Детективные истории эпохи Мэйдзи

Ango's Detective Casebook #1

by Ango Sakaguchi, Анго Сакагути, Анна Слащёва (Translator)

Действие детективных историй Сакагути Анго разворачивается в эпоху Мэйдзи — во времена, когда Япония переживала период болезненной, но необходимой трансформации, а тысячелетние традиции уступали дорогу новомодным веяниям. Одним из таких веяний стал благородный джентльмен Юки Синдзюро. Выходец из семьи потомственных самураев, получивший блестящее образование на западе, Юки вернулся на родину со стойким стремлением бороться за справедливость. Не гоняясь за славой или богатством и не желая превращаться в правительственного чиновника, Синдзюро становится сыщикомлюбителем, к которому полиция сама обращается всякий раз, как следствие заходит в тупик.

Genres: Japanese Literature

438 pages, Kindle Edition

Published February 4, 2026

About the author

From Niigata, Sakaguchi (坂口安吾) was one of a group of young Japanese writers to rise to prominence in the years immediately following Japan's defeat in World War II. In 1946 he wrote his most famous essay, titled "Darakuron" ("On Decadence"), which examined the role of bushido during the war. It is widely argued that he saw postwar Japan as decadent, yet more truthful than a wartime Japan built on illusions like bushido.
Ango was born in 1906, and was the 12th child of 13. He was born in the middle of a Japan perpetually at war. His father was the president of the Niigata Shinbun (Newspaper), a politician, and a poet.
Ango wanted to be a writer at 16. He moved to Tokyo at 17, after hitting a teacher who caught him truanting. His father died from brain cancer the following year, leaving his family in massive debt. At 20, Ango taught for a year as a substitute teacher following secondary school. He became heavily involved in Buddhism and went to University to study Indian philosophy, graduating at the age of 25. Throughout his career as a student, Ango was very vocal in his opinions.
He wrote various works of literature after graduating, receiving praise from writers such as Makino Shin’ichi. His literary career started around the same time as Japan’s expansion into Manchuria. He met his wife to be, Yada Tsuseko, at 27. His mother died when he was 37, in the middle of World War II. He struggled for recognition as a writer for years before finally finding it with “A Personal View of Japanese Culture” in 1942, and again with “On Decadence” in 1946. That same year, the Emperor formally declared himself a human being, not a god. Ango had a child at 48 with his second wife, Kaji Michio. He died from a brain aneurysm at age 48 in 1955.

Reviews

[Nova Syzygy · Rating 2 out of 5]

rtc

[Rick · Rating 3 out of 5]

The translation makes this one a bit of struggle. Sometimes it feels like a children's book, and at other times is almost indecipherable. Definitely it can be difficult during conversations to keep track of who's saying which lines. But the stories themselves are kind of fascinating, as a look at how a different culture reasons out the solutions to various crimes. There does seem to be an overabundance of detectives, though; they are sometimes hard to keep track of. But on the whole, interesting enough to be worth a read.

[Serdar · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sakaguchi is best known in the West for a couple of his short stories -- e.g., "In The Forest, Under Cherries In Full Bloom" -- but he was prolific apart from that. This collects some of his detective fiction, which is very much in the aha!-insight mold of such stuff. It's passably entertaining, with lots of details about Meiji-era daily life. Unfortunately, the translation is awkward and difficult to follow; the low rating is mainly because of that. Marshall has localized some other Japanese works I wanted to see in English, but this is not one of the better such efforts.

[Ochi · Rating 4 out of 5]

look, at first i dont really like the plot, i really have to think about wha tf is this, but then it completely make sense and i cant stop to lookin forward for the plot