Today has been an Edogawa Ranpo day! I read 人間椅子 (にんげんいす) and 鏡地獄 (かがみじごく).

I had read The Human Chair in French translation (by Jean-Christian Bouvier) years ago, and it was nice to re-read it now in Japanese.
#日本探偵小説全集

I’ve finally finished the first volume of the anthology of Japanese detective fiction 📚.

無惨, the very first Japanese detective story, by Ruiko Kuroiwa was really good, but soo difficult to read!

Fuboku Kosakai’s medical mysteries are my favourite overall, it’s on my list to read more short stories by this author.

While Saburo Koga’s 支倉事件 felt a bit long at times, I still enjoyed it, and all the other short stories were fantastic.

Next volume is the Edogawa Rampo collection!

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I just read the short story 青服の男 (あおふくのおとこ) by Saburo Koga (甲賀 三郎), and I enjoyed it very much. The end was predictable, but the story was very pleasant to read nonetheless.
It’s available on Aozora.

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I finished 黄鳥の鳴き (こうちょうのなげき) by Saburo Koga (甲賀三郎). It’s a great story of inheritance, family secrets and suspicious death.
It’s my favourite story by this author so far.

The edition I read has (original?) illustrations, which was really nice. The story is available on Aozora.

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I just read the short story 蜘蛛 by Saburo Koga (甲賀三郎). I loved it, a lot of spiders and an accidental death… or was it?
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I finished 『支倉事件』by Saburo Koga (甲賀三郎).

At first, it felt like reading a detective novel, but then it turned more and more into true crime (it is inspired by a real case that happened in the 1910s).

It was interesting to follow and learn about the different steps of the criminal procedure of the time. It also raises the issue of police misconduct, even though the author attempts to smoothen it.

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I just read the short story 「琥珀のパイプ」by Saburo Koga (甲賀三郎), and I loved it. A murder case + a mysterious message + an inexplicable theft!

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Next in the anthology is 『支倉事件』by the same author. Apparently, it is inspired by a real case. It is also very long, so hopefully it won’t be too difficult to read.

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I finished 『闘争』by Fuboku Kosakai (小酒井不木), and it was the last short story by this author in my anthology. I loved all the four short stories I read! The author was also a doctor, so there are medical elements in his mysteries. Recommended!

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Next in the anthology is Saburo Koga (甲賀三郎). There is first a short story and then his novel 『支倉事件』which seems to be his most famous work.

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I finished the short story 『愚人の毒』(フールスポイズン) by Fuboku Kosakai (小酒井不木), and I highly recommend it if you like mystery fiction! (It’s available on Aozora).

The story entirely takes place in the interrogation room. I thought that the outcome was foreseeable, but the end was still surprising! The author uses his medical knowledge in his mysteries, but this story does not contain any difficult medical explanations.

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Next author in the anthology of Japanese detective novels I’m reading is Fuboku Kosakai (小酒井不木).

I read the short story 「痴人の復讐」 and absolutely loved it. A spine chilling story of vengeance in the medical field :) It’s very short and I found it easy to read.

There are still three other short stories by this author in the book. I hope I’ll have time to read the next time this afternoon!

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I finished 『血の文字』(1892), the Japanese translation by Ruiko Kuroiwa (黒岩涙香) of Le Petit Vieux des Batignolles (1876) by Émile Gaboriau.

Interestingly, when the anthology『日本探偵小説全集』was published in 1984, the original work was unknown. The story is presented as if it was written by Ruiko Kuroiwa, and while the commentary says that it is a translation, it also says 「原作は不明だ」.

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I started 『血の文字』by Ruiko Kuroiwa (黒岩涙香), it’s the Japanese translation of Le Petit Vieux des Batignolles by Émile Gaboriau.

It’s the first time that I’m reading a Japanese #translation, and it is interesting to compare the translation and the original! Ruiko Kuroiwa changed several things from details to the way things are presented. The meaning is faithful to the original, but the numerous changes make it really interesting to read and compare :)

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I finished 『無惨』by Ruiko Kuroiwa (黒岩涙香).

A man is found dead and the body is the only thing the police has to find the culprit: veteran detective Tanimada will use his long experience, and young Ōtomo will use science and logic.

This short story is considered to be the first Japanese detective story.

And that’s how far I made it into the first vol. of the anthology 😅 Next is another story by Ruiko Kuroiwa 『血の文字』, and then we move on to Fuboku Kosakai.

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