Pathway to Japanese Literature

Author: Hamao Shirō

I

“Actual criminal cases tend to be rather uninteresting for your kind, I must say.” “What we legal professionals find particularly fascinating conversely fails to capture your interest, while the stories that enthrall you novelists appear rather mundane to us.” “This discrepancy likely stems from the vast gulf between detective writers’ central concerns and those of legal practitioners.” “Take detective novels – they typically focus on the pursuit until capture as their narrative climax, whereas for us jurists, while apprehension matters, the true challenge and interest lie in what follows after arrest.” “That fundamental divergence in priorities inevitably makes our realities differ from your fictions.”

Mr. Tsuchida Hachirō—formerly a prosecutor at the Tokyo District Court and now working as an attorney—spoke these words while blowing a puff of Three Castles cigarette smoke toward the ceiling, then smiled meaningfully at me. There was a reason he had brought up such matters. I had visited Mr. Tsuchida many times before and heard about various cases he had handled, but in truth, I had yet to use a single one as material for a novel. As he himself had correctly stated moments earlier, while the true stories Mr. Tsuchida enthusiastically recounted might indeed prove fascinating when viewed as legal matters, to me—a complete layperson regarding law—they remained largely uninteresting. Indeed, while these cases might have been extremely complex for legal experts, from the perspective of detective fiction enthusiasts like myself, there were many that proved utterly uninteresting.

Occasionally, when I would reverse-engineer my detective novel interests from this perspective, he would look utterly dismissive, “That’s just a straightforward murder case. There’s nothing complicated about it.” or, “Such things might exist in detective novels, but as a factual matter, they’re unthinkable.” or dismiss them as extremely straightforward—this was his customary approach. It seemed he had recently come to realize that the interests I sought to hear about differed considerably from his own, and when I visited him again today, stubbornly seeking some material, he came straight to the point from the very outset.

However, even as he said this, he continued his story.

II

“Today, I shall tell you about a case that might prove somewhat useful for your reference.” “Though I can’t say how interesting it will be, that part depends on your skill—you’re welcome to add your usual flights of fancy.” “However, since I was directly involved in this entire matter through professional duties, I cannot disclose the real names of those involved.” “I’ll be using pseudonyms throughout, so please keep that in mind as you listen.”

"The case began from when I was serving as a prosecutor. Given that these are pseudonyms, you may not immediately recall the case even with this explanation, but in the autumn of Showa X, there was an incident where Haruichi Suyama—then a twenty-five-year-old youth and son of the prominent industrialist Kenkichi Suyama—appeared in court as a defendant in a criminal trial. This story begins with that incident, but at that time, it was none other than I who filed the indictment against Haruichi Suyama."

“The incident itself was an utterly commonplace, unremarkable affair—precisely the kind that would never serve as material for your novels.” “No—or rather, it would make for a melodramatic novel.” “A romance novel, you see.”

After all, since the defendant's father was Kenkichi Suyama—a prominent figure in high society—the incident became an extremely notorious case. Kenkichi Suyama's eldest daughter—meaning defendant Haruichi's sister—had married into a viscount's heir's household; Kenkichi's wife's brother had become a House of Peers member; and Kenkichi himself served as an executive director at a major corporation. Given that Haruichi—being the only son of such a man and moreover an XX University student—had become a criminal defendant, one might well say it would have been strange had society not been in an uproar. However, as I mentioned earlier, the case itself being quite sensational in nature made it perfectly suited for newspaper coverage.

The case was simple—merely a story of Haruichi Suyama falling passionately in love with a young woman and ultimately killing her in a fit of passion. However, though I say "killed," this was using ordinary language, for as I would later explain, it was not what would typically be called a murder case. I had filed an indictment under the charge of injury resulting in death.

As this was an exceedingly famous case, you may have already surmised its details, but for the sake of proper sequence, I shall now recount its basic developments. Kenkichi Suyama was undoubtedly an impressive man, having risen from utter poverty to amass a vast fortune through sheer ability and join high society, but it seems he failed rather spectacularly in educating his own son. He had one son and one daughter; the daughter was safely married into a certain viscount's household. The boy, Haruichi, had managed to stay out of trouble until around the time he graduated from middle school, but from when he entered XX University, he apparently began what people call "going astray." This may be an unnecessary assumption, but ultimately—wasn't it precisely because they had spoiled their only son from such a household beyond all reason? From around the time he entered XX University, Haruichi began frequenting café women and indulging in teahouse escapades. Mr. Kenkichi also seemed quite troubled by this behavior; however, considering that Haruichi had at least entered university, he apparently intended to have him marry quickly after graduation and use his parental influence to secure a suitable position for him.

However, in the autumn of the year before he was supposed to graduate the following year, Haruichi finally precipitated an outrageous incident. Of course, true to form for a playboy son, Haruichi had apparently been squandering absurd amounts of money on café women and geishas even before this incident. However, in the late spring of that same year, he became utterly infatuated with a certain woman, ultimately even making marriage promises. The woman was working at a Ginza café called Paloma at the time—a nineteen-year-old named Sayoko Akita who went by Yoshiko at the establishment. According to later investigations into Haruichi, he first met Sayoko in mid-May, and by June they had already become proper lovers. And so the two of them seemed to be going out to various places and staying over together.

Although this romance had begun with Haruichi, before long the woman too became utterly infatuated, until finally it reached a state where she would frequently invite him out, and the two would go to various places together. As a legal professional, I must regrettably admit my inability to properly narrate this romantic tale that seems straight out of a melodramatic novel—nevertheless, the fact remains that after first meeting in May, the two soon became lovers and ultimately came to exchange marriage promises.

Haruichi had likely initially intended to make her his wife. He had proposed marriage to her. When Sayoko first received Haruichi's proposal, she reportedly refused outright due to their vastly different social standings. However, swayed not only by Haruichi's ardent passion but also by her existing affection for him, she ultimately accepted his proposal. Moreover, from that point onward, she apparently believed without reservation that she would become his wife immediately upon his graduation from university.

Of course, since Sayoko was dead, I couldn't fully grasp her psychological state, but from various circumstances it seemed reasonable enough to believe this was true. However, Haruichi himself persistently maintained before me that this wasn't so - that Sayoko hadn't seriously considered such matters either.

III That a romance between such a bourgeois only son and a café waitress would progress smoothly all the way to marriage was simply an inconceivable notion. Indeed, a certain misfortune began to loom over Haruichi and Sayoko. Moreover, misfortune beyond the ordinary struck the two of them. The two spent July and August intoxicated by their honey-sweet love until September arrived. It was upon entering this month that changes began to appear in Sayoko's body. While Sayoko may have actually welcomed this development, for Haruichi it became a momentous crisis.

This was because Mr. and Mrs. Kenkichi Suyama—who had been deeply concerned about their son's conduct—had long been seeking to secure his future by finding him a bride at the earliest opportunity, finally settling during summer break on the daughter of a certain Doctor of Laws. At the very least, a young lady who had won the full favor of Mr. and Mrs. Kenkichi Suyama had emerged.

I must admit with some embarrassment that having never seriously been in love with a woman or had a woman seriously in love with me, I have never given much thought to what someone in Haruichi's position ought to do or how they should act in such circumstances. However, considering various circumstances—since it appears Haruichi had genuinely loved Sayoko, at least for a time—it was difficult to believe he readily accepted Mr. and Mrs. Kenkichi’s proposal.

In this situation, there must undoubtedly have been a prolonged conflict between parent and child over a considerable period. However, when viewed from the outcome, the child did indeed obey the parent. And so by around October, Haruichi became properly engaged to the daughter of a certain doctor. The issues were whether Haruichi had truly broken off with Sayoko and whether Sayoko would withdraw silently. As for the first question, strangely enough—or perhaps it should come as no surprise—one could answer with an exceedingly simple "Yes." No—rather than merely breaking it off, he began to develop feelings of love for the young lady who was to become his future wife. Haruichi later clearly stated this matter to me.

However, the latter issue led to grave consequences. Initially, Sayoko seems to have complied after being coaxed by Haruichi (an unpleasant term, but I use it for clarity). However, the woman gradually came to develop feelings of love herself, and especially after conceiving Haruichi's child, she became entirely his.

Since Sayoko's state of mind later became an extremely critical point both as a legal issue and a matter of criminal circumstances, I ask that you consider this matter as well. In other words, whether Sayoko had genuinely cared for Haruichi, or whether—driven by her professional awareness as a café hostess—she had simply been amusing herself with a bourgeois son, with Sayoko now deceased, ascertaining the full truth had become exceedingly difficult. For reference, I should note that I, then serving as prosecutor, supported the former view and presented it in court as a mitigating circumstance, while Haruichi's defense attorney vigorously advocated for the latter position during proceedings and opposed this argument. Needless to say, even I do not insist that Haruichi intended to toy with Sayoko from the very beginning. Undoubtedly, as per his testimony, he must have been momentarily infatuated. However, there was absolutely no indication that Sayoko had entrapped Haruichi. Conversely, Haruichi's defense attorney asserted that Sayoko was an exceptionally formidable woman, arguing that even if she had been pregnant, there was no way to determine whose child it might have been.

IV Until early October, Sayoko had apparently remained completely unaware of her romantic rival's emergence. Yet naturally, she could not have stayed ignorant of this forever. Through some chance occurrence, she came to hear of Haruichi's impending engagement. Sayoko did not quietly withdraw. And the attitude she adopted then—this may be interpreted variously depending on one's perspective—was far from calm.

At this point, I should say a few words about Sayoko. Her family was a farming household in S Prefecture that had never been well-off. She had an older brother the same age as Haruichi who had been unmanageable since childhood—he left home early for Tokyo, drifted from place to place, eventually settled down enough to obtain a driver's license, and was employed by a certain car dealership. However, as she couldn't earn enough to send money home, Sayoko left her sixteen- and twelve-year-old siblings behind and moved into the aforementioned Café Paloma with an advance payment. Thus about six months had passed from her arrival at Paloma until she first met Haruichi. For Sayoko, Paloma was her first workplace—she had never been employed at any other café.

Under these circumstances, Sayoko had to work alone. However, it seems her brother Seikichi would occasionally come to see her after she started working at the café, and since they were siblings after all, Sayoko relied on him emotionally as her older brother. However, after becoming a driver, Seikichi’s conduct deteriorated—he drank and engaged in questionable pastimes—so naturally, Sayoko’s employer did not think very highly of him.

Regardless of the romantic incident, Sayoko's nature was remarkably strong-willed, intensely passionate, and quite spirited. Now returning to the main story—the moment Sayoko realized Haruichi was about to abandon her, she launched a fierce protest. Of course, it was directed at Haruichi. The exact details remain unclear due to lack of evidence, but according to the letters she left behind, she took a rather vehement stance.

The letters addressed from Sayoko to Haruichi, later submitted to the court as reference material, indeed vividly convey the emotions of a woman on the verge of being cast aside.

Naturally following this sequence, she made desperate efforts to somehow win back the heart of the man trying to leave her. Several such emotionally fraught letters were sent to Haruichi. When they met in person too, they likely adopted this same manner. However, the contents of several letters sent after about twenty days showed a marked change. Having finally realized all was lost, she had grown nearly resigned. These letters portrayed her resentment toward the man with profound intensity. I do not believe Haruichi preserved all of Sayoko's letters from this period—those containing numerous criticisms of his conduct—in their entirety. He must have destroyed anything unfavorable to himself. Therefore, since the letters I saw were likely selected ones where the man's disagreeable attitude remained relatively obscured, the actual correspondence must have been far more vehement.

However, the letters from Sayoko beginning around mid-November underwent another shift. This may have been a natural progression, but by this point, Sayoko had evidently reached a resolute decision, sending threatening letters to Haruichi. In essence, should Haruichi proceed with marrying the doctor's daughter, she vowed to personally intervene and expose their affair—thereby guaranteeing the dissolution of the marriage arrangement. These declarations formed the core of her ultimatum: regardless of circumstances, she would never permit the union to proceed unchallenged. Phrases like "What will become of the child I carry?" "I might perish this way, but not before ensuring your destruction," "I swear to kill you before dying myself," and "My curse shall haunt you eternally" were scrawled repeatedly throughout.

The final letter she sent to Haruichi specified a certain date, time, and place, demanding that he meet her without fail and stating that if he did not comply, there was no telling what she might do.

When a woman who truly loved a man with all her heart to the point of death found herself betrayed by him, whether such conduct on her part ought to be deemed natural—this was a question I would rather leave to your judgment than presume to answer myself. As I mentioned before, since Sayoko's state of mind during this period had indeed been contested in court, contemplating such matters could hardly be considered irrelevant for one engaged in legal practice.

V

The tragedy finally occurred on the night of November 22nd, the day she had specified for their meeting. Haruichi, startled by Sayoko's letter, met her that evening at a certain location in the suburbs. They apparently walked around that area for about thirty minutes. Then, to discuss matters in detail, the two took a taxi to a place called M about three ri from Tokyo and entered the N Hotel there. What they discussed and why they had specifically gone to the hotel before arriving at N Hotel was, of course, something known to no one other than themselves. Therefore, after Sayoko had died, there remained no choice but to base [the investigation] on Haruichi's testimony (whether accepted at face value or not).

The two arrived at N Hotel by taxi before seven o'clock in the evening. During their happier times together, they had frequented N Hotel often enough that the staff remembered them well. When questioned later, the staff confirmed their arrival time had indeed been before seven. There they promptly reserved a room. The hotel assigned them Room Seven—a ground-floor corner suite—but since neither Haruichi nor Sayoko mentioned their departure time, the staff naturally assumed they would be staying the night.

After that, for about an hour, what the two said or did could not possibly have been known by outsiders. At first, whiskey and carbonated water had been ordered, so the staff member brought whiskey, carbonated water, and two cups—and that was all.

Just past eight o'clock, a laundry woman happened to pass through the garden outside Room 7. However, from inside came the sounds of a man and a woman arguing violently. Since the argument sounded serious (the laundry woman explained), she quietly approached beneath the window. The room had its shutters closed, but through the indoor light, she could faintly make out the interior.

Regarding what happened at that time, the laundry woman stated as follows.

"The shutters were closed but hadn't been fully lowered, so the light from inside allowed me to see into the room relatively well." "A young man and woman stood facing each other about three feet apart." "Both of them appeared extremely agitated." "Then the woman suddenly,

“At this point… I’ll kill you!”

As she said this, she grabbed a nearby whiskey bottle and tried to hurl it at the man. The man suddenly lunged at the woman, seeming to try wresting away the bottle, but as she appeared to be exerting all her strength, he too looked desperate. "As I gasped in surprise, the man suddenly—" “I’ll kill you!”

He shouted—I couldn't tell which arm he used—but he seemed to grab the woman by the neck before slamming her down with all his strength. Terrified, I dashed toward the hallway to find help, but just then heard something metallic clang violently against metal inside the room.

“I ran frantically and told the bellboy.”

Upon hearing the emergency, the bellboy rushed to Room 7 and knocked on the door, but it was locked from the inside and wouldn't open.

As he was wondering what to do, the sound of a lock came from inside, and the door swung open on its own. With disheveled hair and a half-torn tie, Haruichi stood silent. Then he pointed to one side.

Where he had pointed, the gas stove was burning, and Sayoko lay collapsed with her head pillowed against it. The area around her head was drenched in blood. Haruichi remained in the room with utmost composure, showing no inclination to flee or attempt suicide, and waited for the authorities to arrive.

VI

What followed from this point onward was highly legal in nature. Following standard procedure, the preliminary judge and I—then serving as prosecutor—rushed to the scene immediately.

The compulsory measures were carried out under the preliminary judge’s orders, and before long, an investigation into the cause of Sayoko’s death and other related procedures were also conducted.

Sayoko was a striking beauty with her hair styled to cover her ears, and her build was rather sturdy. Severe compression marks remained on her throat, but the fatal injury proved to be a contusion to the occipital region; death was caused not by external bleeding but rather by a concussion.

It was determined that she had been forcefully pushed by Haruichi and fell onto her back, whereupon her head violently struck the steel of the large gas stove adjacent to the wall, resulting in instantaneous death.

Later, Haruichi stated to me as follows. "When rumors spread about my marriage to Dr. S's daughter, at first Sayoko kept sending me letters saying things like she couldn't believe it and didn't want to believe it." "However, after some time had passed, she suddenly started sending threatening letters." "When we met again—the meeting places weren't fixed—she would say the same sort of things." "In other words, if I were to leave Sayoko as things stood, she wouldn't go quietly—she would surely seek revenge, starting by taking all the many letters I had sent her to Dr. S's family and exposing everything—that's the sort of thing she would say."

“To this, I never gave a clear response.” “Of course, if I were subjected to what she threatened, it would have caused me great trouble—had I carelessly said something back then, there was no telling what Sayoko might actually have done.” “Sayoko was what you’d call a stereotypical café hostess.” “She didn’t care about men at all.” “Therefore, there’s no way she could’ve been truly in love with me.” “First off—if she’d really been in love—she’d never have sent those threatening letters.” “I now deeply regret having gotten tangled up with that kind of woman.”

“Even if you call it a marriage promise, it was of course a careless thing.” “This is something anyone with common sense would understand.” “There’s no way I could have actually married such a woman.” “It’s true I sent letters exactly as you’ve shown.” “But that’s simply what café customers do when playing love games with hostesses—neither of us took such things seriously.” “As for the child she’s carrying—of course there’s no way to know whose it really is.” “Only an utter fool would believe every child carried by some geisha or café hostess is his own.”

"To put it simply, since they acted as they did, I had no choice but to respond in kind." "That said, someone from a family like mine never imagined one could get involved with a café hostess and end things cleanly." "I had considered that some monetary compensation would likely be necessary." "However, given how outrageously the other party behaved this time, I deliberately refrained from broaching the subject of money myself."

"I must apologize if this seems like overreaching speculation, but those frequent threatening letters sent to me might not have been solely Sayoko's doing. Though I've never met him, they say she has a thoroughly ill-natured brother working at some garage—I suspect it was likely that man's scheming. That scoundrel must have been lurking behind her, prodding Sayoko into action. Someone like me makes easy prey, you see."

As the threatening language gradually intensified while my marriage plans were taking concrete form, I found I had no choice but to settle matters with the woman somehow. Then this time, Sayoko came to me saying she'd be in trouble unless I did something about the child she was carrying.

That was around mid-November. I thought it had finally come. Of course, it concerned the matter of a settlement payment. And child support. However, I couldn't quite gauge how much Sayoko would demand. At the same time, I felt greatly relieved. If I just paid the money, this would be settled—Father would surely provide a considerable sum under these circumstances. I thought that if I did that, things would probably work out reasonably well.

The subsequent letter from Sayoko made no mention whatsoever of money. Even Sayoko must have felt some hesitation. However, since she would occasionally request meetings, when we met, she would clearly bring up the matter of money. One time, she finally stated the amount clearly. She demanded 1,000 yen as a settlement payment and 2,000 yen upfront as child support. “I believed this amount could naturally be negotiated down, but when I told her I couldn’t produce such a sum immediately, she gave no clear response that day and simply left.”

What did you think? Setting aside Haruichi's feelings toward the café hostess for a moment, wasn't his approach thoroughly consistent? He simply considered matters in an excessively simplistic way. Of course, how much truth actually lay in Haruichi's testimony up to that point remained a separate question altogether.

Now, regarding the events of the crime day, he described them as follows.

“The last letter from Sayoko, as you can see, simply states there was urgent business and asks me to come to a certain location—this was sent via special delivery.” “I finally set out to settle the negotiations.” “As part of that settlement payment, I called Café Paloma from another location and told her to bring the letters I’d sent in exchange for five hundred yen.” (She was at the café at the time.)

I arrived at the specified location around six o'clock in the evening. She must have managed to go to the café and come out. After that, we walked through the forest and talked about various things while treading through the wild grass, but she remained unyielding on the matter of money. As it was growing dark and cold, we decided to have our discussion at the N Hotel we often frequented. Of course, I intended to return immediately as long as the negotiations were settled.

We arrived around seven o'clock in the evening. At the hotel that had long been familiar with us, they immediately showed us to Room 7, which was available. At any rate, I resolved to settle matters clearly today, so to bolster my courage, I ordered whiskey. Since I knew that Sayoko drank alcohol, I also ordered carbonated water. After the whiskey arrived, I downed three glasses straight. Sayoko also mixed whiskey into carbonated water and drank. She was a woman unfazed by both alcohol and cigarettes. From this, you should have come to understand her essential nature.

After that, we talked face-to-face for about an hour, but during this time, Sayoko’s conversation was almost entirely dominated by matters of money and other material concerns. In other words, she was trying to squeeze out every extra yen she could. For her part, this was only natural, but her demeanor at the time was exactly like that of a common prostitute, showing not the slightest trace of a woman who had ever offered any love or affection to a man. In this way, for about an hour, Sayoko cried, threatened, and put on all sorts of acts. Since it would be disadvantageous for me to break things off first, I tried coaxing and reasoning with her to settle matters as peacefully as possible.

“I absolutely cannot pay more than 1,000 yen—I’ll give half right now if you hand over the letters I sent,” I stated. However, since she said she would take five hundred yen for now, I handed over the five hundred yen still in its envelope and demanded she give me the letters, to which she replied, “I don’t have them now.” This went against our agreement, sparking a fierce argument. Then she finally changed her expression and snapped, “I won’t stand being mocked by some greenhorn like you! To hell with everything!” “Now that it’s come to this, I’ll kill you!” With a shout, she grabbed the nearby whiskey bottle and lunged at me. Startled, I grabbed her arm, which led to a fierce struggle.

"No, it wasn't an empty threat." "I truly believe Sayoko meant to kill me." "I certainly believed so at the time." "So in my shock, I think I shouted, 'You—trying to kill me?!'" "I absolutely don't recall ever saying 'I'll kill you!'" "If anyone claims to have heard that, they're mistaken." Once we began grappling, she desperately clawed at me. I tried pulling Sayoko away, but when she clung on with all her strength, I had no choice but to grip her neck from below with my right hand and force her off. How violently she came at me then—the scars on my arm you've seen make that clear enough. In my anger-fueled panic, I kept hold of Sayoko's neck and shoved forward with all my might. The momentum sent her staggering backward until she fell flat. Her head struck the roaring gas stove in an instant. With a metallic clang and one ghastly shriek, she went still.

Let me state this clearly—I had absolutely no intention of killing her. I have no recollection of saying I would kill her, nor did I have any intention to do so. In fact, even if I had killed her, there would have been no benefit for me. No—if I could have killed Sayoko without anyone discovering it, that would have been one thing. But even leaving a single mark on her would have exposed the secret. I therefore have never once thought of killing Sayoko. If I had intended to kill her, why would I have gone to the trouble of going to a hotel? I could have just strangled her in that suburban grassland and been done with it. Truly, it was my attempt to protect myself and the violence I committed in a fit of anger that caused this mistake. "Moreover, I believe that having drunk a considerable amount of whiskey at the time was also a mistake."

What Haruichi Suyama stated to me was essentially as described above. While the wording naturally differed across the police, Prosecutor's Office, preliminary hearing, and public trial, legally speaking, the substance remained entirely consistent.

VII

In legal terms, Haruichi Suyama had clearly explained the motive for his crime, absolutely denied any intent to kill, and acknowledged his awareness of having committed assault. However, regarding his own acts of assault, he argued to some extent for self-defense; on the other hand, he asserted that due to having consumed a large amount of whiskey at the time of the offense, he had not been in a normal psychological state.

On the other hand, the autopsy results made clear that Sayoko’s death had been directly caused by Haruichi’s assault. Omitting the detailed points of the investigation, I determined that Haruichi should be indicted under the charge of injury resulting in death and immediately transferred the case to the preliminary judge. Of course, I did not indict him based solely on his own testimony. I conducted various investigations, but since they are unnecessary, I will refrain from detailing them here beyond what I have just stated.

Haruichi was granted bail during the preliminary hearing, but the public trial was not held until January of the following year.

In the public trial court as well, the defendant’s plea remained unchanged from before. The public trial proceeded without major incident, and soon the time came for me to recommend sentencing.

I first outlined the course of events and emphasized the unequivocal clarity of the crime. While it could not be considered that the defendant had murderous intent (this did not mean I accepted all of his statements at face value), it was absolutely unthinkable that this constituted self-defense as he claimed. Furthermore, considering the defendant’s usual alcohol consumption, it was inconceivable that he had been in such a state of confusion as to lose awareness of his actions; therefore, I argued that he must bear responsibility for injury resulting in death. Then proceeding to discuss mitigating circumstances, even if we were to accept all of his pleas as true, his actions would still remain profoundly immoral. Regardless of what kind of woman she may have been, his attitude had been far too irresponsible toward a woman. Moreover, there was no way to ascertain what kind of discussion had occurred between the victim and the defendant over approximately two hours starting from the evening of the crime. Indeed, according to the surviving letters, the victim had frequently threatened him. However, this did not mean it could be said that on the day of the incident, she had confronted him in the manner he described. Furthermore, while he claimed she had demanded breakup compensation, not a single such thing was written in the surviving letters. Indeed, this at first glance seemed plausible. However, who could definitively assert that because something appeared plausible, it must necessarily have been true? While he cited as evidence the fact that he had brought five hundred yen to the hotel that day to fulfill her demand, investigative findings revealed he customarily carried three hundred to five hundred yen on his person. Therefore, this fact alone could not immediately substantiate his claim.

Moreover, among the letters addressed to the defendant from the victim, while there were those that proved highly disadvantageous to her as previously mentioned, there were also a considerable number of letters that could be recognized as indicating she had been a person of pure heart. Can this truly be viewed solely as a woman's scheme, exactly as the defendant claims? First and foremost, could a nineteen-year-old girl who was genuinely in love with a young man and found herself in the victim's position have adopted the attitude Sayoko took? In other words, does her act of sending threatening letters to the defendant allow us to determine whether she truly loved him or not? In adjudicating these matters, I would have the judge give them thorough consideration; however, as previously stated, even if the victim had been the sort of woman the defendant described, the defendant's conduct would still remain inexcusable. Therefore, since the defendant's actions clearly constituted a crime under Article 205 of the Penal Code and there were absolutely no mitigating circumstances, I deemed it necessary to impose an unsuspended prison sentence, and accordingly sought a term of three years' imprisonment with labor for the defendant.

In response to this, Defense Attorneys A and B presented their arguments, but the two arguments were nearly identical in substance. They first took the forefront in arguing for acquittal. The defendant’s actions constitute clear self-defense. From the threatening letters she sent to the defendant, it was evident that Sayoko was not a woman to be easily managed; moreover, there existed someone other than the defendant who had heard her say, "I’ll kill you," that night. (The laundress appeared as a witness) and testified to having seen her raise a whiskey bottle; they therefore stated that had the defendant remained passive, he would surely have been killed. Furthermore, they argued that a nineteen-year-old woman was by no means incapable of killing a young man through physical force, and supported this by citing numerous instances where glass bottles containing liquid had indeed served as effective murder weapons—thus vigorously asserting the defendant’s innocence.

"Even if we were to concede guilt," they began before retreating to secondary positions and vigorously defending the defendant through arguments about mitigating circumstances. Particularly notable was Defense Attorney A, who expressed profound regret over holding opinions diametrically opposed to the prosecutor's before proceeding to articulate views directly contradictory to my own. He mercilessly disparaged Sayoko's character before concluding that the defendant had fallen victim to her machinations, declaring that letters penned by some café hostess held no credibility whatsoever—being either feigned displays of innocence or cunning death threats. Having dismissed this line of reasoning, he then posited that a woman truly in love who had been abandoned might resort to suicide but never to such threats, asserting he could readily resolve the prosecutor's doubts by proclaiming, "A woman who sends such threatening letters could never have genuinely cared for the man." "If truly in love," he continued, "one could never perpetrate such acts." He expounded at length on theories of romantic affection, arguing that even if the prosecutor harbored doubts about her financial demands, a woman of such loose morals as previously described would naturally gravitate toward monetary matters. "He showered sarcasm on the prosecutor's oversight," sneering, 'What possible reason could Sayoko have had for composing those threatening letters? They were clearly preparatory measures for this financial resolution—how uncharacteristically obtuse of our esteemed prosecutor to overlook this.' Regarding whether threatening words were actually uttered that night, he invoked the prosecutor's own statement: 'That remains known only to defendant and victim." "He countered the prosecutor's argument—'Who can definitively claim she uttered threats that night merely because she sent threatening letters?'—by retorting, 'How can one possibly assert she refrained from threats during their meeting simply because letters existed?' Concluding his argument, he declared: 'Had Sayoko possessed no intention of financial negotiation, why summon the defendant that night at all? Even Sayoko—after dispatching multiple threats—couldn't have planned nostalgic reverie at that hotel. Moreover, given this incident's occurrence, society has already meted out sufficient punishment to the defendant." "He maintained there remained no justification for seeking an unsuspended prison sentence and earnestly petitioned for a suspended sentence to be imposed."

The verdict was handed down one week later. The court acknowledged the defendant’s guilt (on this point concurring with the prosecutor), imposed a sentence of two years’ imprisonment with labor while suspending its execution for five years (apparently accepting defense counsel’s arguments), thereby pronouncing its judgment. Thus concluded the incident that had once stirred public controversy, with Haruichi escaping actual imprisonment. Needless to say, the much-discussed engagement was annulled, and fragmentary newspaper reports at the time suggested he planned to travel abroad after lying low temporarily until the scandal subsided.

Now, regarding myself, due to circumstances, I had resigned from my position as prosecutor in June of that year and moved to my current profession. Having handled various cases during my time as a prosecutor, the Haruichi Suyama incident had long since faded from my mind.

Then came a day when his name unexpectedly resurfaced in my mind.

Here are two newspaper clippings. This is a portion of the society pages from a certain newspaper dated October 27th and 28th of that year.

Tragic Incident in the H Mountains

On [Date] around 8:00 AM, a janitor from S Village Office in the H Mountains of K Prefecture discovered what appeared to be an automobile partially submerged in S River dozens of meters below H National Highway while walking toward N direction on an errand. He urgently reported this to the police box, prompting dispatched officials and laborers to descend to the cliff base. After strenuous efforts, they managed to haul the vehicle up to S River's bank by approximately 1:00 PM. Investigation revealed within it the corpse of a young gentleman with his head and face crushed along with multiple other injuries, though his identity remained under verification. The driver's compartment lay nearly destroyed, containing only what appeared to be a driver's hunting cap at the steering wheel with no body present—authorities searched downstream suspecting it might have been carried away by currents. This location's hazardous acute curve had been specially marked with warning signs by prefectural authorities. However, with no recent missing vehicles reported from H Mountain's hot spring resort vicinity, investigators turned their attention toward examining whether an automobile from the Tokyo area might have mistakenly plunged from the roadway into this tragedy. (K Telephone)

Tragic Victim Identified as Kenkichi Suyama's Son

The gentleman who died in the automobile crash on Mount H as previously reported has been identified as Haruichi (twenty-six), eldest son of Mr. Kenkichi Suyama. Haruichi, the man who had previously gained notoriety for involvement in a criminal case, on the 25th of this month boarded a commercial automobile from XX Taxi (driver: Takatsuki Kiyoshi, 26) near his home in Tokyo's XX Ward XX District, drove to the foothills of M Hot Springs, and in the evening entertained several geishas at XX Restaurant in the same hot spring town. That night around ten o'clock, he had left claiming to be heading to the lakeside hotel on Mount H; however, as driver Takatsuki Kiyoshi was also reportedly quite intoxicated that evening, it is believed that he lost control of the vehicle on the national highway at the cliffside accident site, causing them to plunge dozens of yards down into S River along with the automobile. Since there was only one automobile that descended from the lakeside that night and encountered another automobile ascending approximately half a ri below the scene, it appears the tragedy likely occurred around 11 PM on the 25th. The automobile was nearly half-crushed, and Haruichi Suyama is believed to have died instantly upon falling. Furthermore, officials were dispatched, and Haruichi’s body was to be autopsied; however, the body of driver Takatsuki, who is believed to have met with the same disaster, has yet to be discovered.

According to the newspaper articles, Haruichi Suyama had plunged off a cliff in an automobile due to the driver’s error—with both remaining in the vehicle—yet the driver’s body had still not been discovered; moreover, it appeared that this commotion had only come to light a full day after the calamitous incident occurred.

However, the next day's newspapers carried no articles regarding this incident. The next day, and the day after that as well, the newspapers remained completely silent about this incident. As you are well aware, around that time, another incident—the XX Incident—had occurred; the newspapers were consumed by that incident, and Haruichi Suyama's unusual death incident was promptly forgotten by the public. Having left my government position, I had lost the means to ascertain the truth behind the unusual death incident, but in truth, I was anxiously yearning to learn any detailed reports. I was desperately eager to know what the autopsy results were and how the authorities viewed them, but as I was no longer a government official, I had no means to investigate.

So why was I so eager to know the authorities' opinions—was it merely out of curiosity? No—that is not the case.

At the end of that month, I received a strange letter. As you can see, there is no sender’s name on the envelope. Moreover, it had come from very far away. Let me read it here. I believe you will find this of interest as well. And through reading this, you will understand why I had been so eager to learn about that unusual death incident in the H Mountains.

With these words, Mr. Tsuchida slowly opened an envelope and began to read.

VIII

Mr. Tsuchida Hachirō

Please forgive the rudeness of suddenly sending you this letter.

You are now the sole person I can truly trust and open my heart to. And if my belief holds true, you will come to comprehend my present feelings at least in some measure. I entreat you from the depths of my heart. I beseech you to read this through to its conclusion. I—though my identity shall be revealed hereafter—intend to disclose a certain criminal truth within this letter. Yet before that, there is something I must particularly convey to you.

I am not a legal professional. No, I had never opened a single page of legal texts. At least not until the incident I am about to describe occurred. You are needless to say a legal professional. You were once a prosecutor and are now a defense attorney. Be that as it may, you remain bound by the law. Your entire existence revolves around this legal framework. You would claim the law exists to serve justice. But does it truly champion righteousness? Does it side with the virtuous and consistently punish transgression? Or does it instead disgrace those who acted rightly for the sake of wrongdoers? No—isn't this precisely how it always functions?

The former case remains somewhat tolerable. In this scenario, those in the right can decry the law's inequities. They may affirm their own rectitude. Even should they meet ultimate defeat, they ought still retain the capacity to denounce their adversary's transgressions.

What about the latter case? What should become of those who were right—or rather, those who were righteous during their lifetime, that is to say, those already dead and voiceless? The wrongdoers who tormented and persecuted him (or her) have the means to defend themselves within the bounds permitted by law. However, the dead have no voice. The dead may be insulted in any way, humiliated in any manner, yet they possess not even a single means to offer a word in their defense. The dead must remain silent even when whipped—this is only natural. Moreover, when those insults, that humiliation, those abusive words are legitimate, even if the corpse should rage enough to break open its grave and leap up, it cannot utter a single word in its own defense. This is an obvious fact. But is this clear-cut matter truly just? Is this state of affairs truly acceptable?

Is there truly no recourse for a corpse no matter how much it is insulted? "The dead have no means of salvation—even those who killed him (or her) remain human, and one should at least endeavor to save that criminal’s life." If you should indeed think in this manner, I despise you and curse the law from the bottom of my heart. This is what I particularly wish to state because you are now a defense attorney: if there were a man who killed a woman and that man requested your legal defense, you would undoubtedly take every means permitted by law to save that criminal. "In that case, under 'the limits permitted by law,' would you revile the victimized woman like a demon?" Must you revile a chaste maiden as a seductress, a pure woman as a demon, and an innocent flower-like maiden as a harlot?

Moreover, that pitiful unfortunate girl—already lying in the grave and unable to utter a single word in self-defense—must helplessly endure every cold insult and humiliation that whips her corpse. Would you dare do such a thing?

"If you can answer 'Yes,' then I will simply despise you." The sole excuse granted to you in that instance would be the single phrase: 'because I am a defense attorney.'" "However, when even judicial officers—those vital organs of the state—are believed to have acknowledged or tolerated such insults and abuse, I cannot help but ask: where then does the dignity of the law reside?" "Even if there were any justification—even if it were to save a single person's life (especially when that person is unjust)—should one revile a pure maiden as a demonic spirit, insult a chaste woman as a witch, and furthermore proclaim this to the world through judicial verdict, where then can the law's virtue or righteousness be found?" "Where does the law attempt to represent justice?"

To mistakenly punish a guilty person too severely is a far lesser sin than casting down into hell the soul of a pitiful maiden who should reside in heaven. How much more so when they unjustly lighten punishment for sinners deserving heavier condemnation—to the extent of falsely claiming that a pure and chaste maiden’s soul belongs in hell—their sin must indeed be called greater than murder.

You would say such a thing is impossible. I declare unequivocally. I am intimately familiar with such unfortunate incidents. I saw with these eyes and heard with these ears.

Nine By now, you must have realized who I am. I am Seikichi Akita, the biological brother of Sayoko Akita—who ended her tragically short life because of defendant Haruichi Suyama, whom you prosecuted during your tenure as prosecutor.

Although I have been disowned by my parents due to my shameful past up to now, I still possess love for my sister alone. Unfortunately—yes, truly unfortunately—because I cannot abandon this fraternal bond, I have come to the point where I must humbly report a certain incident here.

To state it plainly. My sister was a pitiable woman—because I could not put my life in order, the unfortunate woman had to sell herself to rescue our parents and support our younger siblings. If I had been just a bit more responsible, Sayoko would never have worked at that café and thus would not have met such an unfortunate end. Therefore, I myself also feel responsible for her death. When I consider this, I cannot help but feel that protecting my sister’s corpse is the duty of an older brother.

It was in the name of this sacred fraternal love for my sister that I lodged vehement protest against the nation's judgment. Sayoko was a maiden of purity. As I have stated earlier today, she sold herself for our parents and siblings. She could not have survived otherwise. She became a hostess at Café Paroma. Why must this sacrifice endure society's insults? Who would willingly choose such martyrdom? She had no alternative but to become it.

"Is it claimed that her choice of sacrifice was foolish? Then let me state clearly: when driven by hunger, when facing starvation's brink, people cannot pause to weigh wisdom against folly in their actions."

Thus, she became a café hostess. To believe she possessed the skill to manipulate men was akin to believing the sun rises from the west. She met that bourgeois playboy heir just six months after starting work. I do not believe Sayoko transformed into some fearsome seductress in such brief time—I, her brother, knew her character better than any. She remained unquestionably a pure woman.

Who defiled this pure, innocent woman?

The nouveau riche's playboy son who is convinced that any woman's chastity can be bought with money. What manner of man is he, fundamentally? A prodigal son who neglects his studies while living off his parents, roaming the pleasure quarters singing boisterously. Whether she snared him or he snared her—isn't resolving this actually quite simple? Is it truly so unnatural that a nineteen-year-old girl with little worldly experience believed she could become his wife? That she fell in love with a beast like him was her misfortune, but it was not her crime. If there was any fault in her, it lay solely in her failure to heed my counsel as her brother.

Due to my own lack of credibility, I was rarely granted opportunities to meet Sayoko; however, when I learned she had grown close to Haruichi, I endeavored to reverse her feelings with utmost effort. However, this ended in failure. This might have naturally ended in failure. Since a young woman had fallen in love with another man—a stranger—she would naturally not heed the advice of her flesh-and-blood brother.

In this way, I had been worrying from afar while thinking about Sayoko.

When she realized Haruichi would abandon her, what sort of letters she sent him is not something I know. But just because she threatened Haruichi, how can anyone claim she did not offer him her pure heart? Even if she spoke about the child in her womb, why would that be unnatural? How does that equate to extorting money? She must have thought of her poor parents back home—parents who were likely imagining her as a bright, happy version of herself or as a happily married woman. And when she found herself with child only to be abandoned by that man, when she contemplated herself now forced to raise it all alone, when she saw her own pitifully lonely figure reflected in the mirror—what anguish must she have endured? (Oh sister, why didn’t you tell me, your brother, even a single word about that matter? Did you think your brother was so utterly unreliable?)

Is it unjust for Sayoko, placed in such circumstances, to have threatened Haruichi? Is it unnatural? What exactly do you propose she should have done in this situation? Are you suggesting she should commit suicide? Are you telling her to silently withdraw? What should one do with defiled chastity? What should one do with the child in one's womb? (No matter what anyone says, that is Haruichi's child.) The attitude she took—is it not the most courageous and correct stance a woman could adopt? The words Sayoko wrote in her letters are not threats. I do not know how legal professionals might interpret this, but I believe they are righteous words. It is the natural right that violated chastity can claim against the wrongdoer. No, it is undoubtedly the sacred duty of a mother toward the child in her womb.

I cannot believe the fact that Sayoko mentioned a thousand-yen severance payment. However, even if she did say such things, why would that be unjust? However, the lovely Sayoko never spoke about money. She endeavored until the very end to somehow win back the man's heart. She must have made every futile effort to avoid letting things come to a breaking point.

As one piece of evidence, let me present the express mail she sent last. Why didn't she use the telephone? In today's world, where there was a telephone at the recipient's home, what need existed to entrust urgent matters to express mail? Undoubtedly, even if she had called, Haruichi would have been prevented from answering, but if Sayoko had truly intended revenge against the man, could she not have used the telephone to speak with anyone in the Suyama household? The fact that she did not take this course of action stands as clear proof that she maintained her feminine dignity.

On the day that misfortune occurred, what those two discussed in the outskirts is naturally known to none but themselves. However, the monetary demand was of course a fabrication. The five hundred yen Haruichi brought was precisely what you noted in court—nothing more than the man's ploy. You declared the defendant lacked murderous intent, but by what reasoning can this be asserted? You being a legal professional may require such constrained logic, but I remain free to consider matters without restriction.

You would argue that no murderous motive can be attributed to the defendant. Indeed, as the defendant said, escalating matters would have been detrimental. However, committing murder without facing murder charges and instead gaining something from it is not unthinkable. Who can definitively state there was no motive hidden from the world? Breaking off his engagement and sacrificing social honor (though of course such a beast has no honor to speak of)—could it not be thought that gaining something or escaping from Sayoko held even greater significance for him?

I myself cannot definitively state it was murder for lack of conclusive evidence. Yet there are ample grounds to consider it so. Haruichi had prior knowledge of the hotel's layout. Let us suppose he noticed the stove upon entering the room. He could have intentionally provoked Sayoko. After inciting her to violence, let us further suppose he then slammed her against the premeditatedly targeted stove. This differs from strangulation only in methodology. He remains a murderer in full measure.

Why did Haruichi need to take Sayoko to the hotel? To frame it as injury resulting in death. As he himself said - if he had truly meant to kill her, couldn't he have done it in some suburban grassland? (That sounds like his sort of trick.) I think not. Had Sayoko's body been found in the grasslands, he would have been convicted of murder without question. He positioned himself near witnesses, wanting them to hear the woman curse him. He wanted to display her anger for all to see if possible. And so his scheme succeeded brilliantly.

Haruichi Suyama had devised the scheme to mercilessly toy with a virgin, kill her, and still receive a suspended sentence. He apparently intended to get off scot-free if possible. "You would say, 'Then why didn't you come forward at that time? Why didn't you voice those opinions?'"

I must deride that foolishness. There is nothing more dangerous in the world than the law—once misapplied, there’s no telling when or how it might be turned against you.

I am an unprincipled rogue. I am a certified scoundrel. I also have a prior gambling conviction. If someone like me were to appear before you as a witness, how much effect do you suppose it would truly have? And I am the biological brother of the victim. It would be considered natural to advocate for her benefit. Moreover, even if I were to stand as a witness myself, since I cannot present any concrete facts, there's no telling what might happen to me if I fall prey to those lawyers' clever tactics.

I had already stopped believing in the law since that time. Therefore, albeit very reluctantly, I had to conceal my whereabouts for some time.

Ten What truly compelled me to carry out a certain plan was the atmosphere of that courtroom. I was secretly among the spectators at that time.

I shall now refrain from describing here once more the utterly repugnant spectacle of that courtroom. But what was I forced to witness there? What was I compelled to hear? I once read a novel in which a certain novelist, from the perspective of a biological family member of a criminal case victim, became indignant upon hearing that the perpetrator had died an easy death and submitted a letter of protest.

But my situation is far, far worse.

I saw the criminal escape punishment. (A suspended sentence is no different from acquittal.) And there I was, forced to listen as they relentlessly vilified and attacked the girl who had been mercilessly toyed with and brutally murdered. Have you ever once imagined the feelings of a biological brother forced to sit there hearing his own sister—first murdered, then in court endlessly humiliated and showered with slanders and fabrications that would make even tombstones tremble with grief-stricken tears—being defiled right before his eyes? Moreover, that insult was intended to justify pardoning the villain. And yet, though this came from defense attorneys whose profession is to defend the defendant, the state's judgment has accepted it. Why did that judgment state that the defendant should receive a suspended sentence? Although quite euphemistically, didn't they splendidly leak the circumstances here?

The judgment is incorrect. The judgment is incompatible with justice. My sister is probably choking on tears of grief and indignation in her grave. I thought you would immediately file an appeal with that same resolve you so resolutely demonstrated in that courtroom. However, unlike the vigor you showed then, you finalized the judgment. It can’t be helped—you aren’t Sayoko’s brother, after all.

Eleven The fundamental reason the state prohibits private vendettas lies in its premise of delivering just—nay, it must be just—judgment on behalf of victims. If through intent or negligence the state fails this duty—staining the innocent while leaving the guilty unpunished—must those once pure still keep silent and endure? I think not. Those slain in their purity ought to punish the wicked. No—this is the right of the unsullied. Precisely—this is the right of the dead.

I resolved to carry out my revenge. I resolved to take my sister's place and finish off Haruichi. No matter what happened, I was determined to avenge my sister. And through a particular method at that! "Haruichi exploited the law and escaped. ‘Alright, I’ll use the law to evade responsibility too.’ This would serve as splendid revenge both against Haruichi and against the law itself." In other words, I had to devise a method to kill Haruichi that would never be adjudicated as a murder case.

From that moment on, I voraciously devoured legal texts. I especially studied the penal code. And thus I finally arrived at a certain idea.

I first had to approach Haruichi. For this purpose, I had the advantage of my face being unknown. How to approach him? I resolved to utilize my own profession.

First and foremost, I had to assume a pseudonym and find employment at an automobile dealership. To achieve this, I needed to forge or alter a driver's license. This was clearly a crime, but it paled in comparison to the grave sin of murder. And thus this plan succeeded splendidly, and I came to properly possess a Class A driver's license under the name Takatsuki Kiyoshi.

The first thing I considered was becoming the driver for the Suyama family's private car, but this was far too reckless. Therefore, I investigated which automobiles the family used when going out while the master of the Suyama household was away in the private car, and determined that they exclusively used vehicles from the XX Taxi company—a dealership specializing in luxury cars—located near their residence. I bided my time. The longer a false identity remains in use, the more likely it is to be exposed. Even if I were carelessly hired by XX Taxi, should my identity be exposed before an opportunity arose to approach Haruichi, all my carefully laid plans would come to nothing. I had been observing the situation for some time.

Perhaps even Haruichi had grown wary of public scrutiny, as he rarely went out that spring. Amidst this, early summer arrived, but it was around that time that he finally began venturing out. When he started going out—perhaps due to some pricking of conscience—he had become an oddly gloomy man, though his destination remained the pleasure quarters. Deeming the time right and seizing the opportunity when exactly one driver had left, I moved into XX Taxi and began serving the Suyama household.

Of course, it wasn't just Haruichi alone. Kenkichi's wife also rode. However, it was mostly Haruichi who rode. Whenever a call came from the Suyama household, even if it was another driver's turn, I would adjust schedules whenever possible and ensure that I went myself. In this way, during the summer evenings, I drove Buicks and Nashes, carrying the murderous playboy—to Akasaka in the daytime, Yanagibashi at night, Mukojima and Shinbashi.

Twelve

The opportunity did not come easily. In the very heart of that great Tokyo, executing a method where I could utilize my profession to commit murder yet either escape or avoid being charged with murder even if apprehended was no easy task. I endured with utmost patience, driving him—Haruichi—around the city in the car I operated.

In the height of summer, Haruichi had believed he would go to the mountains or seaside, but whether out of fear of public scrutiny or not—even though his entire family went to I Hot Springs—he did not go anywhere. In other words, he seems to have been avoiding situations where he would publicly meet people in society. On the contrary, he went about his nighttime carousing without reservation.

Amidst all this, rumors began circulating that Haruichi would be traveling abroad. If he left Japan, all would be lost. No matter what happened, I had to finish him off while he was still in Japan. I was beside myself with anxiety.

Summer passed, and autumn winds began to blow. The rumors of overseas travel sounded increasingly plausible. I even heard definitive reports about whether he would board the late November ship. Yet for some reason, they said Haruichi himself showed little enthusiasm for traveling abroad. Come to think of it, he seemed burdened by some preoccupation—from early autumn onward, his complexion had gradually lost its vitality, or so it appeared.

Then, around the end of September, there was a sudden car request from the Suyama household. Unfortunately, I had been taking other customers elsewhere that day, but when I returned, the car I had taken out still hadn’t come back. When I finally asked the driver who had returned late that night, he reported that Haruichi had gone on a long drive to K in K Prefecture that day, dined at a restaurant where he became heavily intoxicated, and that getting him back into the car had required considerable effort.

I thought I'd failed. I had let the golden opportunity slip away. Yet I still believed more chances would come.

Thirteen

On the night of October 24th, the phone suddenly began ringing urgently. When I hurriedly picked up the receiver, it was a call from the Suyama residence. Haruichi himself was on the line, ordering a car to be sent early the next morning for a drive. With my heart pounding, I casually asked about the destination and learned it was M Hot Springs at the foot of H Mountain. I immediately said, "Thank you very much," and hung up the phone.

In truth, there had never been a moment more welcome than that one. The opportunity came. Moreover, speaking of M Hot Springs at H Mountain—that road I knew well. While the road to M Hot Springs wasn't particularly suited for criminal acts, once there, I thought I could somehow lure him up to the lakeside.

I spent that night almost without sleeping a wink.

The morning of the 25th arrived. I made preparations to carry out my long-devised plan. As for preparations, it was simply a matter of bringing an extra set of clothes to wear and one additional hat. As for the remaining cash, I stashed all of it on my person. Then around 9 a.m., I retrieved the box-shaped Nash. At the Suyama residence's entrance, when I announced my arrival, after being made to wait for some time, Haruichi finally emerged. This was somewhat unusual—the impatient Haruichi had never kept the car waiting before. As I waited outside, I even began to fear that perhaps the trip to M had been canceled.

Perhaps because I harbored such an extraordinary plan within me, Haruichi's face that day appeared somehow intensely severe. If I were to describe it with slight exaggeration, one might call it the expression of someone prepared to die. At any rate, he looked different from the usual Haruichi. However, this must have appeared so because my own state of mind was not normal. He neither knew who I was nor—needless to say—could he have been aware of my plan.

With him in the car, I departed the great metropolis of Tokyo.

Hoping I would never again return to the imperial capital that held my unpleasant memories, while ensuring Haruichi too would never again behold the capital!

Around three in the afternoon, the car safely reached its destination.

After all, for any crime—and especially for the dreadful crime I intended to commit—one had to await the coming of night. In accordance with Haruichi’s orders, I stopped the car in front of a place called XX-ya.

Then, just past six o'clock, Haruichi suddenly appeared at the inn's entrance. I was somewhat disconcerted at this thwarting of expectations, but rather than returning, he had me drive about five blocks further up to an establishment called ××-rō that served as both an inn and restaurant.

Autumn days darken early. While eating dinner at that house, I watched the sky. The twilight of a hot spring town, as you well know, evokes a peculiar sense of human presence. However, realizing I must now carry out this terrible deed, I cast aside all sentimental feelings and began my preparations—in this case, first came drinking alcohol. You must remember how Haruichi once drank whiskey and tried to use that as grounds to escape his crime. My approach bears some similarity to his. The fact that I could drink two or three go of sake without being affected was precisely the same as in Haruichi’s case.

I drank alcohol in a manner that would be noticed by as many people as possible. While listening to Haruichi upstairs gathering geisha and making a raucous commotion,

“Driver, are you really all right drinking that much? Is the road safe?” I distinctly heard someone say this. With this, I could assume my drinking had left a sufficient impression on those present. Past ten o'clock, Haruichi came out to the entrance looking gaunt and unsteady. When I tried to immediately descend the mountain, he— “We’re not going back. “We’re going up—drive full speed to Lakeside!” he said. Everything was being guided by my sister beneath the earth. In response to the order, I reversed the car's direction.

Are you familiar with the layout of that area? The road to the lakeside consisted of nothing but steep slopes winding left and right. Beside it flowed the raging currents of S River, gnawing at the rocks. The road measured roughly five and a half meters wide. With each upward step climbed, S River's bank gradually descended beneath the cliff edge.

During the day indeed, many cars would come and go between the lakeside and the hot springs below, with numerous pedestrians passing through, but at this time of year when it wasn't even summer, no one but the most eccentric sort would be racing a car around ten o'clock at night.

About twenty minutes after departure, I encountered only a single truck coming from uphill; after that, I didn't meet another soul.

A moonless, starless night. The area was all mountains, with the road flanked by a sheer cliff several meters high on one side and pampas grass as tall as a person densely growing on the other. And now, there was no one else in this scene besides Haruichi and me. What a convenient place and time for committing murder. I drove up and up. The destination was the highest cliff. There, the road almost formed an acute angle as it wound sharply. At noon, standing at that spot would command a full view of the lake below. I had long been targeting this precise location.

When we came about three hundred meters short of that location, I peered into the car and saw Haruichi lying collapsed on the cushion, fast asleep. This situation hadn't actually been part of my calculations. Seeing this, I realized with unexpected clarity that everything was proceeding perfectly. I brought the car to a temporary stop, swiftly changed my clothes and swapped my hat. Then I placed the garments and hat I'd been wearing until that moment on the driver's seat. As you've doubtlessly deduced, my plan was to confirm the absence of witnesses before setting the vehicle in motion and making my solitary leap to safety.

If Haruichi were to notice that I had jumped out and leap down himself, it would render everything pointless—that’s why I checked inside the car.

After changing into my kimono and was about to set the car in motion, I caught sight of Haruichi’s face—ugly and collapsed in drunkenness. Will killing him like this truly be revenge? Is it acceptable to kill him without his knowledge? Would sister be satisfied with that? I was overcome with such extreme loathing that I nearly vomited. As I was about to drive off with a roar, I suddenly reached out from my seat and shoved him. I struck him. And then, “Wake up!”

"I cried out. Even so, he appeared to have understood somewhat,

“It hurts... Water... Water...” he groaned. Giving water to a drunk might be standard practice, but even so – for someone about to have his life taken – he was being remarkably nonchalant.

At the very moment I abruptly set the car in motion, “If you want to drink，I’ll let you have as much as you want right now.” “Hey，Suyama!” “I’m Sayoko’s brother—you get that?!”

With that cry, I nimbly leapt down beside the car. At that moment, he abruptly tried to stand up and lunge at me, but collapsed heavily inside the car. It was truly a momentary impression.

The car picked up speed and drove off.

It was an eerily ominous few seconds.

Though the entire area was pitch-black, only the scenery illuminated by the headlights resembled daytime. And as it unfolded that landscape, the pitch-black monster charged forward with a roaring engine.

Due to the recoil, I was momentarily thrown to the ground, but lying prone, I kept my eyes fixed on the direction the car was speeding away. What if Haruichi jumped out before the car went over the cliff? What if he opened the door and came out? In that case, there would be no choice but to rush over and push him off the cliff. The car advanced, roaring like a wild beast. It was a truly breath-stopping few seconds. The midday-like scene advanced relentlessly forward. It had formed a perfect triangle. Gradually, that triangle grew smaller. As I watched, the illuminated dirt road abruptly grew shorter ahead. In an instant, the car seemed to reach the cliff's edge, whereupon the surroundings that had been bright until then suddenly darkened, and an eerie light shone forth toward the distant sky.

However, that too lasted but an instant. I thought I heard the sound of glass shattering in that instant. At the same time, I thought I heard Haruichi’s scream.

In the next instant, the car lurched forward with a roaring sound, and before I could even register the rear wheels lifting, the world suddenly plunged into darkness.

I came to my senses and leapt up. When I looked down from the cliff edge, there was nothing but the thunderous roar of raging torrents. I knelt there. And then in the darkness, I called out my sister's name again and again.

Fourteen

I emerged at the lakeshore and arrived at K Station on the T Line across the water in the dead of night. And so, without arousing anyone’s suspicion, I finally boarded the T Line and have now come to a port at the edge of Japan.

At the very moment I send this letter to you, I will immediately board a ship and depart Japan.

I will first depart for S Port, and from there intend to wander through various countries wherever my feet may take me.

I have given a lengthy account, but there is one final request I must make to you—to you as a lawyer.

I will likely not be apprehended. However, should I be caught, I earnestly wish to impose upon your esteemed assistance. I have committed murder. But where exists evidence of this murder?

Admittedly, if it becomes known that I am Sayoko’s brother, a motive can indeed be found there. However, that motive alone cannot serve as evidence—a fact you, as a legal professional, are undoubtedly aware of. If I am caught, this is how I intend to respond: “I truly have no excuse, but as I simply couldn’t resist, I drank quite a lot at ×× Restaurant. That was my mistake. Though I thought I was fine myself, it seems I was actually getting drunk, and along the way I became quite disoriented. Looking back now, it seems there was a malfunction in the car, but perhaps because I was drunk, I didn’t notice it. It was only when I reached that spot that I noticed the steering wheel was in very bad condition. In an instant, the cliff was right before my eyes. I almost instinctively leapt outside. I have absolutely no recollection of how I managed to open the door in my frantic state. I thought about turning myself in immediately, but because my crime was too grave, I couldn't bring myself to do it and fled.”

It was professional negligence resulting in death—the maximum penalty being three years' imprisonment without compulsory labor. Compared to that murder charge, wasn't this an immeasurable difference?

However, I now fear I may have engaged in unnecessary contrivances. I don't know what happened afterward, but if I imagine being caught, I realize I should not have discarded the clothes at the very least. This was of course a means to make it seem the driver had also fallen, but I wonder if it has truly succeeded. If I am caught, there will be no way to explain it away. I hope the authorities are searching for my corpse.

My request to you concerns precisely that point. If I am caught, please defend me with all your strength. I apologize for having imposed upon your valuable time with this lengthy account.

Finally, I pray for your health.

Fifteen

This was the entire letter.

And thus, as Seikichi Akita had hoped, he has not been caught to this day. No, it remains unclear whether the authorities are even searching for him in the first place.

By the way, the story does not end here, I must tell you.

The day before yesterday—though you’re likely already aware—a man called Attorney S came to visit me. He too had been a former prosecutor and was my colleague from long ago. What’s more, he had been at the district prosecutor’s office during the automobile incident and was intimately involved in investigating that case.

When I inquired about what had ultimately become of that case, Attorney S spoke as follows.

“Naturally, you assume Haruichi Suyama died from falling off the cliff,” he said. “But here’s what’s strange. The autopsy revealed his stomach contained massive amounts of potent toxins. They discovered an enormous quantity of sleeping pills along with a large dose of poisonous substances. According to experts, complete respiratory arrest occurs about an hour after ingestion. When they questioned the geisha invited to ×× Restaurant that night, it emerged he’d mixed a white powdered drug into his alcohol just before leaving, claiming it was stomach medicine.”

“It is clear that he had suicidal intent.” “However, the details remain unclear.” “After his family learned of his unnatural death and checked the desk drawer, they found a suicide note stating simply: ‘I die because I want to die. I don’t want to die like Grandfather.’” “The Suyama family have kept this strictly concealed—you likely wouldn’t know—but that household carries a cursed bloodline afflicted by an inherited disease.” “And this illness typically skips generations.”

“In other words, if you consider it this way, there’s nothing inconceivable about it. At the time of the Sayoko Akita incident, Haruichi was completely unaware his family carried a hereditary disease in their blood. But while confined to his home with their permission, he apparently discovered writings about this secret—whether in the storehouse or elsewhere—though whether these were his grandfather’s diary or someone else’s account remains unclear. We can imagine he learned how his grandfather had gradually deteriorated physically, become a living corpse, completely withdrawn from society, and ultimately died. Or perhaps he heard it from someone. Maybe some imperceptible abnormality had manifested in his own body—though I’m no doctor, I can’t say at what threshold this could be definitively determined—but it must have been one of those possibilities. The crucial question is whether he was already dead in the car or still alive until his head was crushed. The autopsy report states this point remains unclear, but in any case, it’s a matter of an extremely close moment.”

“It’s just like a case straight out of a criminal law textbook.” “There’s more to discuss about the missing driver, but since I imagine the investigation is still ongoing, I’ll hold back for now.”

Attorney S’s account was as follows.

If that was the case, then the incident was indeed complex, but there were also aspects that came into clear focus. Seikichi Akita had noted that Haruichi Suyama had grown increasingly gloomy. And yet he stated that at night, Haruichi would repeat his former dissipation. Wasn't this an attempt to distract himself from his mental anguish? And thus, he had finally resolved to commit suicide. Therefore, on that actual day, having thought about various things, he made Akita wait longer than usual and went out with a look of desperation.

He made a foolish commotion at XX Restaurant as his farewell to this world. And then, perhaps he used his drunken momentum to ingest the poisonous drug.

When Akita stopped the car and looked inside, Haruichi was nearly breathless—just enough time had passed for that. Akita simply assumed he was completely drunk. And so,

“It hurts... Water...” He mistook those final screams for the ravings of a drunkard. When Haruichi stood up to lunge at Akita, wasn’t that actually his death throes? Wasn’t it that he drew his last breath there? If so, then Akita—believing he had executed a splendid act of revenge—was in reality holding his breath while watching the corpse-laden car plunge off the cliff. The glass may have broken, but Haruichi’s scream was likely Akita’s delusion.

In any case, whether Haruichi died from taking medication or perished in that disaster, whether he was already dead before the automobile plunged off the cliff or still had even a breath remaining—this was a matter of great interest to legal professionals.

However, for the man who believes he has splendidly exacted his revenge, it may be best to let him continue believing that.

Finally, there remained one problem. It was whether justice would truly be served if I were to persistently deny any murderous intent as he requested, should Akita—who had confessed to such a crime—ever be captured.

“However, this is a matter for us legal professionals and not one for you detective novelists, so I shall refrain from elaborating.”

“But I can’t help feeling Seikichi Akita will never be caught. That’s precisely why I’ve told you this account.”

Mr. Tsuchida’s account ended there. For us detective novelists as well, the final problem was a matter of great interest, but the cunning Mr. Tsuchida Hachirō had already discerned my feelings and preemptively dodged the issue. “That’s right—you’re interested.” With a look that seemed to say just that, he lit another cigarette.

(Weekly Asahi Autumn Special Issue, September 20, Showa 4)