Inspector James Japp (later Chief Inspector Japp) is a fictional character who appears in several of

Agatha Christie Dame Agatha Mary Clarissa Christie, Lady Mallowan, (; 15 September 1890 – 12 January 1976) was an English writer known for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections, particularly those revolving around fictiona ...

's novels featuring

Hercule Poirot Hercule Poirot (, ) is a fictional Belgian detective created by British writer Agatha Christie. Poirot is one of Christie's most famous and long-running characters, appearing in 33 novels, two plays ('' Black Coffee'' and ''Alibi''), and more ...

Creation

Inspector Japp was inspired by the fictional police detective

Inspector Lestrade Detective Inspector G. Lestrade, or Mr. Lestrade ( or ), is a fictional character appearing in several of the Sherlock Holmes stories written by Arthur Conan Doyle. Lestrade's first appearance was in the first Sherlock Holmes story, the novel '' ...

from the

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 ...

stories by

Arthur Conan Doyle Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle (22 May 1859 – 7 July 1930) was a British writer and physician. He created the character Sherlock Holmes in 1887 for ''A Study in Scarlet'', the first of four novels and fifty-six short stories about Ho ...

. Christie even modelled Japp after the "ferret-like" qualities of Lestrade. In the first novel in which Japp appears, ''

The Mysterious Affair at Styles ''The Mysterious Affair at Styles'' is a detective novel by British writer Agatha Christie. It was written in the middle of the First World War, in 1916, and first published by John Lane in the United States in October 1920 and in the United ...

'', he is described as a "ferret-faced man", which is similar to the description of Lestrade as a "ferret-like man" in Doyle's 1891 short story "

The Boscombe Valley Mystery "The Boscombe Valley Mystery", one of the fifty-six short Sherlock Holmes stories written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, is the fourth of the twelve stories in ''The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes''. It was first published in the ''Strand Magazine'' ...

Appearances

Japp has been depicted in seven novels written by Christie, all featuring

: *''

'' (1920) * ''The Big Four'' (1927) *''

Peril at End House ''Peril at End House'' is a work of detective fiction by British writer Agatha Christie, first published in the US by the Dodd, Mead and Company in February 1932 and in the UK by the Collins Crime Club in March of the same year. The US editi ...

'' (1932) *''

Lord Edgware Dies ''Lord Edgware Dies'' is a work of detective fiction by British writer Agatha Christie, published in the UK by the Collins Crime Club in September 1933 and in the US by Dodd, Mead and Company later in the same year under the title of ''Thirt ...

'' (1933), also known as ''Thirteen at Dinner'' *''

Death in the Clouds ''Death in the Clouds'' is a work of detective fiction by British writer Agatha Christie, first published in the US by Dodd, Mead and Company on 10 March 1935 under the title of ''Death in the Air'' and in the UK by the Collins Crime Club in ...

'' (1935), also known as ''Death in the Air'' *''

The A.B.C. Murders ''The A.B.C. Murders'' is a work of detective fiction by British writer Agatha Christie, featuring her characters Hercule Poirot, Arthur Hastings and Chief Inspector Japp, as they contend with a series of killings by a mysterious murderer kn ...

'' (1936), also known as ''The Alphabet Murders'' *''

One, Two, Buckle My Shoe "One, Two, Buckle My Shoe" is a popular English language nursery rhyme and counting-out rhyme. It has a Roud Folk Song Index number of 11284. Lyrics A common version is given in ''The Oxford Dictionary of Nursery Rhymes'': :One, two, buckl ...

'' (1940), also known as ''An Overdose of Death'' and ''The Patriotic Murders''. This is his last appearance in any work by Christie. In most of these appearances, Japp is a minor character with minimal interactions with Poirot or involvement in the plot. However, Japp emerges as a major character and partner to Poirot in ''Lord Edgware Dies''. He returns in this capacity in ''Death in the Clouds'' and ''One, Two, Buckle My Shoe'', before being written out of the series. In number of appearances, Japp is comparable to

Arthur Hastings Captain Arthur J. M. Hastings, OBE, is a fictional character created by Agatha Christie as the companion-chronicler and best friend of the Belgian detective, Hercule Poirot. He is first introduced in Christie's 1920 novel '' The Mysterious Af ...

who was featured in eight of the Poirot novels. Inspector Japp is also briefly mentioned in the

Tommy and Tuppence Tommy and Tuppence are two fictional detectives, recurring characters in the work of Agatha Christie. Their full names are Thomas Beresford and his wife Prudence (née Cowley). Tommy and Tuppence first appeared in Christie's ''The Secret Advers ...

book ''

The Secret Adversary ''The Secret Adversary'' is the second published detective fiction novel by British writer Agatha Christie, first published in January 1922 in the United Kingdom by The Bodley Head and in the United States by Dodd, Mead and Company later in ...

'' (1922); his card is brought to Julius Hersheimmer at the end of chapter five. In chapter seventeen of ''

The Murder of Roger Ackroyd ''The Murder of Roger Ackroyd'' is a work of detective fiction by British writer Agatha Christie, first published in June 1926 in the United Kingdom by William Collins, Sons and in the United States by Dodd, Mead and Company. It is the third no ...

'' (1926), Japp is mentioned by a police superintendent to Poirot as having asked after him. Japp is mentioned by Poirot in ''

Death on the Nile ''Death on the Nile'' is a work of detective fiction by British writer Agatha Christie, published in the UK by the Collins Crime Club on 1 November 1937 and in the US by Dodd, Mead and Company the following year. The UK edition retailed at s ...

'' (1937), and by Colonel Weston in '' Evil Under the Sun'' (1941), the next book in the Poirot series after his final appearance. Japp is also mentioned in the novel ''

Taken at the Flood ''Taken at the Flood'' is a work of detective fiction by British writer Agatha Christie, first published in the US by Dodd, Mead and Company in March 1948 under the title of ''There is a Tide . . .'' and in the UK by the Collins Crime Club in ...

'' (1948) by Superintendent Spence during a conversation with Hercule Poirot. Japp's career in the Poirot novels extends into the 1930s but, like Hastings, he disappeared from Christie's writing thereafter. A police officer somewhat similar in character (Superintendent Spence) was introduced as a significant recurring character in the later Poirot novels. Japp appears in Christie's stage play ''Black Coffee'', written in 1929. He remarks to Poirot that it has been a "long time" since they last met, in connection with "that Welsh case", which is not otherwise identified. Japp also appears in Charles Osborne's novelisation of ''Black Coffee''. Like those of Miss Lemon and

, the role of Inspector Japp in Poirot's career has been exaggerated by adaptations of Christie's original novels, specifically by the TV series ''

Agatha Christie's Poirot ''Poirot'' (also known as ''Agatha Christie's Poirot'') is a British mystery drama television programme that aired on ITV from 8 January 1989 to 13 November 2013. David Suchet starred as the eponymous detective, Agatha Christie's fictional Her ...

'', where these characters are often introduced into stories that did not originally feature them.

Characteristics

Inspector Japp has a tendency to jump to conclusions, and to accept simple solutions to cases. However, he becomes a more competent and respected police detective over time, eventually becoming a capable Chief Inspector. He respects Poirot's abilities but is sometimes rude to him, though over the years, he becomes more of a friend to Poirot and works more closely with him. Japp sometimes accuses Poirot of "making things difficult" when Poirot contradicts a solution which Japp believes is correct; however, when Japp is proved wrong, he acknowledges his mistake and makes remarks such as "you're the goods!" to Poirot. In ''One, Two, Buckle My Shoe'', the last novel in which he appears, Japp visits Poirot at his flat to apologise after doubting him and to tell Poirot he was right. When off duty, Japp is an "ardent botanist", according to Hastings in the 1923 short story " The Market Basing Mystery". Japp is described as "little, sharp, dark and ferret-faced" in the 1920 novel ''The Mysterious Affair at Styles'', and as a "little ferret-faced fellow" in the 1923 short story " The Kidnapped Prime Minister".

Portrayals

The role of Japp is played by Philip Jackson in the British TV series ''

'', where

's character is played by David Suchet. Before Suchet took on the role of Poirot, he had previously played Japp himself in the 1985 film '' Thirteen at Dinner'', where

Peter Ustinov Sir Peter Alexander Ustinov (born Peter Alexander Freiherr von Ustinov ; 16 April 192128 March 2004) was a British actor, filmmaker and writer. An internationally known raconteur, he was a fixture on television talk shows and lecture circuits ...

played Poirot. Philip Jackson portrays Japp as working-class and 'thoroughly British', not very intelligent but an extremely diligent, canny and active police officer with a good but rather dry sense of humour, characteristics which often serve as a perfect

foil Foil may refer to: Materials * Foil (metal), a quite thin sheet of metal, usually manufactured with a rolling mill machine * Metal leaf, a very thin sheet of decorative metal * Aluminium foil, a type of wrapping for food * Tin foil, metal foil ...

to Poirot's personality, who is intelligent, elegant, upper-class but rather slow in movements and of a very serious nature. In the same television series, Japp is already a Chief Inspector in the first episode, his full name is James Harold Japp according to the episode "The Chocolate Box", and he has been promoted to Assistant Commissioner by the time he appears in the episode "The Big Four". Philip Jackson is also one of the actors who played Japp in the

BBC Radio BBC Radio is an operational business division and service of the British Broadcasting Corporation (which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a royal charter since 1927). The service provides national radio stations covering th ...

adaptations of Poirot stories, produced contemporaneously with the Suchet TV series and starring John Moffatt as Poirot. In the radio dramatisations, Inspector Japp was played by Norman Jones in ''Lord Edgware Dies'' (1992), by Philip Jackson in ''The ABC Murders'' (2000), ''Death In The Clouds'' (2003), ''One, Two, Buckle My Shoe'' (2004), and ''The Mysterious Affair at Styles'' (2005), and by

Bryan Pringle Bryan Pringle (19 January 1935 – 15 May 2002) was an English character actor who appeared for several decades in television, film and theatre productions. Life and career Born in Glascote, Tamworth, Staffordshire, he was brought up in the L ...

in ''Peril at End House'' (2000). See also other episode listings on BBC Genome. Japp is played by

Melville Cooper George Melville Cooper (15 October 1896 – 13 March 1973) was an English actor. His many notable screen roles include the High Sheriff of Nottingham in ''The Adventures of Robin Hood'' (1938), Mr. Collins in ''Pride and Prejudice'' (1940) and ...

in the 1931 film adaptation of Christie's stage play ''Black Coffee''. As the inspector's name is spelled similarly and pronounced in the same way as the ethnic slur

Jap ''Jap'' is an English abbreviation of the word "Japanese". Today, it is generally regarded as an ethnic slur. In the United States, some Japanese Americans have come to find the term very offensive, even when used as an abbreviation. Prior to t ...

, he was renamed in the Japanese

anime is Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japane ...

series ''

Agatha Christie's Great Detectives Poirot and Marple is a Japanese anime television series that adapted several Agatha Christie stories about Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple. A new character named Maybelle West, Miss Marple's great-niece, who becomes Poirot's junior assistant, is used to con ...

'' (

NHK , also known as NHK, is a Japanese public broadcaster. NHK, which has always been known by this romanized initialism in Japanese, is a statutory corporation funded by viewers' payments of a television license fee. NHK operates two terrestr ...

, 2004). In the

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series of puzzle video games for the

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and

Nintendo 3DS The is a handheld game console produced by Nintendo. It was announced in March 2010 and unveiled at E3 2010 as the successor to the Nintendo DS. The system features backward compatibility with Nintendo DS video games. As an eighth-generatio ...

, the fictional

Scotland Yard Scotland Yard (officially New Scotland Yard) is the headquarters of the Metropolitan Police, the territorial police force responsible for policing Greater London's 32 boroughs, but not the City of London, the square mile that forms London's ...

chief inspector Chelmey appears visually and contextually as a comically incompetent caricature of Inspector Japp as played by Philip Jackson. A retired Japp is played by

Kevin McNally Kevin Robert McNally (born 27 April 1956) is an English actor and writer. He is known for portraying Joshamee Gibbs in the ''Pirates of the Caribbean'' film series. Early life Born in Bristol, McNally spent his early years in Birmingham, att ...

in '' The ABC Murders'' (2018); the series starts with Japp dying of a heart attack, and a recurring sub-plot is Inspector Crome, Japp's protege, expressing distrust of Poirot as he feels that working with Poirot ruined Japp's career.

References

External links

Inspector Japp
at the official Agatha Christie website {{DEFAULTSORT:Japp, Inspector Japp, CI Japp, CI Japp, CI Japp, CI Characters in British novels of the 20th century Fictional English people Male characters in literature Cultural depictions of Metropolitan Police officers