The cries of street vendors hawking sea cucumbers and pampas grass echo through the narrative. Kido began writing the first Hanshichi stories in The popular success of this detective in Japan was like Holmes' popularity in the west. Neither Conan Doyle nor Okamoto Kido wanted to be known for their detectives, but the public decreed otherwise.
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Kido was as interested in educating as in entertaining. In his retirement, Hanshichi is constantly attending traditional festivals - when he's not recounting his exploits to the young narrator who passes them on to us. And the stories are rich in historic detail. A young boy disappears on the way to the Confucian school where the sons of shogunal retainers are tested on the classics A neighborhood is terrorized by a "ghost" who rings the fire bell when there are no fires A snake amulet salesman leads Hanshichi to the murderer of a dance teacher Given a few scraps of information, Hanshichi can often imagine what might have happened.
On one occasion he reconstructs events by recalling a scene in a Hiroshige woodblock print. But Hanshichi is also quick to admit when he solves a case by "dumb luck. With Inspector Hanshichi, Kido gave the Japanese their own classic detective. Although influenced by Holmes, Hanshichi is his own man, involving the reader irresistibly in his nostalgia for a vanished Japan. I just loved these stories! They mystery coupled with the unusual setting made them particularly engaging.
I just wish there were more Beautifully translated, these stories about life in Japan in the 19th century are delightful and entertaining. These short stories reveal the life and times of a city and its inhabitants in a time of social and political change. Our guide on this adventure is not the narrator but his "source", the detective Hanshichi, whose knowledge, insights and judgement solve cases with a practicality that is refreshing.
It was pretty unique!
In any case, I really enjoyed The Kiso Wayfarer. I look forward to seeing more and more of your translations in the future! I only just happened to notice your reply just a year late, sorry — thank you so much for your kind words.
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Email Print Facebook Twitter. Welcome to The Roving Translator! Thanks for stopping by. This blog is no longer updated, btw I'm Blake, a budding English-Japanese translator and interpreter. I'm currently studying translation and literature at Shizuoka University, focusing on the works of Nakajima Atsushi. Any other translation-oriented people, feel free to drop me a line. October 15, age 66 Tokyo, Japan.
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He went to work for Chuo Shimbun spending 24 years as a newspaper reporter, including a period in Manchuria. He bought the contract of and married a Yoshiwara Geisha from the Uwajima feudal domain called Kojima Sakae. Success eluded him until in , his popular play "The Mask maker's Story" Shuzenji Monogatari premiered at the Meijiza.
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His series on the theatre of the Meiji period, a valuable resource, the first half of which was serialised in the Monthly Kabuki Review Magazine in the late s, early s as "Stories of the Past" Sugi ni shi Monogatari , then again as a series in and finally in full as "On the Theatre of the Meiji Period - Under the Lamp" Meiji Gekidan Ranpu no Moto ni te by Iwanami Shoten in In he visited the USA and Europe. His home and library in Kojimachi were destroyed in the Great earthquake of The following year he moved to Hyakuni cho a street in north Shinjuku Shinjuku ku.
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