Enter the world of Japanese mysteries!
Editor’s note: Fiendishly clever Japanese mysteries often make their Western counterparts seem tame. This list goes way beyond the usual suspects like “The Devotion of Suspect X’ and introduces us to the richly diverse world of Japanese crime writing.
Written by: Sneha Pathak is a freelance writer and translator. Her works have appeared in The Telegraph, Deccan Herald, Strange Horizons, and The Chakkar. You can follow her on Instagram.
If you enjoy reading mysteries and thrillers but are looking for something other than the popular British and American titles in every ‘must-read’ list, Japanese crime fiction is the answer. From straightforward murder mysteries to twisty, deviously planned thrillers, often steeped in the country’s culture and lifestyle, crime writing from Japan has something for everyone. Here’s a list of nine novels translated from Japanese that might just scratch that itch.
The Name of the Game is a Kidnapping by Keigo Higashino: While Higashino shot to international fame through the English translation of his novel ‘The Devotion of Suspect X,’ this maestro has many other equally cleverly plotted novels under his belt. The ‘Name of the Game is a Kidnapping’ is a lesser-known, albeit taut and twisted thriller that tells the story of Sakuma, a young advertising agent who decides to kidnap the daughter of the tycoon who has just brought Sakuma’s career to its lowest point. The game he is playing is kidnapping, but just how much of a player can Sakuma actually be? Read this novel for the twists and turns that will keep you turning the pages (or swiping your device).
The Tokyo Zodiac Murders by Soji Shimada: Soji Shimada is credited with reviving the tradition of mystery writing in Japan and this novel is considered to be one of his best works. It features Shimada’s sleuth Kiyoshi Mitarai, an astrologer by profession, who is goaded into solving a mystery from the past. Forty years ago, Umezawa had planned to kill the younger women of his family to create a goddess named Azoth. But someone killed and chopped up the bodies before he could carry out his plan. Featuring a mix of astrology, reasoning, and knowledge of geography, along with a closed-room murder and a challenge to his readers to solve it before Shimada’s sleuth does,this is a book you cannot be abandon midway.
The Labyrinth House Murders by Yukito Ayatsuji: This is the latest to be translated into English from the writer’s Bizarre House series, which consists of mysteries set in houses that are ‘different’ in terms of architecture. The events take place in the remote Labyrinth House, the haven of recluse crime writer Miyagaki Yotaro. When Yotaro invites four upcoming crime writers to celebrate his birthday, the last thing they expect is a murder and a writing competition with some rather strange rules. As things get murkier with further deaths, detective Shimada Kiyoshi must find out the truth before it’s too late.
The Meiji Guillotine Murders by Futaro Yamada: This is a historical mystery set during the Meiji era. It follows policemen Kazui and Kawaji who are both tasked with bringing peace in a tumultuous time. The readers follow Kazuki and Kawaji as the duo investigate a series of murders across the capital, and their quest takes them from lowly, dingy bars to the innermost sanctums of the royal palace. Situated firmly in the social and historical context of its setting, ‘The Meiji Guillotine Murders’ might start slow, but is sure to absorb the readers as the plot progresses.
Gold Mask by Edogawa Rampo: Edogawa Rampo was an influential figure in the history of Japanese crime fiction and is sometimes credited with being the father of modern mystery writing in Japan. His novel ‘Gold Mask’ features detective Akechi Kogoro. Kogoro is hot on the heels of a criminal known only as Gold Mask, who has left his mark all over Tokyo. The cat and mouse-like chase between Gold Mask, who is a master of disguise, and Kogoro, a tenacious man, has all the elements of a juicy, pulpy read meant to entertain and only entertain.
Inspector Imanishi Investigates by Seicho Matsumoto: Matsumoto’s Inspector Imanishi is a man of varied tastes. He is a conscientious and intelligent policeman, and a lover of haikus and bonsais. When a body is discovered in Tokyo in the early hours of the morning, Inspector Imanishi is sent to investigate the case. With few clues and difficulty in identifying the body whose face has been badly disfigured, the investigation soon comes to a standstill. But Imanishi is not satisfied with the outcome and when a series of coincidences brings him back to the case, he follows the slightest of clues to their final destination and finds the answers to this puzzle. ‘Inspector Imanishi Investigates’ gives its readers the pleasure of reading a novel of suspense, while providing them a peek into the milieu in Japan.
Death Within the Evil-Eye by Masahiro Imamura: Imamura is a writer who likes to blend elements of supernatural and paranormal in his mysteries. His first novel to be translated into English featured zombies while ‘Death Within the Evil Eye,’ his second, throws prophecies and psychics into the mix. A handful of strangers including the detectives, find themselves, quite by chance, taking shelter at a place that was once the centre of sinister experiments. There, a prophecy is made that deaths will soon begin and when it comes true, Hiruko Kenzaki and her sidekick Yuzuru Hamura swing into action. This is one of the few Japanese detective novels that follow the adventures of a female detective, narrated by her sidekick who has a crush on her.
The Moai Island Puzzle by Alice Arisugawa: Arisugawa’s novel is set on a remote island cut off from civilization during five days. When three university students, one of whom is the writer’s namesake and also the novel’s narrator, visit the island to solve the puzzle of where their friend’s grandfather has hidden the family diamonds, neither of them knows that they’ll be trapped on the island with a killer on the loose. It soon becomes clear that someone amongst the people already on the island is the culprit and the students have to find out the killer’s identity if they want to survive. This one is a proper puzzle mystery, with all the clues laid before the reader and a challenge by the author to solve it.
Lending the Key to the Locked Room by Tokuya Higashigawa: Higashigawa’s novel is a subtler version of the typical locked room/impossible crime, a recurring favourite in Japanese crime writing tradition. Ryuhei becomes the prime suspect in the murder of his ex-girlfriend because of his drunken threats when she broke up with him. His alibi? A friend who was drinking with him the entire night. His problem? He wakes up in the morning to find that his friend has been stabbed and that Ryuhei was the only one in the apartment with the door closed from the inside. A whodunnit and howdunnit wrapped in one, Higashiwa’s lightness of touch and humourous undertone make this one different from its darker counterparts and a delight to read.
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