At high noon on a scorching summer day, retired samurai Kohei finds the fearsome Kumagoro writhing around a field in agony. The stricken man’s name translates as “demon bear”, and he’s the proprietor of a bar of the same name. Kohei finds him next to a temple famous for a tragic legend of familial loss and despair.
This setting frames the second instalment of The Samurai Detectives, written by Shōtarō Ikenami between 1972 and 1989 and newly translated by Yui Kajita. The novel is steeped in mystery, legend, and the ties and tensions of blood kin, fierce loyalty and pride.
Returning to 18th-century Edo Japan, we leave behind the complex machinations of political assassination plots of the first book. This volume explores the seedier underbelly of the city that became modern-day Tokyo, with a new cast of characters.
In addition to the “demon bear” bar owner, these include an upwardly mobile but corrupt samurai willing to hew down innocent passersby, an aged father-warrior seeking his missing son, a street-vendor looking to “muscle-up”, a beloved merchant’s daughter who keeps disappearing, and a kosamebo (“demon drizzle monk”) who visits in the rain.
In the centre of all this is Kohei, the protagonist samurai-detective, and his son, the upright warrior Daijiro. They’re joined by some familiar faces from their previous adventures.
Life is looking up for the two, with a bit more money and food for Daijiro. But at heart, Kohei is still the wily old samurai whose age belies his mental and physical abilities.
There are also the familiar temptations of cosmopolitan Edo: the easy sex, the allure of money and, underpinning it, the ever-present violence – all of which threaten to topple any one of the characters that succumb to it. Sex and love make for powerful motivators but it’s money that provides the lubricant for the inevitable violence.
Family betrayals and fatherly care
Ultimately, the second Samurai Detective volume is a meditation on the ties of parent-child relationships – and what happens when they go wrong. Satelliting Kohei and Daijiro’s admirable father-son, master-pupil, warrior-comrade dynamic of respect and care are other examples that range from love to despair.
As with the last book, the tension of law verses morality forms the basis of thesde stories. In a city of complex fealty and interconnected relationships, it asks: what does doing the right thing mean?
Social, moral and natural justice all play their part in this complex society – though in a pinch, the rough justice of the warrior code will do. This is clear through the number of arms, legs and noses that go flying during the many sword fights.
In this volume, Kohei and Daijiro unravel mysteries shaped by complicated family relationships. At the heart of these stories are contrasts between care, respect, love and loyalty – and on the other side, neglect, abandonment, betrayal and abuse.
The ensuing resolutions use revenge as their motivator. But there are underlying concerns of power, hierarchy and money that structure the intricate society of Edo.
Towards the end of the book, another tragic, unresolved character from the previous volume returns: a figure of doomed, forbidden love. While portrayed as monstrous, we come to understand that worse still was the cruelty of parental abandonment that sets the chain of events in motion. Ultimately, these are also about the abandonment of the samurai code, something that underpins all the stories in this book.
Balancing all this is the fatherly care of Kohei – not only for Daijiro, who he continues to train, but for all the characters who come his way.
From the continuing concern for Mifuyu, the warrior-daughter of the most powerful lord in Edo, to the disappeared son of his own son’s former teacher, Kohei feels the pull of a collective responsibility to the younger ones. Even the lower-status merchant daughters and unagi eel sellers on the street are not below his level of concern.
They fuel an inquisitiveness that leads Kohei to undignified actions, such as hiding in toilets to overhear plots of intrigue – and ultimately investigate.
As a sequel, The Samurai Detectives: The Killer on the Streets does more than paint an ongoing series of mysteries in Edo Japan. It highlights the necessity of respect, love and care in the creation of a stable society.
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