Pathway to Japanese Literature

Kidnapping The summer of that year had been one of unusual intensity, but by mid-September autumn winds had begun to rise, making mornings and evenings feel faintly chilly. Our young scientific detective Tsubohara Shun-kun had suffered gastrointestinal trouble in August and remained in poor health afterward, but with autumn's arrival he recovered completely, his vigor growing remarkably robust—often turning to me with: “Brother, don’t you think there ought to be some properly thrilling adventure around?” “I’ve been itching to test my skills lately—it’s unbearable.”

And he would let out an ironic lament. “Well, there’s just no helping this one,” I said. “It’s better that murders and robberies are rare—that’s what keeps the world safe.” “That may be true,” he countered, “but to me, a safe world is just ordinary and boring. If some interesting case doesn’t come along, I might just fall ill again.”

For over a month, there had been no requests for major cases worth mentioning, so it was only natural for Shun-kun to feel disappointed. "But just because there are no cases doesn't mean we can fabricate them ourselves." "Well, I suppose there's nothing to do but wait patiently."

I had no choice but to comfort him with these words.

One morning, as we were repeating our usual conversation, there was the sound of an automobile stopping outside, followed by someone violently knocking on our office door. Usually when visitors came, I would go out to greet them, but that day Shun-kun dashed out instead.

The visitor was an impressive gentleman around forty years old, wearing Western clothes and sporting a mustache. He appeared to be troubled by some worry, his complexion looking pale. Shun-kun politely ushered him in, offered a chair, introduced me, and then calmly inquired about the purpose of his visit. "My name is Tomita Shigeo, residing in Honkō Higashi-katamachi, and I serve as a director at XX Bank."

While saying this, he took out a business card and handed it to Shun-kun, “Yesterday, a matter of concern arose regarding my wife, and I have come to consult you about it.” With refined diction, the gentleman spoke. “What sort of matter of concern are we talking about?”

Shun-kun asked while staring intently at the gentleman’s face.

“My eldest son, who turned seven this year, was kidnapped by someone.”

Upon hearing "kidnapping," Shun-kun glanced at my face. In his eyes, “Brother, the case we’ve been longing for has finally arrived.” “Isn’t this wonderful?” The meaning of those words was clearly visible in his eyes.

However, Shun-kun did not so much as change his expression, “Please tell me the entire story from beginning to end,” he said in an utterly calm tone.

The gentleman spoke.

“Before discussing this incident, I should briefly explain my family circumstances. “My eldest son Toyo—the one kidnapped yesterday—was born to my late wife, who passed away from illness last April. “After that I had lived alone until last month when, due to unavoidable circumstances, I remarried.”

“Tsuneko is the name of my second wife—though she comes from humble origins—I hesitate to specify her background here—but due to complicated circumstances, we ended up entrusting her with managing things. However, since Tsuneko was very kind to both me and Toyo, I was very pleased. Yet Toyo, for some reason, disliked Tsuneko and rarely approached her. Therefore, Toyo was solely cared for by an elderly maid named Oki who had long served our household.”

Yesterday, Oki took Toyo to play in the precincts of the nearby M Shrine. Toyo was happily playing around among many children, basking in the autumn sun, so Oki paid no particular attention and sat down in the worship hall to knit with wool.

However, as the sun gradually sank westward, she thought to return home and went to look for Toyo, but his figure was nowhere to be seen. Startled, she asked the children what had happened, and they said that about thirty minutes earlier, a strange man had come and taken Toyo away. She rushed home in a panic, but of course Toyo was nowhere to be found. "In short, Toyo had been kidnapped."

Here, the gentleman paused to take a breath and assumed a sorrowful expression. Shun-kun listened to the account like one turned to stone. "This threw my entire household into uproar. My wife desperately tried tracking me down by telephone, but as I happened to be visiting another residence on business at the time, I only returned home around half past six and learned of these developments then for the first time."

When I asked my wife whether she had contacted the police, she replied that given the serious nature of the incident, she had waited for my return. Just as I concluded there was no time to waste and moved to enter the telephone room myself, one of the maids came rushing in to report that a suspicious man had just thrown this letter inside before fleeing. With a start, I opened it to find precisely what we feared—a ransom demand.

With these words, the gentleman took out a crumpled sealed letter from his pocket. It was a brown business envelope, and there was nothing written on the surface. The gentleman took out letter paper from inside, opened it, and read. “We will be keeping Toyo-kun in our custody for the time being. Tomorrow night at ten o’clock, put thirty thousand yen wrapped in paper into the hole next to the fifth stone counting from below the stone wall at the base of S Bridge in Honkō Ward A District, and in exchange we will return Toyo-kun. If you inform the police, we will immediately take Toyo-kun’s life—make no mistake. Kenkotsu-dan”

Mr. Tomita continued speaking further.

“Even after reading this ransom note, I tried to call the police regardless, but my wife, who was nearby, urgently interjected,” “‘If they’ll exchange Toyo-chan for thirty thousand yen, that’s a bargain,’” “‘What would you do if we informed the police and something happened? Don’t you care about Toyo-chan?’ she kept insisting, so ultimately I held off on contacting the police as my wife advised.” “And so I spent a night of anxiety.” “But since I couldn’t settle my mind, I’ve come here now to consult you.”

“Is your wife aware that you have come here?”

Shun-kun inquired.

“No, I came secretly because I thought my wife might try to stop me again.” “What kind of man was it who kidnapped your son yesterday?”

“Since this comes from the children’s accounts, I can’t say for certain, but apparently it was a rather elderly man wearing Western clothes and a bird-hunting cap.” “What did the man who threw in this letter look like?” “According to the maid’s account—though she couldn’t see well because it was dark—he was apparently a young man.” “Then the man who kidnapped the young master and the man who threw in the letter may be different individuals.”

“They are most likely different individuals.”

"Is the elderly woman named Oki a trustworthy person?" "Of course she's an honest woman—I've employed her for many years, so I know her well." "Poor thing—Oki stayed up all night worrying." Shun-kun picked up the ransom note and stared at the words written there. "This handwriting has been deliberately disguised, but does this look familiar to you?" "No." "Have you ever received such a ransom note before?"

“No.”

Shun-kun remained silent and thought for a while, then said gravely: "If saving the young master's life requires it, would you be willing to pay thirty thousand yen?" "Of course." "But even if I pay thirty thousand yen... will Toyo truly come back?" "I believe they'll return him provided we hand over the money." "Therefore, please prepare thirty thousand yen in cash by tonight." "I'll come to your residence at nine o'clock tonight to receive the money and take it to the designated hole." "Then I'll bring back the young master."

Mr. Tomita, upon hearing these confident words from Shun-kun, wore a relieved expression and left while looking forward to their reunion.

“Shun-kun, do you really think you can get Toyo back?”

After the gentleman had left, I asked uneasily. "I don't know." “Huh? But you just spoke as if you could definitely get him back, didn’t you?” “That was to reassure his father.” “So, do you intend to take thirty thousand yen and go face the villains?” “That’s right. If I’m with you, Brother, it’s nothing.” “So, you intend to let those villains get away?”

“No, I’ll catch them.”

“How?” “I’ll hand over thirty thousand yen to put them at ease, then catch them.” “Have you already worked out that plan?” “No, not yet. I’ll think it through by evening.” After that, Shun-kun entered the laboratory and spent until evening pondering.

Shortly after we finished dinner, unexpectedly, the Tomita family’s automobile came to pick us up. “The Gang of Fists has changed the time, so the master has ordered that you come immediately.”

the driver explained.

We promptly made preparations. As soon as we entered the town, the impatient Shun-kun leaped into the automobile. I followed five or six steps behind.

Then, unexpectedly, as soon as Shun-kun got in, the automobile began to speed off, so I shouted at the top of my voice, “Wait! Wait!” and tried to chase after it. But then, I was struck a fierce blow to the back of my head and immediately lost consciousness.

Fake Phone Call How long I remained unconscious after that—whether minutes or hours—I cannot say. Our town had scant foot traffic and few streetlights casting dimness; even had I lain sprawled on the road, passersby would scarcely have noticed me unless they stumbled bodily across my form.

In any case, due to the cold, I opened my eyes and regained consciousness on my own, without anyone waking me. Upon regaining consciousness, I immediately understood what had happened. That is, I realized that Shun-kun had been cruelly torn from my grasp.

I got up and looked around, but naturally, there was no sign of the automobile that had taken Shun-kun away. Moreover, as it had been a sudden situation earlier, I had not even looked at the automobile's license plate number, and therefore, there was not a single clue to track down that automobile.

If it had rained sufficiently, I could have tracked the wheel marks. But unfortunately, the ground was dry, and even by straining under the streetlight's glow, I couldn't clearly make out the automobile's tire tracks. Having no alternative, I brushed off the dirt and returned to our laboratory. When I checked the clock, I realized I had been unconscious for only thirty minutes. I contemplated informing Shun-kun's parents at his family home about his abduction by an unknown automobile, but concluded it would be needlessly cruel to alarm them. Moreover, since the automobile had claimed to have been sent from Mr. Tomita's residence in Hongō to collect us, I resolved to first telephone Mr. Tomita for confirmation, suspecting it might genuinely have come under his orders.

When I made the call, Mr. Tomita himself came on the line. When I asked whether he had sent an automobile to pick us up here, he replied, just as I had feared, that he knew nothing of such a matter. When I explained the circumstances I had just experienced, Mr. Tomita was astonished and proceeded to recount an even more bizarre story. The explanation was this: Just moments ago, Shun-kun had called Mr. Tomita requesting that he have his wife come to the office with thirty thousand yen due to a change in plans; therefore, he had immediately sent her there by automobile.

I was shocked. Before we left, Shun-kun had not made such a call, and there was no possibility he had returned during my unconsciousness to make one. Perhaps he might have called from wherever he was taken in the automobile, but in that case, he would not have told Mrs. Tomita to bring the money to the office.

When I explained my thoughts on this, Mr. Tomita was also greatly astonished and, since we couldn’t discuss it fully over the phone, said he would come over right away. He instructed that if his wife came to my place with the money, I should keep her there until he arrived, then hung up. I felt as though I’d been tricked by a fox. I even wondered if this might be a dream. The back of my head where I’d been struck still throbbed dully, and whenever my spirits darkened, I felt such restless impatience that staying still became impossible. What was Shun-kun doing at this very moment? Was he truly unharmed? Could he possibly be enduring hardship?

Shun-kun was a clever child that even adults couldn't match, so he would likely figure out a way to get through safely, but against such physically strong individuals, there was no way he could possibly compete. And I, who should have been fulfilling my duty to resist that brute strength, had been forcibly separated from him—so now Shun-kun must be feeling terribly lonely.

Thinking this, I involuntarily stood up and began pacing about the room, considering various methods I ought to employ. If Shun-kun were here at a time like this, he would surely come up with a clever plan, but with that very Shun-kun absent, I had no choice but to be flustered. I even considered calling the Metropolitan Police Department to seek Detective Oda’s assistance, but when I recalled the threat letter the Gang of Fists had sent to Mr. Tomita, I resolved to wait until his arrival.

Though Mrs. Tomita, who had left Mr. Tomita’s residence earlier, should have arrived by now, her failure to appear meant she too must have been kidnapped by the villains. The Gang of Fists had kidnapped Mr. Tomita’s son, then kidnapped Shun-kun, and finally kidnapped Mrs. Tomita. Thinking this, I found the Gang of Fists’ actions utterly detestable. But even so, there was nothing I could do. I could do nothing but futilely grind my teeth and clench my fists.

Before long, I heard the sound of an automobile and went outside to check, wondering if Mrs. Tomita might have arrived—only to find it was Mr. Tomita himself. He wore a worried expression as he asked, “Has my wife not come?”

“She has not arrived.” “Ah, so she really has fallen into the villains’ scheme after all." “Not only was Toyo taken away, but they’ve even taken thirty thousand yen—what on earth will become of me?” Upon hearing Mr. Tomita’s words, I was at a loss for what to say to console him. However, my sadness at losing Shun-kun was no different. I thought I couldn't afford to dawdle any longer, “You mentioned that Shun-kun called earlier, but was that truly Shun-kun’s voice?”

I asked. "As a matter of fact, it was my wife who answered the phone." Then I recounted the full story of my ordeal, and Mr. Tomita also explained in detail the circumstances leading up to his wife’s departure. “Do you know which automobile took your wife?”

“Do you know which automobile took your wife?” I asked.

“Of course I know,” he replied. “Since we hired it from a neighborhood taxi company.” “In that case,” I said, “please call your home now and have them ask where that taxi took your wife and what happened to her.” Mr. Tomita telephoned his residence and instructed the maid accordingly. When he questioned her further, she reported that his wife had still not returned home. Convinced this situation could no longer be ignored, I proposed to Mr. Tomita that we request police assistance. Though initially hesitant due to the Gang of Fists’ threatening letter, he ultimately agreed—especially since Shun-kun’s absence left us no alternative.

When I called the Metropolitan Police Department, fortunately, Shun-kun’s so-called “Uncle P”—that is, Detective Oda—was on night duty and answered the phone. When I briefly explained everything that had happened since this morning, Detective Oda gave a welcome reply: This was serious—hearing that Shun-kun had been kidnapped meant he couldn’t leave things as they were even for a moment; since he couldn’t get the full details over the phone, he would arrange for a substitute on night duty and come over immediately, he said.

I somehow felt suddenly invigorated. If only Detective Oda would come—then we could borrow as many Metropolitan Police Department officers as needed. If only we could locate the villains’ hideout—couldn’t we arrest them on the spot?

But... but... the villains’ hideout? Thinking of that, I could not help but darken my expression. Even if Detective Oda were to come, they probably wouldn’t be able to find out where the villains were hiding. As I was pondering this, the telephone rang. Startled, I pressed the receiver to my ear to find it was the maid from Mr. Tomita’s residence. When I asked her business, she reported that upon questioning the taxi driver who had taken Mrs. Tomita, they learned she had suddenly claimed urgent business and alighted at Sudacho Intersection, then told the driver he could return.

We exchanged glances. Mr. Tomita had a suspicious look on his face, “So my wife wasn’t actually kidnapped after all.” “Hmm, that’s strange...” he said and sank into thought. I too found Mrs. Tomita’s behavior peculiar in the same way. Mrs. Tomita took out thirty thousand yen under the pretense that Shun-kun had called, yet she got out of the automobile midway and still hasn’t come to our office—what on earth could this mean?

As I began thinking this, at that very moment, Detective Oda of the Metropolitan Police Department arrived panting at our door. I first explained all the details of the circumstances and also spoke about Mrs. Tomita’s strange behavior. Mr. Tomita also elaborated on my account from beside me.

Detective Oda, who had been listening intently to our story, took out his watch and checked it. “Nine fifteen,” he said. “The Gang of Fists told you to bring the money to Honcho ×× Bridge by ten o’clock tonight, correct? Well then—as a precaution, I’ll dispatch some subordinates to survey the area around ×× Bridge.”

Having said this, Detective Oda called the Metropolitan Police Department and ordered two subordinates to go to ×× Bridge and check if anything suspicious was happening.

Then, the three of us discussed how we might arrest the members of the Gang of Fists. Detective Oda, too, seemed unable to come up with a brilliant plan; for a long time, he stood idly by, closing his eyes in thought.

Then, just past 10:05 PM, the telephone rang fiercely. As it was a report from the officers who had gone to ×× Bridge, Detective Oda answered. At that moment, how Detective Oda’s words shocked us would be understood by you all if you were to hear them. “What? Shun-kun and Toyo-kun were gagged and tied to a pine tree?” “Are both of them unharmed?” “That’s excellent.” “Put them in a car immediately and bring them here together.”

They returned home.

Knowing that Shun-kun and Toyo-san were being brought by automobile, how we waited—I think you can all imagine. Most of all, Mr. Tomita was infinitely delighted to hear that his beloved only son had, in any case, been safely returned from the villains’ hands. Since I too would be meeting Shun-kun, I couldn’t stay still and paced around the room. Detective Oda was also smiling as he watched the two of us rejoicing.

At last, the long-awaited time finally passed, and the sound of an automobile stopping outside could be heard. The three of us started running as if by prior agreement.

And then—! Mr. Tomita picked up Toyo-san，and I took Shun-kun’s hand． “Brother，Toyo-san is clever—he didn’t cry at all．” Shun-kun said this and，without showing any disarray，bowed to Mr．Tomita before continuing．

“Brother, I really caused you some worry.” “Thank you for everything, Uncle P.”

“Oh, I was surprised!”

Detective Oda, sensing that we were too overjoyed to speak, said:

"But it's strange the villains let you two go unharmed?" "Since they had achieved their objective once they got the money, we were no longer of any use to them." "But—" With that, Shun-kun strengthened his tone and declared. "The villains may no longer have any use for me, but I now have business with them!" "Huh?"

I said in surprise. “So, you intend to arrest the villains?”

“Of course. That’s why I can’t afford to dawdle around.” “Come on, everyone—for now, please come to the office.” After saying this, Shun-kun entered the house first, so the three of us and the two police officers from Detective Oda’s unit who had brought Shun-kun and the others followed into the office. As soon as I entered, Shun-kun said.

“Brother, get the microscope ready right away.” “I want to examine the dust I collected from over there.” I hurriedly prepared it. “Since I want to examine it while talking with everyone, can you bring it here onto this desk, replace the bulb, and get it ready for inspection?” When the preparations were finally ready, Shun-kun took out a crumpled paper package from his pocket, scooped up some of the dust inside with an ear pick, placed it on the objective glass, and peered through the microscope.

“There are various substances here.”

After saying this, Shun-kun continued his examination with great focus for some time, but before long, he raised his head, a look of satisfaction appeared on his face.

“Now then, everyone, I shall now tell you what kind of experience I had tonight.”

Without showing any particular signs of fatigue, Shun-kun began to speak. At that time, Toyo-san, held on his father’s lap, sat quietly with his large eyes wide open. “The moment I jumped into the automobile that was supposedly sent by Mr. Tomita to pick me up—just as it started moving—the man inside gagged me and blindfolded me.” At that moment, I thought the villains must be taking me to their hideout out of fear I’d interfere with their plans. So I resolved: Very well—in that case, I’d definitely locate their hideout and capture them all in one fell swoop.

However, they were quite cunning themselves. Perhaps intending to prevent me from locating their hideout, they seemed to have driven around aimlessly for what felt like about an hour before the automobile came to a stop. Blindfolded as I was, I naturally couldn’t tell where we had gone or by what route. Nor could I discern what kind of place the automobile had arrived at.

I was carried piggyback by one of them, taken into their hideout, and only after being put into a room on the second floor were the gag and blindfold removed. When I looked, there was a child crouching in the corner of that room. Certain it must be Toyo-san, I called out "Toyo-chan," and the child gave a slight nod.

I couldn’t help but say upon seeing that pitiful figure, “Toyo-chan, you don’t have to worry anymore. I’m here with you, so everything will be all right.” Then the man who had brought me said, “Hey hey, don’t get cocky just because you’re a kid.” When I looked, he was a man of about forty with a ruddy face and a mustache. I remained silent, smirking slyly. Then the man said, “If we get the money, we’ll let you lot go, but if we don’t get it, we’ll keep you captive forever—so you’d better believe it.”

However, I remained silent and kept thinking hard about how I could outsmart them. Then the man said, "Don’t you dare struggle," and went downstairs to talk with another man about something.

So first I looked around the room. The six-mat space had a tokonoma alcove, but its tatami mats were darkened with age, dust lay thick everywhere, and a grimy electric bulb cast a gloomy light. There I quietly approached the storm shutters and peered outside through a knothole. Far in the distance I could make out a temple roof, while directly before my eyes stood a temple gate. When nothing else proved visible, I sat back down in the room—only to startle at the sudden sound of a train passing close by. This told me the house stood near railway tracks.

However, that alone wasn’t enough for me to determine whether we were in the city center or the suburbs. There I sat deep in thought when suddenly I hit upon an idea. It occurred to me that if I collected the dust from the tatami mats and examined what was in it, I could determine what kind of factories might be nearby. The dust in Tokyo houses mostly comes from nearby factories. I quickly tore a page from my notebook and gathered as much dust as I could from the tatami mats with my hands, wrapping it up.

I couldn’t tell exactly how many hours had passed after that when a single guest entered the villains’ hideout. When I heard the voices, they seemed to belong to a woman, and after a while, the owner of the voice climbed up the ladder steps. As soon as that person slid open the door, Toyo-san exclaimed, “Ah! Mom!” and tried to rush to her side.

Upon hearing Shun-kun’s words, Mr. Tomita involuntarily tried to stand up.

“What?” “Then… my wife Tsuneko?” “Toyo, is that true?”

Having said this, he asked Toyo-san on his lap. Toyo-san merely nodded silently. “Yes, it was exactly Toyo-san’s mother.” “And this time, it seems Toyo-san’s mother and the man who carried me on his back were the masterminds behind a plan to take thirty thousand yen from you, flee to Kobe, and then cross over to China or some such place.” “I hadn’t noticed that at all.” “Toyo, forgive me—I was wrong to bring a second mother into our home.”

Having said this, Mr. Tomita, “What happened next?” he asked Shun-kun. “Then Mom turned to Toyo-san and said, ‘It’s because you’ve always hated me that you ended up in this situation." “Mom’s going to go somewhere nice now with another man.” “And here I’ve got plenty of money taken from your fool of a father,” she said, patting her breast pocket. “I was so irritated that I suddenly rushed over to Toyo-san’s side, picked him up, pushed him toward Mom, and said, ‘Hold him.’” Then Mom grew even angrier and, shoving us aside, said to the man downstairs, “Hey now, we have no use for these kids anymore. Take them to S Bridge and get rid of them.”

Before long, we were gagged, blindfolded, put back into the automobile, and dropped off at S Bridge. "And so we were tied to a pine tree, and fortunately, you all found us."

Having narrated up to this point, Shun-kun paused to take a breath. Everyone was holding their breath as they listened when Detective Oda spoke.

“In that case, the villains must have escaped by now.”

“No, they won’t escape. I’d like to go with all of you now to arrest them.” “How can you be sure they won’t escape?” Shun-kun silently took out a cloth-wrapped bundle from his inner pocket and held it out toward Mr. Tomita,

“Please look inside.” he said. Mr. Tomita set Toyo-san down and opened the bundle, but at that very moment— “Ah! That’s the thirty thousand yen my wife took!” he exclaimed.

“Yes.” “And then please look at this.”

With that, he took out four second-class train tickets from his pocket and handed them to Detective Oda. “Kobe-bound, I see. But how did you recover the thirty thousand yen?”

Detective Oda asked. “When I picked up Toyo-san and pushed him toward Mom to anger her, I swapped it with the cloth-wrapped bundle of newspaper I’d brought.” “I have actually studied pickpocketing techniques before.” “I had never applied them until now, but thinking that to counter violence one should respond with violence, I put them to use for the first time tonight.”

“And how do you intend to find out where they live?” After praising Shun-kun’s quick-wittedness, Detective Oda asked. Shun-kun peered into the microscope again and said.

“In the dust from their house,” he explained, “there’s a mixture of wheat flour particles, calcium, and clay—meaning cement.” “That means it must be an area with both a flour mill and cement plant nearby,” he continued, “and one where railway tracks run through.” “With just those clues,” he concluded, “you gentlemen should be able to pinpoint it.” One of Detective Oda’s subordinates immediately responded: “Then it’s Nippori.” “In that case,” Shun-kun declared triumphantly, “we need only search Nippori’s temples.”

"Then we just need to search the temples in Nippori," Shun-kun declared triumphantly.

As for what happened next, I believe you can all imagine it well enough, so I won't go into detail. Beginning with Toyo-san's mother, the three villains were apprehended without difficulty by Detective Oda and his team.