Originally Published 1956
Japanese Tales of Mystery & Imagination, the first volume of its kind translated into English, is written with the quick tempo of the West but rich with the fantasy of the East. These nine bloodcurdling, chilling tales present a genre of literature largely unknown to readers outside Japan, including the strange story of a quadruple amputee and his perverse wife; the record of a man who creates a mysterious chamber of mirrors and discovers hidden pleasures within; the morbid confession of a maniac who envisions a career of foolproof “psychological” murders; and the bizarre tale of a chair-maker who buries himself inside an armchair and enjoys the sordid “loves” of the women who sit on his handiwork.
Edogawa Rampo, a pseudonym for Tarō Hirai, was one of the giants of Japanese crime fiction in the early-to-mid twentieth century. His name is a phonetic rendering of the name Edgar Allan Poe paying tribute to an author he admired and while his work is certainly original, you only have to dip into these stories to see that they shared a flair for the macabre.
This collection, Japanese Tales of Mystery and Imagination, contains a selection of his short stories some of which can be considered mysteries, others feeling more like grotesque adventures. All of the stories show imagination and a flair for unsettling characterizations and imagery.
While The Human Chair is probably Rampo’s best known short story, it is not really much of a mystery. If you are approaching these looking for a good puzzle or story with a twist resolution I would direct you to The Cliff, The Psychological Test and The Twins. The Red Chamber is also a very entertaining read, describing some very imaginative murders, but I think the resolution goes a twist too far, blunts its impact a little.
A few stories didn’t work for me such as The Caterpillar which feels heavy-handed, even if it does hit some memorable notes in its conclusion. Also The Hell of Mirrors suffers from having an ending that cannot live up to the imagination shown in the creation of its premise. Even these stories though have moments that interest in spite of their flaws.
As a whole I was very impressed with the collection and found it to be an enjoyable and absorbing read. There is a good variety of story types and styles here and I imagine that several of these tales will stay with me for a while. Quite a bit of the author’s work seems to have been translated into English in recent years so I will look forward to seeking more out in the future.
The Human Chair
A writer sits down to read her correspondence and finds that she has been sent a lengthy document from a carpenter who wants to arrange to meet her. In the letter the man reveals that he had built a chair big enough to hide within and explains why he did this and how he has been affected by his experiences.
This is one of Rampo’s most famous works and it is certainly chilling reading. Unfortunately it also has the problem that anyone who comes to it already knows enough about it to be able to work out how the story evolves meaning that there is not much mystery here. It is, nonetheless, an effective work and definitely worth reading.
The Psychological Test
This story is told in an inverted style where we know that Fukiya, a poor student, has committed a murder apparently for money. In the course of the story we learn who he has murdered and how it is planned and executed before turning to the matter of how he will be caught by Rampo’s sleuth Dr. Akechi and District Attorney Kasamori.
I enjoyed the story a lot although the reader does not have all the information they will need to work out how the killer will be trapped. The scheme is quite smart though and I think it is resolved cleverly.
The Caterpillar
This story concerns a woman whose husband returns from war with such serious injuries that she must constantly care for him as he has lost all of his limbs and the ability to talk. There is a strong horror component to this story and not much in the way of mystery although it is certainly imaginative and contains some very strong imagery.
The Cliff
A man and woman discuss the death of her husband and secrets they both share. This story is presented as a script with occasional descriptions of action. It is an effective technique, focusing our attention on the content of what they are saying, and the story is dramatic and compelling. A short and excellent read!
The Hell of Mirrors
The narrator tells us of a childhood friend who became increasingly obsessed with optical equipment and mirrors and who, after inheriting a small fortune from his doting parents, put all of his resources into developing new types of mirror. The story details his friend’s tragic end and is certainly mysterious about the causes of his fate and it is certainly highly imaginative and grotesque in places.
The Twins
This story begins with the narrator informing us that he has been condemned to death for murder but wishes to confess to an earlier crime which he details for us. The story of his earlier crime is compelling and I enjoyed the explanation of how he is eventually caught in the case of the second killing.
The Red Chamber
A man turns up to a meeting of a secret society to petition them to become a member. He tells them that he has committed 99 murders for no better reason than to amuse himself and proceeds to provide some examples of his handiwork. He then reveals how he intends to commit his hundredth.
This is an excellent story containing some striking yet simple ideas. Rampo manipulates the reader skillfully by some presentational choices that he makes and some of the murders described are very cleverly conceived.
Two Crippled Men
Two men, Saito and Ihara, sit and discuss their life stories. Ihara reveals that he has suffered from somnambulism since childhood and believes he committed a murder while sleepwalking. After hearing Ihara’s story, Saito tries to suggest that the evidence may not be as conclusive as he thinks.
It is, once again, quite a simple but effective concept for a story. It builds to a twist ending that I think will likely be anticipated but it is well-delivered.
The Traveler with the Pasted Rag Picture
The collection ends with what may be its strangest tale. A man travels on a train and discovers that the passenger seated with him has a package containing a remarkably lifelike rag picture of an elderly man and young woman in a traditional lovers’ pose. The man proceeds to tell him the incredible story behind that picture and why he travels with it pressed to the window of the carriage.
This story is certainly more imaginative than mysterious and avoids giving any kind of definitive statement of whether the elderly man is truthful and, if so, how the events he describes could have happened. I enjoyed it and appreciated its imagination even if I was left wondering about whether we are supposed to take the account to be truthful.
Mysteries Ahoy! 
Thanks for the review, which made me wonder if the short stories leaned too far away from the conventional puzzle-mystery for my tastes. Though I confess to some curiosity about the central sleuth, Dr Akechi, as I believe he’s the ancestor of Superintendent Akechi in the Kindaichi mystery manga and anime.
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It may just be the stories selected for this particular collection. Almost all of the stories are imaginative and boast some striking ideas but few of them are structured as puzzle mysteries.
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It is what I’ve heard about Rampo too, that his stories are not “that” conventional. But they’re not bad 🙂
Personally I’ve read two of his books.
One was the YA book that Ho-ling translated which was fun albeit somewhat simplistic and Rampo spoiling his own plot from time to time is not that nice if you’re a bit older than the age-group!
The other was a novella which was about lady being stalked by a very successful writer from her past. This one I would recommend without any hesitation should it ever be translated! Very, very good stuff!
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To clarify: I didn’t translate The Fiend with Twenty Faces (that’s the exploit of Dan Luffey). I only wrote the preface to the English translation.
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Rampo’s Akechi is not related the Akechi from the Kindaichi Shounen manga in any way actually (I even heard that he’s supposed to be named after Akechi Mitsuhide, the famous samurai who betrayed Nobunaga, and reigned Japan for a mere 13 days before being killed himself).
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Japanese Tales of Mystery and Imagination was my first encounter with Rampo, and I absolutely loved it. It’s a fairly representative selection of his early work, and yes, that means that his work focus more on horror/grotesque than puzzle plots. This was partly due to the audience by the way: the more visceral stories were simply received better by the broader audience, so his writing would move in that direction (compare his earliest stories to the stories two, three years into his career). Lots of stories have Rampo just winging things as he goes (especially noticable with his serialized novels) and that doesn’t always end up well, but there’s a reason I have a tag called “Batshit-Edogawa-Insane Awesome” on my own blog.
I’d recommend The Black Lizard/Beast in the Shadows: the Black Lizard is INCREDIBLY pulpy thriller with Akechi (somewhat like an early Bond film) that is quite amusing, and Beast in the Shadows should be the novellette Yannis also mentioned, being a really tightly plotted thriller with Rampo’s usual grotesque/voyeurism motifs.
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Yes, it looks like it is the one. In Greece we had it translated as the “Victim and its Shadow” so I got it mixed up somehow. And thanks for the clarification in regards to the translator “The Fiend with Twenty Faces”.
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Sorry that it took me a while to notice this post. For some reason I didn’t get the usual notices about the replies!
Thanks for sharing your thoughts on how this collection sits within the broader context of Rampo’s work. I have no problem at all with a good grotesque adventure – I think it surprised me because so much of what I had read about him emphasized his work’s use of ratiocination.
I appreciate the suggestions for where to head next. The Black Lizard sounds like it would be fun so I will likely make that my next stop. Thanks again!
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I have started reading the book and have read the first 3 stories. The Caterpillar didn’t work for me also. But I very much enjoyed the other 2 stories: The Human Chair and The Psychological Test. I will comment again after finishing the book.
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Thanks for sharing. I look forward to seeing what you make of the other stories in the collection!
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I have finished the book. I enjoyed all stories except The Caterpillar (too horryfying) and The Hell Of Mirrors (tame ending). Also I feel that The Red Chamber would be better without the additional twist at the end.
All in all, an impressive collection !
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Glad you liked it! It seems we had pretty similar responses to the individual stories as well.
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