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Rating: 
Summary: Inherit The Wind
Review: Japanese popular fiction is much under-represented in the US, while film and anime do quite well. So out of interest in all things Japanese I sought out the few volumes of popular mysteries that have been translated. What I've found is that, while the Japanese approach to storytelling is different from what is common in the USA, it is equally interesting.
Japanese writers, of whom Seishi Yokomizo is a notable example, unfold their tales differently. For example, it's not uncommon for the reader to be told what is going to happen even before events begin to unfold. The narrative descriptions of the crimes, while often grim tend to be clinical by our standards. Thus, in the Inugami Clan, which was a Japanese best seller, a strange will will left by a wealthy man reveals a peculiarly twisted set of relationships and triggers four deaths and several other attempts. The killings are carefully presented, but never overwhelm the story.
And the story isn't the murders, but the unfolding of a complicated set of relationships that seem to shift with every glance. The crimes, investigated by Kosuke Kindaichi (a Japanese Sherlock Holmes) become the bitter framework, upon which three sisters and the heirs to the fortune perform a stately, yet terrible dance. The ghost of the end of World War II and a chilling winter add to the sense of desolation.
Yokomizo excels at descriptive moments, whether he is focusing on people or the settling. He brings the landscape to life in a fashion which has been lost to the action oriented writing of the west. This is true to such the degree that a reader, unused to the differences and expecting something out of a Hong Kong fight film is likely to blame the translation rather than realize that the small, chess-like motions of the tale are the intent of the author. The translator, Yumiko Yamazaki does a very good job of capturing this flow.
Hopefully we will see more tales by Seishi Yokomizo reach translation in the near future. This is an opportunity to experience something uniquely Japanese in an unexpected context. To see what can be done outside the western mystery story.
Rating: 
Summary: A paint by numbers mystery
Review: On the look out for Japanese murder mysteries I came across this book by the Land of the Rising Sun's bestelling mystery writer. Despite the positive critiques by my fellow reviewers, I considered The Inugami Clan decidely average.In this book the American public gets a first encounter with the legendary P.I. Kandaichi, who stutters, scratches his full head of hair frequently and -so the story goes- has an uncanny ability to always find his man or woman. The plot involves a serial elimination of heirs to a late silk magnate in the 1940s. The story carries the epitath gothic and is not only laced with sadistic murders, but would further make the good old Marquis DeSade happy with elements like homosexuality, adultery and (attempted) incest. However, Yokomizo provides little more than a Mystery 101. He follows an approach where each chapter follows a cycle of storyline anticipation, clues collection and "expert" analysis.
Unfortunately, the mystery has a gaping hole, that is about as large as our deficit or the one in the ozone layer after four years of dubleya. As such, the reiteration of the awesome cunning of the scratcher while humorous at the start, rapidly became nauseating. The resolution of it all could have taken half of the pages. Last but not least, the translation is extremely clunky. In the event further translations of Yokomizo's work are planned, recruitment of a translator with high school level English languages skills would be highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: A Japanese family disintegrates, violently
Review: Set in the 1940's, this is the first in a series of mysteries featuring private detective Kosuke Kindaichi. The elderly patriarch of a wealthy Japanese family of the title, dies, inexplicably leaving a will that virtually ensures a bloody battle for his fortune. Kindaichi is summoned by the family's attorney to snow-covered northern Japan, where the gore-soaked feud plays out. Slowly, the family's sordid secret history is revealed as the members are ritualistically murdered, one by one. Kindaichi is a likable character, an eccentric whose odd mannerisms (like a nervous tic of head-scratching) hide his superior intelligence. The translation is a bit stiff at times, and some plot elements seem forced, but otherwise this is an enjoyable mystery. The atmospheric setting (the Inugami family's labyrinthine lakeside villa, in the winter) brings the reader to a region of Japan not well known in the West.
Rating:
Summary: A Japanese family disintegrates, violently
Review: This book takes an interesting look at the cultural norms of Japan and how they have been degraded by western ways. Almost disturbing, but but it keeps you reading till the end. Real page turners, but also very thought provoking
Rating:
Summary: Keeping Murder in the Family
Review: This is a good juicy murder mystery full of family secrets and grudges. It blends post-WWII noir with a pinch of Poeish grotesquerie and a good old-fashioned "house party" mystery. You also get to meet the famous series detective Kosuke Kindaichi, whose rumpled demeanor and unseemly headscratching cover a brilliant and kind mind. (His cases were the subject of many films, and his grandson is star of The Kindaichi Case Files manga, anime, and live action series.) Btw, to the reviewer who thought this showed how Japan had changed for the worse thanks to Westernization? I think you'll find that's not the point at all, if you consider the timelines and motivations. Many of the vices that caused the trouble were part of pre-Meiji culture, sadly. But it's not a pro-Western novel, either. Anything this noirish is bound to be full of inconveniently gray areas.
Rating:
Summary: Keeping Murder in the Family
Review: This is a good juicy murder mystery full of family secrets and grudges. It blends post-WWII noir with a pinch of Poeish grotesquerie and a good old-fashioned "house party" mystery. You also get to meet the famous series detective Kosuke Kindaichi, whose rumpled demeanor and unseemly headscratching cover a brilliant and kind mind. (His cases were the subject of many films, and his grandson is star of <I>The Kindaichi Case Files</i> manga, anime, and live action series.) Btw, to the reviewer who thought this showed how Japan had changed for the worse thanks to Westernization? I think you'll find that's not the point at all, if you consider the timelines and motivations. Many of the vices that caused the trouble were part of pre-Meiji culture, sadly. But it's not a pro-Western novel, either. Anything this noirish is bound to be full of inconveniently gray areas.
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