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The Inugami Curse

Seishi Yokomizo

Japan, just after WWII. The death of wealthy businessman Sahei Inugami brings his family to his countryside villa. There, they await the return of heir apparent Kiyo from the front, so that Sahei’s will can be read. However, the family lawyer, who knows the testament, senses troubles ahead and engages private detective Kindaichi to try and prevent the worst.

And indeed, when Sahei’s last will is finally revealed, people start to die and the murderer stays one step ahead even of smart Kindaichi. Will he be able to protect the rightful but unexpected heir until he can find the mastermind behind all the killings?

I borrowed this book from the library without knowing that it was a crime novel. But it’s more than that, a deep look into family dynamics where blood runs thick and trumps any other relationship, no matter how entangled the lines. We follow Kindaichi as he slowly (often too late) peels away the layers of secrecy and decorum, and even though there is no ticking clock, once the will is read, there is enough suspense to keep reading. The fact that the book centers on the women of the family – Sahei had three daughters – makes it feel surprisingly modern, even though it was written in 1951.

Seishi Yokomizo (1902 – 1981) was born in Kobe and earned a degree in pharmacy to take over the family business. However, he devoted himself to writing from 1932 onwards, and became one of Japan’s most popular mystery writers, with more than 55 million copies sold. Many of his books were adapted for film and TV. The Inugami Curse featuring his most famous detective Kosuke Kindichi was his first novel to be translated into English.

This is the translation from 2003 (published as The Inugami Clan), but re-issued in 2020. I can definitely recommend this book, I just hope that the new edition doesn’t include the list of characters in the beginning, as it made me guess half of the mystery much too early. In any case, you can get it from amazon.

Visit to Otsu

The weather was fantastic the last few days, with sunshine and up to 20 degrees. So, I took advantage of this and went to Otsu to visit Sekisemimaru Shrine. This ancient shrine was founded in the Heian period. It comes in two parts, an upper and a lower shrine, and it is home to the god of safe travels in the one and to the goddess of good fortune in the other part of it.

Especially during the Edo period, when the Tokaido (which still passes next to it) saw numerous travellers, the shrine was bustling with worshippers. Sadly, by now it fell to the wayside (quite literally) and is in dire need of a bit of TLC.

I will write about the shrine in my next newsletter (out on Sunday), which I’ll have to finish tonight, so this is just a very short intro. You can always subscribe to my WUIK newsletter or wait until I’ll get to posting the article here as well. For now: good night!

Mikane Jinja

Kyoto is said to be the city of 1000 temples and shrines. There are the famous temples dating back to the days when Buddhism first arrived in Japan. There are the tiny shrines enshrining only the gods know who, hidden on steep mountain paths. And there are numerous small shrines at the centre of local neighbourhoods. One of these is Mikane Jinja a few streets west of the Manga Museum.

This neighbourhood was once the quarter of Kyoto’s metalworkers. Kamanza dori, for example, was the street of tea kettle makers. In 1588, Hideyoshi started minting gold coins, and when Ieyasu became shogun, he established a Kinza and Ginza (gold and silver mint, respectively) where the Manga Museum stands today.

This led to an influx of skilled artisans who worked at the mints and settled in the area. The mint also attracted money changers (and lenders) as well as people who worked with precious stones and minerals. Over time, the area became very prosperous. People living here could afford expensive clothes and accessories, which gave rise to the term “Ryogaemachi style”, named after one of the local streets.

The main deity of Mikane Jinja is Kanayamahoko-no-Mikoto, the God of metals, minerals, and mining. When exactly the shrine was established is not certain, but it is known, that it started as a small shrine on a private property somewhere in the area. More and more people came to worship at the shrine, and providing access at all times became a burden to the owners of the property. Therefore, in 1883, new land was donated, and the deities were moved to the newly constructed shrine that still stands on the very same spot.

Today, Mikane Shrine attracts people who pray for wealth and prosperity, as well as good fortune in businesses related to metals – mining, steel industry, car manufacturing, electronics etc. – or finance – investments, accounting, banking, real estate etc.

The most striking feature of Mikane Shrine is its golden torii. The shiny paint was especially developed by a local company to withstand outdoor conditions for many years. Gold is also the colour of the bell rope used to ring the bell before prayer, and a goshuin slip with real gold leaf is available at the shrine.

At the back of the precincts is a large ginkgo tree, 22 metres tall and 200 years old. In folklore, ginkgo trees are a symbol of prosperity, growth, and longevity and its leaves especially are a symbol of infinite good fortune. This is why many of the shrines’ omamori and omikuji are shaped like or feature ginkgo leaves, and in autumn, visitors may even ask for real leaves from the sacred tree to take home.

Mikane Shrine is accessible to worshippers 24/7, but its main festival is the reitai-sai festival in autumn. Held every year on the last weekend in September, it features a children’s procession and mikoshi parade as its main attractions. Food stalls and games for kids as well as a lucky draw add to the festive atmosphere.

If you are in town at this time, it’s a great way to experience a real neighbourhood festival in Kyoto and to mingle with the locals.

Staying Warm

After some wonderfully warm days the other week, the temperature has dropped again. It was raining the last few days too, so Pumpkin and I are trying to stay warm. I wish I could do it as stylishly as he…

How to Make Zori

Zori are a type of Japanese-style flip flops. Traditionally, farmers made them during winter using rice straw from their fields. They were meant as footwear for outdoors and pretty much everybody wore them when walking short distances.

Interestingly, they are fairly durable. Remember that in the olden days of Edo, the streets were not paved, so little stones would get stuck in the gaps between the straw and over time create a durable sole. On wood surfaces or even tatami this would be disastrous, hence, they were always taken off before entering a home or temple.

Zori are still quite popular, and nowadays, they are also made from fabric, but this version is meant for indoors. They can be very colorful, and they are very comfortable in summer when it’s too hot for socks or slippers and you still don’t fancy walking barefoot.

Below is a video (in Japanese with subtitles) that teaches the process of making zori from old t-shirts step-by-step. It’s quite a way to go until summer, but it’s good to get a head start.

Concert

I’m busy today getting ready for this year’s very first BATI-HOLIC solo concert (aka in Japanese: one-man show). The place is fairly small and they sold out last week, and since I’m planning to stand in the first row, thank you, I’ll better be there before the doors open. I’ll check in later!

Later: This was so much fun! It’s great when the people are all fans of the band and go with the music. I didn’t quite make it to the first row, but I could secure a seat on a platform with tatami and small tables, and it’s easy to get up and dance there. It was perfect!

One thing I find always very interesting at such concerts is how quickly people tend to leave when everything is over. Some 15 minutes after the last encore, the place was half empty already. I stuck around with some friends, and I enjoy this part of chatting and drinking and having fun with them and the band members just as much as the music itself.

Goodness, I’m not turning into an extrovert, am I?

Learning Curve

I’ve told you often enough that I don’t like winter here because it is so cold in the house. Another reason I don’t like winter much is that I can’t sleep properly. That has nothing to do with the cold bedroom, though. The problem is Pumpkin and the fact that my little furball is cold too.

As I mentioned before, I have a heavy woollen duvet in my bed plus a fleece blanket on top. Together they keep me wonderfully warm even when the room temperature drops down to 5 degrees or below. On such cold nights, Pumpkin insists on sleeping with me underneath the duvet, and because it’s so heavy, he needs me to lift it up for him a little so he can get inside. Our bedtime routine is such that he’s waiting until I turn off the light before gently scratching the pillow next to my head so I can let him in.

So far, so good. The problem is that while I need eight hours of beauty sleep, Pumpkin certainly doesn’t. He slips out of the bed several times at night to eat and drink, to go potty… And then he wants to get back underneath the covers. When I’m asleep, I don’t react to gentle scratches – so he meows instead. Straight into my ear. Loudly. In other words, he wakes me up several times a night because he’s cold. So far, so bad.

I’ve tried this year to teach him to sleep between the duvet and the fleece blanket. The latter is much lighter, so he can get underneath it without my help. He was not very happy about this for a while – it is not quite as warm as curling up next to my body. But finally, I can report that yes, he got it.

The last few mornings I found him curled up underneath the fleece blanket only, and blissful nights of uninterrupted sleep these were! He now even wants me to tuck him in when he takes his afternoon nap in my bed. It’s those little wins. I just hope he remembers this until next winter…

Hina Matsuri

Tomorrow is hina matsuri, the doll or girl festival. Traditionally, it was meant as a purification rite / blessing for girls, and to this day, there are religious ceremonies in many shrines in the country.

During the Edo period, the custom of setting up so-called hinadan with dolls in homes with girls started – ideally, one for each girl. The most elaborate hinadan have seven tiers, starting at the top with a pair of dairi-bina, which are accompanied on lower tiers by ladies-in-waiting, musicians, guards, and gardeners. Other tiers showcase miniature household goods that a young lady of means could not do without.

Growing up in a small house with lots of stuff that I wasn’t allowed to touch, I don’t usually put up seasonal decorations. However, there is something about hina matsuri that makes me give in, and I bought a very modern dairi-bina pair a few years ago. And then, last year, a friend of mine gave me a super cute pair of dairi-bina in the shapes of my zodiac animal, so…

The Price of Rice

Things have got really expensive here during the last year. Obviously, a large part of this is because the yen is so weak, so all the prices for imports have skyrocketed (except tourists, they come for free it seems…) But also local products have increased in price, in particular: rice.

Compared to normal Japanese people, I eat comparatively little rice, a large bag lasts me several months. Therefore, I tended to watch the sales and usually bought my rice at around 1,980 yen for five kilos of Akitakomachi rice from Akita prefecture. This very same rice at the very same supermarket now goes for 4,090 yen (without sales) for five kilos. I’m quite shocked.

The reason is inflation and high prices all around, but also because there was a quite bad harvest last year because of dry weather; typhoon-related floods also diminished the harvest in other areas of Japan. On top of all that, there was an “advisory” by the JMA (Japan Meteorological Agency) last August about the increased risk of a megaquake along the Nankai Trough, that stretches from central to southwestern Japan in the Pacific Ocean. Note that they also mentioned something about “in the next 100 years”, which didn’t prevent people from stockpiling rice immediately.

In response to the price hike, the Japanese Government has decided to sell about 10% of their rice reserve of 1,000,000 tons to keep prices stable. So far, I haven’t seen much movement in prices; the cheapest 5 kilos at the cheapest supermarket are 3,180 yen right now. I’m wondering if any of that cheap rice will make it to Kyoto or even any of the rural areas at all. I’ll keep you posted.

The Meiji Guillotine Murders

Futaro Yamada

Tokyo, 1869. Two years after the Meiji Emperor took the throne, the country still reels from the aftermath of the Boshin Civil War. Yet, the government, now relocated to Tokyo (formerly known as Edo) tries to regain control and establishes an executive and judicial system after Western examples. The newly established Imperial Prosecuting Office is tasked with tackling the rampant corruption within the government itself.

Chief inspectors Kawaji and Kazuki are two brilliant detectives who are just the right people for this task. Together, and with the help of a shrine maiden who can summon the dead, they solve five impossible seeming murders of minor officials. However, are these murders as unconnected as they seem – or is there somebody pulling the strings from behind?

This historical crime novel is a fairly slow book. The first 100 pages or so only set the scene and introduce us to minor and major characters. The five cases are independent of each other and are solved as such. The puzzles are interesting and fun to solve, but there is no indication that there may be a mastermind behind all the murders; when his identity is revealed, it comes as a shock.

The introduction of the miko-medium to solve the murders seemed strange to me (Shinto doesn’t really deal with death), but since Yamada makes her a foreigner (who may have her own powers), I’ll forgive him for this.

Futaro Yamada was born 1922 in Hyogo Prefecture and studied medicine at Tokyo University. His first short story “The Incident at the Dharma Pass” was published in 1947, and he went on to write more than 100 novels and short stories in his lifetime. In Japan, his best-loved works are historical crime and ninja novels, and many of his books have been adapted for film or manga and anime. He died in 2001.

If you’re ready for something different with a long lead-in to set the scene, give this a try. You can get the book on amazon.