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Point Zero
A triumph by Seicho Matsumoto (1909-1992), the master of Japanese mystery writing. A beautifully written novel that takes on the taboo of Japanese prostitution catering to GIs during the American post-war occupation.
Tokyo 1958, Teiko marries Kenichi Uehara, ten years her senior, an advertising man recommended by an intermediary. After a four-day honeymoon, Kenichi vanishes. Keito travels to the coastal and snow-bound city of Kanazawa, where Kenishi was last seen, to investigate his disappearance. She discovers that he had been a police officer in Tokyo after the war, keeping watch over pan pan girls, Japanese prostitutes catering to GIs. Some of these women have created a new life in Kanazawa and may have taken extreme measures to hide their past.
Tokyo 1958, Teiko marries Kenichi Uehara, ten years her senior, an advertising man recommended by an intermediary. After a four-day honeymoon, Kenichi vanishes. Keito travels to the coastal and snow-bound city of Kanazawa, where Kenishi was last seen, to investigate his disappearance. She discovers that he had been a police officer in Tokyo after the war, keeping watch over pan pan girls, Japanese prostitutes catering to GIs. Some of these women have created a new life in Kanazawa and may have taken extreme measures to hide their past.
279 pages, Kindle Edition
First published December 1, 1959
52 people are currently reading
830 people want to read
About the author
Seichō Matsumoto
592 books603 followersSeicho Matsumoto (松本清張, Matsumoto Seichō), December 21, 1909 – August 4, 1992) was a Japanese writer.
Matsumoto's works created a new tradition of Japanese crime fiction. Dispensing with formulaic plot devices such as puzzles, Matsumoto incorporated elements of human psychology and ordinary life into his crime fiction. In particular, his works often reflect a wider social context and postwar nihilism that expanded the scope and further darkened the atmosphere of the genre. His exposé of corruption among police officials as well as criminals was a new addition to the field. The subject of investigation was not just the crime but also the society in which the crime was committed.
The self-educated Matsumoto did not see his first book in print until he was in his forties. He was a prolific author, he wrote until his death in 1992, producing in four decades more than 450 works. Matsumoto's mystery and detective fiction solidified his reputation as a writer at home and abroad. He wrote historical novels and nonfiction in addition to mystery/detective fiction.
He was awarded the Akutagawa Prize in 1952 and the Kikuchi Kan Prize in 1970, as well as the Mystery Writers of Japan Award in 1957. He chaired the president of Mystery Writers of Japan from 1963 to 1971.
Credited with popularizing the genre among readers in his country, Matsumoto became his nation's best-selling and highest earning author in the 1960s. His most acclaimed detective novels, including Ten to sen (1958; Points and Lines, 1970); Suna no utsuwa (1961; Inspector Imanishi Investigates, 1989) and Kiri no hata (1961; Pro Bono, 2012), have been translated into a number of languages, including English.
He collaborated with film director Yoshitarō Nomura on adaptations of eight of his novels to film, including Castle of Sand.
Matsumoto's works created a new tradition of Japanese crime fiction. Dispensing with formulaic plot devices such as puzzles, Matsumoto incorporated elements of human psychology and ordinary life into his crime fiction. In particular, his works often reflect a wider social context and postwar nihilism that expanded the scope and further darkened the atmosphere of the genre. His exposé of corruption among police officials as well as criminals was a new addition to the field. The subject of investigation was not just the crime but also the society in which the crime was committed.
The self-educated Matsumoto did not see his first book in print until he was in his forties. He was a prolific author, he wrote until his death in 1992, producing in four decades more than 450 works. Matsumoto's mystery and detective fiction solidified his reputation as a writer at home and abroad. He wrote historical novels and nonfiction in addition to mystery/detective fiction.
He was awarded the Akutagawa Prize in 1952 and the Kikuchi Kan Prize in 1970, as well as the Mystery Writers of Japan Award in 1957. He chaired the president of Mystery Writers of Japan from 1963 to 1971.
Credited with popularizing the genre among readers in his country, Matsumoto became his nation's best-selling and highest earning author in the 1960s. His most acclaimed detective novels, including Ten to sen (1958; Points and Lines, 1970); Suna no utsuwa (1961; Inspector Imanishi Investigates, 1989) and Kiri no hata (1961; Pro Bono, 2012), have been translated into a number of languages, including English.
He collaborated with film director Yoshitarō Nomura on adaptations of eight of his novels to film, including Castle of Sand.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 128 reviews
December 11, 2016
I didn't expect a book like this from Seicho Matsumoto, one of the most legendary detective novelists from Japan. What I had expected from Mr. Matsumoto is hard-boiled murder mystery, but this novel of his offered me not just a murder mystery, but something even more.
Zero Focus sets us on a journey to the remote coastlines of the 1960s Northern Japan. A man had suddenly gone missing and his young newlywed wife of one month must search for him. But as the heroine's quest leaded her further into the unknown, her husband's many secrets were slowly revealed; she realized the few remaining people who happened to know those secrets were being silent one by one, by a mysterious person from her husband's hidden past. So, could she catch up with the murderer before it was too late?
I admire Mr. Matsumoto's description of the Northern Japanese landscape, and his vivid description adds much to the dark, noir-style atmosphere of the story. The heaving snow, the railway that reaches to nowhere, the lonely towns, the rocky coastlines at the edge of an icy ocean. A young woman stands alone in this snowy landscape, surrounded by loss and uncertainty, searching for a missing man. You get the pictures in your head as you read the story, I wish I can find movies which are based on this novel, after finishing the novel, I want nothing but to see this story visualized. (PS: there's a 2009 movie version, which seems to be called Zero Focus.)
This is a neatly and masterfully written murder mystery, although the murder mystery itself isn't all so tricky, still this book does have other charms. I'm surprised to find how much of a romance this book is (don't worry, it's a mature, subtly sort of romance). I like how Mr. Matsumoto wrote the complicated relationships among men and women, and how lies and half-truth give everyone nothing but regret, sadness and guilt.
I also like how the male characters are described, in the story, hardly any of the male character are truly innocent and all of them seem to be hiding something behind (for their different reasons) which really helps to thicken the mystery; and how can we have a worthy romance when there's no mystery to spice things up?!
We also meet a few female characters, but we don't get to find out more about those women till the ending arrives. On the other hand, the heroine plays the part of a strong willed, thoughtful young woman, and you may find it easy to sympathize with her and the difficult situation she faces.
Last but not least, the ending scene is highly emotional and memorable.
Zero Focus sets us on a journey to the remote coastlines of the 1960s Northern Japan. A man had suddenly gone missing and his young newlywed wife of one month must search for him. But as the heroine's quest leaded her further into the unknown, her husband's many secrets were slowly revealed; she realized the few remaining people who happened to know those secrets were being silent one by one, by a mysterious person from her husband's hidden past. So, could she catch up with the murderer before it was too late?
I admire Mr. Matsumoto's description of the Northern Japanese landscape, and his vivid description adds much to the dark, noir-style atmosphere of the story. The heaving snow, the railway that reaches to nowhere, the lonely towns, the rocky coastlines at the edge of an icy ocean. A young woman stands alone in this snowy landscape, surrounded by loss and uncertainty, searching for a missing man. You get the pictures in your head as you read the story, I wish I can find movies which are based on this novel, after finishing the novel, I want nothing but to see this story visualized. (PS: there's a 2009 movie version, which seems to be called Zero Focus.)
This is a neatly and masterfully written murder mystery, although the murder mystery itself isn't all so tricky, still this book does have other charms. I'm surprised to find how much of a romance this book is (don't worry, it's a mature, subtly sort of romance). I like how Mr. Matsumoto wrote the complicated relationships among men and women, and how lies and half-truth give everyone nothing but regret, sadness and guilt.
I also like how the male characters are described, in the story, hardly any of the male character are truly innocent and all of them seem to be hiding something behind (for their different reasons) which really helps to thicken the mystery; and how can we have a worthy romance when there's no mystery to spice things up?!
We also meet a few female characters, but we don't get to find out more about those women till the ending arrives. On the other hand, the heroine plays the part of a strong willed, thoughtful young woman, and you may find it easy to sympathize with her and the difficult situation she faces.
Last but not least, the ending scene is highly emotional and memorable.
April 9, 2024
Full post is here at my online reading journal:
http://www.crimesegments.com/2024/04/...
I'll just say that I enjoyed this book so much that I immediately grabbed Matsumoto's A Quiet Place (also from Europa) off of my shelf to read just as soon as I'd finished Point Zero. I also watched the 1961 film based on this novel via the Criterion Channel, and I am rather impatiently awaiting the arrival of the 2009 version DVD as well.
Although Teiko Itane had received marriage proposals in the past, she'd turned them all down. Her situation changes when she receives a proposal from a certain Kenichi Uhara via a matchmaker. Uhara is the manager of the Hokuriku branch of a major advertising firm, spending twenty days a month at the office in Kanazawa City and ten days in Tokyo. That arrangement is of particular concern to Teiko's mother, but it seems that the company has been trying to get him to move to Tokyo for a while and he's finally agreed, using the opportunity to finally get married as well. Even though they hadn't spent any time alone together, Teiko decides to accept the proposal, and also believes that whatever life he'd had in the past should stay in the past. This decision will come back to bite her later, but for the moment, aside from some sort of unspoken "complexity" within Kenichi that she senses, the few early days of the marriage that they share aren't so bad for either of them. She's made friends with Kenichi's brother's family (who live in the Aoyama neighborhood of Tokyo) and after the honeymoon, the plan is for Kenichi to make his final trip to Kanazawa to hand over the job to his successor, a certain Yoshio Honda, who will be accompanying him on the train journey. As she watches the train pull out of the station, she has no clue that this will be "the last time Teiko ever saw her husband." What follows is her search for her now-missing husband, and after the first bit of information comes as a shock to her, it is just the opening salvo of many more surprises to come, including a series of unexpected deaths and a ruthless killer who is determined not to be caught. The question that drives Teiko here is just how these deaths are connected. She also realizes that "Her husband had a secret. What was it?" Beginning her quest with only two photos of two different houses that might possibly be some sort of clue, finding the answers becomes for Teiko nearly a full-time occupation.
The novel is utterly twisty, full of betrayals and secrets which eventually are unraveled to take the reader to another time and place entirely. All of the above makes for a solid mystery at the core of this novel, and I seriously had trouble putting it down once I'd started. I have a great love for Japanese crime authors who use their writing to explore human nature and troubled psyches, and Point Zero certainly appeals on that level as well. What elevates it beyond ordinary is Matsumoto's ability to set the crime not only within historical context but in a changing social context as well. This one I can certainly and highly recommend, especially to readers of vintage Japanese crime fiction. I loved it.
http://www.crimesegments.com/2024/04/...
I'll just say that I enjoyed this book so much that I immediately grabbed Matsumoto's A Quiet Place (also from Europa) off of my shelf to read just as soon as I'd finished Point Zero. I also watched the 1961 film based on this novel via the Criterion Channel, and I am rather impatiently awaiting the arrival of the 2009 version DVD as well.
Although Teiko Itane had received marriage proposals in the past, she'd turned them all down. Her situation changes when she receives a proposal from a certain Kenichi Uhara via a matchmaker. Uhara is the manager of the Hokuriku branch of a major advertising firm, spending twenty days a month at the office in Kanazawa City and ten days in Tokyo. That arrangement is of particular concern to Teiko's mother, but it seems that the company has been trying to get him to move to Tokyo for a while and he's finally agreed, using the opportunity to finally get married as well. Even though they hadn't spent any time alone together, Teiko decides to accept the proposal, and also believes that whatever life he'd had in the past should stay in the past. This decision will come back to bite her later, but for the moment, aside from some sort of unspoken "complexity" within Kenichi that she senses, the few early days of the marriage that they share aren't so bad for either of them. She's made friends with Kenichi's brother's family (who live in the Aoyama neighborhood of Tokyo) and after the honeymoon, the plan is for Kenichi to make his final trip to Kanazawa to hand over the job to his successor, a certain Yoshio Honda, who will be accompanying him on the train journey. As she watches the train pull out of the station, she has no clue that this will be "the last time Teiko ever saw her husband." What follows is her search for her now-missing husband, and after the first bit of information comes as a shock to her, it is just the opening salvo of many more surprises to come, including a series of unexpected deaths and a ruthless killer who is determined not to be caught. The question that drives Teiko here is just how these deaths are connected. She also realizes that "Her husband had a secret. What was it?" Beginning her quest with only two photos of two different houses that might possibly be some sort of clue, finding the answers becomes for Teiko nearly a full-time occupation.
The novel is utterly twisty, full of betrayals and secrets which eventually are unraveled to take the reader to another time and place entirely. All of the above makes for a solid mystery at the core of this novel, and I seriously had trouble putting it down once I'd started. I have a great love for Japanese crime authors who use their writing to explore human nature and troubled psyches, and Point Zero certainly appeals on that level as well. What elevates it beyond ordinary is Matsumoto's ability to set the crime not only within historical context but in a changing social context as well. This one I can certainly and highly recommend, especially to readers of vintage Japanese crime fiction. I loved it.
November 18, 2015
ゼロの焦点 (Zero Focus) is a mystery novel by Seichi Matsumoto, interesting enough, but not great.
Teiko marries Kenichi Uhara, who works for an advertising agency, through a 見合い (arranged marriage) and start living together. She is 26, he 36. Before marrying he worked between Tokyo and Kanazawa, in the North of Japan. For their honeymoon, she wanted to go to Kanazawa and she the environment in which her husband worked, but he decided, to her disappointment, they should go somewhere else. During that trip, she feels he loves her but that, at the same time, is comparing her to another woman. But of course, he is 36, so it's normal he had a previous relationship.
When they come back, he asks for a permanent post in Tokyo, and his requirement is accepted. But before settling in Tokyo, he has to go North with the new manager, Honda, to finish some business and teaching him everything necessary.
And he disappears.
Teiko decides to go to Kanazawa after a couple of days, where she teams up with Honda and search for Uhara around town. From here on we have quite the straight mystery, with lots of talking, surprising plot developments, etc. etc.
Matsumoto's writing style is not bad, but the novel is just talk talk talk, with not much deep in it. You may have 20, 30 pages of meaningless conversation, and he has the bad habit of repeating the information every chapter. Of course, this novel was serialized in a magazine, but still, it makes the novel repetitive. Teiko, and every other character, keep going around the same idea for pages, and you will be feeling the novel should have been trimmed, at least, one third.
On the other hand it is interesting to read about the post-war Japan, how people saw the new situation, and how Matsumoto uses the new society that was coming up for his plot developments. And the atmosphere, the mood of the novel is quite good too. But this doesn't save a cheap mystery and lots of filling.
4,5
Teiko marries Kenichi Uhara, who works for an advertising agency, through a 見合い (arranged marriage) and start living together. She is 26, he 36. Before marrying he worked between Tokyo and Kanazawa, in the North of Japan. For their honeymoon, she wanted to go to Kanazawa and she the environment in which her husband worked, but he decided, to her disappointment, they should go somewhere else. During that trip, she feels he loves her but that, at the same time, is comparing her to another woman. But of course, he is 36, so it's normal he had a previous relationship.
When they come back, he asks for a permanent post in Tokyo, and his requirement is accepted. But before settling in Tokyo, he has to go North with the new manager, Honda, to finish some business and teaching him everything necessary.
And he disappears.
Teiko decides to go to Kanazawa after a couple of days, where she teams up with Honda and search for Uhara around town. From here on we have quite the straight mystery, with lots of talking, surprising plot developments, etc. etc.
Matsumoto's writing style is not bad, but the novel is just talk talk talk, with not much deep in it. You may have 20, 30 pages of meaningless conversation, and he has the bad habit of repeating the information every chapter. Of course, this novel was serialized in a magazine, but still, it makes the novel repetitive. Teiko, and every other character, keep going around the same idea for pages, and you will be feeling the novel should have been trimmed, at least, one third.
On the other hand it is interesting to read about the post-war Japan, how people saw the new situation, and how Matsumoto uses the new society that was coming up for his plot developments. And the atmosphere, the mood of the novel is quite good too. But this doesn't save a cheap mystery and lots of filling.
4,5
September 2, 2022
Giallo psicologico ambientato negli anni immediatamente successivi al dopoguerra giapponese. Molto radicato nella storia dell'epoca, anche la trama gialla prende spunto da quegli eventi e ne riflette malinconie, difficoltà e tristezze.
Bellissimo il personaggio di Teiko: il romanzo è praticamente raccontato attraverso i suoi pensieri. Ci immerge profondamente nella sua psiche tanto che alla fine sembra di esser lì con lei, sulle rive del Mar del Giappone, in una sera di burrasca invernale, ripetendo assieme a lei i versi di Allan Poe:
Nel suo sepolcro laggiù in riva al mare
nella sua tomba laggiù dove echeggia il mare!
Bellissimo il personaggio di Teiko: il romanzo è praticamente raccontato attraverso i suoi pensieri. Ci immerge profondamente nella sua psiche tanto che alla fine sembra di esser lì con lei, sulle rive del Mar del Giappone, in una sera di burrasca invernale, ripetendo assieme a lei i versi di Allan Poe:
Nel suo sepolcro laggiù in riva al mare
nella sua tomba laggiù dove echeggia il mare!
Read
May 11, 2025Point Zero was a truly interesting mystery, set in 1958 in Japan - a time and place I didn’t know much about. The story was written contemporaneously, so it had some extra pep and verve for me as a reflection of how lives were changing, even while many traditions lived on.
As this is covered in the book’s blurb, I don’t think it’s a spoiler to say that Point Zero looks back the then-recent history of ‘pan-pan girls’. These were young Japanese women who flocked to the American bases in the immediate aftermath of World War II to work as prostitutes and escorts. The women faced arrest and a huge backlash, but it seemed the best or only option for some, given the limited resources and opportunities available, as well as huge societal upheaval. I found this part of the story to be handled well - surprisingly well, really. I thought the women in the story were mostly dealt with fairly and compassionately.
In contrast, many of the men in the novel were somewhat disappointing, held back by dishonesty. This was also dealt with reasonably and compassionately as well! There really weren’t any out-and-out villians.
In terms of many of the big reveals, I did see them coming, but that didn’t take away from my enjoyment.
As this is covered in the book’s blurb, I don’t think it’s a spoiler to say that Point Zero looks back the then-recent history of ‘pan-pan girls’. These were young Japanese women who flocked to the American bases in the immediate aftermath of World War II to work as prostitutes and escorts. The women faced arrest and a huge backlash, but it seemed the best or only option for some, given the limited resources and opportunities available, as well as huge societal upheaval. I found this part of the story to be handled well - surprisingly well, really. I thought the women in the story were mostly dealt with fairly and compassionately.
In contrast, many of the men in the novel were somewhat disappointing, held back by dishonesty. This was also dealt with reasonably and compassionately as well! There really weren’t any out-and-out villians.
In terms of many of the big reveals, I did see them coming, but that didn’t take away from my enjoyment.
August 22, 2021
Questa per me è l'estate in cui ho "scoperto" Simenon (ma ho letto solo uno dei romans durs, niente Maigret, almeno per ora) e di Seicho Matsumoto, suo doppio giapponese. Entrambi hanno scritto centinaia di romanzi, ed entrambi si muovono nei territori del giallo noir.
Matsumoto, sosteneva che i polizieschi devono avere come scheletro le investigazioni, ma che, d'altra parte, dovrebbero essere accompagnati da sottotemi per evitare la monotonia. E io sposo in pieno questa sua idea. I suoi sono infatti gialli che affondano le radici nelle tematiche sociali del Giappone. Non a caso, Matsumoto è anche uno scrittore di storici, si è occupato sia di storia antica che recente. La sua vita ha poi attraversato il 900, secolo che, non solo in Occidente, ha portato grandi sconvolgimenti nella società, quindi di "sottotemi" da inserire ne ha molti a disposizione, molto interessanti per una come me che è affamata di Giappone.
Qua le tematiche sono quelle del dopoguerra (non immediato), delle pan-pan, le prostitute poco più che adolescenti di cui si accompagnavano i soldati americani, e altri più tipici della vecchia società come i matrimoni combinati, e il sempre presente topos del suicidio.
La storia inizia appunto con un matrimonio combinato, la giovane sposa, dopo il viaggio di nozze con il marito che ha una decina di anni più di lei - e di cui conosce solo quello che le ha raccontato l'intermediario e il poco che lui si lascia sfuggire nel loro incontro - aspetta che l'uomo torni dalla sua trasferta mensile nella prefettura di Ishikawa per stabilirsi finalmente a Tokio, ma lui non torna e tocca alla donna, aiutata dal successore nel lavoro del marito, indagare su questa scomparsa.
A fare, come dicevo, da dodicesimo uomo, è proprio la prefettura di Ishikawa, la città di Kanazawa con le antiche abitazioni dei samurai e il clima tetro, tipico dell'intera regione. Più avanziamo nella trama, più avanza l'inverno, i treni locali che la donna prende per seguire le sue scoperte attraversano la neve alta, nei ryokan ci si rifugia sotto il kotasu (quel tavolino riscaldato con la spessa coperta che copre le gambe), sulle scogliere a picco sul mare gelido il vento soffia forte. L'atmosfera è tetra, tragica, fa da perfetto sfondo alle vicende che si disvelano poco per volta.
Il romanzo è nato come serializzazione, infatti spesso ci ci trova a rileggere le stesse congetture, un po' come un riassunto di cosa la protagonista ha capito fino a quel punto, ma per il resto la scrittura è piuttosto essenziale e a suo modo evocativa.
La storia intriga soprattutto per tematiche e ambientazioni, rispetto a un solito giallo. Avanza un po' a intuizioni, ma tutto è comunque deducibile dal contesto e dalle indagini. Il climax sale poco per volta fino a scoppiare proprio poco prima del finale. Un libro che consiglio.
Matsumoto, sosteneva che i polizieschi devono avere come scheletro le investigazioni, ma che, d'altra parte, dovrebbero essere accompagnati da sottotemi per evitare la monotonia. E io sposo in pieno questa sua idea. I suoi sono infatti gialli che affondano le radici nelle tematiche sociali del Giappone. Non a caso, Matsumoto è anche uno scrittore di storici, si è occupato sia di storia antica che recente. La sua vita ha poi attraversato il 900, secolo che, non solo in Occidente, ha portato grandi sconvolgimenti nella società, quindi di "sottotemi" da inserire ne ha molti a disposizione, molto interessanti per una come me che è affamata di Giappone.
Qua le tematiche sono quelle del dopoguerra (non immediato), delle pan-pan, le prostitute poco più che adolescenti di cui si accompagnavano i soldati americani, e altri più tipici della vecchia società come i matrimoni combinati, e il sempre presente topos del suicidio.
La storia inizia appunto con un matrimonio combinato, la giovane sposa, dopo il viaggio di nozze con il marito che ha una decina di anni più di lei - e di cui conosce solo quello che le ha raccontato l'intermediario e il poco che lui si lascia sfuggire nel loro incontro - aspetta che l'uomo torni dalla sua trasferta mensile nella prefettura di Ishikawa per stabilirsi finalmente a Tokio, ma lui non torna e tocca alla donna, aiutata dal successore nel lavoro del marito, indagare su questa scomparsa.
A fare, come dicevo, da dodicesimo uomo, è proprio la prefettura di Ishikawa, la città di Kanazawa con le antiche abitazioni dei samurai e il clima tetro, tipico dell'intera regione. Più avanziamo nella trama, più avanza l'inverno, i treni locali che la donna prende per seguire le sue scoperte attraversano la neve alta, nei ryokan ci si rifugia sotto il kotasu (quel tavolino riscaldato con la spessa coperta che copre le gambe), sulle scogliere a picco sul mare gelido il vento soffia forte. L'atmosfera è tetra, tragica, fa da perfetto sfondo alle vicende che si disvelano poco per volta.
Il romanzo è nato come serializzazione, infatti spesso ci ci trova a rileggere le stesse congetture, un po' come un riassunto di cosa la protagonista ha capito fino a quel punto, ma per il resto la scrittura è piuttosto essenziale e a suo modo evocativa.
La storia intriga soprattutto per tematiche e ambientazioni, rispetto a un solito giallo. Avanza un po' a intuizioni, ma tutto è comunque deducibile dal contesto e dalle indagini. Il climax sale poco per volta fino a scoppiare proprio poco prima del finale. Un libro che consiglio.
April 10, 2024
Ale kurwa grubymi nićmi szyte
December 31, 2024
I grabbed this from the library, forgetting I had read two other books by Matsumo and had been underwhelmed. I almost returned it unread and am glad I did not. I was surprised at how much I ended up enjoying this mystery. Not sure if his writing style has grown on me or if this book was that dramatically different than the other books of his I read.
I think the main difference is that in this book the protagonist is a female character. Since the reader was in her head, there weren’t as many sexist thoughts like the male protagonists in the other books. I appreciated that there was not a love story other than the arranged marriage that opens the book and that is not a love story. I was surprised that after WWII there were arranged marriages going on.
I had never heard of pan pan girls before this book. One aspect of reading classic Japanese mysteries that I have enjoyed is learning more about Japanese history. Matsumoto was not judgmental at all which surprised me. There was a little bit of classism thrown in - even “nice” girls from middle class and upper class families had to do this in the aftermath of losing the war. Multiple characters mention what is in the past should stay in the past and it is the present and the future that matter. Was this a common sentiment at that time? It seems so?
As for the mystery itself, it was not mysterious at all. It was obvious from the get-go who the killer was. That didn’t bother me like it would in most mysteries because I was so taken with the setting and general atmosphere of post war Japan. It felt more like a novel and less like a standard mystery. Maybe it was my mood at the time of reading, but I ended up feeling very taken with the story. After finishing I couldn’t think of any major complaints other than the easily solved mystery. So I guess it’s really 4.5 and not 5 stars. A bit of a ding for not making the mystery more twisty.
I think the main difference is that in this book the protagonist is a female character. Since the reader was in her head, there weren’t as many sexist thoughts like the male protagonists in the other books. I appreciated that there was not a love story other than the arranged marriage that opens the book and that is not a love story. I was surprised that after WWII there were arranged marriages going on.
I had never heard of pan pan girls before this book. One aspect of reading classic Japanese mysteries that I have enjoyed is learning more about Japanese history. Matsumoto was not judgmental at all which surprised me. There was a little bit of classism thrown in - even “nice” girls from middle class and upper class families had to do this in the aftermath of losing the war. Multiple characters mention what is in the past should stay in the past and it is the present and the future that matter. Was this a common sentiment at that time? It seems so?
As for the mystery itself, it was not mysterious at all. It was obvious from the get-go who the killer was. That didn’t bother me like it would in most mysteries because I was so taken with the setting and general atmosphere of post war Japan. It felt more like a novel and less like a standard mystery. Maybe it was my mood at the time of reading, but I ended up feeling very taken with the story. After finishing I couldn’t think of any major complaints other than the easily solved mystery. So I guess it’s really 4.5 and not 5 stars. A bit of a ding for not making the mystery more twisty.
April 22, 2024
A riveting tale that peels its layers little by little until you can’t put it down to get the whole picture. You are transported to post-war Japan and they spare no detail divulging in the effects of the American occupation and give a strong sense of the geography through train in Japan.
October 30, 2021
Seichō Matsumoto è la figura preminente nel mare magnum del giallo giapponese ed è stato il rinnovatore e rinnovatore del genere che precedentemente era caratterizzato dalle influenze dei gialli deduttivi tipici dell’epoca d’oro della detective story anglosassone.
La diffusione dei suoi romanzi in Italia è stata molto scarsa, limitandosi ad alcuni suoi titoli di successo ma dopo l’interesse suscitato da “Tokyo Express”, lentamente le case editrici stanno scoprendo l’estremo interesse della sua produzione.
“Agenzia A”, pubblicato nel 1959, è uno dei romanzi di Matsumoto usciti recentemente nella collana “Il giallo Mondadori” riservata alle librerie e fa emergere i temi tipici dello scrittore nipponico.
Teicho Itane è una giovane donna che sposa, con un matrimonio combinato, Ken’ichi Uhara impiegato di dieci anni più anziano.
Ken’ichi dopo alcuni giorni di nozze si reca nell’ufficio situato a Kanazawa, unacittà lontana situata nel nord del Giappone per passare le consegne prima di essere trasferito a Tokyo dove è stato trasferito per stare vicino alla moglie.
Dopo alcuni giorni di attesa però Ken’ichi non torna nella capitale malgrado avesse preannunciato il ritorno e di conseguenza Teicho decide di indagare sulla scomparsa recandosi a Kanazawa.
La ricerca di Teicho sarà ostacolata da misteriosi omicidi che faranno ipotizzare uno scenario molto preoccupante per chi indaga.
“Agenzia A” è un titolo non congruo visto che quello originale è “Zero no shōten” che può essere tradotto come “Da zero in avanti” mettendo l’accento su una rinascita, una ripartenza come quella del Giappone dopo la devastazione causata dalla sconfitta nella Seconda guerra Mondiale.
La caratteristica principale di Matsumoto infatti è l’estremo realismo delle sue trame dove innesta diversi rilievi critici alla società giapponese.
Scrive infatti in “Agenzia A”. “Il cognato che aveva appena perso non le piaceva un granché. Era un impiegato abbastanza normale, un “uomo di buonsenso”. Normale nel senso che le pareva uso a una certa smaliziata disonestà per cavarsela nella vita, uno che , anche sul lavoro, si muoveva scaltramente tra i superiori, mentre, da una parte, si arruffianava i colleghi, e dall’altra cercava sempre di stare nella posizione che più gli aggradava. Era l’impressione che le aveva dato sin dalla prima volta in cui l’aveva visto, ma con il comportamento che aveva tenuto dopo l’arrivo a Kanazawa aveva incupito ancora di più l’ombra che quell’impressione gettava sul suo cuore”.
Il libro è narrato in terza persona ma tenendo conto del punto di vista di Teicho perciò il lettore conosce l’evoluzione dei pensieri della giovane donna e ne segue le varie teorie che lentamente mettono assieme tanti indizi e la portano alla soluzione del mistero.
La grande abilità di Seichō Matsumoto porta alla sutura tra giallo deduttivo e mystery psicologico inquadrando tutto nella raffigurazione di una società in rapida trasformazione ma che è ancora legata alla tradizione e al burrascoso periodo del dopoguerra quando la nazione asiatica era sotto occupazione degli alleati.
L’indagine di Teicho sulla scomparsa del marito diventa infatti anche un’indagine sia geografica, dove la costante presenza della ferrovia ricorda alcuni temi trattati in “Tokyo Express”, sia storica rivolta verso il passato dell’occupazione americana nei riferimenti alle pan pan, prostitute che si accompagnavano ai militari americani negli anni durissimi del dopoguerra.
Seichō Matsumoto è stato spesso definito “il Simenon del Sol Levante” e anche se tra i due scrittori ci sono diverse differenze sono accomunati dall’estrema fecondità narrativa, essendo accreditati di più di trecento romanzi, e dalla grande capacità di tessere trame di grande impatto psicologico dove il dubbio diventa protagonista e porta i personaggi a indagare sulla complessità della vita.
La diffusione dei suoi romanzi in Italia è stata molto scarsa, limitandosi ad alcuni suoi titoli di successo ma dopo l’interesse suscitato da “Tokyo Express”, lentamente le case editrici stanno scoprendo l’estremo interesse della sua produzione.
“Agenzia A”, pubblicato nel 1959, è uno dei romanzi di Matsumoto usciti recentemente nella collana “Il giallo Mondadori” riservata alle librerie e fa emergere i temi tipici dello scrittore nipponico.
Teicho Itane è una giovane donna che sposa, con un matrimonio combinato, Ken’ichi Uhara impiegato di dieci anni più anziano.
Ken’ichi dopo alcuni giorni di nozze si reca nell’ufficio situato a Kanazawa, unacittà lontana situata nel nord del Giappone per passare le consegne prima di essere trasferito a Tokyo dove è stato trasferito per stare vicino alla moglie.
Dopo alcuni giorni di attesa però Ken’ichi non torna nella capitale malgrado avesse preannunciato il ritorno e di conseguenza Teicho decide di indagare sulla scomparsa recandosi a Kanazawa.
La ricerca di Teicho sarà ostacolata da misteriosi omicidi che faranno ipotizzare uno scenario molto preoccupante per chi indaga.
“Agenzia A” è un titolo non congruo visto che quello originale è “Zero no shōten” che può essere tradotto come “Da zero in avanti” mettendo l’accento su una rinascita, una ripartenza come quella del Giappone dopo la devastazione causata dalla sconfitta nella Seconda guerra Mondiale.
La caratteristica principale di Matsumoto infatti è l’estremo realismo delle sue trame dove innesta diversi rilievi critici alla società giapponese.
Scrive infatti in “Agenzia A”. “Il cognato che aveva appena perso non le piaceva un granché. Era un impiegato abbastanza normale, un “uomo di buonsenso”. Normale nel senso che le pareva uso a una certa smaliziata disonestà per cavarsela nella vita, uno che , anche sul lavoro, si muoveva scaltramente tra i superiori, mentre, da una parte, si arruffianava i colleghi, e dall’altra cercava sempre di stare nella posizione che più gli aggradava. Era l’impressione che le aveva dato sin dalla prima volta in cui l’aveva visto, ma con il comportamento che aveva tenuto dopo l’arrivo a Kanazawa aveva incupito ancora di più l’ombra che quell’impressione gettava sul suo cuore”.
Il libro è narrato in terza persona ma tenendo conto del punto di vista di Teicho perciò il lettore conosce l’evoluzione dei pensieri della giovane donna e ne segue le varie teorie che lentamente mettono assieme tanti indizi e la portano alla soluzione del mistero.
La grande abilità di Seichō Matsumoto porta alla sutura tra giallo deduttivo e mystery psicologico inquadrando tutto nella raffigurazione di una società in rapida trasformazione ma che è ancora legata alla tradizione e al burrascoso periodo del dopoguerra quando la nazione asiatica era sotto occupazione degli alleati.
L’indagine di Teicho sulla scomparsa del marito diventa infatti anche un’indagine sia geografica, dove la costante presenza della ferrovia ricorda alcuni temi trattati in “Tokyo Express”, sia storica rivolta verso il passato dell’occupazione americana nei riferimenti alle pan pan, prostitute che si accompagnavano ai militari americani negli anni durissimi del dopoguerra.
Seichō Matsumoto è stato spesso definito “il Simenon del Sol Levante” e anche se tra i due scrittori ci sono diverse differenze sono accomunati dall’estrema fecondità narrativa, essendo accreditati di più di trecento romanzi, e dalla grande capacità di tessere trame di grande impatto psicologico dove il dubbio diventa protagonista e porta i personaggi a indagare sulla complessità della vita.
March 26, 2024
Seicho Matsumoto is considered one of the greatest Japanese writers of the crime genre. His latest book available in English, Point Zero, is an example of his trademark writing style where he mingles crime with psychology and the lives of ordinary people.
Besides these two, Point Zero is also heavily influenced by the time it was set in – the 1950s.
Point Zero is the story of Teiko who has recently entered into an arranged marriage with Kenichi Uhara. She doesn’t know much about him before they get married, but hopes to settle down to a nice, quiet life in Tokyo after her husband gets transferred there. She isn’t sure of her husband in their four-day long honeymoon and suspects that he has been with women before but hopes to know him better.
The full review can be read at https://www.mysteryandsuspense.com/po...
Besides these two, Point Zero is also heavily influenced by the time it was set in – the 1950s.
Point Zero is the story of Teiko who has recently entered into an arranged marriage with Kenichi Uhara. She doesn’t know much about him before they get married, but hopes to settle down to a nice, quiet life in Tokyo after her husband gets transferred there. She isn’t sure of her husband in their four-day long honeymoon and suspects that he has been with women before but hopes to know him better.
The full review can be read at https://www.mysteryandsuspense.com/po...
August 31, 2023
Veramente molto bello. È un giallo classico eppure riesce ad essere una lettura avvincente e intrigante per l'analisi degli animi umani, delle reazioni, dei sentimenti che animano questi protagonisti.
Un'altra caratteristica apprezzabile è il racconto di un Giappone diverso da quello a cui siamo abituati, un paese nella primissima ripresa del dopoguerra a cavallo tra gli anni '50 e '60 con tradizioni e costumi che ormai si sono persi; a tratti si prova nostalgia, ma è anche molto pittoresco e interessante. Io stessa che sono stata a Kanazawa ho visto una città cosmopolita e moderna rispetto all'avamposto di provincia dal sapore campagnolo che qui viene descritto e forse solo il Kenrokuen si è mantenuto lo stesso (di certo non la stazione...).
Molto interessante la digressione sui treni e le linee ferroviarie (a tratti l'avrei confuso per Kyotaro Nishimura) così diverse da oggi, fatte di regionali lenti come lumache dove si ha tanto tempo per pensare e ammirare i panorami e... risolvere delitti!!!
Un bellissimo Matsumoto Seicho al pari di Tokyo Express e Come sabbia tra le dita, proprio il genere di libro che volevo leggere dalla sua penna e che purtroppo gli ultimi due volumi portati in Italia da Adelphi non sono riusciti a darmi, troppo sul filone noir.
Il più grande difetto del libro è tirare molto per le lunghe, a volte con ripetizioni, gli stessi ragionamenti, ma nel complesso il risultato è molto positivo dal mio punto di vista.
Lo consiglio a chi piace il genere classico.
***spoiler***
Il mio dispiacere più grande è stato per Honda Yoshio, avrei davvero sperato in un finale romantico con lui... ❤
Un'altra caratteristica apprezzabile è il racconto di un Giappone diverso da quello a cui siamo abituati, un paese nella primissima ripresa del dopoguerra a cavallo tra gli anni '50 e '60 con tradizioni e costumi che ormai si sono persi; a tratti si prova nostalgia, ma è anche molto pittoresco e interessante. Io stessa che sono stata a Kanazawa ho visto una città cosmopolita e moderna rispetto all'avamposto di provincia dal sapore campagnolo che qui viene descritto e forse solo il Kenrokuen si è mantenuto lo stesso (di certo non la stazione...).
Molto interessante la digressione sui treni e le linee ferroviarie (a tratti l'avrei confuso per Kyotaro Nishimura) così diverse da oggi, fatte di regionali lenti come lumache dove si ha tanto tempo per pensare e ammirare i panorami e... risolvere delitti!!!
Un bellissimo Matsumoto Seicho al pari di Tokyo Express e Come sabbia tra le dita, proprio il genere di libro che volevo leggere dalla sua penna e che purtroppo gli ultimi due volumi portati in Italia da Adelphi non sono riusciti a darmi, troppo sul filone noir.
Il più grande difetto del libro è tirare molto per le lunghe, a volte con ripetizioni, gli stessi ragionamenti, ma nel complesso il risultato è molto positivo dal mio punto di vista.
Lo consiglio a chi piace il genere classico.
***spoiler***
Il mio dispiacere più grande è stato per Honda Yoshio, avrei davvero sperato in un finale romantico con lui... ❤
December 21, 2024
I'm so lucky to have found this book, not even on GoodReads in English yet. It is a wonderful Japanese-translated mystery set in 1950 in post-war Japan. A woman, Teiko, meets her husband through a matchmaker. After their honeymoon, he disappears. I felt as if I were there.
April 8, 2024
I read the English translation. So good!
April 28, 2025
This was recommended to me by a colleague and I didn't expect it to be so old so when the characters started talking about being alive during WW2 I was thrown off haha. Like what do you mean the husband was in the war and American GIs were around?? I flipped to the front so fast. Turns out, the original was published in 1959, less than two decades after Japan was occupied by the US.
In this murder mystery, a woman in her late twenties, Teiko, gets married to a man a decade older than her (it was an arranged marriage) without knowing much about him or his past. Right after they get married, he disappears while on a business trip. His brother investigates, but he gets murdered. Then his colleague also investigates and gets murdered. Then a woman connected to these people also turns up dead. So many people dying and for what? To preserve a secret that has its roots in the days of the American occupation. While her leads are getting killed off one by one, Teiko races against time to uncover the truth.
I liked that in this book, the role of the detective was taken up by this woman who up till now has had no experience with men and was not living a life of note. She is dogged in her investigation and seems to be driven more by an innate sense of justice than genuine love for her legal husband. There's not much in terms of characterisation of Teiko because her motivations and lore are not given to us, but I'm surprised that she was just an office worker staying employed till she got married and could quit. Given the astute way she analysed the situation and came to the correct, most logical and plausible conclusions made me think that she should be doing something better with her superior brain.
In this murder mystery, a woman in her late twenties, Teiko, gets married to a man a decade older than her (it was an arranged marriage) without knowing much about him or his past. Right after they get married, he disappears while on a business trip. His brother investigates, but he gets murdered. Then his colleague also investigates and gets murdered. Then a woman connected to these people also turns up dead. So many people dying and for what? To preserve a secret that has its roots in the days of the American occupation. While her leads are getting killed off one by one, Teiko races against time to uncover the truth.
I liked that in this book, the role of the detective was taken up by this woman who up till now has had no experience with men and was not living a life of note. She is dogged in her investigation and seems to be driven more by an innate sense of justice than genuine love for her legal husband. There's not much in terms of characterisation of Teiko because her motivations and lore are not given to us, but I'm surprised that she was just an office worker staying employed till she got married and could quit. Given the astute way she analysed the situation and came to the correct, most logical and plausible conclusions made me think that she should be doing something better with her superior brain.
May 7, 2025
Despite the rumours I did not read this book in French, this is just the only version on Goodreads. The English title is Point Zero (in case you weren't sure).
Another translation from 1959, this time a mystery novel involving Japanese ‘pan-pan’ girls, who worked as prostitutes for American GIs during the occupation of Japan after WWII.
An interesting story which gets into the clash or western and eastern cultures, as well as the Japanese psyche after the war.
This book was written in the 50s so it was obviously not meant to be ‘historical’ fiction. It does very well to naturally take your into that world. However through the lens of +66 years later it was the world and not the story which was the more interesting part. I would have liked more of an insight into the world of pan pan girls and post war Japan than the murder/mystery story itself.
7/10 round up to 4 stars.
Another translation from 1959, this time a mystery novel involving Japanese ‘pan-pan’ girls, who worked as prostitutes for American GIs during the occupation of Japan after WWII.
An interesting story which gets into the clash or western and eastern cultures, as well as the Japanese psyche after the war.
This book was written in the 50s so it was obviously not meant to be ‘historical’ fiction. It does very well to naturally take your into that world. However through the lens of +66 years later it was the world and not the story which was the more interesting part. I would have liked more of an insight into the world of pan pan girls and post war Japan than the murder/mystery story itself.
7/10 round up to 4 stars.
September 16, 2024
A crime story that develops softly and slowly, with a fascinating atmospheric background in a Japanese society that still recovers from a terrible war.
The crime solving is mostly in the hands of a young female protagonist who leads the reader through a chain of events and through the analysis of a limited number of other characters.
The final phase of the solving process largely happens in the mind of the female protagonist, through intense thinking and recollections. It requires the readers’ full attention, and is maybe a bit overextended compared to the space required for describing the events that have led to it.
The surprise comes with the acceleration of the story over the last few pages, and that comes with an impressive change in Seicho’s tone of voice.
The crime solving is mostly in the hands of a young female protagonist who leads the reader through a chain of events and through the analysis of a limited number of other characters.
The final phase of the solving process largely happens in the mind of the female protagonist, through intense thinking and recollections. It requires the readers’ full attention, and is maybe a bit overextended compared to the space required for describing the events that have led to it.
The surprise comes with the acceleration of the story over the last few pages, and that comes with an impressive change in Seicho’s tone of voice.
May 26, 2024
This outstanding and moving murder mystery is available in English as I bought it at Daunt. Revolves round the disappearance of the heroine Teiko's husband Kenichi Uhara. The marriage is only weeks old, a large part of which the rather distant Kenichi has spent up north. Great characters from the determined and resilient Teiko to Uhara's colleague Mr Honda and the owner of a brick works and his wife, pillars of society in the northern city of Kanazawa. Written in the 1950's it describes a fascinating era post war of Japan with its social mores and rules integral to the tale. The description of the rather bleak northern landscape lends itself easily to the tone of the story. It is a gripping and tragic story, beautifully told. Matsumoto is described by one of the critics as being Japan's Simenon and frankly it is no cheap piece of hype..it rings true.
May 6, 2022
È un noir liberamente ispirato a un fatto realmente accaduto in Giappone nel dopoguerra.
In questo romanzo Matsumoto riesce nuovamente a descrivere con estrema precisione e analiticità la realtà nipponica .
La trama è ben ideata, i personaggi ben delineati e la suspence sempre alta.
In questo romanzo Matsumoto riesce nuovamente a descrivere con estrema precisione e analiticità la realtà nipponica .
La trama è ben ideata, i personaggi ben delineati e la suspence sempre alta.
May 20, 2024
Translation of a 1959 Japanese mystery. Excellent read. Story hinges on aspects of the post-war occupation of Japan, and survival/recovery. Love the setting of Kanazawa/Noto peninsula.
February 17, 2025
3.5
Not as good as Tokyo Express but an enjoyable read
Not as good as Tokyo Express but an enjoyable read
July 12, 2025
A book mostly about people getting on and off trains. Some murders happened but honestly it was about the superiority of the Japanese public transportation system. Rub it in why don’t you???
August 22, 2024
Genoten van de vorm van een goede detective, een ideale mix tussen karakters, intrige, open eindjes en cliffhangers.
En alles tussen de lijntjes, tussen denken en zeggen, tussen gevoel en culturele regels.
Wel veel valse namen en naamsverwisselingen, soms wat moeilijk te volgen.
Het sneeuwt er veel en de haiku's rillen over je rug.
Heel graag gelezen.
En alles tussen de lijntjes, tussen denken en zeggen, tussen gevoel en culturele regels.
Wel veel valse namen en naamsverwisselingen, soms wat moeilijk te volgen.
Het sneeuwt er veel en de haiku's rillen over je rug.
Heel graag gelezen.
September 2, 2021
Di tutti i gialli che ho letto finora di Matsumoto Seicho questo è il mio preferito. Forse perché la protagonista è una donna, che parte alla ricerca del marito scomparso e non molla finché non scopre cosa gli è accaduto.
October 4, 2024
Point Zero is a Japanese crime mystery first published in 1959 but only recently translated into English. Set in the last two months of 1958, a young beautiful woman Teiko has just married Kenichi Uhara, an advertising agency employee ten years her senior. As their marriage was arranged through a matchmaker, Teiko realises that she doesn't know much about her new husband. This is especially the case when Kenichi disappears during a work trip after their honeymoon. Setting off from Tokyo to Kanazawa to find out the whereabouts of her husband, Teiko is confronted with secrets from her husband's past.
Crime mysteries from the early 20th century are particularly interesting because the restraints of modern technology (no pesky DNA analysis, fingerprint matching, camera footage, etc) are absent. They are essentially puzzles of logic and deduction due to minimal information provided. Having coincidentally read another crime mystery from the 1950s just last month (A Kiss Before Dying), I was pretty interested to see what an acclaimed Japanese offering from the same time period would be like.
Point Zero starts off on a personable note where we follow Teiko through her early days of marriage. The whole experience is entirely novel to her. It's partially awkward and partially endearing as she tries to assimilate into her new role as a wife to Kenichi despite barely knowing much about him. I quite liked this start to the book as it made Teiko likeable and someone to root for. She suffers from a lot of self-doubt in her new life and feels like her husband's praises has undertones of comparisons to an unknown past lover. Still, at the end of their short honeymoon, she starts to love her husband. Unfortunately, Kenichi has to return to Kanazawa where his work is mainly based. It's a promising future ahead though as this work trip serves as a handover of his Kanazawa responsibilities to his replacement Yoshio Honda, so that he can be based in Tokyo with his new wife. When Kenichi boards the train to Kanazawa however, the reader is informed that it is the last time Teiko sees her husband.
When Kenichi fails to return to Tokyo on his expected arrival date, Teiko's fears are initially allayed by her brother-in-law Sotaro who is convinced that his brother will return soon. After Kenichi's advertising agency contacts Teiko to ask about her missing husband's whereabouts, she starts to develop grave concern for her husband's well-being. She travels to Kanazawa where he was last seen and investigates his disappearance with his successor Honda. Honda proves to be an eager accomplice to Teiko, constantly going the extra mile for her. (It is also suggested that Honda has clearly developed romantic feelings for Teiko during this process but this strange plot line is not followed up on for reasons that are obvious later.) Teiko is armed with two photographs of unknown houses as well after digging through Kenichi's belongings. She discovers that one belonged to the Murotas, the rich owners of a brick company who had a strong business relationship with Kenichi. Teiko also meets up with a former policeman colleague of Kenichi's from his time as an officer in the Morals department a decade ago. She learns about Kenichi's previous involvement in dealing with pan pan girls or young Japanese women who would dress in Western styles and worked in prostitution catered to the American GIs.
Teiko starts fearing the worst after some time, even following up on suicides in neighbouring towns though the one unclaimed body was not her husband. Things start to take a dark turn when Sotaro joins Teiko's search in Kanazawa, only to be murdered a few days later by cyanide poisoning in his whiskey. Sotaro's time in Kanzawa was peculiar, consisting of time spent in laundromats looking for Kenichi's jacket and then with an unidentified girl dressed in a style similar to the pan pan girls. Honda volunteers to assist Teiko further and is subsequently murdered as well, after inexplicably being poisoned by cyanide in whiskey despite knowing the fate that had befallen Sotaro. Teiko also realises at this point that her husband has committed suicide and his body was claimed by a woman in Kanazawa who he had an unofficial partnership with and under a false name as well. Understanding that Sotaro was probably aware of Kenichi's other relationship (and was thus trying to find a jacket with Kenichi's real name at the laundromats), Teiko is now determined to identify Kenichi's lover.
At some point, Teiko encounters a new receptionist at the Murotas office building named Hisako Tanuma. From her slang-filled English, Teiko deduced that Hisako was a former pan pan girl. After Hisako's sudden disappearance following Honda's death, she tracked down her last residence and finds the other house from Kenichi's photographs. Understanding that she was his lover, Teiko is puzzled at Kenichi's suicide note when he had seemed determined to break things off with Hisako to be with Teiko. There's a red herring where Teiko suspects Mr Murota though she realises that he was similarly asking around about Hisako. It is finally revealed that the real killer was Mrs Sachiko Murota, who was also a minor celebrity in the community and a former pan pan girl. Horrified by seeing a familiar face in Kenichi, Sachiko was afraid he would reveal her former identity and used favourable business relations between her husband and Kenichi to try and keep him quiet. When Kenichi came to her for advice on how to break up with Hisako, she offered the solution of a fake suicide though she ends up pushing him off a cliff to turn his staged act into a real one. Sachiko ropes in Hisako as an unknowing accomplice in serving Sotaro poisoned whiskey, then kills both Honda and Hisako later on to hide her crimes. When Teiko pieces everything together, she rushes off to the cliff where the Murotas have left for, the same cliff where Kenichi was killed. She meets Mr Murota there, who points to a black dot in the rough seas and stated that his wife had paddled out after confessing all her crimes to him. Sachiko's fate is left uncertain as the book ends.
The mystery at the heart of Point Zero is decent. Kenichi's disappearance is enigmatic and Teiko is left to piece together the life of a man so foreign to her, but yet is also her husband. Things definitely pick up in pace after Sotaro's death and I appreciate that the book doesn't stall in offering new discoveries. I do have an issue though with Honda's death by the exact same modus operandi as Sotaro. Given how he seemed to be quite perceptive, it just felt like a largely avoidable death given that he was supposedly silenced for knowing too much. The main issue I have with the book though, is towards the end it largely abandons any use of clues or slow reveals to unravel the mystery. Rather, Teiko becomes a masterful detective and does massive exposition dumps where she would just reason and explain everything that has happened so far despite a lack of irrefutable evidence in some instances. She would just deem for example that her husband MUST be the recent suicide in a neighbouring town that was claimed by Hisako and her intuition is always proven right a few pages later. These huge info dumps where Teiko just goes into a Sherlock kind of trance and connects everything in her head with massive jumps felt like a lazy way to resolve the mystery. It's also underwhelming that a massive reveal in the book about how Sachiko could appear on a radio show during Hisako's death was just that the show was pre-recorded... Maybe it was groundbreaking in 1959 but it just felt like the build-up about how it was the one detail Teiko could not work out was not worth that simple solution.
Overall, Point Zero had a promising start and a decent missing person mystery. It built up the pace with the deaths of minor characters but strange decisions by characters and the massive exposition dumps with huge leaps of faith to solve the mysteries provided an unsatisfactory ending. 3/5
Crime mysteries from the early 20th century are particularly interesting because the restraints of modern technology (no pesky DNA analysis, fingerprint matching, camera footage, etc) are absent. They are essentially puzzles of logic and deduction due to minimal information provided. Having coincidentally read another crime mystery from the 1950s just last month (A Kiss Before Dying), I was pretty interested to see what an acclaimed Japanese offering from the same time period would be like.
Point Zero starts off on a personable note where we follow Teiko through her early days of marriage. The whole experience is entirely novel to her. It's partially awkward and partially endearing as she tries to assimilate into her new role as a wife to Kenichi despite barely knowing much about him. I quite liked this start to the book as it made Teiko likeable and someone to root for. She suffers from a lot of self-doubt in her new life and feels like her husband's praises has undertones of comparisons to an unknown past lover. Still, at the end of their short honeymoon, she starts to love her husband. Unfortunately, Kenichi has to return to Kanazawa where his work is mainly based. It's a promising future ahead though as this work trip serves as a handover of his Kanazawa responsibilities to his replacement Yoshio Honda, so that he can be based in Tokyo with his new wife. When Kenichi boards the train to Kanazawa however, the reader is informed that it is the last time Teiko sees her husband.
When Kenichi fails to return to Tokyo on his expected arrival date, Teiko's fears are initially allayed by her brother-in-law Sotaro who is convinced that his brother will return soon. After Kenichi's advertising agency contacts Teiko to ask about her missing husband's whereabouts, she starts to develop grave concern for her husband's well-being. She travels to Kanazawa where he was last seen and investigates his disappearance with his successor Honda. Honda proves to be an eager accomplice to Teiko, constantly going the extra mile for her. (It is also suggested that Honda has clearly developed romantic feelings for Teiko during this process but this strange plot line is not followed up on for reasons that are obvious later.) Teiko is armed with two photographs of unknown houses as well after digging through Kenichi's belongings. She discovers that one belonged to the Murotas, the rich owners of a brick company who had a strong business relationship with Kenichi. Teiko also meets up with a former policeman colleague of Kenichi's from his time as an officer in the Morals department a decade ago. She learns about Kenichi's previous involvement in dealing with pan pan girls or young Japanese women who would dress in Western styles and worked in prostitution catered to the American GIs.
Teiko starts fearing the worst after some time, even following up on suicides in neighbouring towns though the one unclaimed body was not her husband. Things start to take a dark turn when Sotaro joins Teiko's search in Kanazawa, only to be murdered a few days later by cyanide poisoning in his whiskey. Sotaro's time in Kanzawa was peculiar, consisting of time spent in laundromats looking for Kenichi's jacket and then with an unidentified girl dressed in a style similar to the pan pan girls. Honda volunteers to assist Teiko further and is subsequently murdered as well, after inexplicably being poisoned by cyanide in whiskey despite knowing the fate that had befallen Sotaro. Teiko also realises at this point that her husband has committed suicide and his body was claimed by a woman in Kanazawa who he had an unofficial partnership with and under a false name as well. Understanding that Sotaro was probably aware of Kenichi's other relationship (and was thus trying to find a jacket with Kenichi's real name at the laundromats), Teiko is now determined to identify Kenichi's lover.
At some point, Teiko encounters a new receptionist at the Murotas office building named Hisako Tanuma. From her slang-filled English, Teiko deduced that Hisako was a former pan pan girl. After Hisako's sudden disappearance following Honda's death, she tracked down her last residence and finds the other house from Kenichi's photographs. Understanding that she was his lover, Teiko is puzzled at Kenichi's suicide note when he had seemed determined to break things off with Hisako to be with Teiko. There's a red herring where Teiko suspects Mr Murota though she realises that he was similarly asking around about Hisako. It is finally revealed that the real killer was Mrs Sachiko Murota, who was also a minor celebrity in the community and a former pan pan girl. Horrified by seeing a familiar face in Kenichi, Sachiko was afraid he would reveal her former identity and used favourable business relations between her husband and Kenichi to try and keep him quiet. When Kenichi came to her for advice on how to break up with Hisako, she offered the solution of a fake suicide though she ends up pushing him off a cliff to turn his staged act into a real one. Sachiko ropes in Hisako as an unknowing accomplice in serving Sotaro poisoned whiskey, then kills both Honda and Hisako later on to hide her crimes. When Teiko pieces everything together, she rushes off to the cliff where the Murotas have left for, the same cliff where Kenichi was killed. She meets Mr Murota there, who points to a black dot in the rough seas and stated that his wife had paddled out after confessing all her crimes to him. Sachiko's fate is left uncertain as the book ends.
The mystery at the heart of Point Zero is decent. Kenichi's disappearance is enigmatic and Teiko is left to piece together the life of a man so foreign to her, but yet is also her husband. Things definitely pick up in pace after Sotaro's death and I appreciate that the book doesn't stall in offering new discoveries. I do have an issue though with Honda's death by the exact same modus operandi as Sotaro. Given how he seemed to be quite perceptive, it just felt like a largely avoidable death given that he was supposedly silenced for knowing too much. The main issue I have with the book though, is towards the end it largely abandons any use of clues or slow reveals to unravel the mystery. Rather, Teiko becomes a masterful detective and does massive exposition dumps where she would just reason and explain everything that has happened so far despite a lack of irrefutable evidence in some instances. She would just deem for example that her husband MUST be the recent suicide in a neighbouring town that was claimed by Hisako and her intuition is always proven right a few pages later. These huge info dumps where Teiko just goes into a Sherlock kind of trance and connects everything in her head with massive jumps felt like a lazy way to resolve the mystery. It's also underwhelming that a massive reveal in the book about how Sachiko could appear on a radio show during Hisako's death was just that the show was pre-recorded... Maybe it was groundbreaking in 1959 but it just felt like the build-up about how it was the one detail Teiko could not work out was not worth that simple solution.
Overall, Point Zero had a promising start and a decent missing person mystery. It built up the pace with the deaths of minor characters but strange decisions by characters and the massive exposition dumps with huge leaps of faith to solve the mysteries provided an unsatisfactory ending. 3/5
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 26, 2020
Mi ha fatto viaggiare in uno dei momenti di cui ne ho più bisogno, ma che ahimè è impossibile farlo, un libro da custodire gelosamente che ti ruba gli occhi appena ci posi il tuo sguardo. Grazie Seichō Matsumoto.
February 20, 2024
Seicho Matsumoto is regarded as one of the greats of Japanese crime fiction and I jumped at the chance to read this book. Set in 1958, in a Japan that is recovering from WWII we are introduced to a newlywed couple Teiko and her older husband Kenichi as they are about to embark on their honeymoon. Four days later Kenichi vanished and it is up to Teiko to follow the clues and investigate her husband’s disappearance.
Teiko’s brother comes to help but is soon found poisoned in his hotel room. Soon, Teiko realises that this is all to do with the ‘pan pan girls’ - prostitutes provided to American GIs after the war. The beauty of this book is not so much the mystery but how Matsumoto shows us the reality of Japanese society, its culture and its economy after the war and the lasting impact it has had on them. Matsumoto is also able to convey the beauty of the story's location with such beautiful prose. As you become more immersed in the story the sense of place wraps itself around the reader and you really feel the coldness that Teiko is experiencing. As the mystery unfolds the depth of winter progresses hand in hand as a visceral reminder that everything in nature and life happens in concordance and is related.
Japanese literature I find is more nuanced and doesn't just rely on the mystery to make it an extraordinary read. Yes, the mystery is important and in this case it was very compelling but this story is also a snapshot of history and culture. It's a part of history I didn't know much about and it's important we learn about it from contemporaries of that era. It's also a psychological novel as we are placed into the consciousness of Teiko and really are immersed into her place in the world and what she thinks of it.
This was a brilliant read and I loved every minute of my time spent in Teiko’s world! Let me know if you pick this one up.
Teiko’s brother comes to help but is soon found poisoned in his hotel room. Soon, Teiko realises that this is all to do with the ‘pan pan girls’ - prostitutes provided to American GIs after the war. The beauty of this book is not so much the mystery but how Matsumoto shows us the reality of Japanese society, its culture and its economy after the war and the lasting impact it has had on them. Matsumoto is also able to convey the beauty of the story's location with such beautiful prose. As you become more immersed in the story the sense of place wraps itself around the reader and you really feel the coldness that Teiko is experiencing. As the mystery unfolds the depth of winter progresses hand in hand as a visceral reminder that everything in nature and life happens in concordance and is related.
Japanese literature I find is more nuanced and doesn't just rely on the mystery to make it an extraordinary read. Yes, the mystery is important and in this case it was very compelling but this story is also a snapshot of history and culture. It's a part of history I didn't know much about and it's important we learn about it from contemporaries of that era. It's also a psychological novel as we are placed into the consciousness of Teiko and really are immersed into her place in the world and what she thinks of it.
This was a brilliant read and I loved every minute of my time spent in Teiko’s world! Let me know if you pick this one up.
March 10, 2024
I wanted to enjoy this more than I actually did. It’s okay, that’s about the best I can say of it.
I loved Tokyo Express (Points and Lines) and enjoyed A Quiet Place, despite the bizarre ending. This was a slight step down from either.
This book suffers from a massive amount of repetition and over-explanation. The resolution was reasonably obvious fairly early on and the constant exposition just hammered it home.
It was worth it for the background on Japanese post-war culture and the descriptions of the scenery of the country. If you like the other Matsumoto novels that have been translated into English then it’s worth reading but don’t expect too much.
I’m on to Inspector Imanishi Investigates next so hopefully it will be a little more enjoyable than this.
I loved Tokyo Express (Points and Lines) and enjoyed A Quiet Place, despite the bizarre ending. This was a slight step down from either.
This book suffers from a massive amount of repetition and over-explanation. The resolution was reasonably obvious fairly early on and the constant exposition just hammered it home.
It was worth it for the background on Japanese post-war culture and the descriptions of the scenery of the country. If you like the other Matsumoto novels that have been translated into English then it’s worth reading but don’t expect too much.
I’m on to Inspector Imanishi Investigates next so hopefully it will be a little more enjoyable than this.
July 16, 2024
Taiko and Kenichi are recently paired up through a matchmaker and are married. He is a successful advertising manager who travels around cultivating clients, but he disappears and is presumed dead. She and his brother now embark on locating him.
I won't spoil it, but there are many plot twists along the way. Family secrets and cover-ups litter the investigation as it's unveiled what ultimately happened to Teiko. I enjoy Japanese writing. There is a certain type of order to it all and, psychological analysis of each of the characters. In this case, author Matsumoto is a master at showing us each character, different in their own ways.
One of my favorite books of the year. Recommended!
I won't spoil it, but there are many plot twists along the way. Family secrets and cover-ups litter the investigation as it's unveiled what ultimately happened to Teiko. I enjoy Japanese writing. There is a certain type of order to it all and, psychological analysis of each of the characters. In this case, author Matsumoto is a master at showing us each character, different in their own ways.
One of my favorite books of the year. Recommended!
October 4, 2016
呼，沒想到會看的這麼快，三兩下就看完了。
這是第一次看松本清張的書，以前只是久仰大名，看完這本<零的焦點>後，可以體會到為什麼作者會被稱為巨擘了。這不僅僅是推理小說，作者在作品裡隱藏了很多批判、歷史，像是是社會名流為了自己的利益、名譽，甚麼事都做得出來，這點是不管在哪、不管哪個時代，都不會變的。本書最高明之處，我覺得是融入了日本戰後女性生活的改變、男人的挫敗，以及交互的影響。可惜對這段歷史了解不多，所以共鳴也比較小。最令我震驚的一點，是作者殺人不手軟，第二個死者出現時，我就已經嚇到了，沒想到還有第三個第四個... 我都在想不會要全死光了吧。而破案者 (或稱解謎者?) 不是警察或偵探這點，讓我不太習慣。
故事跟著一位才剛新婚不久的女性，努力不懈地追查失蹤丈夫的下落，即使這丈夫是相親認識、即使才結婚了一個月。在受害者一個個死掉後，嫌犯一個換一個，經過抽絲剝繭，真相最終大白。節奏說快不快，說慢不慢，懸疑的氣氛製造得不錯；沒有甚麼高潮迭起，但是一直揪著人心。看著看著，讓人也想到日本北邊去，體會一下那片雪景以及那北方壯麗的懸崖。
這是第一次看松本清張的書，以前只是久仰大名，看完這本<零的焦點>後，可以體會到為什麼作者會被稱為巨擘了。這不僅僅是推理小說，作者在作品裡隱藏了很多批判、歷史，像是是社會名流為了自己的利益、名譽，甚麼事都做得出來，這點是不管在哪、不管哪個時代，都不會變的。本書最高明之處，我覺得是融入了日本戰後女性生活的改變、男人的挫敗，以及交互的影響。可惜對這段歷史了解不多，所以共鳴也比較小。最令我震驚的一點，是作者殺人不手軟，第二個死者出現時，我就已經嚇到了，沒想到還有第三個第四個... 我都在想不會要全死光了吧。而破案者 (或稱解謎者?) 不是警察或偵探這點，讓我不太習慣。
故事跟著一位才剛新婚不久的女性，努力不懈地追查失蹤丈夫的下落，即使這丈夫是相親認識、即使才結婚了一個月。在受害者一個個死掉後，嫌犯一個換一個，經過抽絲剝繭，真相最終大白。節奏說快不快，說慢不慢，懸疑的氣氛製造得不錯；沒有甚麼高潮迭起，但是一直揪著人心。看著看著，讓人也想到日本北邊去，體會一下那片雪景以及那北方壯麗的懸崖。
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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