Created by Seishi Yokomizo
(1902-1981)
Arguably the most beloved Japanese detective of all time, Seishi Yokomizo’s KŌSUKE KINDAICHI first appeared in The Honjin Murders, which was serialized in the magazine Houseki from April to December 1946. It’s a brainstomper of a locked room murder, taking place in a huge family mansion surrounded by thick snow, which many people regard as one of the best Japanese detective novels of all time. It won the inaugural Mystery Writers of Japan Award in 1948, and was filmed as Death at an Old Mansion in 1976, and remains, at this writing, one of only a few of Yokomizo’s mysteries to be translated into English.
Which is a shame. Yokomizo was a master of the impossible crime mystery, often refereed to as the “Japanese John Dickson Carr” for his inventive puzzle plots, and his detective, while no wimp, was definitely more along the lines of such masters of deduction as C. Auguste Dupin and Sherlock Holmes, albeit without the raging ego or irritatingly smug sense of superiority. Which is to say that Kosuke is a nice guy; a humble man, a bit of a loner, perhaps, and not always the best dressed, but an ace detective, a fitting sleuth who dives deep into his cases. And oh what cases!
The books were wickedly clever, full of family secrets, false identities, forbidden liaisons, monstrous cruelties and plenty of bizarre–and often surprisingly gruesome–murders.
Seishi Yokomizo was one of Japan’s most famous and best-loved mystery writers. Born in Kobe, he spent his childhood reading detective stories, before beginning to write stories of his own, the first of which was published in 1921. He was best known for his celebrated Kosuke Kindaichi series, which ran to 77 books, many of which were initially serialized in Japanese magazines, and several were adapted for Japanese stage, film and and television.
The Yokomizo Seishi Prize is a literary award established in 1980 by the Kadokawa Shoten publishing company and the Tokyo Broadcasting System to honour Yokomizo, who passed away the following year. The annual award goes to to a previously unpublished novel-length mystery. The winner receives a statuette of Kosuke Kindaichi and a substantial cash award–in fact, it’s one of the richest literary prizes in the world.
NOVELS
- Honjin satsujin jiken (April-December 1946, Houseki; aka “The Honjin Murders”) | Buy this book | Kindle it!
- Gokumon-tō (January 1947-October 1948, Houseki; aka “Gokumon Island”)
- Bat and Slug (1947)
- The Case of the Black Cat Restaurant (1947)
- A Killer (1947–1932)
- Black Orchid Princess (1948)
- Yoru aruku (1948; aka “Woman Walking at Night”)
- Yatsuhaka Mura (March 1949-March 1951; aka “The Village of Eight Graves”)
- Death Mask (1949)
- Inugami-ke no Ichizoku (January 1950-May 1951; aka “The Inugami Curse”) | Buy this book | Kindle it!
- Mysterious Woman (1950)
- Under Hundred Suns (1951)
- Joōbachi (June 1951 – May 1952; aka “Queen Bee,” “Rhyme of Vengeance”)
- A Crow (1951)
- Akuma ga Kitari te Fue o Fuku (1951-53; aka “The Devil Comes and Plays His Flute”)
- Dead Man’s Seat (novel) (1952)
- Lake of Mud (1953)
- Undying Butterfly (1953)
- Death Mask’s Return (1953)
- The Bride in the Labyrinth (1954)
- Evil Man (1954)
- Garden of Demon (1954)
- Yurei Otoko (1954)
- Fallen Angel (1954)
- Mirage Island (1954)
- The Sleeping Bride (1954)
- Three Heads Tower (1955)
- Vampire Moth (1955)
- A Deadly Pond (1955)
- Head (1955)
- A Ghost in the Old Yard (1955)
- The Poisoned Arrow (1956)
- A Beautiful Waxwork (1956)
- Black Wing (1956)
- Death Angel’s Arrow (1956)
- A Calendar of Witch (1956)
- A Cat in the Darkness (1956)
- Lady in the Dream (1956)
- The Seven Masks (1956)
- Tragedy at the House of Meiro (1956)
- Field of Beast (1956)
- Head of a Playing Cards Table (1957)
- Lady in the Mist (1957)
- A Lady During the Wartime (1957)
- Lady in the Mud (1957)
- Lady in the Suitcase (1957)
- Lady in the Mirror (1957)
- Lady in the Umbrella (1957)
- Lady in the Cell (1957)
- Murder at the Kagami Beach (1957)
- Mystery of the 13th Boat (1957)
- A Rhymes of a Devil’s Ball (1957–1959)
- Beautiful Lady in the Jar (1957)
- Lady of the Fan (1957)
- Girl’s Shadow Under the Door (1957)
- Demon’s Birthday Festival (1958)
- Lady in the Cave (1958)
- Lady in the Coffin (1958)
- Cross of Fire (1958)
- Lady in the Red (1958)
- Lady in the Pupil (1958)
- Spade Queen (1958)
- Rose Villa (1958)
- A Demon Child (1958–1959)
- Inside a Perfume’s Mind (1958)
- Villa in a Fog (1958)
- Human Face (novel) (1960)
- Female Leech (1960)
- Black and White (1960–1961)
- One Hundred Lips Song of Satan (1962)
- Lady in the Sundial (1962)
- The End of Hunting (1962)
- Black Tiger at Night (1963)
- Cat Mansion (1963)
- A Batman (1964)
- A Masked Party (1974)
- Byoinzaka no Kubikukuri no le (1975; aka “The House of Hanging on Hospital Slope”)
- Demon’s Island (1978–1980)
FILMS
- INUGAMI-KE NO ICHIZOKU
(1976, Kadokawa Haruki Jimusho/Toho Company)
(aka “The Inugami Family; “”Death in an Old Mansion)
Based on the novel The Inugami Curse by Seishi Yokomizo
Screenplay by Norio Nagata, Shin’ya Hidaka and Kon Ichikawa
Directed by Kon Ichikawa
Starring Koji Ishizaka as as KŌSUKE KINDAICHI
Also starring Yoko Shimada, Teruhiko Aoi, Mieko Takamine, Mitsuko Kusabue, Ryoko Sakaguchi, Takeo Chii - GOKUMON-TO
(1977)
(aka “The Devil’s Island,” “Prison Gate Isle”)
Based on the novel by Seishi Yokomizo
Screenplay by Norio Nagata, Shin’ya Hidaka and Kon Ichikawa
Directed by Kon Ichikawa
Starring Koji Ishizaka as as KŌSUKE KINDAICHI
Also starring Yôko Tsukasa, Reiko Ôhara, Mitsukô Kusabue, Kiwako Taichi, Ryôko Sakaguchi, Yûko Asano, Takeshi Katô, Hideji Ôtaki, Tatsuo Matsumuram, Peter - AKUMA NO TEMARI-UTA
(1977, Toho Company)
Based on the novel by Seishi Yokomizo
Screenplay by Kon Ichikawa
Directed by Kon Ichikawa
Starring Koji Ishizaka as as KŌSUKE KINDAICHI - JOÔBACHI
(aka “Queen Bee,” “Ryhme of Vengeance”)
(1978, Toho Company)
Based on the novel Joôbachi by Seishi Yokomizo
Screenplay by Shin’ya Hidaka, Kon Ichikawa, Chiho Katsura
Directed by Kon Ichikawa
Starring Koji Ishizaka as as KŌSUKE KINDAICHI
Also starring Mieko Takamine, Takeshi Katō, Keiko Kishi, Ryoko Sakaguchi, Yōko Tsukasa, Masaya Oki - BYOINZAKA NO KUBIKUKURI NO IE
(aka “The House of Hanging on Hospital Slope”)
(1979, Toho Company)
Based on the novel Byoinzaka no Kubikukuri no Ie by Seishi Yokomizo
Screenplay by Shin’ya Hidaka and Kon Ichikawa
Directed by Kon Ichikawa
Starring Koji Ishizaka as as KŌSUKE KINDAICHI - INUGAMI-KE NO ICHIZOKU
(aka “Murder of the Inugami Clan”)
(2006)
134 minutes
Based on the novel The Inugami Curse by Seishi Yokomizo
Directed by Kon Ichikawa
Screenplay by Norio Nagata, Shin’ya Hidaka and Kon Ichikawa
Starring Koji Ishizaka as KŌSUKE KINDAICHI
Also starring Nanako Matsushima, Kikunosuke Onoe, Sumiko Fuji, Keiko Matsuzaka, Hisako Manda, Shingo Katsurayama, Tamayo Nonomiya, Yukijiro Hotaru, Toshiya Nagasawa, Saburo Ishikura, Isao Bito
A remake of the director’s own 1976 hit, with Koji Ishizaka repeating his role as Kosuke. It was to be the famed director’s last film.
