is a fictional Japanese
detective
A detective is an investigator, usually a member of a law enforcement agency. They often collect information to solve crimes by talking to witnesses and informants, collecting physical evidence, or searching records in databases. This leads th ...
created by
Seishi Yokomizo
was a Japanese mystery novelist, known for creating the fictional detective Kosuke Kindaichi.
Early life
Yokomizo was born in the city of Kobe, Hyōgo Prefecture. He read detective stories as a boy and in 1921, while employed by the Daiichi Bank ...
, a renowned mystery novelist. His first case, ''
The Honjin Murders
is a mystery novel by Seishi Yokomizo. It was serialized in the magazine '' Houseki'' from April to December 1946, and won the first Mystery Writers of Japan Award in 1948. It was filmed as ''Death at an Old Mansion'' in 1976. In 2019, it was tr ...
'', is a novel of locked room murder in an old family, which many people regard as one of the best Japanese detective novels, was published in 1946. Kindaichi went on to feature in another 76 novels, selling more than 55 million books and appearing in numerous television and stage adaptations.
Works in translation
Pushkin Vertigo has published English translations of the Kindaichi series since 2020. ''The Inugami Clan'' (1951) and ''The Honjin Murders'' (1946) were published in 2020, ''The Village of Eight Graves'' (1951) published in 2021, and ''Gokumon Island'' in June 2022.
One other novel is available in French translation.
* ''La Ritournelle du démon'' (original title: 悪魔の手まり歌 ''Akuma no Temari Uta'') (1959)
Cases
The Kosuke Kindaichi series consists of 77 cases.
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Bat and Slug (1947)
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The Case of the Black Cat Restaurant (1947)
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A Killer (1947–1932)
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Black Orchid Princess
Black is a color which results from the absence or complete Absorption (electromagnetic radiation), absorption of visible spectrum, visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or fi ...
(1948)
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Death Mask
A death mask is a likeness (typically in wax or plaster cast) of a person's face after their death, usually made by taking a cast or impression from the corpse. Death masks may be mementos of the dead, or be used for creation of portraits. It ...
(1949)
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Mysterious Woman
For the 1997 Eurovision Song Contest held in Dublin, Ireland selected Marc Roberts to represent the country with the song "Mysterious Woman".
Before Eurovision
National final
The final took place on 9 March 1997 at the Institute of Tech ...
(1950)
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Under Hundred Suns (1951)
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A Crow (1951)
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Dead Man's Seat (novel) (1952)
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Lake of Mud (1953)
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Undying Butterfly (1953)
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Death Mask's Return (1953)
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The Bride in the Labyrinth (1954)
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Evil Man (1954)
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Garden of Demon (1954)
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Yurei Otoko (1954)
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Fallen Angel
In the Abrahamic religions, fallen angels are angels who were expelled from heaven. The literal term "fallen angel" never appears in any Abrahamic religious texts, but is used to describe angels cast out of heaven"Mehdi Azaiez, Gabriel Said R ...
(1954)
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Mirage Island (novel) (1954)
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The Sleeping Bride (1954)
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Three Heads Tower
3 is a number, numeral, and glyph.
3, three, or III may also refer to:
* AD 3, the third year of the AD era
* 3 BC, the third year before the AD era
* March, the third month
Books
* '' Three of Them'' (Russian: ', literally, "three"), a 190 ...
(1955)
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Vampire Moth (1955)
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A Deadly Pond (1955)
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Head
A head is the part of an organism which usually includes the ears, brain, forehead, cheeks, chin, eyes, nose, and mouth, each of which aid in various sensory functions such as sight, hearing, smell, and taste. Some very simple animals may ...
(1955)
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A Ghost in the Old Yard (1955)
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The Poisoned Arrow (1956)
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A Beautiful Waxwork (1956)
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Black Wing
Dan Barrett is an American musician from Connecticut, New England. He is a member of the rock duo Have a Nice Life. Outside of this, he has released solo work primarily under the names Giles Corey and Black Wing. In 2003, he founded the record labe ...
(1956)
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Death Angel's Arrow
Death is the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain an organism. For organisms with a brain, death can also be defined as the irreversible cessation of functioning of the whole brain, including brainstem, and brain ...
(1956)
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A Calendar of Witch
A, or a, is the first letter and the first vowel of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''a'' (pronounced ), plural ''aes'' ...
(1956)
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A Cat in the Darkness (1956)
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Lady in the Dream (1956)
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The Seven Masks
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...
(1956)
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Tragedy at the House of Meiro (1956)
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Field of Beast (1956)
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Head of a Playing Cards Table (1957)
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Lady in the Mist (1957)
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A Lady During the Wartime
A, or a, is the first letter and the first vowel of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''a'' (pronounced ), plural ''aes'' ...
(1957)
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Lady in the Mud (1957)
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Lady in the Suitcase (1957)
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Lady in the Mirror (1957)
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Lady in the Umbrella (1957)
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Lady in the Cell
The word ''lady'' is a term for a girl or woman, with various connotations. Once used to describe only women of a high social class or status, the equivalent of lord, now it may refer to any adult woman, as gentleman can be used for men. Infor ...
(1957)
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Murder at the Kagami Beach (1957)
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Mystery of the 13th Boat (1957)
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A Devil's rhyme for playing ball (1957–1959)
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Beautiful Lady in the Jar (1957)
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Lady of the Fan (1957)
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Girl's Shadow Under the Door (1957)
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Demon's Birthday Festival (1958)
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Lady in the Cave (1958)
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Lady in the Coffin (1958)
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Cross of Fire (1958)
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Lady in the Red
The word ''lady'' is a term for a girl or woman, with various connotations. Once used to describe only women of a high social class or status, the equivalent of lord, now it may refer to any adult woman, as gentleman can be used for men. Infor ...
(1958)
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Lady in the Pupil (1958)
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Spade Queen (1958)
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Rose Villa (1958)
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A Demon Child (1958–1959)
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Inside a Perfume's Mind (1958)
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Villa in a Fog (1958)
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Human Face (novel) (1960)
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Female Leech (1960)
* Black and White (1960–1961)
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One Hundred Lips Song of Satan (1962)
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Lady in the Sundial (1962)
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The End of Hunting (1962)
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Black Tiger at Night
Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white have ...
(1963)
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Cat Mansion (1963)
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A Batman (1964)
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A Masked Party (1974)
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Demon's Island (1978–1980)
In popular culture
Director
Kon Ichikawa
was a Japanese film director and screenwriter. His work displays a vast range in genre and style, from the anti-war films '' The Burmese Harp'' (1956) and '' Fires on the Plain'' (1959), to the documentary ''Tokyo Olympiad'' (1965), which won t ...
made five films about Kindaichi, starring
Koji Ishizaka
Koji, Kōji, Kohji or Kouji may refer to:
*Kōji (given name), a masculine Japanese given name
*Kōji (Heian period) (康治), Japanese era, 1142–1144
*Kōji (Muromachi period) (弘治), Japanese era, 1555–1558
*Koji orange, a Japanese citrus ...
:
*''
The Inugami Family
is a 1976 Japanese film directed by Kon Ichikawa. The film is the first in Kon Ichikawa's and Kōji Ishizaka's Kindaichi Series. Ichikawa remade the film in 2006 as '' The Inugamis''. The soundtrack is composed by Yuji Ohno.
Murders take place ...
'' (1976)
*''Akuma no temari-uta'' (1977)
*''Gokumon-to'' (1977)
*''
Rhyme of Vengeance
''Rhyme of Vengeance'' ( ja, 女王蜂) is a 1978 Japanese film, directed by Kon Ichikawa. It is based on Seishi Yokomizo's novel of the same title. It is 4th in Kon Ichikawa and Koji Ishizaka`s Kindaichi film series.
Plot
In the Daidoji fami ...
'' (1978)
*''
The House of Hanging on Hospital Slope'' (1979)
*
''The Inugamis'' (2006)
Director
Nobuhiko Obayashi
was a Japanese director, screenwriter and editor of films and television advertisements. He began his filmmaking career as a pioneer of Japanese experimental films before transitioning to directing more mainstream media, and his resulting film ...
made a parody film in 1979 titled ''The Adventures of Kosuke Kindaichi''
A profile of Kosuke appears at the end of the manga ''
Case Closed
''Case Closed'', also known as , is a Japanese detective manga series written and illustrated by Gosho Aoyama. It has been serialized in Shogakukan's ''shōnen'' manga magazine ''Weekly Shōnen Sunday'' since January 1994, with its ch ...
'' Volume 6.
, the main character of ''
Kindaichi Case Files
is a Japanese detective fiction, mystery manga series based on the crime solving adventures of a high school student, Hajime Kindaichi, the supposed grandson of the famous (fictional) private detective Kosuke Kindaichi. Written ...
'', is depicted as the grandson of Kosuke Kindaichi.
In episode 14 of ''
Lupin the Third Part II
''Lupin the 3rd Part II'' is a Japanese anime television series produced by TMS Entertainment. Part of the Lupin III, ''Lupin III'' franchise, it is the second anime television adaptation of the Lupin III (manga), ''Lupin III'' manga series cre ...
'', a German count invites the best private detectives from all over the world - including Kindaichi - to the maiden voyage of his blimp in order to catch ''
Lupin III
, also written as ''Lupin the Third'', ''Lupin the 3rd'', or ''Lupin the IIIrd'', is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Monkey Punch. It follows the endeavors of master thief Arsène Lupin III, the grandson of Arsène ...
,'' who is after the count's jewel.
In the ''
Lupin the Third Part IV'' episode "From Japan With Love", the celebrity detective Akechi Kousuke Holmes is partially named after Kosuke Kindaichi (as well as
Kogoro Akechi
is a fictional private detective created by Japanese mystery writer Edogawa Ranpo.
Overview
Akechi first appeared in the story in January 1925 and continued to appear in stories for a quarter of a century. Edogawa Ranpo (a pseudonym for Tarō ...
and
Sherlock Holmes
Sherlock Holmes () is a fictional detective created by British author Arthur Conan Doyle. Referring to himself as a " consulting detective" in the stories, Holmes is known for his proficiency with observation, deduction, forensic science and ...
).
In 2013 and 2014 a pair of films were made pairing Kindaichi with another famous fictional Japanese detective
Kogoro Akechi
is a fictional private detective created by Japanese mystery writer Edogawa Ranpo.
Overview
Akechi first appeared in the story in January 1925 and continued to appear in stories for a quarter of a century. Edogawa Ranpo (a pseudonym for Tarō ...
.
Tomohisa Yamashita
, also widely known as , or Tomo, is a Japanese singer, actor, and TV host.
Yamashita joined the Japanese talent agency Johnny & Associates as a trainee in 1996 (age 11) and made his small acting debut for NHK's ''Shonentachi'' (1998) and has be ...
played Kindaichi, whilst
Hideaki Itô was Akechi.
See also
*
Kogoro Akechi
is a fictional private detective created by Japanese mystery writer Edogawa Ranpo.
Overview
Akechi first appeared in the story in January 1925 and continued to appear in stories for a quarter of a century. Edogawa Ranpo (a pseudonym for Tarō ...
References
External links
Kindaichi Kosuke Museum- Fans Site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kindaichi, Kosuke
Fictional male detectives
Fictional Japanese people