The Honjin Murders

About the Book

One of Japan's greatest classic murder mysteries, introducing their best loved detective, translated into English for the first time

In the winter of 1937, the village of Okamura is abuzz with excitement over the forthcoming wedding of a son of the grand Ichiyanagi family. But amid the gossip over the approaching festivities, there is also a worrying rumour - it seems a sinister masked man has been asking questions around the village.

Then, on the night of the wedding, the Ichiyanagi household are woken by a terrible scream, followed by the sound of eerie music. Death has come to Okamura, leaving no trace but a bloody samurai sword, thrust into the pristine snow outside the house. Soon, amateur detective Kosuke Kindaichi is on the scene to investigate what will become a legendary murder case, but can this scruffy sleuth solve a seemingly impossible crime?

Yokomizo is perhaps the most popular and feted crime writer in his country’s history. His richly atmospheric classic mysteries are a treat for any fan of Golden Age whodunits, taking the reader all over post-war Japan, from remote mountain villages to pirate-plagued islands and the bustling streets of Tokyo. Yokomizo loved to craft ingenious puzzle plots, inspired by the greats of British and American crime, such as John Dickson Carr or Agatha Christie, while his detective, Kosuke Kindaichi, is everything a reader could want from a sleuth: brilliant, eccentric, charming, and unassuming enough to be fatally underestimated by many a murderer. . .
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Praise for The Honjin Murders

“20 of the Best Classic Murder Mystery Books of All Time”, Town & Country Magazine

“A classic locked-room murder mystery, the first in the Detective Kindaichi series . . . The solution to this mystery came as a complete surprise—exactly what I asked for.”
New York Times Book Review

“With a reputation in Japan to rival Agatha Christie’s, the master of ingenious plotting is finally on the case for anglophone readers.”
Guardian

“A beloved Japanese detective at last appears in English . . . If the whole series is as ingenious and compelling, this translation should be the first of many. Readers will delight in the blind turns, red herrings and dubious alibis.”
Economist

“The perfect read for this time of year. Short and compelling, it will appeal to fans of Agatha Christie looking for a new case to break.”
Irish Times

“Both [The Honjin Murders and The Inugami Curse are] set in the late 1930s/early 1940s, they promise to be atmospheric, exciting and knotty whodunits. The covers alone are enough to get any fan of the genre salivating.”
Japan Times

“Japan's Agatha Christie . . . It’s an absolute pleasure to see his work translated at last in these beautifully produced English editions.”
Sunday Times

“The perfect gift for any fan of classic crime fiction or locked room mysteries.”
—Mrs Peabody Investigates

“The beauty of this book is that it’s never anything less than fun from beginning to end, but it is also smartly political, and the theatrical elements—the fourth wall-breaking, the static setting, the large cast of eclectic characters—make for a truly engrossing novel.”
—Books and Bao

The Honjin Mysteries is beautifully writing and highly descriptive, rich in period detail and local custom. It’s an ingenious and deceptive mystery. An ideal book to curl up with on a winter’s night."”
NB Magazine

“The master of Japanese crime.”
Tuttolibri

“[The Honjin Murders] is a perfect example of a honkaku mystery: a fascinating form of crime writing that first emerged in Japan in the 1920s and, thanks to a recent raft of translations and republications, is now enjoyed by English readers more than ever.”
The Guardian


“The mystery is carefully set with plenty of red herrings and surprises along the way.”
—The Watertown Public Opinion

“A perfect puzzle . . . Doesn’t fail to deliver in its extremely fun and chilling premise. You’ll be reading way past your bedtime.”
LitReactor


"Think you got a Sherlock Holmes knack for crime puzzles? Then have a try at Yokomizo’s clever mystery riddle"
—Metropolis Magazine, The Best Japanese Mystery Novels to Read in 2025
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Excerpt

The Honjin Murders

Chapter 1: The Three-Fingered Man
Before recording the strange history that follows, I felt I ought to take a look at the house
where such a gruesome murder was committed. Accordingly, one afternoon in early spring, I set off,
walking stick in hand, for a stroll around that infamous residence.
I was evacuated to this rural farming village in Okayama Prefecture in May of last year, at the
height of the bombing raids. And since that day, everyone I’ve met has talked to me at least once of
what some call “The Koto Murder Case” and others “The Honjin Murder Case” at the home of the
Ichiyanagi family.
Generally, as soon as people hear that I’m a writer of detective stories, they feel compelled to
tell me of any murder case with which they have the slightest personal connection. I suppose
rumours of my profession had reached the ears of the villagers, so every single one managed to bring
up the topic of the Honjin Murder Case at some point. For the people of this village there could
hardly be a more memorable case, and yet most of them were not aware of the full horror of this
crime.
Usually when people tell me these kinds of tales, they never turn out to be as interesting to me
as they are to the teller, much less potential material for a novel. But this case was different. From
the moment I heard the first whispers about the case, I was fascinated. Then, when I finally got to
hear the account from the lips of F—, the man most directly connected to the case, I was at once
seized with a great excitement. This was no ordinary murder. The perpetrator had scrupulously
planned the whole ghastly deed. What’s more, it was one worthy of the label “Locked Room Murder
Mystery.”
The locked room murder mystery – a genre that any self-respecting detective novelist will
attempt at some point in his or her career. The murder takes place in a room with no apparent way
for the killer to enter or exit. Constructing a solution is an appealing challenge to the author. As my
esteemed friend, Eizo Inoue wrote, all of the works of the great John Dickson Carr are some variation
on the locked room murder theme. As a writer of detective novels myself, I intended one day to try
my hand at one of these, and now I’ve been unexpectedly blessed – one has fallen right into my lap. I know it’s shocking but I feel I owe a debt of gratitude to the killer for devising such a fiendish method
to stab this man and woman.
When I first heard the story, I immediately racked my brain to think of any similar cases among
all the novels I’ve read. The first that came to mind was Gaston Leroux’s The Mystery of the Yellow
Room , and Maurice Leblanc’s The Teeth of the Tiger; then there’s The Canary Murder Case and The
Kennel Murder Case, both by S.S. Van Dine; finally, Dickson Carr’s The Plague Court Murders. I even
considered that variation on the locked room murder theme, Roger Scarlett’s Murder Among the
Angells. But this real-life case wasn’t quite like any of the above mentioned. Maybe, just maybe, the
killer had read a selection of stories like these, dissected all of the different devices used, then picked
out the elements that he needed, constructing his own device… At least that’s one theory.

Detective Kindaichi Mysteries Series

Murder at the Black Cat Café
The Little Sparrow Murders
The Devil’s Flute Murders
Death on Gokumon Island
The Village of Eight Graves
The Inugami Curse
The Honjin Murders

About the Author

Seishi Yokomizo
Seishi Yokomizo (1902-81) was one of Japan's most famous and best-loved mystery writers. He was born in Kobe and spent his childhood reading detective stories, before beginning to write stories of his own, the first of which was published in 1921. He went on to become an extremely prolific and popular author, best known for his Kosuke Kindaichi series, which ran to 77 books, many of which were adapted for stage and television in Japan. The Honjin Murders is the first Kosuke Kindaichi story, and regarded as one of Japan's great mystery novels. It won the first Mystery Writers of Japan Award in 1948 but has never been translated into English, until now. More by Seishi Yokomizo
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About the Author

Louise Heal Kawai
Originally from Manchester, UK, Louise Heal Kawai has lived in Japan for about 25 years and been a translator of Japanese literature for the past 10. Her translations include the bestselling memoir Yakuza Moon by Shoko Tendo, the ground-breaking feminist Taeko Tomioka novel Building Waves, and A Quiet Place by the mystery writer Seicho Matsumoto. Ms Ice Sandwich is her second Mieko Kawakami translation. More by Louise Heal Kawai
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