Pathway to Japanese Literature
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The Nearsighted Geisha and the Labyrinth CaseAuthor: Yumeno Kyūsaku
| Original Title | 近眼芸妓と迷宮事件 |
|---|---|
| Author | 夢野 久作 |
| Genre | Detective & Mystery |
| Author Type | Male Author |
| Summary | In the shadowed alleys of Meiji-era Tokyo, a lumber merchant’s brutal murder leaves authorities baffled—a perfect crime with no weapon, no motive, and no trace of the killer. For a year, detectives scour the city in vain, mocked by newspapers and haunted by the victim’s mangled face. The case’s only witness is Aiko, a timid geisha with inhumanly poor eyesight, whose gentle nature hides a secret entanglement with the crime. When she delivers a cryptic letter to the police—a confession she cannot read—the investigation reignites. The note unravels a tale of socialist idealism, twisted love, and a killer’s fatal miscalculation. Aiko’s blurred vision, once dismissed as trivial, becomes the key to piercing a labyrinth of deception. But truth carries a cost: revelations of misplaced affection and unintended betrayal spiral into tragedy. This haunting mystery blurs lines between innocence and guilt, where human frailty—a gaze misunderstood, a letter unread—shapes destinies darker than any detective’s deduction. |
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