Regarding the English translation of The Labyrinth House Murders

My translation of The Labyrinth House Murders (Yukito AYATSUJI) was released three weeks ago in the UK by Pushkin Press. I hope the people who have read it enjoyed it, and that those who still have to read it, will find it as entertaining as I did when I first read the work. As much as I love the original work however, there was one point in the original work that wasn't likely to work "as is" in an English translation, and after deliberation with the editor and Ayatsuji himself, it was decided I'd change part of the mystery slightly, in order to keep the fair play spirit of the original work intact for the English-language reader. However, I still want people to know what the real idea was Ayatsuji had planted in his book, so I decided to write a piece explaining about what was changed and why, and go over a few other translation-related points while I am at it.

As you probably can guess, I'll be discussing major spoilers for The Labyrinth House Murders in that piece, so you should only read it after reading the book.

You can find the page here, and I will be re-posting this announcement when the US version of the book will be released coming Spring.

番外編：The Labyrinth House Murders Released

I probably mentioned it earlier on this blog, but today's finally the day: this is the day Pushkin Press is releasing my English translation of The Labyrinth House Murders (Meirokan no Satsujin) by Yukito AYATSUJI. Or at least, in the United Kingdom, I believe the US release will follow in a few months.

While my English translation of The Decagon House Murders was released via Locked Room International back in 2015, Pushkin Press took over the license, starting first with a revised re-release in 2021, and then following up with the sequel The Mill House Murders in 2023. Fortunately, both Ayatsuji himself and Pushkin wanted me on board again for the sequel and I was glad to hear that they also had intentions of continuing the series, so that brings us to the third book in the series: The Labyrinth House Murders was originally released in 1988 and is set in a rather unique location: the titular house is a genuine underground maze inspired by the myth of the Minotaur and the home of Miyagaki Yotaro, a veteran mystery writer who has been active for decades not only as an author, but also in an editing position where he helps younger authors debut in his beloved genre. As of late however, he has decided to retire, but for his sixtieth birthday, he has decided to invite some of his closest comrades, like writers who debuted under his tutelage and an editor with whom he has worked for a long time. However, soon after everyone has arrived, a shocking death is sprung upon the guests, and they are locked inside the Labyrinth House and are asked to participate in a bizarre competition with deadly results...

The Decagon House Murders was not written as a 'series' book with obvious story hooks or anything like that, which explains why The Mill House Murders, as a sequel, could be read without any prior knowledge of the series. That also holds for The Labyrinth House Murders: while a few references are dropped about earlier cases, the tale itself can be read independently, so there's no real problem if you decide to start with this book.   

Personally, this has always been one of my favorite entries in the series, ever since I read it over a decade ago. This is in part due to the background setting: ever since I was a child, I have loved Greek mythology, so the setting of the labyrinth and rooms named after figures related to the myth of the Minotaur really appeal to me. The floorplan of the titular Labyrinth House is also much more complex than any of the maps we have seen so far: it's a genuine maze and each time you want to move from one room to another, you need to go through the maze. As you read, you'll be looking at the floorplan, and that adds a fun element, kinda like how you'd read The Lord of the Rings and check how everyone was moving while heading for Mordor. But the story itself is also fun: we have a group of genre-savvy characters gathered together, from mystery writers to a critic, an editor and a huge fan of the genre, and the plot plays a lot with that. As for the mystery, it's a really tricky one once again, that has hints hidden in more places than you'd expect.  

Translation-wise, there's something I do want to discuss in due time, but I might wait a little bit longer to get back to that, as it's not something to mention right away on release day! 

Anyway, if you liked The Decagon House Murders and/or The Mill House Murders, please read The Labyrinth House Murders too, and if not... try it anyway! In a way, it's the most "detectivey" book of the three books released until now, so I have no doubt a lot of readers will enjoy this one. And as for more translations of this series? As you can expect, positive reception is the most likely to ensure more translations follow (hopefully by me of course), so it'd be great if you'd pick the book!

番外編：The Mill House Murders Released

Back in November, I announced Pushkin Press would be publishing my translation of AYATSUJI Yukito's The Mill House House Murders, at the time with a scheduled release date of late February. Sorry for the wait, as the release was eventually pushed back a month to March. Now!

Two years ago, Pushkin Press re-released The Decagon House Murders, a slightly brushed-up version of the translation I originally made for Locked Room International in 2015.  Fortunately, the re-release seems to have been received well, leading to plans to release the follow-up novel and I am also happy both author Ayatsuji and Pushkin Press wanted me on board again. The Mill House Murders was originally published in Japan as Suishakan no Satsujin in 1988, set once again in an architectural creation by the architect Seiji Nakamura, and yes, people die there. The Mill House is a castle-like structure, home of a wealthy recluse with a unique art collection, and his beautiful young wife. One year before the present, a horrible murder case happened at the Mill House while a small party of guests were visiting visited the house to view the art collection. Exactly one year later, most of the same people have once again gathered at the Mill House, and that is of course the go sign for more mysterious happenings that build towards a surprising conclusion.

The Mill House Murders is the second book in Ayatsuji's long-running series featuring Nakamura's buildings and he recently got started on the tenth book. This second volume can be read seperate from The Decagon House Murders, as basically the only spoiler is the series detective, but of course, those who have read the first book will get some of the minor references and call-backs. People who liked the first book will find a lot to love in The Mill House Murders, as the reader will once again explore an unsettling, closed-off location where curious, bloody murders occur and a surprising conclusion waiting at the end. The Mill House Murders is also a transitional book: The Decagon House Murders was written as a standalone book, inspired by Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None, but its success led to it being turned into a series, and this book does feel like it opens up the world a bit, marking the transition to a series.

One personal memory I have of this book I already mentioned in my review of the Japanese book. I originally obtained a used copy of this book, and near the end, before the final chapter, I found a receipt stuck between the pages. At first I thought it was just something left accidentally there by the previous owner and missed by the employees of the used book shop, but when I turned it around, I found it had a message for me, the new owner: it was a Challenge to the Reader, from A Reader. The note mentions that the murderer would be revealed in the next part, and challenged the reader to try to solve it themselves first before reading the final chapter. It was such a fun, unique present of the previous owner and I still have the note.

Pushkin is based in the UK, which means The Mill House Murders is out this week there, with a US release scheduled for I believe in May. Anyway, if you liked The Decagon House Murders, please try The Mill House Murders too and if not.... try both? The Decagon House Murders was the first novel I got to work on, and when I first started this blog, I of course never had imagined I would be translating all those books I was writing about, so I'm more than thrilled I was able to also work on The Mill House Murders. And as for more books in this series? I guess positive reception is the most likely to ensure more translations follow (hopefully by me, haha), so it'd be great if you'd pick the book if you happen to be looking for a fun mystery novel.

番外編：The Mill House Murders

Better make an announcement in advance, before I am too late...

Two years ago, Pushkin Press re-released The Decagon House Murders, a slightly brushed-up version of the translation I originally made for Locked Room International in 2015. 1987's The Decagon House Murders is of course historically an important work, as it was Yukito AYATSUJI's debut novel was also the first novel in the so-called shin honkaku (new orthodox) movement in Japan, which was a call for authors and reader to return to intelligent puzzle plot mysteries. Readers of the blog are very likely to be interested in shin honkaku fiction and hopefully, they have read some of the other shin honkaku novels I have translated like Death of the Living Dead, Death Among the Undead and The Moai Island Puzzle. But I think most people can also understand me when I say I consider The Decagon House Murders also a work important to me personally: it was the full first full novel I translated and it was the positive reception that has since allowed me to translate more Japanese mystery novels. The Dirda piece in the Washington Post back in 2015 must have been one of the first mainstream publications to use the word honkaku and it's been very interesting to see that word develop since in the English-language word. The more recent release by Pushkin Press of The Decagon House Murders gave the book renewed attention worldwide too, so it was great to see the book mentioned and referenced more and more as time passed by.

I believe this has been officially announced by Pushkin Press already, or at least, you can already find entries for the book and pre-order it at all the big bookstores, so some might be aware already, but Pushkin Press will be releasing the sequel to The Decagon House Murders next year. The Mill House Murders was originally published in Japan as Suishakan no Satsujin in 1988, and once again features a classically-styled tale of murder and mystery. The English translation is scheduled for a February 23rd, 2023 release and I am happy to say that author Ayatsuji and Pushkin Press wanted me on this project again, so yes I reprising my role as the translator for this second novel featuring an architectural creation by the architect Seiji Nakamura, and of course something bad is going to happen in the titular house. The Mill House is a castle-like structure with three gigantic water wheels that power the building. It is the home of a recluse and his beautiful young wife. One year before the present, a horrible murder case happened here while a small party of guests visited the house to view an exclusive, prviate collection of paintings on display here. Exactly one year later, most of the same people have once again gathered at the Mill House, but perhaps they should have known that would be tempting fate, and indeed, new deaths occur at this creepy house...

I know a lot of readers were curious to the further adventures revolving around the buildings created by Nakamura after reading The Decagon House Murders, either back in 2015 or more recently with the Pushkin Press release, so it's great to be able to say their wishes will come true soon. People who liked the first book will find a lot to love here, as we once again explore an unsettling, closed-off location where curious, bloody murders occur and where a surprising solution awaits at the end. At the same time, I'd say this is also a transitional book: The Decagon House Murders was of course written as a standalone book, inspired by Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None, but this book does feel like it opens up a bit, marking the transition to a series and upon hindsight, it's an interesting book to look at as a "link" between The Decagon House Murders and the books that would follow later. I read the book back in 2012, and if you're curious to my thoughts, you can find them here, or you could just wait and read the book first in a few months and then come back to check. By the way, Ayatsuji has recently announced he's finally getting started on the tenth novel in the series, and he announced the title last week...

Anyway, I could probably write more about this book, but I better save that for when we're closer to the actual release of the book in a few months! If you haven't read The Decagon House Murders yet, you still have plenty of time to read that one and be ready for the sequel, and otherwise, there might be some other translated honkaku novels out there to read while we wait for The Mill House Murders to arrive in stores, right?

番外編： The Decagon House Murders Released Once More, with Feeling

Five years ago, Locked Room International released The Decagon House Murders, my translation of Ayatsuji's monumental 1987 novel Jukkakukan no Satsujin, about the members of a university mystery club who plan a visit on an abandoned island, only to be killed by a mysterious killer one after another. It would be the first novel of the so-called shin honkaku (new orthodox) movement in Japan, which was a call for authors and reader to return to intelligent puzzle plot mysteries. Many writers would follow in the wake of The Decagon House Murders, making it one of the most important novels in recent detective fiction history in Japan. The release of the English-language version of The Decagon House Murders was of course a personal milestone, but putting it in the wider context, for many it was probably also their first steps into shin honkaku, and since then, I've been fortunate enough to be able to work with Locked Room International to bring more Japanese mystery fiction to the English-language world (In case you missed it, take a look at The Red Locked Room!). Since its release, The Decagon House Murders has seen some interesting and positive reviews. Personally, I have to admit that the Dirda piece in the Washington Post back in 2015 still made the most impression on me, especially as it really helped the word honkaku spread.

For some time now, Pushkin Press has been publishing Japanese mystery fiction, with prominent writers like Shimada and Yokomizo seeing both new translations, but also re-releases of older translations that had gone out of print. Some of the readers may have been aware of this already, but Pushin Press required the rights for The Decagon House Murders some time ago. And now their version's out! At least, I believe the e-book is available right now, while the physical book will follow in only a few weeks. It's a re-release, but the text has been brushed up by the new editors, and some help from myself of course and it's got a nifty new cover. Seriously, Pushkin has been hitting home-runs with these covers, and the first I was contacted over this new release, I couldn't help but be utterly excited about what kind of cover it would get!

Pushkin Press is based in the UK, so the e-book is out now and the physical release follows in the first week of December, while I think the US release is scheduled for next year, though that's kinda a moot point since you can just order anything from internet nowadays... Anyway, if you were still wondering about gifts for the holiday season, or just something to read yourself in the upcoming darker months, why not The Decagon House Murders?

Face to Face

「人生は仮面舞踏会みたいなもんだ。男も女もみんな仮面をかぶっ​て生きている」

『仮面舞踏会』（横溝正史）

"Life is like a masked ball. All men and women live their lives wearing masks."

"The Masked Ball" (Yokomizo Seishi)

And again, a disclosure message just to be sure: I translated the English version of Ayatsuji Yukito's The Decagon House Murders last year, which is part of the same series as the book I'm discussing today.

Yakata series (Author: Ayatsuji Yukito)
Jukkakukan no Satsujin (The Decagon House Murders) [1987]
Suishakan no Satsujin (The Water Mill House Murders) [1988]
Meirokan no Satsujin (The Labyrinth House Murders) [1988]
Ningyoukan no Satsujin (The Puppet House Murders) [1989]
Tokeikan no Satsjin (The Clock House Murders) [1991]
Kuronekokan no Satsujin (The Black Cat House Murders) [1992]
Ankokukan no Satsujin (The Darkness House Murders) [2004]
Bikkurikan no Satsujin (The Surprise House Murders) [2006]
Kimenkan no Satsujin (The Strange Masks House Murders) [2012]

The first time mystery writer Shishiya Kadomi met horror writer Hyuuga Kyousuke, he thought he had finally found his doppelgänger. Their resemblance becomes useful when Hyuuga is invited by the wealthy Kageyama Itsushi to attend a secret meeting. The monetary reward for his time is something Hyuuga can't refuse, but a sudden illness prevents him from going. Hyuuga therefore asks Shishiya to go in his place (pretending to be Hyuuga), so they can share the money. Shishiyai doesn't feel much for the scheme, until he learns that the meeting is to be held in the Strange Masks House, one of the creations of architect Nakamura Seiji. From his own experience, Shishiya knows that each of Nakamura's houses becomes the scene of some grotesque murder, and hoping to confront the evil, Shishiya accepts Hyuuga's request. And as expected, the meeting at the Strange Masks House turns into a bloody tragedy, when the house is cut-off from the outside world due to a sudden snow storm in April, the master of the house is found murdered and decapitated in his room and masks have been put on, and locked on the faces of all the guests, including Shishiya, during their sleep (think The Man in the Iron Mask). With no way of escape or even seeing whom they are talking to, can the party make it out alive from Ayatsuji Yukito's Kimenkan no Satsujin ("The Strange Masks House Murder", 2012).

Kimenkan no Satsujin is the ninth novel in Ayatsuji's Yakata (mansion, house) series, which first started in 1987 with The Decagon House Murders (for a series overview, see this post). Shishiya had not acted in very prominent roles in the previous couple of volumes (from Kuronekokan no Satsujin on), but here he is back in the main role, in a rather classic format of the series, with him locked up together with some other people in one of Nakamura's devilish creations. The theme this time is masks, which is a motif for a lot of mystery fiction actually. "Everyone wears a mask, whether over their faces or over their hearts," one famous quote from the Ace Attorney series says and that's especially true in detectve stories, where practically everybody has something to hide, criminal or not. And how often have we not seen stories where people turned out not to be the persons they claimed to be? Sometimes, we have characters wearing actual masks, like the infamous Sukekiyo in Yokomizo Seishi's The Inugami Clan, who instantly attract all attention, and suspicion of those around them.

Ayatsuji brings this theme to the extreme in Kimenkan no Satsujin, as it's a rule inside the Strange Masks House for the host and guests to wear face-covering masks most of the time, and after the murder nobody is able to take of their masks anymore because they have all been locked. It's because of the actual masks that the reader will suddenly start to have suspicions about the identity of each of the characters, as you simply can't be sure anymore if the man in the mask is indeed who he claims to be. This plot device is used in interesting ways to work out several problems revolving around identity in mystery fiction, including obvious ones like suspicions about the identity of the decapitated victim and others. The face=identity theme comes back several times and I'd say that for the most part, this is done quite well: the problem of why everyone is made to wear their masks, as well as the reason for the decapitation work quite well in the context of the story.

Whereas Knox might lament the use of secret passages in detective stories, it's actually a vital element of the Yakata series: the series revolves around the houses designed by Nakamura Seiji, who loved weird gimmicks like secret hallways and hidden cabinets. Every time there is something resembling a locked room in the series, you can bet there's a secret hallway somewhere. But isn't that cheap, you might think? No, actually, it isn't. For one, it's always assumed that there is something going in Nakamura's creations and two, the existence of a secret hallway itself is not the mystery. They are always used as fair elements in the deduction process, so you have to look at these gimmicks in the light of questions as "who could have known about this secret hallway", or "who could have used this secret passage". In that respect, secret hallways are just as fair an element in mystery fiction as the bloody knife. Kimenkan no Satsujin too is bursting with secret gimmicks, but their use in the deduction process is completely fair.

I did find Kimenkan no Satsujin quite lacking in the 'wow' department. Up until now, all the books featured a big surprise twist, a trick that turned everything around and explained everything. For each book, I can explain in one sentence what the trick was. Kimenkan no Satsujin on the other hand feels more like it's a collection of smaller tricks that admittedly work together, but miss the big impact of earlier novels. Most of the mystery revolves around the decapitated corpse, issues of identity because of the masks and Nakamura's gimmicks mentioned above. True, there is one big twist at the end of the story that also ties in nicely with a very neat piece of misdirection, but it is not a plot device that can explain most of the mystery behind the novel, as featured in previous novels. Again, it's an element that ties in well with the face=identity thing, but it is not nearly as strong as that one thing from The Decagon House Murders or that what was pulled off in Tokeikan no Satsujin (people who have read those books probably instantly know what kind of twist I'm talking about). In comparison, the thing from Kimenkan no Satsujin? Oh, that, in combination with that other thing and don't forget this.

Overall, Kimenkan no Satsujin is a fairly solid entry in the series, with the more classical tone similar to earlier books in the series. For people who have been following the whole series, I think this one won't really disappoint. For people who haven't read the series yet; start somewhere else, because while fun, Kimenkan no Satsujin is nowhere being the best of the series and there are quite a lot of references to earlier books. The big question is however: what will happen next? Ayatsuji has said that he plans to end the series with the tenth volume, and while there is nothing like a grand narrative between the books (except for the focus on the protagonists and the houses created by Nakamura Seiji), I do suspect that the last volume will have something to connect all the books together more strongly and serve as a proper conclusion.

Original Japanese title(s): 綾辻行人 『奇面館の殺人』

番外編： The Decagon House Murders Released

Hmm, in hindsight, I kinda wrote all I wanted to write on the topic in the announcement of this announcement, so maybe you should read that post too.

I already announced the release of the first English translation of AYATSUJI Yukito's debut novel back in May, but today I can announce the book is finally available (both paper and e-book, I think)! Locked Room International's release of The Decagon House Murders (Jukkakukan no Satsujin) was translated by me and is a brilliant homage to And Then There Were None where a group of students (and members of the local university mystery fiction club) are killed one by one during a little camp on a little island with a strange ten-sided building. It would be the first novel of the so-called shin honkaku (new orthodox) movement in Japan, which called for a return to smart, puzzle plot mysteries. Many writers would follow in the wake of The Decagon House Murders, making it one of the most important novels in recent detective fiction history in Japan. This English release includes an introduction by SHIMADA Souji (of The Tokyo Zodiac Murders) and a (short) postface by me.

Publishers Weekly gave the book a starred review and selected the book as one of their Best Summer Books 2015. My own review of the Japanese version is here and other opinions of my fellow Japanese mystery bloggers about the original Japanese version can be found at My Japanese bookshelf and In the Threshold of Chaos.

And I'd of course love it if you would read the book, not just as the translator, but even more so as someone who really became a fan of Ayatsuji's works after reading this book and even went to study in Kyoto and like Ayatsuji, became a member of the Kyoto University Mystery Club.

And to finish with a quote from myself, made in 2011 in my review of the Japanese version:

But yes, Jukkakukan no Satsujin. Important. New Orthodox School. Read It.

Why isn't this translated in English?

I have to admit that I am a bit surprised how that turned out! I should cry out for more English translations and see what happens!

EDIT: Oh, totally forgot that Publishers Weekly also did an interview with Ayatsuji in connection to the book. You can read it here. (Actually, the 'final' product was slightly rewritten, I see, but I was the one who translated the interview.)

EDIT2: The Decagon House Murders was also reviewed by the Washington Post in 'The Decagon House Murders' invokes Agatha Christie - in Japan.

番外編： The Decagon House Murders

No quotes as an introduction? A post title that isn't a reference? Yes, this is one of those rare service announcements on the blog. Prior announcements included messages about me writing prefaces or having translated short stories, so this time...?

One of the most referenced novels on this blog has always been AYATSUJI Yukito's The Decagon House Murders ("Jukkakukan no Satsujin", 1987), a novel inspired by And Then There Were None, about a group of students with nicknames like "Ellery", "Carr" and "Agatha", who are targeted by a murderer during a stay on a small, deserted island with a strange ten-sided house. The Decagon House Murders showed that it was still possible to write good puzzle plot mysteries decades after the so-called "Golden Age" ended. In fact, the release of the book was like a traffic light turning to green, as many writers followed in Ayatsuji's footsteps, hailing in a renaissance of puzzle plot mystery novels in Japan (the shin honkaku, or "new orthodox" movement).

Publisher Locked Room International will be publishing the first English-language version of The Decagon House Murders this July and I had the pleasure of being the translator of the book. It's a book I always wished more people would read, but of course I had never dreamt I'd have the chance to translate it. But sometimes, the stars align at just the right time. It's one of the most influential mystery novels of the last thirty years in Japan and SHIMADA Soji wrote a special introduction for the English release, so this is a release no fan of detective fiction shouldn't miss. Which is something I say not as the translator of the book (okay, partly, I do), but as someone who has been a fan of the book since many years ago and who went all the way to Kyoto and joined the Kyoto University Mystery Club mostly because of how much I enjoyed The Decagon House Murders.

Publishers Weekly gave The Decagon House Murders an early positive starred review and selected it as one of their Best Summer Books 2015 line-up, which is certainly not a bad start! My own review of the book can be read here. It dates from a few years back and long-time readers might have noticed that it was around that time that I started to blog more consistently/often about Japanese detective fiction and that's no coincidence.

Anyway, The Decagon House Murders will be out in a bit in less than two months, so True Believers, keep an eye out for it.

再生 -Rebuild-: the Yakata series

Another Rebuild post, which serves as an introduction post to some of the longer series I discuss here. Links to all related reviews, short introduction, discussion on general series tropes, it's all here. This time, one of the more famous series of contemporary Japanese orthodox detective fiction.

Yakata series (Author: Ayatsuji Yukito)
Jukkakukan no Satsujin (The Decagon House Murders) [1987]
Suishakan no Satsujin (The Water Mill House Murders) [1988]
Meirokan no Satsujin (The Labyrinth House Murders) [1988]
Ningyoukan no Satsujin (The Puppet House Murders) [1989]
Tokeikan no Satsjin (The Clock House Murders) [1991]
Kuronekokan no Satsujin (The Black Cat House Murders) [1992]
Ankokukan no Satsujin (The Darkness House Murders) [2004]
Bikkurikan no Satsujin (The Surprise House Murders) [2006]
Kimenkan no Satsujin (The Strange Masks House Murders) [2012]

Related:
Kirigoetei Satsujin Jiken (The Kirigoe Mansion Murder Case) [1990]
Ayatsuji Yukito Satsujin Jiken (The Ayatsuji Yukito Murder Case) [2013]

Spread all across Japan are the mansions built by genius architect Nakamura Seiji. While all of his creations have different themes, these houses all have two characteristics. One is that Nakamura Seiji loved building gimmicks in his mansions: each of them are full of secret passages, hidden rooms and other surprises. The second characteristic is that his creations somehow always seem to attract death. Violent death. Nakamura Seiji died in 1985 on his own private island Tsunojima, but his legacy would remain lethal: after getting involved with the events in The Decagon House Murders, where a group of students was murdered on the island in a And Then There Were None style, Shimada Kiyoshi tries to learn more about the haunted houses and travels around Japan to see what more evil Nakamura Seiji's creations have led to.

I'll first note that The Decagon House Murders, the first book in the series, is a very important book in the history of Japanese detective fiction, being the first in the so-called New Orthodox movement, which meant a re-, and deconstruction of the classic puzzle plots of lore in the modern age. As this post is meant to be a general introduction to the series, I refer to the review for more details on the meaning of The Decagon House Murders within Japanese detective fiction history. In terms of series continuity however, it might be interesting to note that The Decagon House Murders wasn't planned as a series: Shimada Kiyoshi in particular wasn't created as a series detective and this entry in the series might feel a bit detached from the other novels in terms of style.

And on a sidenote, the word yakata refers to a mansion than 'just' a house, but the titular house in The Decagon House Murders isn't really a mansion (in the grand, impressive building-meaning of the word), but an annex building of the actual, main mansion. This is why I first used the word house instead of mansion as a translation for jukkakukan (decagon house): I just sticked with the word in other reviews to be consistent, although subsequent houses can all safely be called mansions.

As the titles of the books suggest, each book is set around a different creation by Nakamura Seiji. There are two major 'types' of house, which tie in with the creative writing process behind the books. Writer Ayatsuji Yukito sometimes comes up with an interesting-sounding house, after which he thinks of a plot to set in that house (i.e. Bikkurikan no Satsujin). Other times, he comes up with a plot, after which he creates a house to support that trick/plot/story (i.e. Tokeikan no Satsujin). In general, the latter practice leads to houses which are integral to a certain trick in the book, as the houses are created especially to facilitate execution of the plot.

The most important characteristic of the series is of course the plot device of the mansions as a setting. This is highly influenced by S.S. Van Dine's The Greene Murder Case and especially Oguri Mushitarou's Kokushikan Satsujin Jiken (1934), which also features a dark house brimming with secrets and surprises. The horror-like style can be felt distinctly throughout the stories (Ayatsuji Yukito also writes horror conveniently) and it results in each of the houses becoming something like a living entity in each narrative, not unlike the House of Usher. A great number of the novels are so-called closed circle mysteries: in these novels everybody is confined to the titular mansion, with a murderer among them (a bit like Scooby-Doo. A little bit). These mansions also all feature secret passages, hidden rooms and other surprises that would make Knox go utterly mad. One might think for a second that such elements would make a detective story unfair, but because these secret passages are taken for granted in Nakamura Seiji's houses, it's never unfair. Everyone knows they exist, and the way writer Ayatsuji utilizes them is absolutely fair to the reader (for example, the existence of a secret passage itself might come out of nowhere, but not the question of who could have used the passage).

And for fans of the genre who like maps and stuff in their novels, there's always a neat, detailed map of each mansion in every novel!

There is another major characteristic to the series, but this includes major spoilers for the novels, so I'll hide the next part.  SPOILER ALERT!! I REFER SPECIFICALLY TO THE DECAGON HOUSE MURDERS AND THE WATER WHEEL HOUSE MURDERS. READ AT YOUR OWN RISK (SELECT TO READ):

Most of the novels feature a narrative trick to be springed upon the reader, usually executed through a dual narrative structure. The Decagon House Murders for example had the two narratives of island and main land, while the The Water Wheel House Murders had a past/present narrative. Ayatsuji's narrative tricks are usually accomplished by suggesting either a link between the two narratives, while in reality there isn't, or the other way around. The Decagon House Murders for example made it seem like the island narrative was a closed circle And Then There Were None scenario, while the main land narrative was about finding out the truth behind the events. However, one person from the main land narrative had in fact been traveling up and down the island, posing as another person there, having broken the closed circle. The Water Wheel House Murders made it seem like the narrators from the two past/present narratives were the same, even though there had been a switch. The other novels also feature such tricks (practically all have dual narratives), but the narrative trick isn't always crucial to the main story (sometimes it's just to give the story another surprise twist, but not particularly crucial to the murder-plot).

The Yakata series was originally planned to end with the fourth novel, The Puppet House Murders, but is now planned as a ten novel series, of which nine have been released at the moment.

Note: The novel The Kirigoe Mansion Murder Case is formally not a part of the series, but the book does open with "dedicated to another Nakamura Seiji" and similarly features a mysterious house as the scene of murders, suggesting that the Kirigoe Mansio might also be a creation by Nakamura Seiji.

Note 2: The Ayatsuji Yukito Murder Case is the novelization of a murder play inspired on the yakata series.

Author! Author!

"All the world's a stage"

"As you like it"

No, I don't have an Ayatsuji Yukito quotum for this month. Really. Next week the new Gyakuten Saiban / Ace Attorney will be released, so expect something on that when I've finished that, but before that, I promise I'll post some non-Ayatsuji related reviews. Heck, They'll even be about non-Japanese novels! One of them, about poisoned chocolates...

But first, to show it's over with Ayatsuji for this month, we'll kill him off, in Ayatsuji Yukito Satsujin Jiken - Arujitachi no Yakata ("The Ayatsuji Yukito Murder Case - The House of the Owners"). Nakamura Seiji is a famous architect, who always placed secret hallways and hidden doors in his creations. For some reason, his creations also seem to attract death, as his houses have been the setting for many murder cases. One day, the owners of Nakamura's Decagon House, the Labyrinth House, the Clock House and the Black Cat House, who are all referred to by their house, gather in the Mirage House. It is said that a stack of gold is hidden somewhere in the mansion, probably in one of secret rooms Nakamura designed, and the four men hope to find the treasure by solving a mysterious code. Black Cat House however manages to solve the code before the other three do, and he sneaks into the secret treasure room alone. The other people manage to solve the code themselves not long afterwards, but when they open the secret room, they find the murdered Black Cat House inside!

Such goes a mystery play Mystery Night organized together with famous writer Ayatsuji Yukito (writer of the series about Nakamura Seiji's houses). Atsumi Reika, the editor in charge of Ayatsuji Yukito, is attending the play, but it turns out that the actor playing Black Cat House was really murdered during the performance. The only people who could have commited the murder were the actors on stage and the people in the wings of the stage, during the times the lights were out for scene changes. Morishita, the stage director, hopes that Ayatsuji Yukito will solve the case, as he's a famous detective writer, but then Ayatsuji himself is found as a corpse!

Well, of course Ayatsuji Yukito isn't really dead (or I have been mailing with a dead man this week). A bit confusing, but The Ayatsuji Yukito Murder Case - The House of the Owners is the novelization of a stage play, about a murder commited during a stage play. And it wasn't a normal stage play either. For it was organized by Mystery Night, a murder play group which has been around for 26 years. As far as I know, the basic set-up is the same every time: a murder play is performed in front of the public, after which the public have a chance to question the suspects. At the end of the night, guests hand in sheets with their deductions / who they think the murderer is. Gather enough points and your name will be remembered as a great detective forever (or something like that). This particular 'crossover' was held in the summer of 2012, as it was the 25th anniversary since their debut for both Ayatsuji Yukito and Mystery Night,

The book contains a novelization of the murder play, written by Amane Ryou, as well as a report on how the play went and some interviews with the actors and Ayatsuji Yukito himself. For this review, I'll only look at the novelization of the play. The rest is probably quite interesting if you attended the play yourself, but a report on how the project was organized just isn't that captivating if you weren't there. I have to note that the novelization is very short, with the novelization about as long as the rest of the book (300 pages in total).

The setting of an actual murder happening during a murder play isn't new, of course. I remember an early Kindachi Shounen no Jikenbo story for example, as well as a very recent Gyakuten Saiban / Ace Attorney stage play. And if we go further and go to murders committed during filming of movies / TV shows and such, we could probably fill a very interesting post. But not this time. But on topic: the novelization of Ayatsuji Yukito Satsujin Jiken is surprisingly fun, but it does show to an extent that sometimes, tricks just seem better suited for certain media over others.

The whole story about how the actor of Black Cat House was murdered in a locked room on stage, and the consequent Ayatsuji Yukito murder is definitely fun to read. The setting, a murder play in the theater, is used to its fullest and the original writers obviously wrote this keeping in mind the public would walk around the set looking for clues The main trick, while not particularly original, does really fit the stage. As such, this is quite a good example of a fair play mystery play.

But on the other hand, some might think the novelization of the stage play is less succesful, because you can't see it performed in front of your eyes or walk around the set. While I didn't had any problems with the main trick, I have seen several reviews of the book by people who said they had troubles visualizing the trick, which might betray its origins as a stage play. The novelization by award-winning Amane Ryou is also a bit... bland, I have to admit. I don't know how much he added to the original stage play (probably mostly Reika as the reader-proxy), but while adequate, the novelization does not impress as a "nove.".

For fans of Ayatsuji Yukitos novels, there's a lot to be found here: the play-within-the-play is presented as a side-story of Ayatsuji's Yakata series, complete with a Nakamura Seiji mansion. Heck, the title Mirage House was actually one of the proposed titles of Ningyoukan no Satsujin. But the most surprising part is of course Ayatsuji's own demise in the story. As he notes himself, one could consider it retribution for having killed so many people in his books. It's a bit surreal to see him in this role, but funny.

But I admit that this novelization is a hard sale for people who don't particularly like Ayatsuji Yukito. The story works better as a stage play than a novel, I admit, and the allure of this project is mostly derived from having Ayatsuji killed... so if you're nto a big fan of him, you probably won't enjoy this book. The novelization is also very short, and the rest of the book is only interesting if you want to read some interviews and a field report on how the original stage play went.

Original Japanese title(s): 綾辻行人（編集）、天祢涼（ノベライズ）　『綾辻行人殺人事件　主たちの館』

High Rise Hair Raiser

“Believe only half of what you see and nothing that you hear"

Edgar Allan Poe

Having survived a summer in both Fukuoka and Kyoto, I thought I'd be better prepared for the summer here; I mean, if I can survive near 40 degrees Celsius, 25 degrees shouldn't be that hard, right? And of course, I was wrong. So wrong. And I don't even have airconditioning here

Bikkurikan no Satsujin ("The Surprise House Murders") starts with the young adult Michiya finding the novel The Labyrinth House Murders by Shishiya Kadomi in a bookstore. The novel about the strange serial murder case that happened in the mansion designed by architect Nakamura Seiji, was especially interesting to Michiya because he had first-hand experience with another of Nakamura Seiji's creations, many years ago, when he was twelve. Michiya had just moved into a new town, where he had become friends with Toshio, who lived in the Surprise House. Nobody actually knew why it was called the Surprise House. Some say it was because the house was full of jack-in-the-boxes. Some say it was haunted by a ghost who loved scaring people. Some even say the complete house was a jack-in-the-box. But one thing was sure; as a house designed by Nakamura Seiji, it was destined to become a murder scene. Because on Christmas, Michiya found Toshio's grandfather murdered inside the Surprise House, in a room locked from the inside. And as Michiya starts to think about the murder, the reader is told all the events that led up to the murder.

The eighth Yakata novel and a weird one too. I also said that about the previous entry in the series, but they differ from the norm for quite different reasons. One of the major reasons for Bikkurikan no Satsujin feeling different, is because it was actually written with a totally different target group in mind. The book was originally written for publisher Kodansha's Mystery Land imprint, a line of mystery novels for children. The change in target readers shows, with an easy to read writing style, a child protagonist and even illustrations to accompany the story. It is however a full-fledged part of the Yakata series, Ayatsuji Yukito assures the reader.

I am not sure what to think about it though. First of all, the titular Surprise House never really manages to surprise. Or impress. Or do anything. Sure, it's a mansion, with one or two 'strange' things to it as you'd expect from a Nakamura Seiji house, but it misses the impact other mansions had. The obligatory secret passage (all of Nakamura Seiji's houses have secret hallways, so that's not a spoiler) is used in a great way for the story though, but the Surprise House itself is rather bland. There were other mansions in the series with somewhat 'boring' themes initially, I admit, but something like Kuronekokan no Satsujin shows that even a bland idea for a house can turn out quite good. The Surprise House however misses a real identity. The real reason behind name Surprise House isn't revealed until quite late in the story, and even then it's not really impressive, so it never manages to stand out as a setting.

Most of the story's atmosphere is derived from young Michiya finding out more and more about Toshio and his grandfather, and their past which involves a family tragedy. The build-up of this segment is great, and connects well to the first of two main surprises Ayatsuji wants to spring on the reader. The problem: it works great as a horror story, less as a fair detective story. Had I read this as a horror story, I would be moderately pleasantly surprised, but as this is an entry of the Yakata series, I can't help but feel a bit underwhelmed.

The locked room is similarly not completely satisfying. The locked room is presented as the main problem of the story; the novel starts with Michiya's recollections of how Toshio's grandfather was discovered, before going back to explain all the events that led up to the murder. As such, the solution to the locked room problem can't but disappoint, I think. I can see where Ayatsuji was going for with this locked room, and it might work as part of a larger, more complex story, but not as the main attraction.

And as a children's mystery/horror book? It's freakin' scary at the end. Or at any rate, I found it really creepy. It reminded me of the short comic stories by forever young Umezu Kazuo, which often utilize a shock surprise ending. These stories are also unbelievably creepy (and hilarious/absurd, from a certain point of view), even though they were originally intended for children. 
 
As a proper entry in the series, Bikkurikan no Satsujin is a bit underwhelming. There is the house, there is a secret passageway, a murder happens, but it's just not enough. This might be partly because the novel was deliberately written for a different target group, but that raises the question why this story wasn't written as a spin-off to the series.

On a side note: the Yakata series is slated to end with ten novel. As of now nine of these have been released (and I have reviewed eight of them now): 

Jukkakukan no Satsujin (The Decagon House Murders)
Suishakan no Satsujin (The Watermill House Murders)
Meirokan no Satsujin (The Labyrinth House Murders)
Ningyoukan no Satsujin (The Puppet House Murders)
Tokeikan no Satsjin (The Clock House Murders)
Kuronekokan no Satsujin (The Black Cat House Murders)
Ankokukan no Satsujin (The Darkness House Murders)
Bikkurikan no Satsujin (The Surprise House Murders)

I have to confess though: I will not discuss another Yakata novel in the next post, but it will be related to the series.

Original Japanese title(s): 綾辻行人　『びっくり館の殺人』

"Deep into that darkness peering, long I stood there wondering, fearing"

君のいない未来がただ大きな闇に見え死んでしまえば生きなくていい

 そんな事ばかり考えてた穏やかな月明かりに

『Holy Ground』 (Garnet Crow)

A future without you is covered with darkness, so I might as well die,

I was thinking beneath the gentle moonlight 

"Holy Ground" (Garnet Crow)

Considering I prefer short stories, I find it quite a feat myself I've actually read two of the three longest Japanese detective novels (one of which should still be the world's longest one, too) Now I only need to read Miyabe Miyuki's Mohouhan ("Copy-Cat Crime") to complete the series!

It feels like I read Ayatsuji Yukito's Kuronekokan no Satsujin just a while ago, but it's actually been half a year already. So it was time to read another entry in Ayatsuji's Yakata series. Ankokukan no Satsujin ("The Darkness House Murders") brings us to another mansion full of secret hallways and other trickery. The titular Darkness House, a grand mansion with four distinct wings and a tower, stands on a small island in the middle of a lake deep in the mountains of Kyushu and is inhabitated by the wealthy, yet mysterious Urado family. Chuuya, a young student is invited by his friend Genji, son of the current head of the Urado family, to spend a few days in the Darkness House, as are some other relatives and family friends. Those days Chuuya spends at the mansion however, are strange. The house itself is definitely not making Chuuya feel comfortable, as it has no windows and is mostly covered in darkness, but Chuuya also comes across a stranger falling from a tower, Genji's slightly deformed sisters, a legend about mermaids in the lake and, the mysterious Banquet of Daria, a special dinner named after the wife of the first head of the family. And it all ends with murder. Several murders, of course. What is the secret behind the Urado family and the Darkness House, and can Chuuya make it out alive?

First thing I have to say about Ankokukan no Satsujin. It's long. Very long. Too long.　It's not as long as Nikaidou Reito's Jinroujou no Kyoufu (probably still the world's longest detective novel, or at any rate the longest locked room mystery), I think, but it comes close. Even more important however, is that Ankokukan no Satsujin feels long. I read the original publication, which consists of two books of 600 two-column pages, but nothing of interest happens until the end of the first book (and the second book doesn't improve much on that, to be honest). The start to corpse time is ridiculous and the worst I've ever seen. Compare to Jinroujou no Kyoufu, 1) stuff happens all the time and 2) the length is actually used to its full potential. Here, it feels like the story could have, and should have been told in half the amount of pages.

But the story feels long not only because of physical reasons, but also because of the way it is written. Half of the story, Chuuya is confronted with events that are only enigmatic to him, because nobody bothers to tell him anything. The meaning of the Banquet of Daria? The secret behind the mausoleum in the garden? Genji's amnesiac past? Chuuya has some valid questions, but everybody just says 'we'll tell you later', which they do, just eight hundred pages later. Part of it is of course build up, the fear of everybody but the protagonist=reader knowing something, but it shouldn't be done the way it is done in Ankokukan no Satsujin. I recently watched Another, the series based on Ayatsuji Yukito's novel, and it had the same problem, with everybody refusing to tell the protagonist anything, despite knowing the answers to most questions. It is a very artificial way of stretching things, like...talking...in...a...dot...dot...dot...style.

The atmosphere of Ankokukan no Satsujin is basically horror, a style Ayatsuji often dabbles in but usually not in this series. The house is brilliantly described as a real place of darkness (literally). The truth behind the Urado family is also surprising, in the sense it wasn't the kind of setting you'd expect if you have read the Yakata series up until now (I'd have totally expected in a Nikaidou Reito story though...). Not a bad thing per se, but I am not sure whether I like it in this particular series. It's different, for sure.

As a detective novel, Ankokukan no Satsujin has one or two moments that really shine, but there are also a great number of moments that felt very predictable. The basic pattern Ayatsuji has been playing with since the first novel in the Yakata series is also present here, so the reader won't be that surprised when that narrative element reaches its conclusion. On the positive side of things, Knox might have not been too keen on secret hallways, but Ayatsuji makes the use of secret passages a great, and fair, part of the deduction process. There is also a fantastic blind spot introduced in the novel and while I am not that big a fan of this novel, I have to admit that this blind spot is worth remembering. 

Ankokukan no Satsujin is the seventh novel in the series, but feels a bit different from the other novels (mainly refering to Jukkakukan no Satsujin, Suishakan no Satsujin, Meirokan no Satsujin and Tokeikan no Satsujin). Yes, there is a closed circle situation and a house full of secret hallways, but there is also a distinct horror-like atmosphere throughout the novel not present in the rest of the series. The scale of the story is also different, from the page count to the size of the Darkness House. However, Ankokukan no Satsujin also turns out to be a very important part of the whole mythos of the series and does not feel as 'detached' as Ningyoukan no Satsujin.

All in all, a hard one to judge. Ankokukan no Satsujin forces you to wade through hundreds of pages (literally) to find something good, but there it is there (if you can survive that long). But this entry is quite important to the story of the whole series, so one shouldn't skip it /choose for not reading it. Does it offer enough good for the bad? Not sure, actually. I don't regret having read Ankokukan no Satsujin, but I certainly wouldn't recommend people to start with this novel; it really has to be read as a part of the Yakata series, or else you won't get enough out of it.

Original Japanese title(s): 綾辻行人　『暗黒館の殺人』

The Black Cat

"One morning, in cool blood, I slipped a noose about its neck and hung it to the limb of a tree; - hung it with the tears streaming from my eyes, and with the bitterest remorse at my heart; - hung it because I knew that it had loved me, and because I felt it had given me no reason of offence; - hung it because I knew that in so doing I was committing a sin - a deadly sin that would so jeopardize my immortal soul as to place it - if such a thing wore possible - even beyond the reach of the infinite mercy of the Most Merciful and Most Terrible God"

"The Black Cat"

When a friend said earlier that this habit of mine was strange, I shrugged it away, but now that I think about it, playing a videogame while watching/listening to a video playthrough of another videogame is a bit strange maybe. Then again, a videogame where the universes of several game series collide isn't that different from a videogame where Sherlock Holmes has to take on Chtulhu, I guess.

Kuronekokan no Satsujin ("The Black Cat House Murders") is the sixth novel in Ayatsuji Yukito's Yakata series and revolves around an elderly man who has lost his memory after a traumatic escape from a fire. Almost all clues to his identity were lost in the fire, except for a notebook he had with him when he was saved. It appears to be a diary-like record of a caretaker of a cottage, who is, considering also fingerprint research, is the John Doe. The contents however are quite shocking, as they detail a murder case that happened when the son of the cottage's owner and his three friends visited last August and how everybody present there contrived to hide the body. Our John Doe wants it to be just a piece of fiction, but he sadly enough finds one piece of evidence in the record that tie it to reality: the cottage, refered to as the Black Cat House, is said to be designed by Nakamura Seiji, who really did exist. Wanting to find more about his own past, the man contacts the expert on Nakamura Seiji, writer Shimada Kiyoshi and his editor Kawaminami to help him.

Wow, maybe it wasn't that smart of me to read this right after Tokeikan no Satsujin. I wouldn't say that Kuronekokan is bad per se, but it is definitely very different from the large-scale Tokeikan. Well, of course the two-dimensional narrative is still present here (with the story alternating between the investigations of Shimada and snippets from the diary), but because I wrote quite enough about this characteristic of the series just a few days ago, I am just going to refer to that review. There is not much to add to that for this review, besides a comment that you won't find anything shocking here from Ayatsuji's side.

Well, except maybe for the fact that this time, the use of a story-within-a-story narrative brings forth an armchair detectivy vibe to the series. Sure, this type of narrative was also used in Meirokan, but there the story-within-a-story is actually presented as a narrative on its own, while here the old man's diary really just functions as a problem which the reader has to solve, not unlike a proper Challenge to the Reader type of story. The funny thing though, is that while the story-within-a-story narrative in Meirokan doesn't succeed as such from the beginning, because you are aware that not everything is solved within that inner narrative, while in Kuronekokan, you are never really sure what the main problem is and what you are exactly looking for.

The main problem is quite as easy to see through though, which might be a bit disappointing, but I did find it quite amusing to see that despite having arrived at the solution quite early on, I had still failed to pick up quite an amount of hints and foreshadowing lines Ayatsuji was kind enough to hide in the story. Not sure how that happened. Kuronekokan will not go into my memory bank as a remarkable detective story, but I have a feeling I will remember this novel as one where hints and foreshadowing were woven quite well in the narrative. Well, except for one thing that I don't think is as absolute as Ayatsuji tries to make you believe.

It is quite obvious that Ayatsuji was inspired by Queen on several levels with this novel, actually the most I've ever seen in his works. The length of the story and the set-up of the story actually made me think that this was originally a short story written for the Kyoto University Mystery Club (as they often tend to take a Queenian tone), but apparently not (of the Yakata series, only Ningyoukan seems to be a rewritten version of an older, published script, as well as the not-really-Yakata-series-but-close-enough Kirigoutei Satsujin Jiken).  

Kuronekokan is a fairly short novel (350 pages), probably somewhere around the size of Ningyoukan and that's not the only thing they have in common. These two novels also differ from Jukkakukan, Suishakan, Meirokan and Tokeikan because they aren't really closed circle serial murder mysteries, making them feel very light and relaxed compared to those four. The 'big four' feature 'bigger' stories, with the cast being occupied with some activity or some quest (i.e. researching an old murder, an annual gathering etc), but Kuronekokan and Ningyoukan are about murders that 'just' happen unexpectedly. Once again, not a bad thing per se, but I wouldn't say that I am really looking for that in the Yakata series. These 'main events' combined with Nakamura Seiji's buildings always made it feel like there was something like destiny working there, like all the stars aligned for murder or something like that, but here it feels more like... coincidence.

And to echo the previous post: another three to go in the series! (*I am pretty sure that the next review won't be a Yakata review though)

Original Japanese title(s): 綾辻行人　『黒猫館の殺人』

「Time to live, time to lie, time to cry, time to die」

「時の流れには逆らえず色褪せてゆく想いもあり

それでもさめざめ流れてく涙はちょっといいもんじゃない」

『As the Dew』 (Garnet Crow)

"Not able to go against the flow of time, these feelings slowly fade away

But despite that it is not bad to have these flowing tears"

"As the Dew" (Garnet Crow)

I am not sure why I even still wear a wristwatch. I mean, I also walk around with a cellphone and a music player, which all feature clocks, so why bother with an object that has no other function that displaying time? Heck, I usually take it off when I am in class. I would have a good reason to wear it if my watch had a stungun function or a secret compartment with a piece of paper to restore my sealed memory or something, but alas.

The titular Clock House in Ayatsuji Yukito's Tokeikan no Satsujin ("The Clock House Murders") is a mansion divided in two parts, with the 'old mansion' being the original Clock House, a place where Koga Michinori stored his immense collection of clocks from all over the world and related research material. It has been many years since his death, but the mansion is still being managed as it was at the time as according to his will. Rumors in the neighborhood tell about the ghost of a young girl who died ten years ago haunting the place and as a special project organized by occult magazine CHAOS, the medium Koumyouji Mikoto will attempt to get into contact with the ghost. Koumyouji, three staff members from CHAOS and a group of students from the occult research club from W-University are to spend three days inside the old mansion, locked away from the rest of the world. People start to get murdered however and with the keys to the exit lost and no way to contact the people in the 'new mansion', the survivors can only wait until the third day in the hope that help will come from the outside. Amateur detective / recently debuted writer Shimada Kiyoshi however is also investigating the Clock House unbeknownst to the people inside the old mansion, as it was designed by Nakamura Seiji, whose buildings have a history of stirring up murder.

The fifth novel in Ayatsuji's Yakata (mansion) series and after a somewhat strange day out in Ningyoukan no Satsujin, we're back at what can be considered the good old formula of this series. A suspenseful, dense story with loads of events that happen in a very short period of time, set in a closed circle situation within the titular Clock House. And it's good! I might have said that it was good for the series to have gone on that little field trip in Ningyoukan, but let's be honest, it was definitely the weakest of the Yakata novels up until then. Tokeikan brings us back to the basics, and I mean that in a more literal way than you'd think.

Because in a sense, this feels like a more refined, readable version of the first novel in the series, Jukkakukan no Satsujin. Which is also because Kawaminami, Shimada's sidekick in Jukkakukan, returns in this novel as the new editor of CHAOS, but we are also presented with another two-dimensional narrative that is a staple within the Yakata series. Suishakan had a past/present narrative and Meirokan a novel/outside world narrative, but both Jukkakukan and Tokeikan feature an inside/outside narrative, where you follow the closed circle horror-suspense narrative on one side, and an investigation narrative on the other side. This is naturally a bit dangerous, because it blurs the difference between the two novels, but the atmosphere in both novels is quite different.

I have to say again though, the main trick, while absolutely fantastic and greatly performed, with excellent foreshadowing and hint-placing, once again hinges on the same basic idea Ayatsuji has been playing around ever since the first novel in the series, which makes it fairly easy to spot. But suppose I would have been able to read each Yakata novel with no expectations / a priori knowledge of the series, then I think I would have been the most impressed by Tokeikan's main trick of all Yakata novels. This is also because of the structure of the story: Jukkakukan was obviously inspired by Christie's And Then There Were None, and ends with everyone dead on the island. The murders in Tokeikan seem to get solved right after the old mansion is opened again, but with another hundred pages left in the novel, any reader can guess that there is something more coming and it is in this section Ayatsuji reveals that the main trick in Tokeikan is something different than you would have thought in the first place and pleasantly so. Like I said, the main trick's performance hinges on a pattern Ayatsuji uses often, but the trick itself, the type and especially the execution, is really brilliant and marks a new way to look at that type of trick, in my opinion.

Tokeikan also feels more like a refined Jukkakukan in the sense that it is a lot more accessible. Jukkakukan was immensely meta, with discussions about, and references to classic detective fiction everywhere (heck, the characters were all known by nicknames as Agatha, Ellery and Car!). The setting featuring students belonging to a mystery circle was also strongly influenced by Ayatsuji's own participation in a mystery club. In short, Jukkakukan was very much written from Ayatsuji's viewpoint, for people like him. Which isn't a bad thing per se and I still like Jukkakukan the best of all I've read of Ayatsuji, but it is not the most accessible, I think. Tokeikan on the other hand loses practically all of the meta-atmosphere, making it work as a 'standalone' novel: it doesn't feel too strongly connected with other writers / books as was the case in Jukkakkan. Tokeikan is like a Jukkakukan written for a more general public, by an Ayatsuji has grown in the years as a writer.

I do hesitate in recommending reading Tokeikan first though: the Yakata series is definitely a series that references the previous novels. What's more, Nakamura Seiji's existence is a very important factor in the novel and his character is explored the most in Jukkakukan. If you know nothing about Nakamura Seiji's 'strange' architecture and the things he likes to hide in his designs, you might get disappointed/mad about some events in the Yakata novels. In a sense, Nakamura Seiji does represent an unfair element in the otherwise fairplay novels (because practically anything is possible in his buildings), but this Nakamura-cheat code is never a vital hint to arrive at the truth, and if it is a vital part, then it will get revealed at an early enough stage allowing the reader some thinking time.

Tokeikan no Satsujin is like with most Yakata novels a recommended read however. And another four to go in the series!

 Original Japanese title(s): 綾辻行人　『時計館の殺人』

Puzzle for Puppets

「誰よりずっと傷付きやすい君の

そばにいたい今度はきっと」

『Time after Time ～花舞う町で～』 (倉木麻衣)

You are more easily hurt than anyone else

I want to be at your side, this time forever

"Time after Time ~ In the City of the Dancing Flowers~" (Kuraki Mai)

I am pretty sure that I have mentioned before that I have a totally rational fear of clowns. Because we all know they are inherently evil. Not sure though whether I ever mentioned that I also have a rational fear of puppets/dolls/evil incarnate/you choose the word. There is probably some psychological explanation for it, seeing as both beings are distorted images of the human body and such, but that still doesn't change the fact I don't like dolls and clowns.

Which might have been the subconcious reason I had been pushing Ayatsuji Yukito's Ningyoukan no Satsujin ("The Mannequin House Murders") back in my reading pile for so long. I bought almost half a year ago and I actually got it signed by Ayatsuji himself then (I happened to have it with me then, meaning I had meant to read it in May already), but somehow it got pushed back. A lot. And often. The titular Mannequin House is a nickname one of its room tenants has for a large mansion in a residential area of Kyoto. Hiryuu Souichi has recently moved into the mansion as its new owner and landlord, having inherited from his recently deceased father. The nickname derives from the fact that several faceless mannequin dolls are placed around the mansion, which are not to be moved following Souichi's father's will. But mysterious events like threatening letters, strange sounds at night and rumors about the mansion worry Souichi and when it all culminates into the death of his mother, he seeks out the help of his old friend Shimada Kiyoshi.

Ningyoukan no Satsujin is the fourth novel in Ayatsuji's Yakata series and this novel marks a turning point for the series. The previous novels had all featured very tense closed circle situations surrounding the sinister buildings designed by architect Nakamura Seiji. This time however, the setting is actually an open one, with the story taking place over the course of several months. Compare the students on a lonely island, a mansion in the depths of a forest and a locked underground maze to... a mansion in a residential area. With the protagonist going out for coffee occasionally. Right from the start the reader is aware that this is a very different novel from the previous novels. Which can be a good thing of course. Ayatsuji obviously started to see the limits of his own series and thus changed things a bit (in fact, Ningyoukan was supposed to be the last book in the series initially, which might also explain the big changes, wanting to make it more distinct).

But, did he succeed? Yes and no. Sure, he got rid of the closed circle situation trope, the dense story-telling of many events in a very short period of time. The focus on the buildings is therefore also weakened, this time presenting us with lively descriptions of Kyoto. This obtained freedom allows Ayatsuji to slowly, but surely build up the suspense surrounding Souichi and I would say that it works. There is also little to no meta-discussion about the genre, which makes it more accessible to 'normal' readers, as compared to the more blatantly mystery-fan oriented Jukkakukan no Satsujin and Meirokan no Satusjin.

And while there is no meta-discussion on the genre, Ayatsuji actually managed to sneak in a meta-discussion about the Yakata series and himself as a writer in general. Through the words of Shimada Kiyoshi, it becomes clear where Ayatsuji felt the series was heading to if he didn't change the formula and he makes it a wonderful point of the story, without rubbing it into the reader's face. One should read the series in order though to really appreciate this point.

On the other hand though, Ayatsuji still uses the same type of tricks he had used in the previous novels. The exterior might be different (with the closed circle trope gone), but it is still built around something that is nothing more than another (no pun intended) variation of the same main trick. It is also fairly weakly disguised here, making it by far the easiest-to-solve mystery by Ayatsuji I have read until now. As a writer, I think Ayatsuji pays more attention to the story itself, rather than the puzzle plot, which would explain why the formula changes were mostly centered on the storytelling tropes, rather than on the trick tropes, but I find it a bit disappointing. I had personally no problems with the closed circle settings, so I had rather seen the reverse: changes focused on the trick tropes, rather than on the storytelling tropes.

Though I have to admit, I did like the descriptions of Kyoto in this novel. The K- University mentioned in the novel is obviously Kyoto University (where Ayatsuji studied, and where I am studying now) and the area where Hiryou lives, north of the campus, around Kita-Shirakawa street, is actually where I live at the moment (my room is actually facing the street), so it was quite recognizable. Which usually means sneaky bonus points for me. Marutamachi Revoir is also set in Kyoto (though mostly in a courtroom), but it was set in another part of town, so it didn't really feel close.

This is definitely a change from the formula up until now. I myself am not too big a fan of this change actually, but I can see why the changes were made and why readers would like it. But with these fundamental changes done, I really have no idea how the consequent books in the Yakata series are going to be (and then I realized that I am not even halfway through the series...).

Original Japanese title(s): 綾辻行人　『人形館の殺人』