In the transition from spring to summer, tensions at Towa Textile are heating up. Factory workers—demanding higher wages, severance pay and other benefits—prepare for a prolonged struggle against management. With the senior executive director abroad at a textile convention and union leaders at a meeting, company director Gosuke Nishinohata is found dead by the train tracks near Kuki Station. Investigators soon learn that the victim was not well-liked, especially among union members. One brazenly claims:
I despised the man. But it wasn’t just me, you understand. Everybody did… He was devious, an egoist, had absolutely no morals whatsoever, was a terrible womanizer, and, to top it off, he was a paranoiac. How can you respect a man like that?
With a long list of potential suspects and a mysterious crime scene, local officers are baffled by the case. Tetsuya Ayukawa’s famous Inspector Onitsura is eventually called in to investigate.
The Black Swan Mystery earned Ayukawa, pen name of Toru Nakagawa, the Mystery Writers of Japan Award in 1960. Recently translated by Bryan Karetnyk, the novel features precise train timetables and unbreakable alibis, so it will undoubtedly remind Japanese mystery fans of Seichō Matsumoto’s Tokyo Express, which was originally published in 1958.
Surprisingly, The Black Swan Mystery begins neither on the factory floor nor the train terminal, but rather in a restaurant in an upscale area of Tokyo. There, Atsuko Suma, daughter of the company director, and Fumie Hishinuma, wife of the senior executive director, enjoy eating Italian food and discussing their personal lives. Although the two women both have close ties to the company, their personalities and motivations contrast.
Atsuko was a little envious of her companion’s decisiveness and her assertive nature, which seemed to manifest itself in even the most trivial of things… And yet, this was only because she had no idea of the true purpose behind Fumie’s invitation to go with her to the Ginza that day.
Atsuko and Fumie’s outing in the city is just one part of a much larger puzzle. As deaths accumulate and suspense builds, Inspector Onitsura’s pursuit of the truth takes him from the busy streets of Tokyo to the alleyways of Kyoto, through bustling Osaka, and on to the island of Kyushu. The shifting landscapes mirror the deepening complexity of the case, and Ayukawa excels at capturing the details of each new setting: the flavors of regional cuisine, the cadence of local dialects, and the unique characteristics of each train line. Set in postwar Japan, remnants of the past remain—something the inspector notices throughout his travels, such as when he disembarks in Kyoto.
Even as he stood on the central concourse, with all the stylish beauties of the old capital passing around him, he could still see the dark shadow of war beneath the crowded scene, as though he were looking at an X-ray.
Looking beneath the surface is something that seems to come naturally to Onitsura. While his investigative approach indicates a keen power of observation and a knack for detail, it is his tenacity to chase a lead far and wide that sets him apart. Ayukawa paints a distinctive portrait of a character who remains calm and approachable, and, with his trusty assistant Tanna at his side, follows his appetite for justice—as well as sweets.
Onitsura reached into his briefcase, and, just as Tanna was expecting him to produce some important documents, he set down two bars of chocolate on the desk… Though he didn’t smoke, the inspector had a sweet tooth.
The investigation leads Onitsura and Tanna through boxes of evidence, but in the end, it is hidden truths that hold the real answers. Ultimately, The Black Swan Mystery is not just about murder—it is a story of history and memory, and a reminder that the past cannot remain hidden forever.