Death in the Park

Nor all thy piety nor wit shall lure it back to cancel half a line, nor all thy tears wash out a word of it

 Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám  (FitzGerald tr.)

Some of you may have noticed it already, but I added an extra temporary page to the site (via the bar on the top of the page on a PC browser) while I'm playing the mystery novel game Umineko no Naku Koro ni Saku to write down random thoughts, because it will probably take me ages to get through all the episodes and I'm bound to forget things about each episode. I've only just finished the first episode and it seems like subsequent episodes will give out more important information, so perhaps it's not even possible to solve the mystery at this point, but it won't hurt to scribble down some random ideas. You could take a look if you've already played the games and obviously you shouldn't look if you don't want to see (ROT13-protected) spoilers. I have switched off comments because I honestly want to proceed in the game completely blind though, so please keep that in mind. I'll probably mention it in the usual posts on the front page if I happen to update the Umineko page/whenever I'm done with another episode and for now, I think I'll just keep the page up until I'm done with the episodes in the Question Arc.

Yamada Fuutarou is best known for basically inventing, and perfecting the genre of historical fantasy novels starring ninja, like the classic Kouga Ninpou Chou ("The Kouga Ninja Scrolls"), which has also been adapted as the anime and manga Basilisk. His epic historical tales where clans of ninja waged war against ecah other with fanciful powers with technique names had a huge influence on not only the popular image of the ninja, but also popular culture in general: series like Naruto and Bleach are basically direct descendants of Yamada's work and would simply not have existed without him creating the popular battle manga formula. Yamada however started out as a mystery writer and he was quite good at it too: Meiji Dantoudai ("The Meiji Guillotine") and Youi Kinpeibai ("The Bewitching Plum in the Vase") are fantastic works in the genre for example.

Tengu Misaki Satsujin Jiken ("The Tengu Cliff Murder Case") is a volume originally published in 2001, the year Yamada passed away, and collects a wide variety of Yamada's mystery-themed stories which had not been collected in other volumes before. The volume is divided in four distinct parts, with each part offering a different view on the kinds of mystery stories Yamada wrote. As there are eighteen stories collected here, I'm not going to discuss them all, also because not all of them are really worth discussing in detail. Not all stories, or even parts are as interesting as others, so while this volume will show a very diverse Yamada, I wouldn't immediately recommend this book as an introduction to his work: the selection is just too wide and some stories are likely not to leave any lasting impression. It's similar in spirit to Oosaka Keikichi's Shi no Kaisousen I reviewed a few weeks ago in that regard.

Part 1 of this book collects the conventional puzzle plot mystery stories, with the title story as its centerpiece.  Tengu Misaki Satsujin Jiken introduces the reader to Shimazaki Hachirou, a middle school student who strangely enough has the tendency to faint whenever he sees something swing around. One day, he's had another of his spells, and his teacher Kurobane decides to accompany him back to his home to make sure nothing's wrong. While Hachirou's sleeping in the next room, his father decides to tell the woman about how Hachirou's mother came to die when he was still a baby. Because he was a sailor, the father was often away from home, and it appears his younger wife was having a secret affair. The Shimazakis home is at the tip of one of the cliffs of a bay: the cliff on the other end of the bay is known as Tengu Cliff and there's a little park there. The wife would always meet secretly with her lover at that park. One day however, while her husband was lying ill at home, she was found stabbed in the back in the park on Tengu Cliff, and witnesses only saw her, and later her lover climb the peak, so the man was of course accused of murdering his lover. As the teacher is listening to this story though, she points out how someone else could've murdered Hachirou's mother without being spotted on Tengu Cliff. As a howdunnit, it reminds a bit of the stories in Meiji Dantoudai ("The Meiji Guillotine") or some of Oosaka Keikichi's stories, with a rather mechanical trick behind it all. I think it's juuust running along side the line of being a convincing idea, or just beyond the realms of possibility, so some readers may think this is a neat idea, and some might find it hardly believable it could've been pulled off in this way. I still don't know what side I'm on. Another story worth mentioning in Part 1 is Kono Wana ni Tsumi Ariya ("A Sinful Trap"), which is a story that invokes Edogawa Rampo's Shinri Shiken (The Psychological Test), where a student is questioned about the suicide by gas of a friend. Feels a bit like Columbo with all the detective slowly pointing out contradictions at the scene. Futatsu no Misshitsu ("Two Locked Rooms") also warrants a mention because it's a weird parody story: it consists of two seperate "locked room" mysteries, one with "Ellery Vance" and the other with Professor Van Dusen "The Thinking Machine", but the solutions to both mysteries are clearly meant to be utterly silly (and even a bit science-fiction). 

To be honest, the reason I didn't want to write something on each story was because Part 2 and 4 were not that interesting. Part 2 in particular is easily forgotten, with Panchuutou Jiken ("The Case of Retribution against Whores Gang") being the 'best' story, about a mysterious gang who have been 'stealing' the belly buttons of prostitutes by basically sealing them off with a piece of skin. Nobody knows who's been doing these mutilations and some of them are even done under impossible circumstances, but ultimately it's a weird story, while Edo ni Iru Watashi ("I'm in Edo") is just plain science-fiction. The stories in Part 4 are regular short crime stories, but they're so short that I feel that even a short summary would be giving away too much.

Part 3 is by far the most interesting of the book and consists of five stories which form collectively the mini-series Onna Tantei Torimonochou ("The Case Book of the Female Detective"). In the first story, we are introduced to a trio of wandering musicians, considering of an attractive female singer Mika and her two companions (an elderly man and a child). It turns out these three are out for revenge due to something that occurred to their home in Okinawa, and the "princess" and her retainers are looking for those who caused the tragedy. Each time, the three manage to trace one of the people they seek, but their targets always happen get to murdered under impossible circumstances, and it's up to the princess to swiftly solve things so they can move on and find the rest. The stories are all very short, but most of them have pretty neat ideas that could also have been used for longer stories. Sadly enough, this series kinda stops halfway in the tale, so there's not really much closure to the whole deal.

And yes, this review of Tengu Misaki Satsujin Jiken was rather brief. There are just too many stories of varying quality here to discuss, and that should also give you an idea about what kind of book this is: it's not an introduction to Yamada Fuutarou's mystery stories, and I'd definitely recommend starting somewhere else first, because this collection is best explored by people who already have some idea of Yamada's detective stories. You won't find his best work here, though I have to say I really liked the five stories with Mika and her entourage.

Original Japanese title(s): 山田風太郎『天狗岬殺人事件』: 「天狗岬殺人事件」/「この罠に罪ありや」/「夢幻の恋人」/「二つの密室」/「パンチュウ党事件」/「こりゃ変羅」/「江戸にいる私」/「贋金づくり」/「三人の辻音楽師」/「新宿殺人事件」/「赤い蜘蛛」/「怪奇玄々教」/「輪舞荘の水死人」/「あいつの眼」/「心中見物狂」/「白い夜」/「真夏の夜の夢」

The Secret of the Old Mill

‘We were thirteen. Some fellow failed at the last minute. We never noticed till just the end of dinner.’ 

"Lord Edgware Dies"

Thinking of tridecagons, I realized I can't even count anymore in (classical) Greek. Man, I studied the language for five years, and now it's mostly gone from my head... 

Ibaragi Kanki may seem like your regular elderly drunk roaming the red light district, but he's in fact a doctor who not only helps the women there with his medical knowledge, his keen mind is also appreciated by the local police force, as Kanki has solved many murder cases as an amateur detective. Kanki is enjoying an early evening with drinks, when the establishment is visited by a female high school student who obviously should not be roaming the red light district. Young Keiko's looking for the brothel Koiguruma, which is run by her mother's friend Kuramado Hatae. Keiko's mother, who is residing in a mental institution at the moment, asked her daughter to deliver a package to Hatae. As he knows where Koiguruma is, Kanki decides to escort the girl safely to her destination. Kurumada Hatae is a well-known figure in these parts, who is not only admired because of her looks, but also because of her sense for business and her heart for the women who work for her: Hatae runs several brothels in town, but she's adamant her girls never use drugs and is always happy whenever one of them manages to get married and escape this hopeless life. When Kanki and Keiko arrive at Koiguruma, they however make a gruesome discovery: body parts have been tied to the blades of the big neon-lighted windmill set to the front wall of the building! With the head as one of the parts, it's clear to all that the victim is indeed Kurumado Hatae. From the investigation it becomes clear that Hatae had gone though her usual daily routine today: each day she swung by all of her brothels to do accounting, with Koiguruma as her last stop. She arrived at Koiguruma early in the evening, and had seven visitors come to her room upstairs that night, some of them known by name and face, like her own husband and a narcotics detective, but also a few unknown visitors who hid their faces. The mystery in Yamada Fuutarou's Juusankaku Kankei ("Thirteen-Sided Connections", 1956) revolves around who of these seven visitors killed and cut-up a woman who was loved by all?

The volume I read included not only the novel Juusankaku Kankei, but also other short stories of which most, or perhaps all, star Ibaragi Kanki as the detective. This particular book is titled Yamada Fuutarou Mystery Kessakusen 2 - Juusankaku Kankei (Meitanteihen) ("Yamada Fuutarou Mystery Masterpieces 2 - Thirteen-Sided Connections - The Great Detective", 2001), but I am only reviewing the titular novel here, not the whole volume with the short stories.

Yamada Fuutarou was a prolific post-war writer, who nowadays is best known to the wider public for his many historical fantasy novels on ninja like Kouga Ninpou Chou ("The Kouga Ninja Scrolls"). His ninja stories where everyone had the most fanciful powers with technique names had a huge influence on not only the popular image of the ninja, but also popular culture in general. Series like Naruto and Bleach are basically direct descendants of Yamada's work. Yamada however started out as a mystery writer and was written some really enjoyable stories: Meiji Dantoudai ("The Meiji Guillotine") and  Youi Kinpeibai ("The Bewitching Plum in the Vase") for example were fantastic examples of the linked short story collection. I was looking forward to reading Juusankaku Kankei therefore, as it's one of his better known mystery novels.

But man, I had trouble getting through this novel! This book has been in my possession for some years now, and I had actually started reading Juusankaku Kankei already. But for some reason or another, it dropped back into the backlog pile, so when I picked it up again earlier this week (*at time of writing), I decided to start from the beginning again. As I read, I kinda recalled the parts I had read already of course, but it turned out I was already beyond the halfway point when I stopped reading this book the first time. Which usually isn't a good sign.

The biggest problem is of Juusankaku Kankei is that the first half of this novel is really boring. After a very good first chapter where Kanki and Keiko discover the cut-up body of Hatae, you're presented with like five chapters of interviews with witnesses and suspects about what happened that night, and about the seven visitors of Hatae. It becomes immensely repetitive very fast, as each person just states this and that about who came at what time for what reason and and what they thought of the victim and all of this takes up half of the length of the novel! In hindsight, I can also hardly say Yamada did something truly clever with looking at the chain of events of the evening from different angles, so this is a really difficult part to get through as it just goes on and on.

But what do you get if you do make it through? Well, the core mystery plot at first seems to focus on the problem of how the killer could've killed, cut-up Hatae and attached her body parts to the blades of the windmill outside the window given the time schedule of the seven visitors, but that part is surprisingly easy to guess. There is another murder later in the book, but too that's resolved by Kanki even before the reader gets any chance to think about the event. In the end, the focus of the story falls upon the very complex relations between the many characters of this novel. As the title of the book already suggests, a triangle relation is nothing to the lines and arrows you can draw between the characters in this novel. Each plot development seems to shake up the relational chart a bit, giving new motives to the suspects, and in that sense, I do like the way the murderer is slowly revealed to be at the center of things as you uncover new angles to the diagram. A character who at first is in the background, but comes closer and closer as the book nears the end. At the same time, because Juusankaku Kankei is so much about thinking about motives and the relationships between the characters, the puzzle element is slightly weak: Kanki's deduction at the end is little more than vague guesses about the who and why, and never do you get the feeling of 'Oh yeah, now that clue mentioned in that chapter makes sense' as there are few 'real' clues. I guess that other Yamada novels have that too in a sense: Taiyou Kokuten actually reads as a normal youth novel about a young student's love life until the very end when suddenly everything is turned around and you're told you were reading a mystery novel. But Juusankaku Kankei is about a murder investigation from the very start, and because of that, I'd have wanted a bit more tangible or satisfying clewing.

And now I mentioned Taiyou Kokuten, I can definitely recommend Yamada's mystery stories if you like the post-war Japan setting: most stories I read by him are set in the fifties, just as Japan recovered from the war and started to transit into the period of high economic growth. His focus is always on the less fortunate side of society, from poor students who have to do awful jobs to earn a living to the people in the red light districts and the like. No posh country houses here!

But no, Juusankaku Kankei is hardly my favorite Yamada mystery story. I guess the novel earned his reputation as one of Yamada's best works due to the characterisation and the complex way with which he positions the characters in regards to each other and how this relational twister is used to unveil the murderer, but it didn't really work for me personally, though I guess this is a Your Mileage May Vary thing.

Original Japanese title(s): 山田風太郎『十三角関係』

Death Note

Home, sweet home

On the topic of things left by previous tenants: I lived in a dorm when I was studying in Japan, and I remember the first time other people from the dorm came to my room, they were all surprised at the TV stand I had in my room. It was only then that I found out that thing wasn't part of the standard room furniture set! I was grateful for that thing though, as it was a great place to store my videogame consoles.

"Welcome, new tenant" These are the first words written in a black notebook which is hidden inside the closet of Room 12 of "The People's Villa", an old, run-down apartment building with sixteen rooms. The inhabitants of The People's Villa are a colorful lot, but they all have in common that they simply have no choice but to live in such a shabby place. Other tenants include an elderly puppet-making couple and their unwed daughter, an angel-like school teacher, a blind war veteran, a person claiming to be on the look for his lost wife and baby, and the nosy wife of the building's caretaker. These people are also the people who star in the memoirs recorded in the Room 12 notebook. For some reason, the tenants in Room 12 seldom stay long, partly because these tenants somehow always get involved with murder cases that happen among their fellow tenants. From a cruel murder on the blind war veteran to a ghostly tale about a couple that died under strange circumstances, it appears The People's Villa is perhaps something more than a simple apartment building. Those who find the hidden notebook in Room 12 write down their strange experiences for future Room 12 tenants to read, and together these tales form a strange record of The People's Villa in Yamada Fuutarou's Dare Ni Mo Dekiru Satsujin ("Murders Anyone Could Commit", 1958).

Yamada Fuutarou was a prolific writer in the post-war period, nowadays best known for his many historical fantasy novels on ninja like Kouga Ninpou Chou ("The Kouga Ninja Scrolls"). In fact, his ninja stories have had a huge influence on the popular image of the ninja, and in extension on the whole genre of battle manga aimed a boy audience, like Saint Seiya, Naruto and Bleach. One might even say series like that might not even exist if not for Yamada Fuutarou. But Yamada started out as a mystery writer, and has written some of the finest post-war Japanese mystery novels available. In the past, I have reviewed works like Meiji Dantoudai ("The Meiji Guillotine"), Youi Kinpeibai ("The Bewitching Plum in the Vase") and Taiyou Kokuten ("Sunspot"), which were all great. Only the last of those novels was set in the post-war period by the way, like Dare Ni Mo Dekiru Satsujin, the topic of today's post.

The set-up of consecutive tenants of Room 12 writing down their own, mysterious experiences with interacting with the other tenants in The People's Villa is truly fantastic. Each 'chapter' (entry by another inhabitant of Room 12), is, at the core, a standalone mystery story that involves the other tenants. In some entries, the Room 12 tenant is a direct part of the story, for example in the entry by someone who confesses how they plotted the death of another tenant, while in other entries the Room 12 tenant is merely an observer of the curious events. The link between these various stories is the setting of The People's Villa and its inhabitants, and it is really fun to see characters mentioned in one entry, appearing in later entries in very different roles. As each entry is written by someone else, their views on their fellow tenants obviously also differ, and this ever-changing portrayal of an otherwise  'familiar' cast is what makes each consecutive entry a blast to read. Some tenants are only mentioned briefly in some entries, but become fullfledged characters in other entries, which again strengtens the notion of different perspectives. It's also a bit funny to see how The People's Villa becomes emptier and emptier as everyone keeps on dying. It is also interesting to see how later narrators comment on entries by previous inhabitants of Room 12. Armed with the Power of Hindsight, these entries sometimes shine a surprising light on events that happened earlier in The People's Villa.

You know what, I could just explain the whole book in one sentence. This novel is simply Yamada Fuutarou's take on Maison Ikkoku. Completely different genres, but seeing all these different tenants of a boarding house interact really reminds of me Takahashi's romcom classic. There's just more death here.

As for the mystery plots, they are, at the core, fairly simple. In fact, many of the entries are more straight-up crime stories than really about solving a mystery. The strength of Yamada's writing keeps things captivating though. What should be mentioned is that Dare Ni Mo Dekiru Satsujin does fit perfectly with a theme I have seen in all of the Yamada novels I've read until now. I can't actually *name* it, because it would be kinda spoilery, but Yamada really loves writing about a certain theme, and it works great here. In fact, I think the structure of having various narrators only strengthens the execution of Yamada's theme here and really enjoyed it. If you're familiar with his works, you'll probably see the theme coming, and even if not, I think that Dare Ni Mo Dekiru Satsujin was one work where it's easy to identify Yamada's pet theme, but I still enjoyed seeing how he slowly, but surely, set the stage for the reveal. By the way, in general, a lot of Yamada's mystery plots are very much about interpretation of events, similar to Christie and Chesterton. Add in a bit of post-war pessimism concerning social (economic) conditions, but also a good heap of romanticism, and you have an idea of how Yamada's novels are.

My version of Dare Ni Mo Dekiru Satsujin was included in Yamada Fuutarou Mystery Kessakusen 1: Ganchuu no Akuma ("Yamada Fuutarou Mystery Masterpieces Selection 1: The Demon in Her Eyes"). This book also contains a wide selection of Yamada's early short stories, but most of them are also included in the short story collection Kyozou Inraku, which I already reviewed in the past.

I didn't manage to write anything substantial about Dare Ni Mo Dekiru Satsujin, but that's because giving away too much would really spoil the fun. I think that if you liked Yamada's Taiyou Kokuten, you'd also like this book, as they have similar atmospheres. The concept behind the story structure is really what makes this book a memorable one, and Yamada manages to execute the idea very admirably.

Original Japanese title(s): 山田風太郎　『誰にも出来る殺人』

The Purloined Letter

「何となれば、探偵小説において、第一の容疑者は九部九厘まで決して犯人ではないからである。数々のもっともらしい証拠を、その物語の残りの頁の厚みが、全能神のごとくに粉砕する。 （風太郎曰く、誰か、環に紙を綴じた、探偵小説用の円い書物を発明する人はありませんか？」

「厨子家の悪霊」　（山田風太郎）

Because in mystery novels, the first suspect is almost certainly never the murderer. No matter how much unmovable evidence there is, it will all be smashed in pieces by the wrath of the remaining number of pages of the story. (Is there someone who can come up with a round-type of book especially for detective novels, with the pages bound like a ring?, says Fuutarou). 

"The Evil Spirit of the Zushi Clan"  (Yamada Fuutarou)

Happy New Year! I'm kinda ridiculously far ahead with writing reviews, so I'm writing this very first post of the year 2015 in August of 2014. Who knows what happened between my writing this post and it appearing online?!

Kyozou Inraku ("Virtual Carnal Pleasure") collects nine of Yamada Fuutarou's early short stories, originally published in the period between 1947 and 1953. Unlike the Yamada Fuutarou short story collections I've discussed earlier on the blog (Meiji Dantoudai, Youi Kinpeibai), Kyozou Inraku is just a random collection of short stories, without any connection whatsoever between them storywise. Formwise, these early stories do already feature certain familiar tropes Yamada Fuutarou likes to use in his later detective stories and is thus quite interesting for those who want to dig a bit deeper into Fuutarou's writings. A notable omission in this collection is Yamada's debut story, Daruma Touge no Jiken ("The Darma Pass Case"), which dates from 1947, like many other stories in the collection.

One interesting motif in this collection is the use of letters as a plot device. Almost all stories feature a letter in one way or another and some stories consists even only out of letters, presenting the mystery and solution in one or multiple epistles. The opening story, Ganchuu no Akuma ("The Demon In Her Eyes"), for example, is one long letter, written by the narrator to his brother to explain his sudden flight from home. Like so many with Yamada's stories, his tale is that of unrequieted and unfulfilled love and it takes a while before a mystery of sorts presents itself to the reader. The basic premise is one Yamada Fuutarou simply loves and often reuses in different forms, and while this effort wasn't bad, Yamada has certainly written better variations on this story.

Renzai ("Sin of Love") consist out of a series of letters written to "Yamada Fuutarou", a certain famous mystery writer. An old school mate tells Yamada about how he happened to have met his old sweetheart, how sad he was to hear she was already married and the mysterious murder of the woman's husband some time later. He implores Yamada Fuutarou to help clear his sweetheart's name, who is the main suspect because she was the only other person in the house during the murder. The impossible crime aspect of the story is a bit unbelievable, but it works in the world Yamada has sketched within these letters and the story is actually quite well written, with the tone of each letter changing slightly, and with the reader's view on events described in previous letters changing with each subsequent letter.

I can't talk too much about Rounin ("The Wax Person"), as it kinda spoils the interesting points of the story, but it starts with the narrator receiving a letter from a friend who has recently died; the letter was written before his death. The truth behind his death becomes clear as he reads the letter. This story is more a horror-mystery story than a pure mystery story, despite the presence of a locked room mysery, but I quite like it.

Shisha no Yobigoe ("The Call of the Dead") is where Yamada Fuutarou goes Inception with the letter motif: it is (1) a story, where in (2) a letter is read, which chronicles past events, in which (3) another letter is read. So a story within a story within a story. The focus of everything is the second-level story, about the ex-husband who had been receiving letters from his deceased wife every week after her death for some years. The letters were without a doubt written by his dead wife, but can one really believe that the postman of Hades makes his round all the way to the world of the living? The mystery makes use of a familiar Yamada Fuutarou trope, but I liked it how it was done here and this story is fun to read, because as you go deeper in each level, you gain new questions and answers about the previous level. Kinda like how the consequent letters of Renzai work.

Letters are also used in Zushike no Akurei ("The Evil Spirit of the Zushi Clan") and Kokui no Seibo ("The Madonna Dressed In Black"), but less prominently: letters are usually just used to deliver the truth, rather than being a formal part of the story structure. Zushike no Akurei ("The Evil Spirit of the Zushi Clan") reminds of Yokomizo Seishi or Takagi Akimitsu, with twisted family relations, family curses about a one-eyed dog, logical chains based on the criminal's actions, but is nonetheless very Yamada Fuutarou-esque story. A lot happens within the just short of hundred pages though, a bit too much: by the end of the story, you'll have lost count of the number of surprise twists.

Kokui no Seibo ("The Madonna Dressed In Black") on the other hand is a very different kind of story, about a man and his relation with a female medical student who has to sell her body to feed her and her baby. The man especially feels attracted to the gap between the girl 'in the light' and the girl in bed. It would kinda spoil the story if I go on, so I'll just stop here, but once again a letter explains everything about a mysterious event later in the story. Truly shocking, it is not, but I liked the writing of the story: Yamada Fuutarou does these kind of stories about almost fetish-like love quite well.

Kyozou Inraku ("Virtual Carnal Pleasure") is one of Yamada Fuutarou's better known stories. Actually, all of the stories in this collection are well known, but this one in particular. A woman who has swallowed mercury is brought to the hospital by her little brother-in-law. The woman used to work there as a nurse and everyone is curious to what has happened. It appears the woman's husband was responsible for this, but why? What lies behind this initial event is a wonderful, but absolutely frightening spiraling madness which only Yamada Fuutarou could have come up with. Seldom have I seen such a motive, such twists in such short a story! It reminds of Rampo's ero-guro-nonsense ideas, but this goes deeper than Rampo, and the story actually works quite well as a fair-play detective story. Probably the best story in plotting and execution. And it has one of those titles that make absolutely sense in hindsight.

In Sayounara ("Farewell"), a town is evacuated and sealed because of the discovery of the Black Plague in a dead mouse. Two veteran cops who patrol the town think something fishy is going on and they get the shock of their lives when they realize that this certain part of the town, is built precisely the same as a town they both remember very well: ten years ago, during the war, they were trying to arrest two persons just as US bombers flew over the town and destroyed it completely. A whydunnit that isn't much of a mystery, but a very heartwarming, and heart-rending story.

Kiiroi Geshukunin ("The Yellow Boarder") is strangely enough a Sherlock Holmes-pastiche. Like Shimada Souji's effort, this is a funny crossover with Holmes and the famous writer Natsume Souseki, who had studied in London. Holmes and Watson take on the case of the mysterious disappearance of a certain Mr James Phillimore, whose name should sound familiar to Holmes readers. What follows is a story with many twist and turns, murder and a surprising ending, but I liked it more as a detective story than a Holmes pastiche. Not to diss Holmes, but this story was way too complex for a Holmes pastiche. As a mystery story, it's great though, I just don't think it really fits the form of a Holmes story.

EDIT: The Holmes story is available in English by the way.

As a collection, Kyozou Inraku has some great stories, but one can't deny that a lot of the nine stories resemble each other. Yamada Fuutarou really likes letters, twisted love (sometimes of the sadomasochistic kind) and a certain kind of story structure I can't specify for fear of spoilers, and while he can certainly do great things with these ingredients, it can become a bit boring if you are served the same constantly. I wish the editors had made a more varied selection of stories (of course, if Yamada Fuutarou's short stories are really all alike, then there's not much they can do, I guess...). I wouldn't recommend Kyozou Inraku as an introduction to Fuutarou's short stories (Meiji Dantoudai and You Kinpeibai are much better), but if you have already read some of his works and want to move to his earlier works, Kyozou Inraku is an okay volume. 

Original Japanese title(s): 山田風太郎 『虚像淫楽』: 「眼中の悪魔」 / 「虚像淫楽」 / 「厨子家の悪霊」 / 「蠟人」 / 「黒衣の聖母」 / 「恋罪」 / 「死者の呼び声」 / 「さようなら」 / 「黄色い下宿人」

Amber Sunset

誰カガ罰セラレネバナラヌ

『太陽黒点』

Someone needs to be punished

"Sunspot"

Random observation: I've always the characters in the Japanese word for solar eclipse, (日蝕; nisshoku), interesting. It's literally an insect eating the sun. But now back to business...

It has been about fifteen years after World War II. Japan is well on its way to become an powerful economic power, and both the generation that has experienced the war, as well as the one after the war have slowly become used to this new world. Akira and Youko are both students at Tokyo's K University. Living in the same apartment complex and both having moved here from their hometowns faraway, the two become friends, and more. The two have few financial means, but they have each other, and that's enough for them. That is, until Akira hatches the plan of seducing a rich heiress: at first, he just wanted to make fun of the girl by seducing her and showing how stupid the elite class is, but he slowly becomes entranced with the idea of actually marrying the girl and thus securing his ticket for the easy life. He borrows money from everybody around him to finance his dates, as if his whole life depends on this one chance. All of this causes Youko to suffer, who despite everything is still in love with him. And the dark spots in the once bright life of Akira and Youko become only bigger and bigger in Yamada Fuutarou's Taiyou Kokuten ("Sunspot", 1963).

Yamada Fuutarou started out as a mystery writer (see for example Youi Kinpeibai), but he got his greatest hit in 1959 with Kouga Ninpouchou (The Kouga Ninja Scrolls), a ninja epic that would spark a boom in Japan, as well as lay the foundation for battle manga in later years. And Yamada kept on writing ninja novels: he wrote no less then eight ninja novels between 1959 and 1963. Taiyou Kokuten thus marked a return of Yamada Fuutarou from ninja novels to detective novels.

Detective novel? The summary above seems like that of a postwar youth romance novel, you might say. Where is the mystery? And there you have the biggest problem, and biggest charm point of Taiyou Kokuten. It is a mystery novel. Or else I wouldn't be reviewing it here. But that is probably all I should say about Taiyou Kokuten. The whole point of the book is that the mystery comes from a rather unexpected angle and while almost 90% of the novel is indeed a youth novel, there is definitely something great (if a bit too ambitious) there for the mystery reader. I might be saying too much now, but I'll admit that I probably wouldn't have picked Taiyou Kokuten had I just read the summary and not heard it was a proper mystery novel, so this is all I'll say about that.

Of all of Yamada Fuutarou's works, I've only read Youi Kinpeibai and Meiji Dantoudai (both excellent), and while Taiyou Kokuten takes on a completely different form, it has a certain Yamafuu-esque story which I've come to appreciate. Again, I won't go into details of what that exactly is, because it would just work as a spoiler to Taiyou Kokuten's mystery plot, but I am definitely starting to get a feel for Yamada Fuutarou's novels.

Which is also due to the historical setting of Taiyou Kokuten. Well, it was just set in the time period it was written in, but Yamada Fuutarou is a master in getting the reader in the spirit of the time period of his stories, as well as tying that spirit to his plot. Post-war Japan comes to life within the pages of Taiyou Kokuten. One might think that it's because Taiyou Kokuten is mostly presented as a youth novel starring two students, but that's not the case, I think. Youi Kinpeibai (set in a literary depiction of 12th century China) and Meiji Dantoudai (the early Meiji period) are both very obviously detective stories, but also manage to bring a a historical setting to life. Yamada Fuutarou's is a bit of a history buff (besides the ninja novels, he also wrote a whole series set in the Meiji period) and one can feel his love for times past.

I enjoyed Taiyou Kokuten thoroughly and think it works as a great introduction volume for those who haven't read Yamada Fuutarou yet, and those who aren't in mystery novels per se. It is relatively short and the recognizable setting (not too faraway past) makes Taiyou Kokuten very accessible, while it still retains a peculiar Yamada Fuutarou atmosphere. For those whose interest lie mostly in mystery fiction, I think Youi Kinpeibai and Meiji Dantoudai make for better starts though, as they feature more variety.

Original Japanese title(s): 山田風太郎　『太陽黒点』

The Red Pavilion

「教えて下さい・・・運命とは定められたものでは・・・」

『幻想水滸伝』 

"Tell me... Is fate unchangeable?"

"Suikoden"

Shui Hu Zhuan (The Water Margin) is one of the classics of Chinese literature and chronicles the adventures of 108 men and women who band together against a corrupt government in the 12th century. The story is a romanticized version version of real events and these outlaws of the marsh have been a major part of Chinese literature for many centuries, and the tale of the 108 Stars of Destiny have also been a source of inspiration for many, many other works of fiction (for people who play videogames, the Suikoden series will probably sound familiar).

It's also a lengthy work, with many, many characters, so naturally, some episodes are better known that others. Two of the fan favorites star Wu Song: one in which he famously kills a tiger with his bare hands and another one, where he avenges the death of his brother Wu Dalang, who had been poisoned by Pan Jinlian so she could be together with her lover Ximen Qing. Both Pan Jinlian and Ximen Qing are brutally killed by Wu Song in Shui Hu Zhuan, teaching readers everywhere it's not smart to cheat on, and poison the brother of a man who slayed a tiger barehanded.

However, there exists a spin-off-esque naturalistic novel called Jin Ping Mei (The Plum in the Golden Vase), which provides an alternate version of the above events: here Pan Jinlian and Ximen Qing manage to escape the wrath of Wu Song and they live happily ever after. Sorta. Jin Ping Mei describes the sexual escapades of Ximen Qing, wealthy merchant, and his many, many wifes and lovers and the quarrels and domestic problems that arise from having like seven or eight wives in your home.

By now you'll be thinking, what does this have to do with detective fiction? Well, one day, Yamada Fuutarou was given a copy of Jin Ping Mei for his work as an editor, and he drew inspiration from this Chinese classic to write his own, classic of Japanese detective fiction. Like the original story, Yamada Fuutarou's Youi Kinpeibai ("The Bewitching Plum in the Golden Vase") follows the sexual adventures of Ximen Qing (Japanese reading: Seimon Kei) and his many wives, seen from the eyes of Ximen's friend (and financial leech/suck-up/etc) Ying Bojue (Ou Hakushaku). As a wealthy merchant, Ximen Qing is able to support his gigantic harem, but ever since Pan Jinlian (Han Kinren) has joined as his fifth wife, things have been a bit strange in the Ximen mansion. Sure, there were also domestic struggles, as all of his wives were jealous of the others, but before Pan Jinlian's arrival, these troubles never ended in... death. Starting with the double murder of two of Ximen's wives (whose legs are cut off), tragedy relentlessly strikes the Ximen household. Is it Pan Jinlian's presence that makes everybody crazy?

I raved about Yamada Fuutarou's Meiji Dantoudai in December, so I was eager to read more by him. Youi Kinpeibai ranked 30th in the Touzai Mystery Best 100 (highest of Yamada's entries in the list), and boy oh boy, does it deserve it's place in the ranking! Like Meiji Dantoudai, this is a masterpiece and even this early in the year, I reckon this will end up among the best reads I had this year.

Youi Kinpeibai is in essence a short story collection, and while I usually discuss short shories seperately, discussing fifteen stories would make this review a bit too long, I think. Also, the short stories of Youi Kinpeibai do form one coherent narrative and can just as easily be read as 'one' story with many episodes (like many of the old, Chinese classics), so one could also argue this approach might work better for this work.

Starting with a grotesque double murder, Youi Kinpeibai consists of a series of murders and other horrible events surrounding the people in Ximen Qing's harem. Sometimes it's an impossible crime, sometimes it's only revealed at the end of a story that a crime had been commited. With fifteen stories, you can be sure there's a lot of variety in the stories and despite the fact all events of Youi Kinpeibai happen within one household, things don't become boring nor does the cast becomes too small because everybody is killed off, because Ximen Qing's sexual adventures ensure there's no shortage of new characters (and wives) popping up.

Yamada Fuutarou makes optimal use of the limited spatial setting, as well as the psychological closed setting of a harem in Youi Kinpeibai. Indeed, one of the joys of reading this novel is seeing how the women in Ximen Qing's harem, especially Pan Janlian, are going to react on a new fling or whimsical game Ximen Qing comes up with and the usually mortal tragedy that arises from that. There are several stories that depend on the layout of Ximen Qing's love nest, while another set of stories are more styled as whydunnits, and depend on the unique psychology of the women in Ximen Qing's harem. Multiple wives vying for the attention of their husband is a setting not commonly seen, so the motives that you'll see in Youi Kinpeibai are among the likes you've never encountered before.

Which is also true for some of the tricks behind the mysteries. Youi Kinpeibai features some of the most original murder scenes, and solutions I've seen, but also some of the more grotesque and shocking ones I've ever seen. One could say that it makes great use of the fact Youi Kinpeibai is based on a graphically sexual novel, with the situations presented here quite unique in the annals of detective fiction. But a lot of the solutions only work within the 'literary world' of Youi Kinpeibai. The world in Youi Kinpeibai is not quite our reality, but a romanticized version of twelfth century bourgeois life in China. Compare it to the 'reality' of Homer's Illiad and Homer, where it's infinitely easier to fool people with disguises for example. A lot of the tricks only work in a very special setting, in special world and while the tricks work perfectly in the world of Youi Kinpeibai, one has to note that they would only work there. In my opinion, this works out fantastically for Youi Kinpeibai though, as it is really a unique story with settings and tricks that only work here, creating a distinct atmosphere that one might call Youi Kinpeibai-esque.

But, there is of course a difference with other 'special' settings for detective novels like historical novels or science fiction/fantasy novels. Science fiction/fantasy detective novels work best in my opinion when the rules/possibilities of the world are clear (c.f. Professor Layton vs Gyakuten Saiban, Snow White and The Caves of Steel). A historical novel like Meiji Dantoudai was clearly set in a historically realistic Meiji period Japan. Youi Kinpeibai on the other hand is admittedly a historical novel (so the tricks make use of contemporary mechanics and technology), but the way people behave, the way they act do feel a bit more artificial, indeed, because these are characters that live in a highly artificial literary world. The rules of what's possible and what's not are less clear here than in Meiji Dantoudai, or even the science fiction/fantasy detective novels I named, so some might find the world a bit difficult to get into.

I have not read the original Jin Ping Mei, though I have read Shui Hu Zhuan, but I don't think it's necessary for the reader to have knowledge of the original stories to enjoy Yamada Fuutarou's play with Jin Ping Mei: while the latter half of the story does feature some characters from Shui Hu Zhuan, the episode surrounding Wu Song, Pan Jinlian and Ximen Qing is explained here anyway, and that's all you'll need to know to enjoy Youi Kinpeibai.

Oh, and before I forget: medieval China + detective stories = Judge Dee for most people, I think? The basic setting might be different (the stories of Youi Kinpeibai are definitely not about detecting and punishing crimes), but it's probably quite easy for readers of Judge Dee to get into the world of Youi Kinpeibai. Not only do they share a historical setting, but crimes in Judge Dee also have a tendency to be a bit nasty and despite all the historical correctness of the Judge Dee series, it similarly has an unique worldview that allows the tricks to work in these novels.

I would say that like Meiji Dantoudai, Youi Kinpeibai is a masterpiece. It makes perfect use of its setting (both as a historical setting, as well as the 'literary world' of the original Jin Ping Mei). The stories and characters are memorable and it also makes great use of its format as a connected short story collection. Once again, I conclude a Yamada Fuutarou review stating I need to read more Yamada Fuutarou.

Original Japanese title(s): 山田風太郎 『妖異金瓶梅』

Heads You Lose

青き空よ、果てしなき空

光がそこにある限り

熱く強く　俺達は生きてゆく

愛をかざし　守りたい

永遠の未来

『永遠の未来』　（アニメタル)

Oh blue sky, neverending sky

As long as light exists there

We will live passionately, strongly

Holding up love, I want to protect

The eternal future

"The Eternal Future" (Animetal)

And just as I had made plans to finish the book I'm reading now within the next two days, some new books are delivered. Temptation to start in new books... too...great..to...resist...

Yamada Fuutarou was a prolific writer of mystery and historical novels and is nowadays probably best known for his many historical, ninja novels (including Kouga Ninpou Chou, which set an example for battle manga later). He also wrote many novels set in the early Meiji period (usually referred to as meiji-mono/Meiji stories). Meiji Dantoudai ("The Meiji Guillotine") is one of these historical mystery novels. It is 1869, one year after the infamous Meiji Restoration, which meant the end of the Shogunate and restoration of imperial rule. The ports of Japan were opened for foreign visitors for the first time in 400 years, marking the start of modernization. The new government has its hands full with guiding the country towards industralization and catching up with the west, but also with the aftermath of the revolution and corruption within its own administration. The danjoudai, the Imperial Prosecuting and Investigating Office, is an office reinstated from the ancient Ritsuryo legal system, dedicated to hunt down and punish corruption and rebels. To help in their fight against evil, the danjoudai even imported a guillotine from France to instigate fear upon its enemies. Two of the danjoudai's stars are Kawaji Toshiyoshi  (who would later play a large role in forming the modern Japanese police force) and Kaduki Keishirou (who always wears a suikan). It was Kaduki who brought the guillotine to Japan, together with Esmeralda, a spirit medium and heir of a family of guillotine constructors. During their investigations, Kawaji and Kaduki come across crimes which seem impossible, from ghostly rickshaws to people being cut down by unknown, supernatural forces, but by summoning the spirit of the dead, Esmeralda always manages to bring light into darkness.

I hardly read any historical detective novels, but if they were all like Meiji Dantoudai, I would definitely be reading them much more often. For Meiji Dantoudai is a masterpiece. It's easily one of the best novels I read this year, and will also be remembered as one of the best mystery novels I've ever read. When I first heard people saying they liked Yamada Fuutarou's mysteries, I wasn't sure what to think of it (as I only knew his name from his ninja novels), but I apologize! I was wrong! There's nothing wrong with liking his mystery novels! If anything, why wouldn't you like them?!

I have to admit that Meiji Dantoudai has a slow start though. It is in principle a short story collection, but the first two stories just serve as an introduction to Kawaji, Kaduki, Esmeralda and a group of five lazy and corrupt rasotsu ('policemen', 'footsoldiers) who work are forced to work under Kawaji and Kaduki. By the time you've gone through them, you're already at a quarter of the book.

But then the stories really start and it is amazing. Meiji Dantoudai does exactly what I'd expect, what I'd want from a historical detective and pulls it off perfectly. The 'easy' part is probably putting the story in a certain historical context (or else the 'special' setting wouldn't really be necessary). Yamada is best known for his historical work, so it shouldn't be surprising to see that this part is done really well. Historical events and characters pop up in surprising ways in each of the stories, but never in a way as to overwhelm the main mystery plot. Kawaji Toshiyuki is a historical person too, of course, but the use of characters like James Hepburn's assistent Kishida Ginkou is also done very well, but never intrusive. The story is set just afer the Meiji Restoration, which was done with quite a bit of assassinations on high officials on both sides (those who wanted to restore imperial rule, and those opposing that), so one can imagine that both sides still had scores to settle. These events form an important background to Meiji Dantoudai and the way history is weaved with Yamada's fiction is really captivating. I guess the one thing I know that even gets close to this is Rurouni Kenshin (which is also set in Meiji, dealing with the aftermath of the Restoration), but Meiji Dantoudai is much more grounded in actual history.

Of course, a bit of historical knowledge does really add to the experience. I am the first to admit that I was unfamiliar with many names at first, but even without knowing everything and the precise details of every event refered to, you can still enjoy Meiji Dantoudai as a historical novel. Yamada's prose is great, really bringing the world to life both through 'plain' narration as well as well-written lines (←this is the sociolinguistician in me speaking).

But good historical background alone does not make for a great mystery short story collection. But good prose and historical research aren't the only things to be found here. Meiji Dantoudai offers some of the best impossible crime situations in a historical setting. What is most impressive is that they all feature very Meiji-esque elements, which reinforces the historical detective element. America yori Ai wo Komete ("From America, With Love") for example has a great variation on the no-footsteps-in-the-snow trope, with a victim apparently having been driven by a rickshaw, without a puller. Just the rickshaws prints remain on the snow. The fact that the ghost of war criminal thought to have fled to the United States is said to be haunting the neigbourhood isn't making things less scary. Or what about Engankyou Ashikiri Ezu ("The Leg Amputation Telescope Illustration"), where the rare, modern object the telescope allows for surprising discoveries, including the accidental witnessing of a murder. Eitaibashi no Kubitsuribito ("The Hanged Man of Eitai Bridge") is a great alibi deconstruction story, where you really feel how smaller the world has become since the Meiji period. Comparing the alibi deconstruction plots in this story with stories like Matsumoto Seichou's Ten to Sen or Ayukawa Tetsuya's Kuroi Trunk and you'll see how a historical setting can offer much surprise to an old trope. Onore no Kubi wo Daku Shitai ("The Body That Carries Its Own Head") is in comparison a bit boring in its execution of a familiar trope, but once again makes great use of the setting. The best story is the first mystery Kawaji and Kaduki encounter though, Kaidan Tsukiji Hotel Kan ("The Tsujiki Hotel Ghost Story"), which features the best example of a mystery making the best use of its (limited) setting. The plot oozes Meiji-atmosphere, and features a trick that seems like something Shimada Souji would write (save for the fact Meiji Dantoudai was written much earlier).

In a way, I think that in a sense, historical mysteries don't differ much from other 'special' settings like a science fiction setting (like The Caves of Steel), a pure fantasy setting (like Professor Layton vs Gyakuten Saiban or Snow White). As long as the reader is made aware of the characteristics of the setting (be it the absence of technology/knowledge of the present, or the presence of magic or robots), and is told what the limits are (i.e. rules for magic and robots, or what is available in a certain historical setting), a great, fair-play puzzle plot is always possible and can be made even more fun because it has a setting you usually don't come across. I for one really enjoyed Professor Layton vs Gyakuten Saiban because it was a totally fair mystery story, which made great use of a device like magic. A historical setting sets limits on a fair-play plot, but also offers surprising possibilites you might not even consider because it utilizes technology/knowledge the modern man doesn't think of. Meiji Dantoudai is a great example of how to do it right.

And just as you think that Meiji Dantoudai has given you everything it has, the last story, Seigi no Seifu Wa Arieru Ka ("Can There Be A Just Government?") shakes things up by forming a perfect epilogue to the short story collection. It connects every short story up until now into one surprising, complete narrative, transforming the whole structure of the book. I have read a couple of connected short story collections, but never seen it done as good as here. The one thing I can think of that comes close is the videogame Gyakuten Kenji 2. With short story collections, it can be tempting to just read the stories in any order, depending on your mood, but Meiji Dantoudai really shows the potential of connected short story collections.

Meiji Dantoudai is in short a must read for any fan of the genre. It's a great mystery short story collection, it's a great impossible crime collection, it's a great historical detective, it's a great connected short story collection.... it does everything I would want from such a book, and does it excellently.Yamada Fuutarou has Kawaji Toshiyuki appear in some more of his other Meiji novels, and I will definitely make more trips in the future, to this fantastic past world Yamada writes about.

Original Japanese title(s): 山田風太郎 『明治断頭台』: 「弾正台大巡察」 / 「巫女エスメラルダ」 / 「怪談築地ホテル館」 / 「アメリカより愛をこめて」 / 「永代橋の首吊人」 / 「遠眼鏡足切絵図」 / 「おのれの首を抱く死体」 / 「正義の政府はあり得るか」