On Japanese crime and mystery novels

Some years ago, maybe a decade or so ago, I started reading those bleak Nordic crime novels. After a while, I had my fill of them. I thought I would give Japanese crime novels a try a few years back and so, I did. That was in 2023. I read a few which I enjoyed.

I was never much into whodunits. I had read some Agatha Christie as a teenager and a few more some years back.

In July last year, I started on a spree. I started reading Japanese crime novels one after another. This spree continued until July this year. Between the these novels, I had read British mysteries, histories of the Trojan War, comics, Roman history, Karl Edward Wagner's highly regarded collection of horror stories, technical tank development histories, astronomy, and so much more. Every novel read was borrowed from the library. All works are translated. Here is what I had read in the space of a year:

• Inspector Imanishi Investigates - Seicho Matsumoto
• The Mill House Murders - Yukito Ayatsuji
• The Labyrinth House Murders - Yukito Ayatsuji
• The Honjin Murders - Seishi Yokomizo
• The Village of Eight Graves - Seishi Yokomizo
• The Devil's Flute Murders - Seishi Yokomizo
• The North Light - Hideo Yokoyama
• Seventeen - Hideo Yokoyama
• The Little Sparrow Murders - Seishi Yokomizo
• The Inugami Curse  - Seishi Yokomizo
• Death on Gokumon Island - Seishi Yokomizo
• The Decagon House Murders - Yukito Ayatsuji
• The Final Curtain - Keigo Higashino
• Salvation of a Saint - Keigo Higashino
• Newcomer - Keigo Higashino
• A Death in Tokyo - Keigo Higashino
• The Black Swan Mystery - Tetsuya Ayukawa
• Sherlock Holmes: A Scandal in Japan - Keisuke Matsuoka
• The Meiji Guillotine Murders - Futaro Yamada
• Journey under the Sun - Keigo Higashino
• The Master Key - Masako Togawa
• The Lady Killer - Masako Togawa
• The Noh Mask Murder - Akimitsu Takagi
• The Tattoo Case Murder - Akimitsu Takagi
• Strange Pictures - Uketsu
• Strange Houses - Uketsu
• Strange Buildings - Uketsu
• A Quiet Place - Seicho Matsumoto
• Tokyo Express - Seicho Matsumoto
• Suspicion - Seicho Matsumoto
• Pro Bono - Seicho Matsumoto
• Point Zero - Seicho Matsumoto
• Invisible Helix - Keigo Higashino
• Murder in the House of Omari - Taku Ashibe
• Murder at the Black Cat Café - Seishi Yokomizo
• A Midsummer's Equation - Keigo Higashino
• The Name of the Game is a Kidnapping - Keigo Higashino
• The Clock House Murders - Yukito Ayatsuji
• Malice - Keigo Higashino
  
  
  
  
  

  

  
  
  
  
  
  

Interestingly, there are two different cover art for "Murder at the Black Cat Café" by Seishi Yokomizo. And the two books are on the the imprint Pushkin Vertigo from Puskin Press. The first book is a 2025 publication while the second is a 2026 publication.

In 2023, I had read the following:

• Silent Parade - Keigo Higashino
• Prefecture D- Hideo Yokoyama (Collection of short stories)
• The Devotion of Suspect X - Keigo Higashino
• Six Four - Hideo Yokoyama

What is interesting is the diversity of stories, settings, form, structure and plots of these stories, and like those elsewhere, the Japanese crime novel examines many different situations, some are locked room mysteries, others are crime stories, while others are social novels, mainly about the society.

The stories are deeply reflective of the society and also is a document of the times they were written in. Many of the stories are set in the pre-war and the post-war period where there was great upheaval in traditional Japanese society due to the war, modernisation and mass migration from the countryside to the urban centres. Some of the stories are reflections of the modernising Japan, for instance, with characters deciding between wearing traditional wear or western wear. Some stories have characters going to war and never returning while others have veterans who had served. 

The roles of women are another interesting aspect of the Japanese crime novel, many of the novels have women as the antagonists, meaning, the murderess, even the early ones. Women were not passive victims in these stories, while they might be victims of circumstance, their strong will meant that they were active in acting out their schemes.

There was a particular novelist, Yukito Ayatsuji, who specialised in pure locked room mysteries. His was the novel of the purist, the thought experiments which bore little bearing to society, they were simply pure mysteries, the setting was devised for the cleverness of the plot device and mystery. The antithesis to Ayatsuji would be Seicho Matsumoto whose social crime novels I found more compelling. The gritty social realism spoke of the rapidly industrialising postwar period where there were great displacement. Japanese crime novels provide a lens for viewing into a window into a compelling past.

Masako Togawa was a maverick, she was one of the few female crime fiction writers and her bizarre stories are original.

The Uketsu novels have taken Japan by storm, they are stories based around a series of pictures and also the layouts of houses. The stories are all intertwined with cults. They are the current rage. I read them and they were satisfactory but not particularly outstanding as compared to the body of work which I had read.

I think at this point, I have four more novels on my list, following which I think I will revisit magic realist novels again.

More thoughts on Diablo IV

 The visual design of Diablo IV is disappointing, it is bland and drab. I think it is a deliberate design choice that led to this, despite having many of the industry's best artists and designers, They had wanted a run-down, a society mired in poverty and as such, everything looked like it belonged in a slum. The game looked like a slum. It is miserable and grim.

I have played hundreds of hours in Diablo IV and I cannot say that I enjoy visiting the world of Diablo IV.

I have recently bought the Diablo IV art book volume 2.

The storyline for Diablo IV is cringeworthy, if not horrible. A demon with daddy issues. It is a bad Cosby Show set in fantasy, it has no sense of mystique, no sense of mythology. It is just bad storytelling. Whine, moan, cry, is that what storytelling is today?

The Vessel of Hatred's new region are alright, not as dull as the original setting. The Lord of Hatred's new region is brighter and more cheerful. I like it.

Oh well, at least, Diablo V is on the horizon.

A Guide for Wizardry

I wrote a guide for Wizardry: Proving Grounds of the Mad Overlord on Steam today. The game is essentially a remake of the original game which I enjoyed and solved on the Apple IIe in 1982 or 1983. 

I saw that people were having difficulties and losing their entire parties for some reason and I had thought I would give some pointers. So, I wrote a little guide.

 I made a bookmark for a bookstore and I gave it to the owner of the bookstore today! 

 An interesting year, I made new friends and renewed lapsed friendships. 

 Wow, the year is swiftly coming to an end!

Novena Square

 

 

Excellent reads. I recommend them highly.

 I did manage to visit Pantler but there was precious little left, there was only a single type of cake left.

 I was outside Pantler at River Valley Road today. There was a long queue and I did try to go in.

I just finished "The Trojan War" by Barry Strauss. I bought it two decades ago at Borders then.

I recommend it, it is a compelling read.

 I have been reading a lot of Japanese crime novels, all of which were borrowed from the library. 

 I managed to get my Scimitar Mk 2 in War Thunder recently, it looks to be a lacklustre vehicle.

 I have gotten the Jaguar 2, NASAMS and Merkava Mk 1 in War Thunder!

 I have been drawing and drawing! 

Paladin!

 I pre-purchased Diablo IV: Lord of Hatred expansion tonight. I gave the new Paladin class a try.

I have read forty-nine issues of Jane's Defence Weekly this year. I look to reading the three remaining issues eventually. I borrowed them all from the library.

 I went to get a new pair of running shoes. I had worn out my Salomon trail running shoes as well as my Xeno minimalist shoes, they both have numerous holes in them. The Salomon hasn't got much of a heel left, it is flat.

I got New Balance this time. I wonder about adapting to it.