The Masked Man and Other Writings

A wealthy couple wants every newspaper in Tokyo to talk about their garden party. Their solution is a staged appearance by the notorious masked robber. But a real thief, two detectives, and an observant newspaper editor turn the performance into something far more dangerous than its hosts intended.

Hirabayashi Hatsunosuke, a Japanese writer and critic who died in 1931, makes disguise a way to question the boundaries between respectability and crime. The play’s changing scenes expose the motives behind a robber’s apparent generosity and the private conflict beneath his public identity.

Three essays extend that interest in storytelling and judgment. Hirabayashi examines the worldwide popularity of detective fiction, compares writers including Edogawa Ranpo and Kosakai Fuboku, and argues over the relationship between political purpose and artistic value in Marxist literary theory. The complete collection preserves his pointed examples, humor, reservations, and provocative claims.