Pathway to Japanese Literature

Discover Japan's stories—across time, across language.

Murder in Yamabuki-chōAuthor: Hirabayashi Hatsunosuke

Original Title	山吹町の殺人
Author	平林初之輔
Genre	Detective & Mystery
Author Type	Male Author
Summary	In the shadowy alleys of 1920s Tokyo, a man frantically scrubs blood from his hands, his lover’s corpse sprawled nearby—a single dagger thrust through her heart. Panic tightens its grip as he discovers his shoes missing, the front door ajar, and the chilling realization that unseen eyes may have witnessed his crime. Across the city, government clerk Ōya Sanshirō grapples with guilt: the victim, Mitsuko, was once his obsession, now a secret threatening his engagement to Kako. When Kako hints at confronting Mitsuko, jealousy simmers—until Ōya finds Mitsuko dead, her home littered with damning clues pointing to him. As police close in, a cunning detective unravels a web of forged telegrams and alibis, exposing a shadowy contractor’s calculated plot. Yet suspicion lingers between Ōya and Kako, their fragile trust frayed by fear and unspoken accusations. Amidst gaslit streets and whispered betrayals, love and guilt collide in a race to unmask a killer before obsession consumes them all.