The Japanese Corpse

Amsterdam Cops Mysteries #5

by Janwillem van de Wetering

The fifth Amsterdam Cops mystery

A beautiful waitress at Amsterdam’s most elegant Japanese restaurant reports that her boyfriend, a Japanese art dealer, is missing. The police search throughout the Netherlands and finally locate a corpse. But to find the killer, the commissaris and de Gier must travel to Japan and match wits with a yakuza chieftain in his lair.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Crime, Japan, Detective, Suspense, Asia

352 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1977

About the author

Jan Willem Lincoln "Janwillem" van de Wetering was the author of a number of works in English and Dutch.

Reviews

[Maryanne · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book took longer to read than I expected, the story was drawn out with details of the different cultures. The murder of a Japanese man takes place in Amsterdam and De Grier and the commissaris travel to Japan, where the story takes place in the city of Kyoto. The Zen becomes more apparent in the writings of van de Wetering in the plot line, character, their reactions to situations, the setting and the approach to crime and criminals. The story was entertaining, and a bit unusual for a police detective crime novel.

[Tocotin · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is an old book and it shows. Racist, sexist, you name it. Japanese people behave like robots and talk constantly about honor and ancient tradition, oh and about this mainstay of Japanese culture, the yakuza (in the book spelled “yakusa” for some reason). One of the cop main characters is hit by his cat’s death more than by his girlfriend’s death, because women, you know… who cares? They are replaceable. Unless they are a “yakusa girl”, then the yakusa boss (who gets to be called daimyo) will protect her and thank you for saving her. Especially if you are a Dutch cop, who after some weeks spent in Japan does local things just like the Japanese (bathing and eating fish for example), and therefore considers himself Japanese.

The stuff that especially cracked me up: in a high-end restaurant, clients have to catch koi carps by themselves in the garden pond, and then the staff cooks them. SO refined.

Oh, and there is a black woman named Ahboombah, and Chinese guys wear pigtails. In the 70s. I know there was no internet back then, but seriously, come on.

[Avid Series Reader · Rating 1 out of 5]

The Japanese Corpse by Janwillem van der Wetering is book 5 of the Amsterdam Cops series, set in late 20-century Japan. Grijpstra and de Gier are a team of Amsterdam detectives that are quite dissimilar in personality, yet work together remarkably well to solve crimes. Grijpstra and de Gier do not work together in this book; Grijpstra has a minor (forgettable) role, while de Gier works with their boss, the commissaris, who is not usually involved directly in their investigations.

In Amsterdam, a Japanese waitress reports to the police that her boyfriend, a Japanese art dealer, is missing. Amsterdam police are reluctant at first to investigate what may be a case of a man losing interest in a woman; but then they discover he has been murdered. Questioning the waitress reveals she and the victim had ties to the powerful Japanese gangster mob, called yakuza.

To catch international art thieves, de Gier and the commissaris travel to Japan. They are "bait", posing as rare art buyers, waiting for the yakuza to make contact and sell them stolen art. The art comes from monasteries, so they base their efforts in Kyoto.

The commissaris becomes much less interested in solving a murder or art theft as in learning the history of Japanese religion, art, and crime; he comes to admire and respect the leader of the yakuza. Meanwhile de Gier is in a zombie-like uncaring state, having lost his beloved cat (and his girlfriend) in a terrorist attack, shortly before leaving Amsterdam for Japan.

[Stefan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well, this, the fifth book in the Grijpstra & de Gier series, was more of a de Gier teaming up with the Commissaris novel than anything else. After a Japanese man is reported missing, and presumed dead, the investigation leads to the major Japanese crime organization and their possible involvement in the missing man's disappearance.

So, the duo pose as art dealers, travel to Japan, and try to take down a branch of the crime organization. In their time in the far east, the two of them get to experience first hand, the very different culture that exists in Japan.

Although he is in the book, Grijpstra is more of a background player in this story. He gets to do his thing, his his typical Grijpstra sort of way, but he's really not the main focus of this outing.

The Japanese Corpse was just as entertaining as the other novels in the series have been, and I am very much liking the characters. This seemed to be more of a character developing novel, at least with de Gier and the Commissaris. The actual crime solving was almost an after thought. We get to see more of their quirkiness, which is always a good thing.

So, now to hunt down the next book in the series, The Blond Baboon.

[James Proctor · Rating 5 out of 5]

The author really hits his stride with this one, telling a tale of our favorite flute and drum playing Dutch detectives that carries on the high standard of breezy suspense established by the several preceding it. Not that they necessarily have to be read sequentially -my first fell somewhere in the middle- but this one in particular has elements established earlier that pay off with far greater impact than if the reader were coming to this one fresh. I won't say too much. As a series generally light in tone, van de Wetering is perhaps more serious in his approach this time around and The Japanese Corpse carries more weight than its predecessors. It has a scene of heartbreaking sadness. The mystery aspect, usually perfunctory, is utilized without the solution being immediately apparent. Truly, these books are entertaining for their insight into human behavior and never carry over too far into studying the problems of society, as one might otherwise expect from what is essentially a genre built on catching evildoers after long boilings of the pot. The beauty of these books is that the characters are deeply realized funky examples of humanity. What surprised me with this book was how much further into at least one of those characters we were able to see, with very satisfying results.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've read all the van de Wetering mysteries we could get our hands on, but in the pre-BookCrossing/Goodreads days. Really want to re-read, but need to get some jenever and herring in the house, first.

I remember the guys in Japan in this book.

[Susanna · Rating 4 out of 5]

It evoked Japan in the 70s beautifully. The story itself isn't hard to follow and quite simple in the end. But the lush descriptions and well-drawn characters redeem it.

[Kit · Rating 5 out of 5]

jazz, jenever, Japan.

[Pamela Mclaren · Rating 3 out of 5]

A young woman, Joanne Andrews, turns to homicide detectives Grijpstra and de Gier when her Japanese boyfriend goes missing. They make little of it until they find the boyfriend's car with signs of violence. It is the Yakusa, the Japanese Mafia, who have been smuggling stolen art treasures and heroin into Amsterdam.

In a two-pronged attack, Grijpstra and de Gier take on the case; Grijpstra working from Amsterdam in a very minimal role, while the main action is taken by de Gier and his supervisor in Japan, working with Japan's secret service in an audacious masquerade as rival smugglers to bring down the smugglers.

This is a very interesting story and certainly one that has many twists and turns. Van de Wetering studied Zen and lived for a year in a Buddhist temple in Kyoto, Japan, so his descriptions of the town and Buddhism ring very true. But I felt conflicted in that the story seemed to move very slowly and some of the conversations were very stilted.

This is the second of van de Wetering's books in this series. While I enjoy them, they take some getting used to and wide latitude. I wonder how Grijpstra and de Gier are portrayed in later books, say in the last book of the series, The Perfidious Parrot.

[Ben · Rating 3 out of 5]

These detective novels are more of a hangout than a mystery. Yes, there's a dead body and, yes, there is a criminal organization to dismantle, but mostly it's just dudes hanging out and chatting.
Van de Wetering is was an adherent of Zen Buddhism and spent time in Japan, practicing at the monasteries. I don't think he was very good at it, which is a normal way to follow a religion, I guess. What it leaves us with is these foreign, old-fashioned, zen-infused cops.
A warning, it's sexist. These dudes are thoughtful, but also extremely horny in a very 1970s, very intense male gaze-y way. Still, these yuckos aren't much worse than Keruoac or Roth, and this book isn't on a hundred book lists about how smart it is. Fuck the Beats, is what I'm saying.
It's also racist in that way where he has a lot of affection toward the Japanese, but it doesn't necessarily translate to understanding. There's also a black character for about five pages and it's pretty embarrassing.

[Menno Beek · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nummer zes. Als we rekekenen tot 'Ijsbreker, #13, dan ben ik ongeveer op de helft. Lassen wij dus een kleine Gier-Grijpstra pauze in, na dezen, al moet de rest, het rijm waarschuwt ons al, zeker nog worden gelezen.

Deze aflevering wordt er naar Japan gehaast, ligt niet op de lijn van de logica, maar is waarschijnlijk ingegeven door de behoefte van van de Wetering om over het land te schrijven, hetgeen hij in zijn 'De lege Spiegel' overigens zeer vermakellijk deed. Plottechnisch, zoals wel vaker, zakt dit verhaal uiteindelijk enigszins in, en tegelijk zijn de karakters aanstekelijk en vermakelijk. Naasst het bewonderde roken wordt er in deze aflevering voornamelijk ontzettend veel gedronken. En er komt weer een kat in beeld.

[Nik Maack · Rating 5 out of 5]

As I re-read the Grijipstra and De Gier books, I am really enjoying myself. I love the Zen Buddhist quality they carry. And in this one, Van De Wetering lays the Buddhist stuff on very thickly. Is that bad? Not at all. It makes the book very entertaining.

I love how the story unfolds in its weird complex but simple way. There is a kind of writing that leans heavily on intuition, feeling, mystery, and complexity. I find it hard to locate. So many writers are far too intellectual and brainy, making a novel the way you might design architecture. All math and concrete. Van De Wetering provides that lovely intuitive and playful dance that makes for a great read.

Loved it.

Oh sure, the story is highly improbable. Who cares?

[Puriso · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not a great read. I thought the plot was ridiculous and the characters unbelievable. The references to Japanese culture were interesting but judging from the rest of the book I’m not sure how accurate they were.

[Lynn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good story...very interesting focus on Japanese culture in the 70s. The Buddhist overtones are getting more obvious in each successive book in this series, and I really like that.

[Kyle Vernier · Rating 2 out of 5]

I’ve really enjoyed these Grijpstra and De Gier novels until this one. It starts off well and but eventually just becomes a slog.

[Marc Tiefenthal · Rating 4 out of 5]

Aangenaam om lezen, al dateert het boek van voor 2000 toch staan er enkele zetfouten in. Spannend, goed gedocumenteerd, mooi tussendoor.

[Monica · Rating 3 out of 5]

“The Japanese Corpse” is Janwillem Van de Wetering’s fifth book in a crime series featuring Adjutant-Detective Henk Grijpstra and Detective-Sergeant Rinus de Gier...as well of course the commissaris, who often acts as a mentor to Grijpstra and de Gier.

While the books in this series are certainly outdated, they are still entertaining and very often amusing. In this fifth novel de Geir and the commissaris travel to Japan, where they experience a culture very different from their own...while Grijpstra is left in Amsterdam to clean up things there. There is no real mystery in this book...no guessing needed...but the plot is one that is clean and solid. And different. Yes, this series is a bit different from most others that I read...I recommend it for anyone who wants a bit of turn down a different road...maybe a trip to Amsterdam.

Jacket notes: “A beautiful Eurasian waitress employed at Amsterdam’s most elegant Japanese restaurant reports that her boyfriend, a Japanese art dealer, is missing. The police search throughout the Netherlands and finally locate a corpse. But to find the killer, the commissaris and de Gier must go to Japan and match wits with a yakusa chieftain in his lair.”

[Roxane · Rating 4 out of 5]

This had to be one of the strangest police procedural's I have ever read. I have no idea why – but it brought to mind the first time I watched Apocalypse Now. No – not the violence – it is the dreaminess (or to be put it more bluntly – the ‘bad trip’) that the book brought to mind – very different. Anyway - the author’s love of Japan and its people is very evident – so much so - that he seemed to have a difficult time drawing the line between good and evil (or maybe that was his intention). I look forward to reading the rest of the series and letting Mr. van de Wetering continue to surprise and amuse me.

[Catherine Woodman]

I find this Dutch dynamic duo (a trio if you consider the commisaire) to be amongst the most complex crime fighters in fiction. In a way it is their quirkiness that drives the series more than any other thing, including the crimes themselves. Another feature of the series is that they often leave Holland, and are out and about in the world, comparing, in this case, the culture of Japan to their own, the similarities and differences making up a large part of the narrative. This is an older book that has been released in paperback and rejuvenated, but it does not read like something that old.

[Lynne-marie · Rating 4 out of 5]

The more I read of van de Wetering's books, the more I appreciate his off-kilter point-of-view and the quirkiness of his characters. I'm reading my way through them in the order they were written and the relationships between the three main characters develops quite nicely as does our understanding of each character to the level we are allowed to know each one: rather most the commisaris, next de Gier and less, so far at least, Grijpstra. Knowing that the author spent some time in Japan lent realism to some of his details in small ways, though we must assume that the ways of the yakuza are imagination only. I enjoyed this book very much, given its genre and its age.

[Jemera Rone · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was induced to buy this book by very attractive, Japanese style cover. i did not look closely enough, however; the heroes are somewhat blundering and awkward Dutch detectives dispatched to Japan to solve the murder in Amsterdam of a Japanese art dealer. Although I enjoyed their appreciation of Japanese culture, the plot was contingent on very extraneous factors like a military attack on a Japanese yakuza banquet and, through the deus ex machina of a zealous Japanese cop and the CIA??
And I didn't really follow the thread of who was left holdingthe money.

[Maria Beltrami · Rating 4 out of 5]

E' un vero peccato che van de Wetering sia un autore poco conosciuto, perché le sue trame sono divertentissime e avvincenti e i suoi poliziotti quanto di meglio si possa trovare sulla piazza del noir internazionale.
Anche questa volta, in occasione di una avventura a cavallo tra l'Olanda e il Giappone, i personaggi sono squinternati al punto giusto, e il cumulo enorme di qui pro quo, incomprensioni e pasticci conduce irresistibilmente all'elegante soluzione finale.
Adorabile.

[Yooperprof · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was the fifth of van de Wetering's "Amsterdam Cops" series, and favorite so far, by a considerable margin. There's really not so much crime solving in this one, but the Japanese setting fascinated me, and there was some striking character development as well. And now I'm very curious more about the Yakuza, the Japanese crime syndicate!

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

most interesting amsterdam cop series, with the constable and beat cop partners, and the old comisaris riding herd on them great, quirky characters; the more you read these books, the more you like them. there are even a couple of these mysteries that take place in Maine (after the author moved here).

[Rita · Rating 2 out of 5]

Of some interest because of the Japanese setting. Sometimes amusing, occasionally insightful cultural contrast when 2 A'dam crime specialists do a job in Kyoto. Not always credible. Language use mostly rather bad. I notice quite a lot of Dunglish sentences.

[Christy Van Dam · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is the second book by this author that I've read and I've decided I do not like this author. He/she is very choppy and short with their chapters and thoughts. The book ended just out of nowhere with no real conclusion. I won't be reading them again. I'm glad I got them at the thrift store.

[Tim · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Japanese Corpse, lets the Zen of the author return to its Japanese home. Another mystery to be read more for the dialogue and the characters and the locations (1970s Holland and Japan) than the particular plot which moves at a slow and fanciful pace.

[Picklefactory]

The strangest entry so far in a very strange detective series. No real mystery, but an off-kilter Zen sensibility permeates the plot, which I found to be more an emotional story than simply a crime to be solved. Van de Wetering is unique.

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent series .

[Stuart Lutzenhiser · Rating 3 out of 5]

A yakuza art dealer goes missing in Amsterdam. The detectives must travel to Japan to find out the mystery. Very good book, but strangely dated.