorthodox and dares to take on very risky positions in academic discussions and many students in her class curse the day they signed up for her class as they battle with the vague essay assignments at the end of the semester. The person who has to suffer the most under her is her teaching assistant Naitou Mikuni, who recognizes her brilliance, but who is also the one who has do all the administrative work whenever Renjou spends their lab's whole year's fieldwork budget within a month and keeps skipping classes. Renjou's brilliant mind however also comes handy in criminal cases and for some reason, she has a knack for getting involved with murder cases whenever she's doing research on a new subject. Kitamori Kou's Sokushinbutsu - Renjou Nachi Fieldwork II ("The Buddhist Mummy - The Fieldwork of Renjou Nachi II", 2002) collects five more adventures of Renjou and Mikuni as they do research on Buddhist statues, essays on the meaning of famous Japanese myths and... murder.

I read the first volume in this series earlier this year and it was the folklore angle in particular that attracted me. Mitsuda Shinzou's horror-mystery Toujou Genya series builds upon actual folkloristic and anthropological concepts to create fully fleshed-out, but ultimately fictional histories to set-up unique religious ceremonies and local deities that are used in the murders there, but Renjou Nachi Fieldwork is built upon actual folkloristic and anthropological research and a lot of the themes and topics discussed in these stories are actually applicable to real-world understanding of history and anthropology. You learn a lot about Japanese history here, usually from a religious angle as Renjou's research topics often focus on material culture (so a lot of religious statues/graves/etc.), but at times, she'll also be analyzing well-known myths from Japan and focus on the meaning behind them or how they changed throughout the centuries. Kitamori obviously did a lot of research to write these stories and for the history buffs under us, this series really deserves some attention.

In the opening story Hikuyou ("Hidden Memorial"), Renjou and Mikuni are out on fieldwork to research a group of stone figures hidden away in a grove in a deep forest. They suspect these stones were to memorate some event, but there are no legends or stories passed on in this region that give any details about them. Renjou decides to use this topic as an essay question. Some days after the deadline, the police visit Mikuni about a murder case: the victim was burnt until there was little left of her, but they eventually identified her as a student in Renjou's class and people had seen her 'argue' with Mikuni about the assignment before her death. As far as Mikuni knows, she only came to ask some questions, but the case seems to take a weird turn when the computers in Renjou and Mikuni's office is ravaged by an unknown person. I feel that this series is at its best when there's a good link between the underlying folkloristic theme and the murder, but that isn't the case here. A lot of things happen, but the link that connects the stone statues to the murder is fairly weak (it basically could've been any research theme). I like how this ultimately becomes an academic mystery in the sense that the motive is firmly set within a college setting, but the folklore theme is underwhelming.

Daikokuyami ("The Great Darkness") is my favorite story of the collection, where I feel the mystery and the underlying folklore theme work the best. Mikuni is working on a paper about how the image of deities changes with time when he's visited by the student Sugizaki Naoko. She hopes Mikuni can help her brother, who has become a member of a shady university club. He's been duped in buying an expensive Buddhist statue, believing the statue to be a representation of himself and that owning it will bring him fortune. Mikuni earlier published a paper on modern sects and cults, and Naoko believes that the university club is actually some kind of cult. Mikuni tries to find Naoko's brother at the club room, but is soon overwhelmed by the mood there and is nearly persuaded to become the club's supervisor (a supervisor is needed in order to be recognized by the university), until he's saved by Renjou. Some days later, Naoko's brother is found hanging in a grove, with two Buddhist statues at his feet. Apparently, he wanted those statues desperately because he believed them to be his sister's representation and he killed the antiques dealer to steal them, until he hanged himself in remorse.  It's not difficult to guess how the real murderer slipped up even if you don't have specialistic knowledge, but the core murder plot is nicely combined with Mikuni's research theme to bring a satisfying story.

And this story reminded me of that time in Fukuoka, soon after I arrived, when a classmate (also an international student) mentioned in class that he had been invited to some gathering about happiness by someone he met at some party, and that the teacher immediately told him not to go and that it was probably some front for a sect or new religion and that that occasionally happened around campus.

Renjou has not shown her face in college for a few days at the start of Shinomitsurudama ("The Orb of Overflowing Blood"), but she's eventually found by the police, inside a car next to a corpse. Renjou had been at a small private academic gathering, where a few freeminded academics could exchanges ideas and talk about folklore in complete freedom. Renjou recalls she had been discussing the meaning of the meaning of the magatama as part of the imperial regalia of Japan with the victim, but at one point all of them had been knocked out by some sleeping medicine and while the others all found themselves dumped somewhere near their home, Renjou and the victim were left inside a car. Renjou becomes a suspect because a magatama was found inside the victim's stomach. Another story where the underlying folkloristic theme is actually far more interesting than the current-day murder. The theories Renjou poses about the symbolism of the imperial regalia are really interesting and really show off how captivating historical detectives can be. And while the motive is original in the sense that it only makes sense if you tie it to Renjou's theory, the actual murder itself is rather boring and the way it's proved who the murderer really is based on how the magatama was introduced in the victim's stomach was just silly.

In Sokushinbutsu ("A Buddhist Mummy"), Renjou and Mikuni investigate a 'Buddhist mummy' (Buddhist monks who mummified themselves alive by not eating and drinking) who for some reason has no history at all. A local scholar suspects this mummy was actually not merely a Buddhist mummy at first, but a complex amalgation of various religious figures from Japanese mythology, but Renjou doesn't confirm anything. Some time later, Renjou and Mikuni are contacted by the local scholar's daughter, who says her father is missing, but Renjou instantly knows where to look. A rather short and to-the-point story. This is a good example of when the motive of the culprit does connect brilliantly with the folkloristic topic and while the reader won't be doing much deducing themselves (you're never going to guess where the local scholar was simply based on the clues), I think the mystery of the actual meaning of the Buddhist mummy was pretty good and nicely founded in actual folkloristic research.

In the final story Okage-kou ("Thankful Trade"), Mikuni is surprised by the sudden arrival of Sae Yumiko, who is to become the newest member in Renjou's lab. This gives Mikuni some more free time to focus on his new assignment from Renjou, as he has to investigate the meaning behind a certain folklore tale that resembles the story of the straw millionaire. Meanwhile, Mikuni is also approached by Mera, the teaching assistant at Professor Mikami's lab. Yumiko used to work in Professor Mikami's pre-modern literature research group, and Mera wants her back there, and hopes Mikuni can help him. As far as he knows, Yumiko got transferred to Renjou's group on her own will, so Mikuni tells Mera he can't do much about it, but Mera doesn't seem like he's going to back down. Ultimately, the story manages to connect Mikuni's research to the story of Yumiko, but it's a bit forced. It's a complete coincidence that Mikuni's finding just happen to be mirrored in the circumstances surrounding Yumiko, and again, I think the actual folkloristic research in the meaning of the myth and its variations is much more interesting than the problems surrounding Yumiko.

Sokushinbutsu - Renjou Nachi Fieldwork II is a book that I wanted to like a lot more than I actually do. It's weird, but I think the historical and folkloristic topics Kitamori addresses in these stories are immensely entertaining and interesting, and the surprising anthropologic interpretations of the various topics do make for a great mystery. But these 'background stories' don't always connect well to the current-day mysteries Renjou and Mikuni face and more often than not, the historical mystery is simply more interesting than whatever crime the duo stumbled upon. I wonder if a purely historical approach like in Kujira Touichirou's Yamataikoku wa Doko Desuka? ("Where is Yamatai-koku?") would've worked better for me, for far too often, I feel myself hoping they just push the current-day crime aside and just hurry up to explaining to me exactly why the image of deities change over time or what the hidden meaning or origin is behind this or that myth. I think I will read more of this series, but I have a feeling it'll be mostly for the historical plots.

Original Japanese title(s): 北森鴻 『触身仏  蓮丈那智フィールドファイルII』:「秘供養」/「大黒闇」/「死満瓊」/「触身仏」/「御蔭講」

The Clue of the Velvet Mask

"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.

Renjou Nachi is a very unorthodox scholar of folklore, often seen as the bane of the students who need to pass her course to be able to graduate, due to her incredibly vague essay questions. Renjou is of the opinion that any good folklorist needs to possess limitless imagination, though always grounded in actual facts, if their anthropological field of research is to progress and deepen. Her assistant, Naitou Mikuni, is quite aware of, and in awe of her brilliant mind and imagination, though he also wishes she was less impulsive and not always spending their lab's whole year's fieldwork budget within a month. Folklore's fundaments lie in fieldwork, according to Renjou, so the two travel all across Japan to do research, and of course, as this is a detective story, Renjou has a knack for getting involved with criminal cases (of course murder) whenever she's out somewhere doing research. These murders often involve people connected to her latest topic of research, and not seldom, it's Renjou's new hypothesis about her research topic that also allows her to solve the murder in Kitamori Kou's short story collection Kyoushoumen - Renjou Nachi Fieldwork I ("The Mask With The Accursed Smile - The Fieldwork of Renjou Nachi I", 2000).

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」