The Curious Casebook of Inspector Hanshichi: Detective Stories from Old Edo

"That year, quite a shocking incident occurred...." So reminices old Hanshichi in a story from one of Japan’s most beloved works of popular literature, Hanshichi torimonocho. Told through the eyes of a street-smart detective, Okamoto Kido’s best-known work inaugurated the historical detective genre in Japan, spawning stage, radio, movie, and television adaptations as well as countless imitations. While entertaining his readers with realistic dialogue, compelling plots, and wry humor, Kido also sought to educate them in matters relating to feudal institutions, customs, festivals, and historical events. This selection of fourteen stories, translated into English for the first time, provides a fascinating glimpse of life in feudal Edo (later Tokyo) and rare insight into the development of the fledgling Japanese crime novel.