Dream Murder and Other Stories

A young cook dreams of becoming a lawyer, but jealousy turns his legal studies toward a darker purpose. A fatal accident at a lonely shore is followed by another death in the heart of Tokyo, where a prosecutor’s ingenious explanation may be less secure than it appears. In Edo, the reputation of a celebrated magistrate casts its shadow over the fate of a young claimant to shogunal parentage.

These three stories bring crime and judgment into uncomfortable proximity. Sleepwalking, automobile travel, private diaries, and public faith all become sources of apparent certainty—and reasons to question it. Hamao Shirō invites readers to follow the reasoning closely while remaining alert to what reasoning cannot establish.

A former prosecutor and a distinctive voice in early Japanese detective fiction, Hamao wrote with particular interest in criminal responsibility and the limits of evidence. First published in 1929 and 1930, these stories retain their force through precise reversals and disturbing moral questions.