krash japan

The house in which the Yokomizo family lived at Mabi-cho is open to the public.

1546 Okada Mabi-cho, Kurashiki-city
TEL.086-698-8558
[Open_Tue.Wed.Sat.Sun 10:00-16:00]

He is the Japanese Sherlock Holmes; however his untidy attire makes him more of a Detective Colombo. Kosuke Kindaiichi is the private detective that the Japanese are most familiar with. While Conan Edogawa (central character in the comic "Meitantei Conan (Detective Conan)") rivals him among teens and younger generations, Kindaichi still maintains his notoriety among all generations.

Kindaichi is a creation by Seishi Yokomizo (1902-1981) who led the postwar world of mystery novels. He makes his first appearance in "The Honjin Murder" (1948) which won the first Nippon Tantei Sakka Kurabu Sho. After this novel, he appears as the main character in about 20 full length novels such as "The Inugami Clan," "Gokumon Island," and "The Village of Eight Tombs." His appearance is not limited to novels. Kindaichi appears in numerous productions on film, TV, and animated films. A series of Kadokawa Pictures with actor Koji Ishizaka acting as Kosuke Kindaichi is the most famous. "The Inugami Clan" (1976) directed by Kon Ichikawa was a record breaking hit. It was remade into a TV series the following year and became a popular program recording view ratings of over 40%. (Kindaichi was played by Ikko Furuya.)

Kosuke Kindaiichi was actually born in Kurashiki. "The Honjin Murder" is staged in Mabi-Cho, Kurashiki-City. Mabi-Cho is a peaceful village located north of Kurashiki, about 15 minutes by car. There is a reason why this town was chosen as the novel's setting.

Seishi Yokomizo was born in Kobe and moved to Tokyo during his twenties. He wrote while working as chief editor for several magazines. After becoming a full-time writer at thirty, there was a period of ill fate. He was reduced to poverty when mystery novels were banned during the war, destroying his health. During this time he and his family moved to his father's home village Mabi-Cho in Okayama Prefecture to escape air raids.

An unaccustomed lifestyle in the countryside awaited the family. Worst of all, the writer had no means of income. However, the people of Mabi-Cho welcomed the Yokomizo family warmly. It is said that the morning following their arrival, fresh produce were stacked at their door steps. The villagers did not hide their interest in "the writer from the city." Every evening, people showed up at the Yokomizo household carrying a bottle of sake to enjoy conversation with the "master." The stories and incidents of the past that were handed down in the village that he collected at such gatherings stimulated Yokomizo's desire to write. While he spent the days managing a vegetable garden with his family, he was also frequently witnessed contemplating on a plot for a novel sitting still on a rock or trying to come up with a trick while taking a walk around a pond. This is how "Honjin Murder," written after the war in Mabi, in which Kosuke Kindaiichi makes his debut came into the world.

Seishi Yokomizo lived in Mabi-Cho between April 1945 and August 1948. During that brief three years he wrote "Honjin Murder" and "Gokumon Island" which is set on an island in the Inland Sea. Moreover, in 1949, an year after he returned to Tokyo, he began writing a serial, "The Village of the Eight Tombs," based on an actual murder case that took place in the northern part of Okayama Prefecture.

For Yokomizo, his days at Mabi-Cho were not only his source of creation. Well into his late years, he often fervently spoke of the recollections of his years at the village that he so dearly cherished.