Inspector Imanishi Investigates
by Seicho Matsumoto
Translated by Beth Cary
(New York: Soho, 1989)
The investigation team reached a consensus on these two points and agreed to proceed on these assumptions.
Page 5.
Day after day weary detectives trudged form place to place making inquiries, and came back to headquarters tired out. When detectives were close to capturing a criminal, their expressions were bright no matter how fatigued they were. But when there was no clue, they just looked exhausted.
Page 7.
He had no desire to talk over his work with his family.
Page 9.
The morning sun shone on their small garden. The sunshine had become quite strong. Roplets of water glistened on the leaves of the miniature bonsai plants.
Page 10.
Yoshiko seemed mildly displeased. But this was just her way of showing that she cared for her husband.
Page 10.
The investigation was currently at a standstill. They sere willing to grasp at straws.
Page 15.
If he didn’t come up with results, he would lose face at investigation headquarters.
Page 17.
Detectives never traveled alone. They were always paired up with a partner.
Page 17.
Yoshimura said, his chopsticks stilled for a moment, “I hear that you write poetry. That’s why you focus on scenery.”
Page 19.
The station chief was using the words of standard Japanese, but his accent was thick.
Page 21.
The two detectives visited the dried noodle shop. Next to it, bamboo poles were set with noodles draped from them. This made the noodles appear like white waterfalls when the sun shone on them.
Page 27.
“I feel like our hearts are full of grime.”
Page 32.
Being a veteran detective, he preferred to think things over on his own.
Page 37.
Detectives did not always reveal everything they had up their sleeves at the investigation meetings.
Page 37.
All the houses along the street had their night shutters closed.
Page 52.
The student might not have recognized his face, but he was afraid that the student would remember him.
Page 52.
When a case was solved, the final party to disband he investigation team was a happy occasion. But when the case was closed unsolved, the party became a wake.
Page 54.
When an investigation folded, every uncertainty hounded the detectives.
Page 55.
The two men crossed the square in front of the station and turned down a narrow side street. This area was full of small bars with red lanterns hanging from their eaves.
Page 56.
Silent, Imanishi walked to the back of the small house. In the tiny garden were miniature bonsai trees he had bought at outdoor markets.
Page 60.
Noticing his flushed face, Yoshiko asked, “Did you stop off somewhere for a drink?”
Page 60.
“I suppose you’re going to buy another bonsai plant?”
“I don’t know if I will or not.”
“We don’t have any space to put any more plants in the garden. Please don’t buy any more.”
Page 61.
They got off the streetcar, crossed the large square, and walked down a street lined with shops. Outdoor stalls were set up along the narrow street to the temple. Though it was late and many people were heading home, it was still crowded. The glare of bar light bulbs brightened the stalls, shining on people who had gathered to scoop for goldfish, or to buy cotton candy, bags, games, toys, or herbal medicines.
Page 61.
“There are so many second-rate artists around who just don’t know their limits. All they think about is how to use other people.”
Page 69.
“If a friend asks me to do something, it’s harder for me to refuse.”
Page 72.
“When a woman finds out that she has a rival for the man she loves, she becomes even more determined. First she gets angry and jealous. But the point is what she does after that. The woman who breaks off with a man isn’t passionate about him. Women who are madly in love are the ones who want the man even more.”
Page 74.
“I am not Ken’ichi’s real son. I was adopted. Father lost his wife early and had no children. He hired me to work in his store, and then adopted me into his family.”
Page 76.
Ten-year-old Taro, their only child, ran around the house excitedly, happy that he was going out to the neighborhood bath with his father.
Page 82.
“I don’t want to lose out to any of my friends, my world is like that. It’s a world where scandal can ruin you.”
Page 87.
The process of living had begun.
Page 94.
The radio was pouring out music. It was not the kind she liked, but she felt too lonely to turn it off.
Pages 94-95.
After talking to his friend on the telephone he turned to Imanishi. “He wants you to go to his office and talk to him directly. I’ll write you an introduction if you want to see him”
Page 101.
A staff member came over to serve them tea.
Page 109.
“The people of this region are ashamed of their countrified accent. That’s why we speak standard Japanese when we talk to outsiders. And when we go to Shinji we tend not to use the local dialect when we get close to town.”
Page 111.
The master indicated that Imanishi should sit in the guest’s seat and proceeded to whisk a ritual cup of tea. It was the hottest time of day, and the pungently bitter taste of the tea eased some of Imanishi’s fatigue.
Page 112.
“In our countryside, we don’t have much, but the custom of the Tea Ceremony is our heritage from times past.”
Page 112.
Three months had now passed since the case was opened. A hint of autumn could be felt in the morning and evening air, but the summer days were still horrendously hot.
Page 119.
Imanishi peered at the body from above. Her hair was nicely styled and she had on makeup. She had known that she would be seen by others after she died. She seemed to be wearing her best clothes. The room was tidy and clean.
Page 129.
The sushi shop was getting ready for business. A young man was hanging the shop curtain outside to let customers know that it was open.
Pages 133-134.
“Sorry to bother you when you’re so busy.”
Page 134.
Two staff members worked on their abacuses and examined the ledgers, ignoring Imanishi.
Page 136.
“Sorry to bother you when you’re so busy.”
Page 136.
For some reason, no matter how late he had gotten to sleep, or how occupied he had been on a case, he woke up at six o’clock.
Page 142.
“The masses,” Sekigawa said, “are always dumbfounded by the unintelligibility of pioneering efforts. But after a while, they get used to it. This accommodation leads them into understanding.”
Page 153.
Apologizing for inconveniencing even a younger colleague was natural to Imanishi.
Page 162.
He had become curious about all of the members of the Nouveau group.
Page 163.
Those around Miyata had known that his heart was weak, and this fact had been substantiated by the medical examiner. Yet Imanishi’s suspicious of foul play wouldn’t subside. The actor’s death seemed too well timed.
Page 164.
“Excuse me,” Emiko entered the room.
Page 169.
“Somehow I feel a special closeness to people I see on a trip.”
Page 171.
In the back streets of Ginza was a coffee shop that stayed open until two A.M. After eleven-thirty at night, its customers were mainly hostesses from the nearby cabarets and bars who, after they finished work, would stop by for coffee and pastries before making their way home, relaxing after a tiring night. Some people waited in this coffee shop until after midnight, when the rush to hail taxis after the bars closed subsided. Others came here to meet hostesses with whom they had private arrangements.
Page 175.
“It’s because I’m his friend that I don’t want to say the standard, trite things.”
Page 179.
The other side of Roppongi intersection was dotted with restaurants specializing in Russian, Italian, Austrian, Hungarian, and other cuisines. As they were operated by foreigners, journalists had nicknamed the area “the international settlement.” Some of these restaurants stayed open until three o’clock in the morning.
Page 180.
At this hour, there was no music and no sound from the street. The late night restaurant was enveloped in its own special atmosphere.
Page 180.
Imanishi took off his shoes without a word and stepped up into the house.
Page 186.
“Sorry to interrupt your work.”
Page 193.
He acted just like a murderer even if it was clear from the autopsy that Emiko wasn’t murdered.
Page 210.
Miyata had died just before he was to meet with Imanishi. Emiko’s death had taken place when Imanishi was searching for her. Imanishi had been trailing both of them and now they were both dead.
Page 210.
The two of them opened the glass door to a store, which displayed a red paper lantern hung from its eaves.
Page 211.
“You’re lucky to have your health. I guess it’s probably better for our bodies if we work for as long as we can.”
Page 212.
Toyo gave a big smile and split a pair of chopsticks. She sipped the soup noisily, making appetizing sounds.
Page 212.
I hope that you will not consider it too impolite of me to present it to you.
Page 220.
It felt good to be drinking with this young colleague with whom he was on familiar terms. The brooding feelings he had were lightened during their time together.
Page 225.
“I’ll get it this time. You’re always treating me.”
Imanishi stopped him. “You’re supposed to let your elders take care of these things.”
The shop owner pulled an unwieldy large abacus toward her and began figuring their bill.
Page 228.
“This elegant abacus would cry if we used it for our meager household finances,” Yoshiko said as she put it carefully away in a drawer.
Page 231.
It was at that instant Imanishi felt as if he had been hit by an electric current, jolting his brain into awareness. He sat still while the ashes from his cigarette fell on his knees. He didn’t move for some ten minutes. Then, suddenly, as if he had awakened from a dream, he continued his letter in a flurry. The ending was completely different from the one he had intended to write.
Page 233.
People from all over Japan came to worship at Ise Shrine.
Page 242.
“Thank you so much for taking time when you’re so busy.”
Page 245.
“I’m sorry to trouble you.”
Page 246.
“Thank you, I’m sorry to cause you all this trouble.”
Page 250.
Still in his suit, Imanishi opened the cupboard. There was some sashimi purchased at the local fish store, along with a plate of meat and radishes. Steam rose from the thermos container for the rice, a recent purchase.
Page 252.
He had changed his clothes and was skimming the evening paper with a toothpick in his mouth.
Page 252.
As a detective he was suspicious about everything.
Page 258.
“Thank you for all your efforts,” Yoshimura bowed.
Page 260.
The sounds of the Kansai dialect of the region around Osaka grated on his ears.
Page 261.
The clous over the mountain looked cold.
Page 261.
He got out of the taxi near half a dozen farmhouses separated by fields. This was an area with considerable snowfall so the eaves of the houses were very deep.
A young woman stood in front of a house, carrying a baby on her back.
Page 262.
Yoshiko poured some sake into each of their cups.
Page 272.
Yoshimura listened intently, nodding his head and making agreeable responses.
Page 272.
“It’s taken a long time, but I feel as if we’re starting to close in on this case, little by little,” Yoshimura said. … “Nothing’s definite yet, but that’s my intuition. I feel we’ve come to the moment just before the solution.”
Page 275.
Imanishi rushed out of headquarters. The swans swimming in the moat around the Imperial Palace looked cold. The branches of the trees lining the streets were shivering in the wind, scattering yellow leaves.
Page 279.
Tokyo was in the midst of a political reshuffling. The cabinet had resigned en masse, and a new cabinet was about to be formed. The men from the security section had been assigned to guard the prime minister’s residence.
Page 283.
He rose and washed his face. As he g4ushed his teeth he could smell miso soup and scallions.
Page 283.
Sekigawa walked slowly down a side street, deep in thought. He entered a brightly lit pachinko hall.
“Give me two hundred yen worth.”
He scooped up the small metal balls in is hands and stood in front of a board. Hhis thumb flipped the lever, sending the balls across the face of the machine. He did not seem to care at all whether he won or lost. He just kept on flipping the lever.
Page 288.
Miki had changed his plans and suddenly decided to go to Tokyo. There was someone he wanted to see again before he took leave of this world.
Page 291.
No matter how he might have fretted about it, if the local police station was unenthusiastic, he could not hope for any success.
Page 293.
“Sorry for asking such troublesome questions.”
Page 302.
A certain man decided to commit a murder. he realized that his clothes would become bloodstained. He could not hail a taxi in such a state. Before committing his crime, he called the Avant-Garde Theater at Tokyo Hall from a public phone booth. It was late at night, but Rieko was still there. He ordered her to bring him something to wear over his clothes. He also told her where to meet him. On the spur of the moment, she stole the raincoat, which was a stage costume worn by Miyata Kunio. Perhaps she had asked Miyata to sneak toe raincoat out. That’s it, that must have been it. Otherwise, even if it were just one raincoat, her conscience would have prevented her from stealing something from the theater troupe. By taxi, it was a short ride from Shibuya to the scene of the crime. If she had taken the train, she could easily have changed at Gotanda or Meguro to reach the site. She met her lover, who was standing in the shadows, and handed him the raincoat.
Page 303.
“This is my name,” Imanishi gave Yasuhiro his card. “Thank you so much for your cooperation.” He bowed.
“Please don’t mention it.” The man named Yasuhiro also gave Imanishi his card, and the information he sought.
Page 306.
“It must have been tiring for you. It would be good if you could take a bath at a time like this, but the public bath doesn’t open until ten o’clock.” Yoshiko said, concerned.
In order to accommodate a bathtub, the Imanishis would need to add on to their house. It was hard for them to sae up enough money to pay for it.
Page 322.
“It’s impossible to predict where we may end up in our line of work.”
Page 322.
“When people become arrogant, they feel like sneering at others, certain that they won’t catch on.”
Page 324.
“Imanishi-san, will we make it in time?”
“We’ll have to manage somehow.”
Page 330.
“Motoura Hideo, now Waga Eiryo, had achieved much as was on the brink of attaining even more. Just at that moment there appeared this figure from the past. Of course, Miki had no ulterior motive. He had come to Tokyo to see the boy whom he had taken under his wing, for whom he felt responsible, the boy whom he’d lost. For Hideo, however, this was a moment of great panic. If he was discovered to have had a father who had suffered from an odious disease and to have falsified his personal history, his engagement would be broken off. No family - especially one lie the Tadokoros - would permit a wedding between their daughter and the son of a leper. The alarm and anguish that he must have felt are no doubt inexpressible in words.”
Page 337.
There was no Waga Eiryo. The family register that was submitted in nineteen forty-nine was entirely the reaction of Motoura Hideo.
Page 337.
“When one thinks that his motivation was to extricate himself from his disease-ridden father’s family register in order to pave the way for his own future, this boy deserves sympathy.”
Pages 337-338.
“It seems clear that to protect his personal standing and to assure his own future, he decided to kill Miki.”
Page 338.
“In order to seal Miyata’s lips, Waga killed him by utilizing electronic music and ultrasonic waves to cause a heart attack. I would like to stress that this is a method of murder that has not existed before.”
Page 339.
A cheer went up. A multitude of arms were raised in waves.
Page 341.
“Excuse me.” Yoshimura called Waga aside. “I’m sorry to disturb you. Please pardon me.” He led Waga over to where Imanishi stood.
Taking an envelope form his pocket, Yoshimura pulled out the document inside and handed it to the composer. With trembling hands, Waga took the piece of paper and ran his eyes over its contents. It was a warrant for his arrest on suspicion of murder. The blood drained from Waga’s face. His eyes stared vacantly off into space.
Page 342.
“This announcement is for those seeing off Waga Eiryo who was scheduled to depart on the ten P.M. Pan American flight to San Francisco. Waga-san has been detained by urgent business and will not be boarding this flight. Waga-san will not be boarding this flight …”
The voice was modulated, the cadence of the words was slow. It sounded as lovely as music.
Page 343.