The Hasekura Case, Volume 1

A young detective lets a Bible thief escape, and the failure soon becomes an ordeal for an entire Tokyo police station. Hasekura Kihei sends mocking letters, shifts his contacts, and seems to enjoy every attempt to catch him.

As Ishiko, Watanabe, and the experienced Negishi pursue him, they discover earlier theft convictions, suspicious house fires, and the disappearance of a young maid. A photographer offers help that serves his own designs, while an amateur investigator follows a clue deliberately planted to mislead him.

First published in 1927, Kōga Saburō’s extended detective narrative follows surveillance, interviews, mistaken assumptions, and the difficult search for physical evidence. In this first volume, the recovery of an unidentified body deepens the mystery while the fugitive continues to evade arrest.