Il Nome Della Rosa

「俺の名を言ってみろ」

『北斗の拳』

 

"Say my name!"

"Fist of the North Star"

As I write this review, I also looked back at the older reviews for this series and it's absolutely insane how this series manages to maintain this incredibly high level of quality throughout.

Toujou Genya series
1) Majimono no Gotoki Tsuku Mono ("Those Who Bewitch Like The Evil Spirits", 2006)
2) Magatori no Gotoki Imu Mono ("Those Who Are A Taboo Like The Malicious Bird", 2006)
3) Kubinashi no Gotoki Tataru Mono ("Those Who Cast A Curse Like The Headless", 2007) 
4) Yamanma no Gotoki Warau Mono ("Those Who Sneer Like The Mountain Fiend", 2008)
5) Himemuro no Gotoki Komoru Mono ("Those Who Stay Inside Like A Sealed Room", 2009)
6) Mizuchi no Gotoki Shizumu Mono ("Those Who Submerge Like The Water Spirit" 2009). 
7) Ikidama no Gotoki Daburu Mono ("Those Who Turn Double Like The Eidola", 2011)
8) Yuujo no Gotoki Uramu Mono ("Those Who Resent Like The Ghostly Courtesan", 2012)
9) Haedama no Gotoki Matsuru Mono ("Those Who Are Deified Like The Haedama", 2018)

10) Maguu no Gotoki Motarasu Mono ("Those Who Bring Forth Like the Demon Idol", 2019) 

11) Ina no Gotoki Nieru Mono ("Those Who Are Sacrified Like The Shunned", 2021)

Horror novelist Toujou Genya is also an accomplished amateur scholar in folklore, which is why his old university friend Fukuta needs his help. Fukuta plans to marry Amagami Ichiko, a girl who, like himself, works in the toy company of his parents. Ichiko hails from Mushikubiri Village in the Inanagi region, and her family is one of the two wealthiest clans in the small community. Fukuta's mother Katsuko is very much fixated on social status. Katsuko is also fond of Genya, as he is former nobility, so Fukuta wants Genya, with his knowledge of folklore, to explain to Katsuko what an important role the Amagami family has in Mushikubiri Village, by explaining the Rite of the Ina and its connection to the Amagami family. The Rite of the Ina is a centuries-old ceremony that used to be conducted widely in the Inanagi region, but now, about a decade after the Second World War, the Amagami family is one of the few that still does it. In principle, the ceremony is conducted by everyone whenever they turned 7, 14 and 21, as is connected to the fact children in the past died easily: while children were especially prone to die before their seventh birthday, the Rite of the Ina was to ensure that even after turning seven, they would be warded from evil and not be 'taken by the demons.' For that, every child is given an "Ina", or "the Name of the Shunned" when they turn seven. The Shunned is basically a "shadow self", a fictional replacement who shall undergo all the misfortune and every bad thing that would otherwise happen to the child itself. The child must therefore never utter the name, nor ever react to the name by turning around when called by that name, for then all the misfortune that the Shunned had been enduring in their place for all those years, will bounce back to the actual child. When they turn 7, 14 or 21, the participant needs to take a talisman with the Name of the Shunned, and make their way through a path through the forest up the mountain to throw the talisman in the waterfall there to appease the Shunned. 

When Ichiko did the ceremonies, she remembered she felt as if something had been following her all the time, calling out her name and trying to attract her attention, and when she was fourteen, she even ended up nearly dead. Genya does some minor research on the ceremony and the following day, he manages to convince Katsuko that the Amagami's long-running tradition indeed is connected to their historical social status in the village, setting Katsuko at ease about the upcoming marriage, but that same day, Ichiko and Fukuta receive a phone call telling them that Ichiko's half-brother Ichishitarou died yesterday, while performing the ceremony at age 14. What's more, it seems like he was murdered right in front of the waterfall, in a rather brutal manner with him being stabbed in the eye with a weapon coated in poison! Ichiko of course needs to travel back to Mushikuburi Village to attend her brother's funeral, but Fukuta and Katsuko are also asked to come along, as they have not met Ichiko's family yet, and they hope they can also properly discuss the marriage between the two too (and Ichiko thinks her very conservative and stubborn grandfather Genzou, the patriarch of the family, might be a little less stubborn due to the family tragedy). They invite Genya along too, as he has a personal interest in the Rite of the Ina but also local funeral rites. When they arrive in Mushikuburi Village however, the local police seem to know of Genya's reputation as an amateur detective too, and they hope he can also shine some light on the death of young Ichishitarou. He and his twin sister Itsuko are actually illegitimate childs of Ichiko's father Taiichi. Ichiko's two oldest brothers died in the war, her third brother was deemed too weak character-wise by his grandfather to become the next patriarch and Ichiko will marry into Fukuta's family, so Ichishitarou would have become the next patriarch, but it seems some people in the Amagami family were quite against Genzou's decision, but did one of them kill Ichishitarou during the ceremony? Sightings of a figure with a horn for an eye on the day of the murder also roam around, fueling rumors something otherwordly might have committed the murder, but could that really be true? Genya, reluctant as always, tries to figure out who killed Ishitarou so his friend can marry safely in Mitsuda Shinzou's Ina no Gotoki Nieru Mono ("Those Who Are Sacrified like the Shunned", 2021).

This is the eight novel in Mitsuda Shinzou's Toujou Genya series (the eleventh entry in total) and ever since I started reading these books about five years ago, I've been an absolute fan of them. The way Mitsuda mixes horror with brilliant puzzle plot mysteries is amazing, and I especially love the focus on folklore. Basically each novel is set in some (fictional) obscure, isolated community in the mountains or near the sea, with their own local, centuries-old ceremonies and rites, tied to religious history. While the ceremonies themselves are fictional, a lot of the dynamics and interpretations presented throughout these books is based on genuine folklore studies, so a lot of what you read in these books is actually applicable to actual Japanese religious customs and rites. These books are incredibly informative, but also work very well as horror stories: while being detective stories, the books usually do include elements that are not really explained, suggesting there really is something supernatural out there, even if they have no direct connection to the murder plots. While I started late with reading this fantastic series, I have been buying the pocket releases on release ever since I have caught up, and Ina no Gotoki Nieru Mono is at the moment the most recent release, so I'm finally really completely up-to-date!

While this book does take on the usual format of most of the Genya novels, it does feel a bit different, though not as extremely different as Yuujo no Gotoki Uramu Mono ("Those Who Resent Like The Ghostly Courtesan", 2012). As usual, we start with a horror-esque opening, where we are told about the Rite of Ina from the perspective of Ichiko, as she relates how she experienced her own Rites when she was 7 and 14, and the really creepy things that occured to her while she went up to the waterfall and back. While a lot of the information here is relevant to the overall plot, you can also easily read these first few chapters just as a horror story, and it really sets the mood, as we learn about the Shunned, a fictional being that only exists to basically suffer instead of the "real" person and must never be acknowledged by name. Ichiko's detailed description of the route up to the waterfall as she retells her own experience is also very important here. The route starts at a gate, and then goes up the mountain, going past a small path with a big rock in the middle, a shack of someone who has been ostracized by his own family, through a small cut-out U-shaped path until you come near the waterfall. The route is not actually completely closed off, as one could make it through the thick bushes and threes to get on and off the path unseen, but this would take a lot of time, and your clothes would not go unscathed, and this becomes part of the mystery of Ichishitarou's death, as while he died on the route to the waterfall, it was not physically a genuine "locked room" (sealed space), but considering the alibis of the suspects and how much extra time it would have taken to get on and off the path unseen via the bushes, they do treat it as practically a locked room mystery, even if it's not really one.

While there are other mysteries that puzzle the police and Genya, like the sighting of a figure dressed in white, and a figure with a horn for an eye, around the time of the murder, the investigation is mostly focused on the death of Ichishitarou, and especially the alibis of various members of the Amagami family, who might have a motive for wanting to kill Ishitarou, from father Taiichi or the third brother Sanshirou (who might have resented not being picked as the next patriarch), to Sanshirou and Ichiko's mother and grandmother, who might resent having an illegitimate child taking over the clan. I have to admit, I wasn't that big a fan of this problem. Previous books had true impossible crimes occuring during the rituals in those books, like murders happening a closed off area where only the victim was, but here we have a relatively open area, that is kinda treated as a locked room due to the bushes/forest/cliffs surrounding the route, but isn't really. It takes away a bit of the mystery, as you can never really discount "random third party appeared at the watefall, killed kid, and left again." The investigation also focuses on motive, but these motives are fairly static: they point out what motives each of the Amagami family members could have or don't have at all, and while there is one new fact introduced later on, that changes the motives a bit, that one new fact is basically a wild guess, that is only confirmed because the author wants it to be like that, so that doesn't feel very satisfying. The middle part of the book is also a bit slow, as Genya only enters the area after the murder already has been committed and the whole village is helping out with organizing the funeral for Ichishitarou, so he has trouble getting information about the family and the rite as everyone is busy. Of course, we later learn a lot of these slower parts do hold vital hints for the mystery, but after the chilling first few chapters with Ichiko telling how her own rites went, the book slows down considerably, with a slow start-up time for Genya's investigation, which again is very alibi-focused, and sometimes is really about "it takes 20 minutes to walk from this part to this part, 10 minutes to the next part, here a witness saw this, then another five minute walk..."

The relatively simple set-up of the murder leads to another anomaly for this series, as Genya doesn't even need to make a list of 50~80 questions that bother him about the mystery, and which act as a guide towards solving the crime! Previous books had Genya making these gigantic lists of every little thing that bothered him, from facts related directly to the murder to things that bothered him about about the rituals in question and their history and it was by answering all of them, Genya would eventually arrive at a solution, but this time, Genya doesn't even gets time to do that, as he is rather suddenly asked by the police to just point out who did it. As always though, Genya uses his "multiple solutions" method, where he just loudly voices a possible solution, examines it, and then discards it if he finds a flaw an moves on to a next solution. Some of the false solutions are fairly simple, but I really love the major "wrong" solution of this book! It is absolutely bonkers, but is absolutely terrifying and fits so well with the theme of the book and the Rite of the Ina. I am glad it wasn't the real solution because it was a bit silly, but man, thematically it would have been great, and I think I would have learned to accept it anyway.

Up until this moment, I thought this was an okay mystery novel, though not quite up at the level of the usual very high standard of the series. While I can't expect all novels in the series to be like the absolute high points Kubinashi no Gotoki Tataru Mono ("Those Who Cast A Curse Like The Headless") and Yamanma no Gotoki Warau Mono ("Those Who Sneer Like The Mountain Fiend"), it did feel like this novel missed something. It felt like a story that would have been absolutely great as a short story or novella, but a bit too lean for a full novel. But the final solution did manage to win me over! While I still don't think the actual murder on Ichishitarou at the waterfall manages to be really memorable, though it does lead to some very interesting clues. I did find it a bit disappointing to learn the actual meaning behind the Rite of the Ina (Genya realizes the underlying meaning behind the ceremony, giving meaning to each and every single part/action of the ceremony) was not a vital clue in solving the how of the murder, I have to say that thematically, it is fantastic, as it ties very deeply with the why behind the crime. The motive behind the murder of young Ichishitarou is absolutely brilliant and the absolute high point of the book. It is a motive that could only work in this world, in this community as portrayed by Mitsuda. A lot of minor things that bothered me about the book suddenly made perfect sense in hindsight, as yes, things would end up like that if that's the motive! The motive is so deeply rooted in the old-fashioned, isolated, restricted culture of Mushikubiri Village portrayed in the book, and while yes, this is a fictional village, the underlying dynamics behind the motive are very real, and you could almost imagine this motive leading to murder in the real world too (which is what makes these book so horrifying at times, as they are based on real folklore). The clewing in regards to this is excellent too. The book is great at misdirection, at not drawing your attention to the motive despite it, in hindsight, being addressed so many times, and a lot of the minor things I thought were odd, turned out to be connected to this too, only I never made the connection between the various things that bothered me. The motive is something you will never see anywhere else but here, and that makes this book definitely one of my favorite reads of the year.

Ina no Gotoki Nieru Mono is a book that might not be as good as some of the other novels in the series, but that doesn't say much if the level of quality of the Toujou Genya series is consistently insanely high. Like Yuujo no Gotoki Uramu Mono, this book does things just a bit differently, though it stays relatively close to the usual format, but the ending does show Mitsuda is still a master at his craft, providing a haunting conclusion with one of the most memorable and fantastically founded motives I've ever seen in mystery fiction. I can't wait to read the next adventure of Genya, whenever it comes!

Original Japanese title(s): 三津田信三『忌名の如き贄るもの』

Tinker, Tailor, Liar, Thief

There open fanes and gaping graves

Yawn level with the luminous waves; 

But not the riches there that lie 

In each idol’s diamond eye— 

Not the gaily-jewelled dead 

Tempt the waters from their bed; 

"The City in the Sea"

I'm pretty sure this series is the one I have read the fastest on this blog, starting in 2018 and averaging about two books a year now.

Toujou Genya series
1) Majimono no Gotoki Tsuku Mono ("Those Who Bewitch Like The Evil Spirits", 2006)
2) Magatori no Gotoki Imu Mono ("Those Who Are A Taboo Like The Malicious Bird", 2006)
3) Kubinashi no Gotoki Tataru Mono ("Those Who Cast A Curse Like The Headless", 2007) 
4) Yamanma no Gotoki Warau Mono ("Those Who Sneer Like The Mountain Fiend", 2008)
5) Himemuro no Gotoki Komoru Mono ("Those Who Stay Inside Like A Sealed Room", 2009)
6) Mizuchi no Gotoki Shizumu Mono ("Those Who Submerge Like The Water Spirit" 2009). 
7) Ikidama no Gotoki Daburu Mono ("Those Who Turn Double Like The Eidola", 2011)
8) Yuujo no Gotoki Uramu Mono ("Those Who Resent Like The Ghostly Courtesan", 2012)
9) Haedama no Gotoki Matsuru Mono ("Those Who Are Deified Like The Haedama", 2018)

10) Maguu no Gotoki Motarasu Mono ("Those Who Bring Forth Like the Demon Idol", 2019) 

11) Ina no Gotoki Nieru Mono (2021)

Toujou Genya, created by Mitsuda Shinzou, is a horror mystery novelist in post-war Japan who also travels across the country to gather ghost stories and document local religions and their ceremonies, as he is also a gifted amateur folklorist. His interest in local religions however often also get him involved in baffling murder cases that more often than not, occur during unique religious ceremonies in small, isolated communities, but it's Genya's free-style thinking that always allows him to solve him these creepy and complex cases, even if it also involves him voicing out loud a lot of wrong theories first before he arrives at the correct one. At the moment I am writing this post, there have been eight novels released in this series, and I have reviewed the first seven of them, as the most recent one hasn't been released in pocket form yet. There is however also a secondary series of short story collections: these stories are prequels and set in Genya's student days, but are also about creepy crimes involving folklore. After Himemuro no Gotoki Komoru Mono (2009) and Ikidama no Gotoki Daburu Mono (2011) however followed the third short story collection Maguu no Gotoki Motarasu Mono ("Those Who Bring Forth Like The Demon Idol") in 2019, which got a pocket release in 2022. This book is set slightly later than the previous two volumes, as Toujou Genya has now made his professional debut as a horror novelist and also has started making a name among police officials as a gifted amateur detective, and much to Genya's annoyance, some police detectives even seek him out for help on baffling murder cases even though he doesn't consider himself an amateur detective. Fortunately for the police detectives however they know exactly how to lure Genya in, as he can't help himself whenever he hears some kind of ghostly folklore tale is involved. The 2022 pocket release also adds one extra story not found in the original 2019 release, but considering the way it's visibly "set seperately" in the table of contents and the specific themes of that story, I'm not sure it's considered "canon" but more on that later.

The opening story Youfuku no Gotoki Kiru Mono ("Those Who Cut Like The Bewitched Clothes") is weirdly enough a perfectly fine mystery story and works well as an opener, but it's not really a good Toujou Genya story, in the sense the "horror" element of the story is basically not vital at all. There's some talk about a "bewitched jacket" but it's not really important to the case. Genya is asked to look into a double murder case of two wealthy brothers, who lived on the same sloping street, but one at the top and one below, with two sizeable houses between their houses. The two elderly brothers were a bit strange and hard on their own sons, and weirdly enough, the two ended up liking their respective nephews better, and with time, the two nephews started living with their uncles, as their own fathers always preferred the nephew thinking they were better than their own sons. But now both are murdered, and the police suspect the two cousins swapped murders, killing their uncles, so they'd inherit from their respective fathers.The brother living in the upper house was discovered to be murdered with the same knife that killed the brother living down the slope around the same time, but the problem is this is impossible, as the knife couldn't have been brought to the upper house where it was found: the housemaid of the lower house left her master and his nephew in the afternoon and went up the slope to bring the neighborhood bulletin board to the neighbours up the slope and swears she never saw the nephew overtake her on the street to take the knife "up", a fact collaborated by other witnesses, and in fact, this nephew has an alibi as he left after the housemaid did to go to a bookshop he frequents. What follows is a howdunnit story about how the knife could have been brought unseen from the house below to the house up the slope, and considering the short length of this story, it's actually quite good, as we get multiple false solutions, and a convincing final solution that is well clewed. Tone-wise, it does remind me of an earlier Genya short story, and another Rampo-themed story Mitsuda wrote, but I think this is a great opening. But really, the "horror" aspect in this story feels out of place, or at least unnecessary.

Fushi no Gotoki Yomigaeru Mono ("Those Who Revive Like the Death Honorer") has Genya being asked by Fushimi Fujiko to look into the disappearance of her brother Fujio. The two of them hail from the town of Fushiori, located at the foot of a mountain and their family has been the leading family in that town for generations, doing business in fabrics. During the war, their oldest brother died, and while Fujio made it back to Japan alive after the war, the tragedy had a tremendous effect on his mind. For a while, his parents let him be, hoping he would recover and prepare to become the future family head, but Fujio started his own little community of "social misfits" just outside Fushiori, near the mountain forest. What started out very small, became a small and isolated community, fenced off and not allowing outsiders to look inside. Eventually, Fujio even started getting obsessed with the idea of life and death, and basically became a kind of cult leader, who believed he could resurrect even if he would die. This drove off most of the people in the community, but with him remained five women, who each were given a "trial": one wasn't allowed to see and blindfolded, one wasn't allowed to hear so had earplugs, etc. However, the woman who joined the community last had a fugitive brother, and the police suspected he had gone to his sister to hide, so they watched the fenced-up community for days. Eventually, they caught the fugitive, but when the police entered the community, they were somewhat susprised to learn Fujio had disappeared, even though they had been watching the community all that time. But as they caught the criminal and Fujio was an adult who could go where ever he wants, they couldn't do anything now, which is why his sister Fujiko wants Genya to solve this impossible disappearance. The opening story didn't make very good use of the religious and folklore themes that feature so heavily in this series, but this one is absolutely perfect in that regards. It's a fairly short story, but the small cult that is presented here feels quite convincing, and the way each of the women has one of their senses "shut off" leads to a very interesting puzzle where you wonder how Fujio could've disappeared. The solution is absolutely fantastic, one of the most memorable solutions I have read in recent years and while a bit crazy, it works perfectly in this story because the build-up is very convincing. My favorite of the collection.

Kemonoya No Gotoki Suu Mono ("Those Who Suck Like The House of Beasts") is very hard to explain without giving away too much. It is about Genya reading two different accounts that involve a building that sound a lot like each other, a house hidden away deep in the mountains with creepy statues of fantastical beasts inside and Genya using those accounts to arrive at a certain conclusion: I like the idea of the house a lot, but I have the idea this story as it is now works better as a horror story than a mystery story, a lot of the background story should have been worked out more to bring a better, deeper mystery story, but I think it's left a bit vague on purpose to emphasize the horror aspects. Again, I like the core idea as a mystery story too, but I feel it leans a bit to the horror side.

The title story Maguu no Gotoki Motarasu Mono ("Those Who Bring Forth Like The Demon Idol") is by far the longest story in the collection, but sadly enough also the one I like least, for a large part because it's so long, even though not a lot happens in the story, making it feel very drawn out. By this time, Genya has become a fairly well-known writer among those in the industry, and he is finally contacted for the first time by Sofue Shino, editor at Kaisousha and Genya's usual sidekick in the novels. Genya is made aware of the Maguu, a statuette that is supposed to bring fortune, but also calamity to its owner. It is actually the property of a local collector, who has a swastika-shaped gallery in his garden where he keeps all his valuable antiques: each of the four "arms" is a different gallery with its own garden entrance, and they all come together at the center of the swastika. Genya is brought along to visit the collector, who is entertaining some other guests too and while Genya and the collector talk very enthusiastically about all kinds of things, the others all take a look in the gallery, but eventually, one of the visitors is found dead in the middle hall of the gallery, and the four people in the gallery who each came from a different entrance all swear they aren't the killer. The idea of a swastika-shaped building is interesting and I like the idea of having multiple false solutions based on the known facts, but a lot of the mystery is a bit "loose", as they just depend on testimonies of people saying "I was about here in the north/west/south/east gallery when I heard a noise" and it's ultimately not a very alluring mystery. The solution has some clever clues and all, but I feel like it isn't even used to its full potential in this particular story, because there's not very much synergy between the murder in the swastika-shaped building and the specific trick used in this story. That coupled with the length of the story made this my least favorite of the collection, despite it being the title story.

The bonus story Inin no Gotoki Suwaru Mono ("Those Who Sit Like the Human Chair") is as the title suggest actually an Edogawa Rampo-inspired story, not very surprising as Mitsuda actually has another series that features Rampo-inspired mystery stories and 'almost' pastiches. It's a fairly short story and involves Genya visiting a local chair workshop, but the attentive reader will of course realize how it's all inspired by Rampo's famous horror short story The Human Chair. Eventually, someone is found dead in the workshop, but I think if you already know The Human Chair, it's likely you'll start thinking in certain directions and eventually arrive at the solution. I think it's a fun extra story, but it feels a bit "weird" as a Rampo-homage story within the Genya universe, which is probably the reason why it's put in a seperate space in the table of contents.

Overall, I'm a bit a bit divided on Maguu no Gotoki Motarasu Mono I think. I think the first two stories are great, and while the rest of the volume is never anything near bad, I do think the latter three stories are not as good as the first half. But save for the second story, you don't really get a good feel for what usually makes for a good Toujou Genya story. Sure, these short stories can never reach the sheer brilliance of the novels, because the way they mix horror with complex mystery plots that build in unique religious ideas really does require an extended page length, but I feel most of the stories in the previous two short story collection still managed to do better in general, each of them having more stories that are similar to the second story in this collection, rather than just that single one. So I wouldn't recommend this as an entry point into the Toujou Genya series, nor as an entry point into the short stories of this series. It's not bad, and at times really good even, but I think practically all previous books are just more consistent in bringing the Toujou Genya experience.

Original Japanese title(s): 三津田信三『魔偶の如き齎すもの』:「妖服の如き切るもの」/巫死の如き甦るもの」/「 獣家の如き吸うもの」/「魔偶の如き齎すもの」/「椅人の如き座るもの」

Terror at High Tide

"And then I threw a rock at him!"

"Almost Got 'Im" ("Batman the Animated Series")

Finished the Higurashi: When They Cry console-exclusive arcs Someutsushi and Tsukiotoshi and added my thoughts/inferences based on them to the memo page for my playthrough of Higurashi: When They Cry. This means I'm done with the first set/flowchart of "case files" as found in the console release of Higurashi no Naku koro ni Hou, so now on to the second set of files/stories. I suppose that after Himatsubushi (the first story in the second set), the answers will start coming...

It's simply a style thing, but I usually don't like to spend more than one paragraph summarizing the plot of a novel in my reviews here. I never manage to do that with the Toujou Genya novels though...

Toujou Genya series
1) Majimono no Gotoki Tsuku Mono ("Those Who Bewitch Like The Evil Spirits", 2006)
2) Magatori no Gotoki Imu Mono ("Those Who Are A Taboo Like The Malicious Bird", 2006)
3) Kubinashi no Gotoki Tataru Mono ("Those Who Cast A Curse Like The Headless", 2007) 
4) Yamanma no Gotoki Warau Mono ("Those Who Sneer Like The Mountain Fiend", 2008)
5) Himemuro no Gotoki Komoru Mono ("Those Who Stay Inside Like A Sealed Room", 2009)
6) Mizuchi no Gotoki Shizumu Mono ("Those Who Submerge Like The Water Spirit" 2009). 
7) Ikidama no Gotoki Daburu Mono ("Those Who Turn Double Like The Eidola", 2011)
8) Yuujo no Gotoki Uramu Mono ("Those Who Resent Like The Ghostly Courtesan", 2012)
9) Haedama no Gotoki Matsuru Mono ("Those Who Are Deified Like The Haedama", 2018)

10) Maguu no Gotoki Motarasu Mono (2019) 

11) Ina no Gotoki Nieru Mono (2021)

Horror mystery novelist and amateur folklorist Toujou Genya and his editor Shino form a strong team, at least, that's what Shino likes to think, even though Genya has learned by now that the strongheaded woman isn't the best person to bring along on his travels to remote villages when doing research. Lately Genya has also been in contact with publisher Eimeikan for work, and his assigned editor is Ootani Hidetsugu, who hails from the remote Goura region. The Goura region consists of the villages Tokuyuu, Shiaku, Ishinori, Isomi and Yuriage located on a very small strip of land wedged between thickly forested, rocky mountains on one side, and a very treacherous sea with many dangerous underwater reefs and rocks on the other. The five villages are mostly seperated from each other too due to the steep cliffs between them, and life has been very harsh here for centuries: the little level ground available was used for homes, meaning there was no space for crops or cattle. The dangerous sea meant that the villagers couldn't go out fishing either, as larger boats would get stuck in the reefs. And the thickly grown bamboo forests in the mountains meant they could do litttle there too. The worst of was Tokuyuu, which lies deepest in the strip of land, while Yuriage at the end of the strip still managed to have contact with the bigger Heibei City nearby, even if it's not really near either. Goura's isolated location means the people here didn't have much contact with the outside world, resulting in local beliefs and customs unique to the region. The local kami being deified here for example is Haedama, a large rock in the bay of Tokyu Village that is believed to govern the sea and there's an annual festival to appease Haedama. But there are also many ghostly stories unique to this region, from a creepy figure roaming the bottom of the sea to a monster that devours people hiding in the bamboo forests. As a collector of folklore and ghost stories, Genya is of course interested in his new editor's home region, especially when he hears that there's been a ghostly occurence relatively recently. Lately, more people have been moving into Yuriage Village because of the flourishing spinning mill in Heibei City, and living in Yuriage is cheap and there are even rumors of a merger between all Goura villages to form a new city, but some employees have seen a ghostly figure appear several times on the automobile road connecting Yuriage Village to the city.

Having heard about a mountain route in one of the Goura region ghost stories, Genya decides to take that long forgotten route to Tokuyuu Village, with Hidetsugu and Shino accompanying him on this two-day trip through the mountains. While Hidetsugu acts as a well-prepared guide for Genya, Shino of course soon ends up the weakest link on the harsh mountain climb. When after some delay they finally arrive in Tokuyuu Village, Hidetsugu has arranged for Genya and Shino to stay at the local Shinto shrine Sasame Shrine, which is run by Ganki, grandfather of Hidetsugu's childhood friend/secret love interest Suzukage. Genya hopes to learn more about the history of the Goura Village from Ganki, but he also learns Nozoki Renya, another folklore researcher is staying in the region at the moment, and he doesn't have a good reputation. He has been around for a while, but nobody has seen him these two days. The following day, Ganki guides Genya, Shino and Hidetsugu to the "bamboo maze" which appears in one of the ghost stories Genya heard about: there's a small shrine hidden in a clearing surrounded by a maze of bamboo trees. When they arrive at the clearing however, they find the starved body of Nozoki Renya lying near the shrine. The police is called in of course, but the death is rather odd. Nozoki Renya essentially starved to death, but there is no indication as to why, as there are no indications whatsoever on his body that he had been held at the center of the maze against his will. When he was found in the clearing, he was just lying there on the ground, no signs of him having been tied up and there are even traces to indicate he had attempted to enter the maze in order to leave, but for some reason he didn't. Was he afraid of something lurking in the bamboo maze, preventing his escape to find food and water? While the police are investigating the curious death however, more mysterious events occur, like Ganki suddenly gone missing. What is happening in the Goura region and how are the incidents connected to the ghost stories that had lured Genya here? Find out in Mitsuda Shinzou's Haedama no Gotoki Matsuru Mono ("Those Who Are Deified Like The Haedama", 2018).

Three months ago, I reviewed Yuujo no Gotoki Uramu Mono ("Those Who Resent Like The Ghostly Courtesan"), the sixth full-length novel in the Toujou Genya series, and while you may remember that I did like the book, it was definitely not the kind of novel you'd usually expect from the series, and while I enjoyed it as a book that tackled a unique topic and did things a bit differently, I also mentioned I wouldn't want the series to be like that book all the time. Fortunately, Haedama no Gotoki Matsuru Mono, as the seventh novel in the series, is a return to the familiar format of the series, with a series of mysterious deaths (sometimes of the impossible kind) set in a rural, isolated location with unique folklore. Even the slow opening chapter is back! It always takes me ages to get through the first part of these books, because the stories do use a lot of pages to set-up the new locale/the folklore, though I have to admit this was one of the easiest to get through. The opening chapter introduces the reader (and Genya) to four ghost stories from the Goura region, set in different times and places. As always, the local folklore is actually also very deeply connected to the core mystery plot, so while the stories do feel a bit disconnected at first, it's quite fun to see when at the end, Genya proposes a certain interpretation of these stories and their relation to the series of deaths in this novel and see how everything is connected. I do appreciate that the set-up is relatively short this time, compared to earlier novels.

Unlike some of the other novels though, the core mysteries of Haedama no Gotoki Matsuru Mono are less tightly defined. The first mystery presented to the reader is the curious death of Nozoki Renya, who starved to death at the center of a bamboo maze even though it appears he could have easily just left the center, gone through the maze and escape to find food, as there are no signs he had been physically held agains this own will there. The problem of course reminds of Knox' short story Solved by Inspection, but the 'problem' here is of course that for a long time, this death can't be treated as a murder, as it can't be proven Renya was being starved here by someone else. The problem shifts for a while to the question of who of the people with a motive to kill the man had an alibi, as it would have taken quite some time for Renya to starve to death, and that combined with the last known time Renya was seen by others, means only a few people could have captured the man if this was a murder, but even then the story hesitates with calling this an actual crime. Of course, the reader knows they're reading a detective story, so of course the starvation of Renya was schemed, and the solution to how a man could be forced to starve to death even though they could literally just walk out of the maze, is simple in concept, but executed very admirable here. The hint to the solution in particular is very cleverly done, with a chance utterance making so much sense in hindsight, basically telling you what must have happened right in the face, but it's so easy to miss it.

In the second half of the novel, Ganki disappears and later a witness appears who states they saw Ganki mediating on the lookout tower at the end of the cliff overlooking the sea during the night: Ganki often did this, sitting on a plank sticking out of the lookout tower, basically suspended above the sea. According to the witness, Ganki fell off the plank into the sea, though she can't say whether the man fell on his own, or whether someone pushed him. This again presents a mystery that for a long time feels a bit too open: some of the investigation focuses on the question who could have pushed Ganki at the time stated by the witness and how someone could've reached the lookout tower without being seen by the same witness, but until the end, the explanation that Ganki just fell into the sea by accident can't be discarded. The actual answer to the mystery makes use of an idea that most mystery reader will know probably, but it really fits the situation created in this novel, masking what is actually a well-known idea in a very elegant manner. A more clearly-defined impossible murder occurs later in the novel, with someone being killed in a shrine inside a cave only accessible through the sea. Witnesses state only Suzukage entered the cave where the body was found, but even she couldn't have killed the witness, as the only footsteps in the pebble path near the shrine, were of the victim himself, meaning nobody approached the victim even though his wounds make it clear he had been in close proximity of his killer. The solution might not come as a total surprise, as the core idea is similar to another happening mentioned in the novel, but 'mirroring themes' is a plot device often utilized in the Genya novels, so I guess it fits.

Another sign that we have returned to 'normal' Genya novels after Yuujo no Gotoki Uramu Mono are the lists of questions Genya asks himself, and the many hypotheses he proposes only to discard them himself! Like always, Genya makes a list of questions and mysteries he thinks form the core problem, and by answering all of them, it's possible for him, and the reader, to solve the murders. It functions somewhat like a guided Challenge to the Reader, pointing you to the fundamental problems that need answers. The thing is: these lists are always very, very long, almost hilariously so. I think that in Haedama no Gotoki Matsuru Mono, Genya has about seventy questions he thinks need answering first in order to solve the mystery (many of them are of course related). These questions also lead to the parade of hypotheses (false solutions) that's also a staple of this series. Unlike other novels, which may make use of foil detective character types or just use the Brand/Berkeley tradition of having everyone pose hypotheses/theories, Genya does everything himself: he is the one proposing theories based on his questions, but he's also the one to reject his own theories. Unlike Ellery Queen, his method involves thinking out loud, which annoys the people around him a lot,  as all the clearly wrong theories just seem like a waste of time, but for fans of Ellery Queen, Christianna Brand and Anthony Berkeley, these segments are always a joy to read, showing off how deep false solutions can go. And as always, a lot of the theories I had while reading Haedama no Gotoki Matsuru Mono, turned out to be false solutions... Some of them are really ingenious and wouldn't have disappointed anyone if they had been the actual solution, but Mitsuda always tries to go beyond that.

People who read my first few reviews of this series, may remember I absolutely loved those books and praised them as among the best novels I had read the last few years, and you probably also notice that I am not heaping as much praise on this novel right now. Mind you, Haedama no Gotoki Matsuru Mono, is by no means a bad mystery novel, but entries like Kubinashi no Gotoki Tataru Mono and Yamanma no Gotoki Warau Mono were just so insanely good, it's hard for any work to reach those standards. I think my 'greatest' disappointment with this book is that the link between the local (fictional) folklore of Goura and the core mysteries do not result in the same synergy we saw in other novels. In Kubinashi no Gotoki Tataru Mono and Yamanma no Gotoki Warau Mono, understanding the true meaning of the religious rituals shown there or the underlying truth/origins behind certain local myths/ghost stories would instantly also give you insight in how the (often impossible) murders were committed. Everything was interconnected, with the book presenting multiple puzzles, but most puzzle pieces could be used in multiple puzzles instead of just one. Haedama no Gotoki Matsuru Mono is not as strong in that regard: Genya does arrive at a fantastic interpretation of the local kami Haedama and the various ghost stories of the Goura villages and while this ultimately does tie back to the motive behind the series of mysteries death, the insights into the local folklore do not also explain how the murders were committed. They feel like seperate components, background story/motive, and the actual manner in which the murders are committed. Which isn't a bad thing per se, but  the synergy some of the prevous novels had, was exactly what elevated them high above many other mystery novels, so Haedama no Gotoki Matsuru Mono ends up as a perfectly fine and engaging mystery novel I can recommend to everyone, but it misses just that little bit of extra to make a book I really want to rave about. I do think Haedama no Gotoki Matsuru Mono is perhaps the easiest Genya novel to get into, as the writing is much more inviting than some of the slower older entries and Mitsuda is still an absolute master when it comes to creating convincing local folklore and horrifying truths behind local customs and religion, and use those ideas to create captivatng mystery stories. Ultimately, I think Haedama no Gotoki Matsuru Mono's plot might depend a bit too much on coincidence at times and the synergy between the various plot elements isn't always as strong, but it's still a great book to read.

Haedama no Gotoki Matsuru Mono might not be the high point of this series, but after the very different Yuujo no Gotoki Uramu Mono, it's reassuring to read a "straightforward" entry in this series. The way in which this series mixes horror, detective puzzlers and semi-academic writing in folklore is absolutely unique and always a joy to read, and this entry is not an exception. It has a wonderfully deep setting in the (fictional) Goura region, with very captivating folklore that serve as a great hook into the core mystery plot. The individual murders will often utilize ideas that seem a bit familiar, but it's only someone like Mitsuda, who has been playing this game for a long time now, who is able to weave all those elements together to present a very consistent, neatly written mystery novel that is engaging to read from start to finish.

Original Japanese title(s): 三津田信三『碆霊の如き祀るもの』

The Case of the Constant Suicides

さくらさくら今、咲き誇る

刹那に散りゆく運命を知って

「さくら」(森山直太朗) 

Cherry blossoms, cherry blossoms, they bloom now

Knowing the destiny awaiting them is to fall

"Cherry Blossom" (Moriyama Naotarou)

I mentioned earlier how I always take ages to get pass the first sections of the books in this series. I think almost six months passed since I read the first pages of this book, and when I was finally finished...

Toujou Genya series
1) Majimono no Gotoki Tsuku Mono ("Those Who Bewitch Like The Evil Spirits", 2006)
2) Magatori no Gotoki Imu Mono ("Those Who Are A Taboo Like The Malicious Bird", 2006)
3) Kubinashi no Gotoki Tataru Mono ("Those Who Cast A Curse Like The Headless", 2007) 
4) Yamanma no Gotoki Warau Mono ("Those Who Sneer Like The Mountain Fiend", 2008)
5) Himemuro no Gotoki Komoru Mono ("Those Who Stay Inside Like A Sealed Room", 2009)
6) Mizuchi no Gotoki Shizumu Mono ("Those Who Submerge Like The Water Spirit" 2009). 
7) Ikidama no Gotoki Daburu Mono ("Those Who Turn Double Like The Eidola", 2011)
8) Yuujo no Gotoki Uramu Mono ("Those Who Resent Like The Ghostly Courtesan", 2012)
9) Haedama no Gotoki Matsuru Mono (2018)

10) Maguu no Gotoki Motarasu Mono (2019) 

11) Ina no Gotoki Nieru Mono (2021)

Sakurako grew up in a poor, rural village but she was happy living with her parents, siblings and friends. She even became friends with Aya, a girl from a family with means living in the neighborhood, who taught her to read and write. But with ever-lasting poverty going on, Sakurako agrees to be sent off to the red light district Momozono so she can earn money for her family, even though she doesn't know what a courtesan is. She's brought the Kinpeibairou, a courtesan house, where the 13-year old girl receives education and taught skills she will need in the future by Granny, who keeps on an eye on the women working in the house. Sakurako becomes friends with Yuuko, the daughter of the owner of Kinpeibairou, but after a while Yuuko stops appearing at the house. Meanwhile, Sakurako also senses there's something wrong about the courtesan house, and there are multiple rumors of ghostly figures haunting the hallways at night or looking into the rooms through the windows. At first young Sakurako also doesn't really understand what the Kinpeibairou is, wondering why all the courtesans here get to wear such nice dresses and how they seem to be earning money just by spending time with men in a room, but it's at age 16 when Sakurako is old enough to be put to work when she's confronted with the hellish reality. Sakurako is given the courtesan name Hizakura and manages to attract quite a few customers early on due to her inexperience and Granny selling her "virginity" multiple times. One night, one courtesan throws herself from the window of the exclusive courtesan room on the third floor of the annex, but she miraculously survives the fall. However, two more courtesans follow in her footsteps, attempting to throw themselves from the same window, though luckily, they manage to be saved. Hizakura is also one of the persons who attempted to throw herself from the window, but she was luckily stopped just in time, but Hizakura doesn't actually know why she tried to jump out of the window, and suspects it has to do with the spectral presence roaming in the courtesan house. Afraid for her life, she plans to escape her nightmare and run away from the Kinpeibai.

A few years later, during World War II, Yuuko has taken over the house of pleasure from her mother, renaming it the Baiyuukirou. Circumstances are of course different now during the war, with the courtesan business being seen as a way to support the troops. It's hard to get hold of good new courtesans however, so when Granny brings in a new woman named Someko who reminds Yuuko of Sakurako, she decides to give Someko the courtesan name Hizakura. The idea is to create some gossip about the original Hizakura having returned, and they put Someko in the exclusive courtesan room on the third floor. Meanwhile, there's also a pregnant woman staying inside the courtesan house, a friend of Yuuko's mother who has to give birth discreetly. Half a year passes and the woman gives birth, but soon after throws herself out of the window of the exclusive courtesan room. And then another, and another... After the war, the courtesan house was bought by a third party, who renamed it the Baienrou, making it a restaurant with a special back-establishment where the waitresses sell their bodies. Sako Sousuke is the nephew of the new owner and a newly debuted writer of horror stories, and he has been looking into the case of the constant suicide leaps in the past. Interestingly, a new waitress has been hired who has been given the name Hizakura, which might have been tempting fates, for once again, a series of suicide leaps from that room starts. When mystery writer Toujou Genya comes into possession of the diaries and manuscripts of Sakurako, Yuuko and Sako respectivelly, he arrives at a startling conclusion regarding the haunted courtesan room in Mitsuda Shinzou's Yuujo no Gotoki Uramu Mono ("Those Who Resent Like The Ghostly Courtesan", 2012)

The sixth full-length novel and eight book overall in Mitsuda Shinzou's series about the horror-mystery writer Toujou Genya takes on a completely different form than the previous entries and while it's far from my favorite entry in the series, it's quite a unique and memorable experience, and as a mystery novel, it's one that has made a lot of impression on me in regards of the theme. The previous novels basically all followed the same basic premise of being set in a rural place, with an impossible happening occuring during an esotoric religious ceremony with a certain historical meaning, which in turn is interconnected with the motive and means of the how the trick was done. That is definitely not the case here. There's no clear crime committed in this long novel and folklore doesn't even play a big role in this novel. There's talk about a ghostly figure roaming the hallways of the courtesan house throughout the generations, but there's no elaborate analysis into it from a folklore point of view, no views and thoughts presented on it from historical, sociological, economical and religious angles. These eleemnts were a delight to read in the other novels, as Mitsuda always built these stories on actual folklore studies, but the religious angle and how it ties to folklore is next to non-existent here, making it very different from the other novels.

The four chapter structure is another notable change. Toujou Genya himself only makes a minor appearance at the very end of the novel, with the previous three parts making up the bulk of the novel, being the diary of Sakurako (the three leaps out of the window when the first Hizakura was at the courtesan house), an account written by Yuuko about the war period (the second series of leaps, during the second Hizakura's tenure) and a manuscript written by Sako (third series of leaps, during the third Hizakura's time). Throughout the three different accounts, you'll see how the courtesan house changes, and sometimes surprisingly doesn't change. Some courtesans like the first Hazakura disappear from the narrative, some courtesans stay working at the place despite all the owner and name changes, the time changes from pre-war, to during the war and after: it makes the courtesan house a character of its own and throughout the generations, the three narrators also comment on strange, mysterious happenings that occur in the establishment, from figures suddenly disappearing from hallways and footsteps being heard from floors where there's nobody, to of course the repeating series of leaps from the window of the exclusive room each time a courtesan is given the name Hizakura. There's no "clear" crime like a murder or impossible disappearance however, so the mystery of this story is more focused on the atmosphere of the place, which is quite different from the previous novels. I myself found it difficult to stay constantly focused on this book because of this, as it's a very slow book in a series that usually has very slow starts already.

While I said that this book doesn't look at some religious ceremony from various angles like previous books and tie it to the crime, it does look at the theme of courtesans from historical, sociological and economical angles and in that regard, it's like this book uses the method it usually utilizes to examine youkai, religious ceremonies and other folklore topics to examine and analyze the function of courtesans/prostitutes between 1930-1950. Even the setting of the closed-off entertainment district (to make sure no women escape) reminds of the secluded, rural communities with their own customs and rules like we see in the other books. In Yuujo no Gotoki Uramu Mono, you'll get a glimpse in the lives and customs of the women who lived in the courtesan houses, how they were viewed by society in contradicting ways, how their lives changes in and after the war. Mitsuda has clearly done his research and you'll learn a lot about this topic as you read this book, but while it's incredibly informative and interesting, it's obviously not an entertaining topic. The first part of this book, being the diary of the 13-year (and later 16-year) old Sakurako is absolutely horrifying, as you follow a young girl who doesn't even what a prostitute is and who dreams of helping her family by working in the city and slowly realizing what a nightmare her life is. It's incredibly heavy material, and it took me quite some time to get through this first part, because it's really effective at painting the life of young Sakurako and it honestly feels uncomfortable reading this part. The other accounts, being from completely different people, are luckily easier to go through. But in hindsight, I thought it was really a very informative and interesting angle this book focused on, as you're not likely to come across it any time soon elsewhere.

But back to the mystery plot. Yuujo no Gotoki Uramu Mono doesn't feature the same clearly-defined core mystery previous books had, though it still utilizes the method of offering a lot of minor mysteries too, that ultimately tie in together (no Genya making a list of 70 questions to be answered though!). The main mystery is of course the question why people keep throwing themselves out of the window of the exclusive courtesan room on the third floor throughout different periods of time. I really like the core idea behind this, even if it is slightly unbelievable and some parts rely perhaps too heavily on coincidence. But the core notion is one that really fits the unique setting of the red light district, and the concept is worked out quite well throughout the three different periods, but Mitsuda does rely on coincidence a few times to make it a clear three series of three jumps for this novel, so some elements don't feel as strong as others. Genya also addresses the various minor mysteries that pop up throughout the three accounts, like the disappearing figures in the hallways or the footsteps that come from nowhere, and most of them have convincing explanations, though not always hinted at as strongly and they don't always connect that well, so whereas in previous novels usually everything connected back to the main mystery, there are a lot more disconnected nodes in this tale, or nodes that are only connected to the main plot after multiple steps. Plot-wise, Yuujo no Gotoki Uramu Mono is definitely not the brilliant monsters of synergy previous novels were, where everything was connected and written to support other elements. This is anothe reason why this book feels so different from the other novels.

Yuujo no Gotoki Uramu Mono is a weird book to explain and recommend, as it's very different from the previous Toujou Genya novels. It feels like author Mitsuda Shinzou became interested in the topic of courtesans in the 1930-1950s, did tons of research in the topic and afterwards decided to use all that research for a Genya novel. The result is a book that tackles a topic that is quite unlike anything we've encountered before in the series, focusing on a plot quite unlike anything we've seen in the series, but I have to admit, I thought the setting and the theme of courtesans was really interesting, so ultimately, I think it was a worthwhile detour the series took. I wouldn't want all the novels in this series to be like this, but once a while, a book like this is also fun and I have to repeat I really liked the core idea of this book, which is complex in its simplicity, even if the execution isn't as brilliantly neat as we saw in the previous books (which were, to be honest, of an exceptional level in terms of mystery plotting). Don't read this as your first Toujou Genya novel, but if you're looking for a palate cleanser after reading three or four other books in the series...

Original Japanese title(s): 三津田信三『幽女の如き怨むもの』

Watch Out! The Willawaw!

“Begin at the beginning," the King said, very gravely, "and go on till you come to the end: then stop.” 

"Alice's Adventures in Wonderland"

Considering Toujou Genya is always getting involved with murder cases that are related to religious ceremonies, it's only fitting I too have found my own ritual when reading this series. Not that it's a positive ritual though. I have mentioned it earlier in my reviews of the Toujou Genya novels, but maaaaaaaan, the set-up takes ages in these stories. The novels are usually around 500-600 pages long and I think in every one of them, the main mystery won't happen until the halfway point. Usually, some mystery that happened in the past will also be discussed in the set-up, but mostly, it's reserved for in-depth research by Genya where he learns about the local religions and shrines and the history of the ritual he'll be attending, and his folkloristic interpretations of said ritual. It's interesting stuff and always relevant to the plot as a whole, but things move at a snail's pace these first 200-300 pages. So my ritual for this series is I always take AGES to get through the set-up. I'm talking me reading one or two pages a day and then trying something else because nothing happens in the story and I want to read something else. Once I finally get to the main murder, I can finish the book in a few days, but sometimes it takes me a month or more to even get that murder. Today's book for example, I think it took me two months since I first started reading it to get past the halfway point, after which it took me just two days to finish it.

Toujou Genya series
1) Majimono no Gotoki Tsuku Mono ("Those Who Bewitch Like The Evil Spirits", 2006)
2) Magatori no Gotoki Imu Mono ("Those Who Are A Taboo Like The Malicious Bird", 2006)
3) Kubinashi no Gotoki Tataru Mono ("Those Who Cast A Curse Like The Headless", 2007) 
4) Yamanma no Gotoki Warau Mono ("Those Who Sneer Like The Mountain Fiend", 2008)
5) Himemuro no Gotoki Komoru Mono ("Those Who Stay Inside Like A Sealed Room", 2009)
6) Mizuchi no Gotoki Shizumu Mono ("Those Who Submerge Like The Water Spirit" 2009). 
7) Ikidama no Gotoki Daburu Mono ("Those Who Turn Double Like The Eidola", 2011)
8) Yuujo no Gotoki Uramu Mono (2012)
9) Haedama no Gotoki Matsuru Mono (2018)

Magatori no Gotoki Imu Mono ("Those Who Are A Taboo Like The Malicious Bird", 2006) is the second novel in Mitsuda Shinzou's series about Toujou Genya, a writer of horror stories, amateur anthropologist (folklore) and collector of scary folklore stories. Genya travels all the way to the small fishing settlement of Tori no Ura in the Seto Inland Sea as he has the rare opportunity to witness "the Ceremony of the Birdman" of the Nuejiki Shrine. Nuejiki Shrine is dedicated to Torinoiwakusubu-no-Kami, or the Great Bird (an eagle deity) and is located on the small island of Torijikishima. The Nuejiki family of shrine maidens that own the shrine usually resides in Tori no Ura however, as the main Nuejiki Shrine is mainly used for rare occassions. This year is such a special case: the Ceremony of the Birdman is a secret ritual with esotoric roots that may only be used when either Tori no Ura or the Nuejiki Shrine is in imminent danger. With dangerously few fish being caught this year, it's decided the Ceremony of the Birdman will be conducted by the shrine maiden Akane. While the actual ceremony must be conducted by her alone, her younger brother Masana, the shrine help Akaguro and three promiment young men from the community also accompany her to the island to oversee the ritual. Accompanying the locals are Genya, and the folklore student Tamako, who both have academic interest in the ritual. While doing his 'homework' on the ritual, Genya learns the ritual was also conducted eighteen years ago by Akane's mother Akana. She was accompanied by a six-year old Akane as well as a professor from a university and his team, who wanted to witness the ritual themselves too. However, Akana disappeared from the shrine during the ritual, even though all exits were watched by the college students and that same night, all the other people too disappeared mysteriously from the island, leaving only the six-year old Akane locked up in a closet. Apparently, the men had been in a panic because of an attack by a Torime, a monstrous bird believed to roam this area, and Akane had been hidden by one of them in the closet, making her the only survivor.

Torijikishima is a small island that is not only surrounded by dangerous underwater streams, but also features an impressive rise at the northern half that ends in a rock cliff. The way the cliff extends both left and right, and partially in the middle makes it seem like a giant bird in flight when viewed above, and is also why the Nuejiki Shrine is built on top of this cliff, with the main shrine in the 'head' of the bird, flanked by two storage quarters in the 'wings'. One needs to walk up a slanted gallery walkway (from the "tail end") to get near the shrine. A set of doors at the end of the gallery give access to another steep staircase, which end at the doors that lead inside the shrine (head). Because of what happened to their mother, Masana is quite worried about his sister doing the same ritual, and he and Genya are stationed at the set of doors at the end of the gallery. A mechanism of bells and strings is set-up between the inner sanctum of the shrine and the watch post and Akane is to ring every few minutes or so to let Masana know she's okay. When the bells are suddenly rung violently, Genya and Masana decide to go inside the shrine. They break open the doors with an ax and find... nobody inside the shrine. While part of the shrine is in a state of chaos, Akane herself is nowhere to be found. Given that Masana and Genya were standing guard at the only exit, and that they can also find no trace of her having jumped off the cliff ends of the shrine (she wouldn't have been able to reach the sea), it seems the only way she could have left the shrine is by flying into the sky. Discussing the matter with the whole group leads to the realization this event is similar to what happened eighteen years ago, and to their great shock, more men of their party disappear one by one.

Magatori no Gotoki Imu Mono is the seventh Toujou Genya book I've read in these two years, which should tell you how much I love this series. I seldomly manage to read three books of the same series within a year, and never in consecutive years, so seven books in two years is a personal record, I think. But I also have to say, I think this second novel in the series was also the least amusing of the bunch, though it's still of a high quality: the 'problem' that the other books (especially the novels that follow) are even better, reaching legendary status, while this one is a book I usually would love, but which now even slightly disappoints, considering I know the heights the series will reach. Perhaps I should've read them in order.

For the most part, Magatori no Gotoki Imu Mono follows a familiar pattern, with an impossible happening occuring during a religious ceremony, which isn't completely visible to the reader (Genya) and which has a certain historical meaning, which in turn is interconnected with the motive and means of the how the trick was done. This novel is unique in the sense we're not talking about a clear crime here, as all that has happened is that Akane, and later some other people, disappear from the island. There are no traces of any crime having happened and that muddles the investigation, as one has to consider whether there has been foul play or not. In fact, soon after Akane's disappearance, Genya starts with a "Disappearance Lecture", in the spirit of Dr. Fell's Locked Room Lecture. The Disappearance Lecture is somewhat small in scale, as it focuses specifically on the ways Akane could've disappeared from the shrine while for example the third novel, Kubinashi no Gotoki Tataru Mono features a Decapitation Lecture that has more general use (Yamanma no Gotoki Warau Mono has a short Nursery Rhyme Lecture). As we don't know whether we're talking about a crime or not, Genya also explores the possibilities Akane escaped on her own, that she had an accomplice, or that she was spirited away by someone else against her will, all set against the available time in which she disappeared. The Disappearance Lecture helps the reader visualize the several possibilities (and of course the true solution is one that manages to fall outside the categories in a smart way), but I can't help feel the scale of the mystery is somewhat small. Yes, Akane disappeared in a completely impossible manner, but does that warrant that many pages of discussion? The other disappearances in return are very straightforward and are not really treated as a mystery.

I don't know if it's bad luck or not, but earlier in the year I read a book that also utilized a certain very rare story element that forms the core solution to Akane's disappearance, so the reveal was perhaps less surprising than it should've been. I am kinda torn on the solution: it doesn't seem really practical and doable in that amount of time, but it's also adequately hinted at through the usual psychological and physical clues, but also historical, folklorististic and even linguistic clues. That's one thing Mitsuda always does well, point in the direction of the solution through a very wide selection of clues at several levels. It's a reason why these novels often need the long set-up, as the historical background to the rituals is usually of the utmost importance if you want to really understand how and why the mystery came to be. The moment you realize that not only the one object mentioned is of importance, but even a bit of talk about the etymological roots of a word or something like that, that sensation is always fantastic in these novels. Also, Mitsuda once again does a great job at creating countless of false solutions, which he disregards as swiftly as he presents them. The way Genya works is he always tries to think out a possibility, but is always ready to throw the theory away once he realizes it's the wrong one. This means he usually suggests quite a few theories which sound absolutely convincing and which could've easily made for a real solution in a different story, but in these stories, they are misdirection, false solutions to bring you off the trail (though usually elements of each false solution will come back for the real solution).

What made this novel less entertaining than the other novels (even if it's still a good one)? Hard to tell. Partly, I think it's because the long set-up is less captivating: like most of the other novels, the first half discusses a past mystery (The disappearance of Akana and the others eighteen years ago) and we're shown that through the disposition of the then six-year old Akane as she's being questioned by both the police and her doctor. Ultimately, she sees very little about what has happened, so it's kinda hard to get into the mystery, while for example Yamanma no Gotoki Warau Mono and Kubinashi no Gotoki Tataru Mono also talked about mysterious events that happened in the past, but told in a more engaging manner. This made their set-ups, which were also very long, a bit easier to get through. I think ultimately, the final solution of Magatori no Gotoki Imu Mono is less grand in scale: you can easily summarize it in one short sentence, and you can then easily guess how it relates to the other elements of the book, while in the subsequent novels, the plots are more based on a common theme, which is utilized in various and diverse manners, rather than just one idea. The first novel, Majimono no Gotoki Tsuku Mono, also revolved around mostly one idea, so it seems Mitsuda really got the synergy theme going on from the third novel on (Kubinashi no Gotoki Tataru Mono).

That said, Magatori no Gotoki Imu Mono is still a well-plotted mystery story, that features an interesting problem, a memorable solution and most importantly: the way the path to the solution is plotted is excellent, with diverse and subtle clues that give you more than enough a chance to get at least close to the truth. I am not sure when I'll be returning to this series by the way: at the moment of writing, there are still two novels and one short story collection I haven't read yet, of which only one novel is available in the pocket format I prefer. So perhaps I'll wait a few years until more of them are re-released as pockets.

Original Japanese title(s): 三津田信三　『凶鳥の如き忌むもの』

Gates of Gloom

Deep into that darkness peering, 

long I stood there, wondering, fearing

"The Raven" (Edgar Allan Poe)

 
You know, I think I'll even manage to sneak in a fourth Toujou Genya review before the end of the year.

Toujou Genya series
1) Majimono no Gotoki Tsuku Mono ("Those Who Bewitch Like The Evil Spirits", 2006)
2) Magatori no Gotoki Imu Mono (2006)
3) Kubinashi no Gotoki Tataru Mono ("Those Who Cast A Curse Like The Headless", 2007) 
4) Yamanma no Gotoki Warau Mono ("Those Who Sneer Like The Mountain Fiend", 2008)
5) Himemuro no Gotoki Komoru Mono ("Those Who Stay Inside Like A Sealed Room", 2009)
6) Mizuchi no Gotoki Shizumu Mono ("Those Who Submerge Like The Water Spirit" 2009). 
7) Ikidama no Gotoki Daburu Mono ("Those Who Turn Double Like The Eidola", 2011)
8) Yuujo no Gotoki Uramu Mono (2012)
9) Haedama no Gotoki Matsuru Mono (2018)

Earlier this year, I reviewed Ikidama no Gotoki Daburu Mono, which was the second short story collection in Mitsuda Shinzou's excellent Toujou Genya series. I apparently never read things in order, so this time, I'll be reviewing the first short story collection featuring the horror author/amateur detective Genya: Himemuro no Gotoki Komoru Mono ("Those Who Stay Inside Like A Sealed Room", 2009). Chronologically though, I'm completely vindicated with this choice: whereas Ikidama no Gotoki Daburu Mono (seventh entry in the series) was set in Genya's younger student days, the four stories collected in Himemuro no Gotoki Komoru Mono (fifth entry) are set after Genya became a professional writer and run parallel with the longer novels in this series (the second story in this collection for example is set just before the second novel). The style of the stories in this book is also slightly different from the second short story collection. In these stories, Genya usually arrives at the scene after everything has already happened and is asked to solve the case by the people involved, as opposed to being on the scene by coincidence, which is what usually happens in both the novels and the stories in the second short story collection. The stories usually therefore start a bit slow, focusing more on exposition and the horror elements of the plot, with Genya usually only appearing very late in the story. That said though, this is definitely a Toujou Genya book, so expect impossible crimes, deep insights into yokai and other supernatural folklore, many false solutions, and a nice touch of horror.

Kubikiri no Gotoki Saku Mono ("Those Who Cut Like The Cut-Throat") is set in Kubikoujichou, a little town in the outskirts of Tokyo where many former Kazoku (aristocracy) live. One year earlier, the peace in town was disturbed by a series of murders on women, who all had their throats slit by some mysterious figure. The murders all happened in a cul-de-sac alley between the manors of the Kote and Azumime families, with a small shrine at the end of the alley. Considering the social position of the people here, there was little gossiping among the people living there after the first murder and thus people underestimated the danger, leading to a second, third and even a fourth victim. Some witnesses even stated that there was nobody else in the alley when the murders were committed, as if a ghost had done it. By the time of the third victim already, the police was of course desperate to find the murderer and they had their eyes set on Kote Akitada, the grandson of Kote Akimitsu, who had fought in World War II and returned a broken man, wearing a mask to hide his hideous injuries. When the police confronted him, he fled and committed suicide in the same alley, slitting his own throat. Many months later, and Akitada's former fiancee Takako has two new admirers, even though she is still mourning for the loss of her life. Kurimori Atsushi is the son of an acquaintance of Takako's father,  who is staying as a house guest for the moment, while Kote Akiyoshi is the ne'ver-do-well younger brother of Akitada, who has fallen in love with Takako too. Takako however has not moved on, and is still bringing flowers and mourning the death of Akitada and the other four women in the alley each week. At first Akiyoshi tried to accost Takako during her visits there, but after some commotion involving the triangle of Takako - Akiyoshi and Atsushi, they agreed Takako would be left alone when in the alley. However, this didn't last too long. One day, Takako goes inside the alley, soon followed by Akiyoshi. Suddenly, both Atsushi and Miyo, a young girl living opposite the alley see a mask fly out of the alley, indicating all's not well. When they arrive in the alley, they find Takako dead -- her throat slit. The only other person in the alley is Akiyoshi, who however has no weapon on his body and a police investigation in the neighborhood show he couldn't have thrown into the gardens on the sides of the alley. The only explanation possible seems to be that a ghostly apparition must've done it, the same ghostly apparition Miyo saw several times earlier perhaps, of a white human spirit taking off into the sky from within the alley.

Miyo looks for advice from the famed writer-cum-amateur detective Toujou Genya (well, he's being duped into solving the case by his editor), who of course comes up with a solution to the case. At least, eventually, he does that, because as per series custom, he'll go through a lot of theories and hypotheses, which he rejects himself, before he arrives at the true solution.  The explanation of the impossible murder (there was only one other person in the alley, who couldn't have hidden his weapon while someone outside the alley couldn't murder Takako by slitting her throat) is... original and perhaps fair if you'd happen to know about a very specific tradition, but otherwise it's pretty hard to guess, even if Mitsuda tried to leave some other hints behind for the reader. It's an interesting trick to visualize, that's for sure, and it's indeed interesting to know it actually has a real-life basis, but very few readers will be able to make those connections and figure out how it was done in advance. Mitsuda does a great job at proposing plausible solutions, and immediately shooting them down again with again plausible explanations as always. Some readers might find it tiring to keep going through Genya's theories only for him to reject them immediately the following page (as do some characters in the stories), but Genya's method is always used in a way to properly eliminate the other possibilities before arriving at the proper solution, and elements from the fake solutions are always incorporated in the final solution, making these stories excellent study material to show how to properly write a reasoning-based puzzle plot mystery.

Maiyoga no Gotoki Ugoku Mono ("Those Who Move Like the Mayoiga") first introduces the friends Mie and Tomiko, two teenage girls who travel across the region peddling medicine and other wares. As per custom, these young medicine peddlers travel together for their own safety and for example to split the bill when they have to rent a room at an inn, but mind their own business when they're in a village. Two days ago, both the girls found a home each who'd put them up for the night, but Mie's benefactor kept her longer in the home than she had wished (the husband was out to take care of his parents, therefore the wife was happy with Mie's presence in the home). Eventually, the girls agreed that Tomiko would go on ahead early to the next village, Shimomatsu Village, as Mie didn't expect to make it until later that day and that they'd meet the day after in the temple grounds of  Oosugi Shrine in Shimomatsu Village. When they finally meet up and talk about the day they spent alone, they realize something very odd. To make your way from Uematsu Village to Shimomatsu Village, one has to pass by a peak characterized by two trees. One of them is called the "Tengu's Seat" by the people in the region. When Tomiko went across the peak in the morning yesterday, she saw nothing on the mountains beyond Tengu's Seat. Mie however said she distinctly saw a decrepit house on the mountains beyond Tengu's Seat. A third traveller then joins the girls' conversation, saying when he crossed the peak in the afternoon (after Mie had passed it), he saw no house there. This reminds the three of the folklore stories of the Mayoiga, a half-decrepit house that can appear out of nowhere and can either bring fortune or misfortune to its visitors.

Eventually a fourth traveller also joins, and the four discuss the various legends of the Mayoiga, as well try to find an explanation to why some of them did see a house beyond Tengu's Seat yesterday, and some didn't. This story is truly unlike any other story in the series, focused mostly on discussing various legends and the disappearance of the house being a fairly 'vague' problem compared to women being killed in locked rooms or crime scenes without footsteps left in the snow, but this is a pretty ingeniously plotted story, with the clews sprinkled across the various elements of the story. The 'disappearing house' trope in mystery fiction often has either a psychological, or a technical solution to it ("they didn't see it" or "it was literally moved/destroyed"), but this is a nice example of a solution that combines both types and especially the psychological aspect of the solution is brilliant, as well as really well hinted at through the bantering of the girls.

Sukima no Gotoki Nozoku Mono ("Those Who Peek Like The Gap Fiend") introduces the reader to Kanou Takako, who has recently started as a teacher at the Goji-Chou Municipal Goji Elementary School. We learn that Takako is the latest in a family line where the women have a tendency to be haunted by the "Gap Fiend", a yokai which manifests itself whenever the Kanou women stare into the gaps/crevices when a door isn't properly shut. Through this opening, the women tend to see things they shouldn't or want to see, and little good has ever come from their powers (in her teens for example, Takako saw how her crush, and her best friend got hooked up in secret). As strictly taught by her grandmother, Takako has learned to always properly close the doors around her, but one night, when Takako's doing the late evening round at school, she inadvertently stares into the darkness of an door ajar again, and sees... the school head being chased by a figure dressed like a demon, both running around. When she snaps out of it, she tries to bring it up to the head guard of the school, and when he makes a call to the school head's home, they learn the man has been killed. As the school is somewhat close to the victim's home, the teachers who were at the school that night are also considered suspects, as everyone besides Takako seems to have a grudge against the now dead school head: the school head had actually beaten one of his pupils to death during the war (a friend of some of Takako's colleagues) and was of course part of the completely crooked, hypernationalistic school system during the war and recently, it appears the victim had actually been sexually abusing his pupils at this new school. Reasons enough for wanting him dead, but it just so happens that Takako can vouch for the alibis of each of her three colleagues and the guard, as she saw them that night at set times as she made her rounds. It should be no surprise that the true murderer is indeed among those with a perfect alibi, but the solution Genya proposes is so silly, it can't be taken seriously. In some contexts, this solution might work, but it seems very questionable in this particular situation.

The title story Himemuro no Gotoki Komoru Mono ("Those Who Stay Inside Like A Sealed Room") starts with the arrival of the mysterious woman Yoshiko at the Imari home. The women suffering from amnesia suddenly appeared in the back garden of the Imaris, bringing back the young Tsukishiro who had gotten lost there. Imari Iwao obviously felt a bond with Yoshiko, as his previous two wives too were called Yoshiko. The first Yoshiko gave birth to his first son Iwao, the second Yoshiko was the mother of Tsukishiro. At first father Iwao was only entertaining Yoshiko as a guest, who seemed to have a talent for kokkuri-san, a type of table-turning. Iwao's two brother-in-laws (brothers of the first and second Yoshiko) immediately suspected this third Yoshiko was nothing more than a charlatan, but despite their precautions during the seance (tying Yoshiko to her seat; the two brother-in-laws holding the writing utensil where kokkuri-san would manifest), the seance turns into a success, with an unknown force moving the writing utensil and writing short, but cohesive answers on paper to the questions asked from the spirits. Eventually, Iwao married the third Yoshiko as his third wife, who started a whole kokkuri-san business inside the two-storied storage of the house. One day, Toujou Genya appears at the house, hoping to learn about the mysterious red box of the Imaris, which is said to kill the women in the family. In fact, it is even believed Iwao's first two wives died because they opened the cursed box. Genya obviously is also interessed in kokkuri-san, but just as they are preparing for the seance, an expression of surprise takes over Yoshiko's face and she quickly shuts the door of the storage and locks herself up inside. While everybody is surprised to learn Yoshiko has thus locked everyone outside, they figure she might have some reason to do so, but the hours pass by and eventually a locksmith is called to open the old, but sturdy door of the storage (all the windows were also locked from the inside). Inside, Genya and husband Iwao find Yoshiko lying dead on the second floor; stabbed in the stomach by a knife which was kept here. As all the windows and door were locked from the inside, it seems no third party could've snuck inside to kill Yoshiko, but there are other clues that indicate this wasn't a suicide, with for example a second knife missing from the crime scene. Genya has to figure out how this death occured in this sealed storage, and why Yoshiko looked so surprised moments before she locked herself in.

By far the longest story of the whole collection: I think it's almost as long as the previous three stories together (it takes up about half of the book). Genya is confronted with two problems: how was the original kokkuri-san seance done, and how and more importantly, why did Yoshiko die in a locked storage? The seance itself is fairly easily debunked, though it has to be said that Genya never states Yoshiko was a fraud: he only points out to the possibility it could have been done in a certain way. Supernatural elements are not explicitly denied in this series and we often get hints that there are truly yokai, ghosts and fiends active in this world: they just aren't related to the murders at hand. The death of Yoshiko is probably not exactly what most readers would expect from it. Genya actually goes through the trouble of doing a locked room lecture (ha!) to examine all the ways in which their current situation can apply to the known variants and he at the end realizes it's none of the above, but his explanation is not really different from one of the formerly named variants. The how of the locked room mystery is infinitely less interesting than the why though. The explanation of why Yoshiko suddenly looked surprised coupled with how the rest of the story unfolded is not only emotionally impressive, it's really well-hinted at through the psychology and actions of the other characters. There might be few direct clues to the solution of this case, and it's really long, but the core is definitely impressive. Genya also throws around with false solutions like they're nothing, but again, they are necessary steps to arrive at the true solution.

Himemuro no Gotoki Komoru Mono is far from a dud, but perhaps the least interesting in the Toujou Genya series I've read until now. That says more about the exceptionally high quality of the series in general than something about this particular book though. The stories here are fairly good, and some really well-plotted with multiple (false) solutions, really sly clewing and even some surprising motives, but the other short story collection is definitely better. Had this been my first step into the series, I'd probably have been far more enthusiastic due to its tone and the depth of how the mystery plots are structured, but having read a lot more of this series I'd say it's an entertaining, if perhaps somewhat unbalanced book (with one very long story accompanied by three shorter stories, one of which somewhat silly).

Original Japanese title(s):  三津田信三『密室の如き籠るもの』:「首切の如き裂くもの」/「迷家の如き動くもの」/「隙魔の如き覗くもの」/「密室の如き籠るもの」