現場の写真Crime Scene Photo

What you'll learn

The narrator and Toshio discuss how warm weather increases crime, and police detective Oda arrives with a case: the murder of a stockbroker in Asakusa two weeks earlier. Toshio agrees to help find evidence.

Inspector Oda details the murder case: on April 20, stockbroker Suzuki Taisuke was found stabbed to death at home. His clerk Jinkichi is the prime suspect, but lacks concrete evidence. The police are stuck.

Toshio examines crime scene photos and deduces the killer is left-handed and that Jinkichi is innocent. He announces he knows the real killer but won't reveal it yet, then leaves to investigate.

Key vocabulary

Grammar points you'll meet

• ～のではないか N2Used to express a tentative guess or rhetorical question, often meaning 'might it be that...?' or 'I wonder if...'
  もう来るはずだが、それとも他の道を通ったのかな
• ～ということにしている N2Means 'to make it a rule to do something' or 'to pretend to do something'.
  自分に依頼されない事件には、立ち入った研究をしないことにしているよ
• ～ものだ N3Used to express a general truth, something that naturally happens, or a characteristic.
  人間は神様でないから、殺された人間がありゃ、殺した人間のあることは当たり前じゃないか
• ～とはいえ N1Means 'although', 'even though', used to acknowledge a fact but present a contrary point.
  盲目でありながら、よくも、巧妙に凶行をとげたものですねえ。

Cultural notes

• Blind Masseurs in Japan (Anma)In Japan, blind masseurs (anma) were historically common and often walked the streets playing a whistle to advertise their services. They wore high clogs (ashida) and used a stick. This story uses the cultural trope of the blind masseur as an unexpected criminal.
• Japanese Police and Detective Work in the 1920sThe story reflects early Showa-era police procedures, including the reliance on physical evidence like fingerprints, bloodstains, and witness testimony. The amateur detective Toshio Tsukahara represents the popular 'armchair detective' archetype of the time.

Try a comprehension question

Read a sample in Japanese

Topics

Short Storymysterycrimeinvestigationsuspensefuldarkaozora bunko