The Murder in Yamabukichō and Other Writings

A young government clerk discovers a murdered woman and tries desperately to protect the person he suspects. Missing shoes, a newspaper, and precise railway times soon take the investigation in an unexpected direction. In Hirabayashi Hatsunosuke’s title mystery, apparently telling evidence becomes a test of how readily fear turns into certainty.

Two further stories probe abuses concealed behind respectable institutions. A Christmas confession confronts a predatory pastor, while a newspaper reporter follows a disputed medical theory into a private tragedy. His account exposes both the attraction of a scoop and the violence of turning another person’s suffering into news.

The collection also includes Hirabayashi’s reflections on prizewinning detective stories and on writers including Conan Doyle, Poe, Leroux, Leblanc, and Edogawa Ranpo. Together, the fiction and criticism reveal a lively interest in evidence, storytelling, intellectual authority, and professional ethics. All five works appear in complete English translation, with brief notes on names, period references, uncertain titles, and source details.