by HIRAYAMA YUICHI

There was a boom of "The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes" ten years ago. Many Victorian and Edwardian detectives were brought back to life. In Great Britain, Dr.Thorndyke, The Old Man in the Corner, Sexton Blake, Max Carrados, Martin Hewitt, Lady Molly... In U.S.A., The Thinking Mathine, Craig Kennedy, The Infallible Godahl, Uncle Abner, Philo Gubb. You can find Arsne Lupin and Joseph Rouletabille in France . Even in Austria, you can meet Detectiv Dagoberts.

   But none of the editors of omnibuses mentioned  "The Japanease Rivals of Sherlock Holmes". There are more than a hundred rivals and uncountable episodes in which they solved mysteries. There books are called "Torimonocho (Crime File)". Their field of investigation is Edo, former Tokyo under the Shogunate. Some of them are officers but most of them are half-official-half-private detective, called "Okappiki" or "Goyoukiki". They were heroes in movies and have been also in terevision programs. "Torimonocho" is a "Horse Opera" in Japan. Even now, seven programs a week are broadcasted in my city.

   Before telling about the Japanease rivals of Sherlock Holmes, I must explain of a mechanism of police department in Edo period. It is much defferent from that of modern ones, but worked pretty good.

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The office ruled was called "Machi-Bugyosho". It was not a only police department. Its responcibilities are the administration, the justice and the police for citizens except samurais and temples and shrines. There were Ometsuke and Metsuke for samurais. Jisha-Bugyo for religeous.

   It was constituted in 1631 by Tokugawa Iemitsu, the third Shogun of the Edo period. Thinking of London, their police force was founded by Sir Robert Peel in 1829, this order of the Shogun might be ahead of their time. If we seek for the origin of the Machi-Bugyosho, however, we must back to "Kebiishi", in the Heian period, more than a thousand years ago.

   It is distinctive that there are two Machi-Bugyoshos, "Kita(North) Machi-Bugyosho" and "Minami(South) Machi-Bugyosho". It does not mean that Edo was devided into two parts. One accepted suits and the other switch after one month. A Machi-bugyosho which closed its suits window managed suits of the former month. It was not off-duty. Police officers and other continiured their work even while that months.

   The chief of the Machi-Bugyosho was called the Machi-bugyo. He was one of the Hatamotos, the Shogun's knights.

   There were two ranks of officers, Yoriki(upper officers) and Doshin(regular officers). They were devided into many types of occopation, but I will mention to police offcers only now. There were no Yoriki in police officers. Only twenty-four Doshins were patrol officers. They were called "Jomawari-Doshin" and "Rinjimawari-Doshin". In addition two Doshins called "Onmitsumiwari-Doshin" investigating in disguises. They three groups were called "Sanmawari (the three patrols)", promised to be promoted.

   As you imagine, such twenty-six menbers were not sufficient for maintaining public in Edo whose population was more than one million. Each Doshins had some non-samurai followers "Komono", and some unofficial men called "Goyoukiki". Goyoukikis were Doshins' private subardinate. Most of them had other jobs for living. Goyokikis had their men called "Teshita" or "Shitappiki". Some of them were embrio hooligan, others were ordinaly citizens.

   Some of the Japanease rivals of Sherlock Holmes are Doshins. They appear in  "The Crimefiles of Agojuro", "The Crimefiles of Mutturi Umon (Umon the Silent)", "The Cilmefiles of Ikeda Daisuke" and others. 

   Most of them are Goyokikis. And the origin of Torimonochos was a Goyokiki. His name is Hanshichi of Mikawa town, written by Okamoto Kido.

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Okamoto Kido was born in 1872 as a son of a former samurai who worked at British Legation in Tokyo. He was a newspaperman, a Kabuki playwright, and a translator. He was good at English and translated one of the works of Conan Doyle "The Captain of the Polestar". 

   Okamoto Kido wrote "A Memory of "The Climefiles of Hanshichi"" in 1927.

   "It was April 1916 when I decided to start writing "The Climefiles of Hanshichi". In those days, I had read some of the adventures of Sherlock Holmes, but had not read throuth all the series yet. As I had a opportunity to go to The Maruzen Bookstore, I bought "The Adventures", "The Memoirs" and "The Return of Sherlock Holmes" and did with them. I found a great interest in detective stories, and I wanted to write some detective stories by myself. Of cause I had read some works of Hume and other writers, but these were the works of Doyle which stimulated me."

   He wrote about other non-Holmes stories also he read.

   "There were no detective stories of Edo period. If I write a modern detective story, it must be a copy of western's. It might be a some different taste if it was in Edo style."

   His first Hanshichi story "The Soul of Obun" was appeared on "The January issue of Bungei Club" in 1917. His last and sixty-eighth story is "The Two Wives" in 1936.

   He described Hanshichi "He was a hidden Sherlock Holmes in Edo period." in "The Soul of Obun". He kept Holmes in his mind when he wrote this series.

   He used a technique of Holmes, too. He said in "The Mikawa Comic Dialogists", "Hanshichi watched his right hand palm and judged he must be a comic dialogist playing a drum promptly." He also used a tric of "The Norwood Builder" to lure a criminal to come toward him from a shrine in this episode.

   It is not said that "The Crimefile of Hanshichi" is a complete rival of Sherlock Holmes. Some of its episodes are ghost stories, and several are not Hanshichi's story. Though Hanshichi had some "Shitappikis", they are beyond their power to be a Watson.

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The most famous Goyokiki is "Zenigata Heiji" by Nomura Kodo(1882-1970). All the three-hunded and eighty-four stories and novels of Heiji are written by one writer. It was 1931 The first story "A Virgin in Gold" appeared.

   The author Nomura Kodo was a admirer of the Canon. He said in his essay "The Birth of Heiji", "...Japanease readers can not think of the existance Conan Doyle without Sherlock Holmes. It is common sense we do not care about Doyle if he does not write Sherlock Holmes stories.". 

    In his highschool times, he asked his English teacher to use the Canon as a textbook. He continured his interest to Holmes and Arsne Lupin after he became a newspaperman. In his essay "Before Zenigata Heiji", "My interest to Lublanc went off away. The works of Conan Doyle is sound enough to whthstand re-reading, but not those of Lublanc which are only showy. The defference between Doyle and Lublanc is clear."

    He also respected Hanshichi of Nomura Kodo. He says "They and the stories of "Sherlock Holmes" of Conan Doyle are the two biggest detective stories of western and eastern world in quality and quantity."

    The start of "Crimefile of Heiji" was a request from an editor of a new magazine "Oru Yomimono". This editor asked Nomura a crimefile series like that of a Hanshichi of Okamoto Kido. Heiji is a rival of Holmes and Hanshichi. Nomura Kodo added Heiji a remarkable ability. Like The Old Man in the Corner and Max Carrados, it is a tradition of rivals of Sherlock Holmes. Heiji pitches a heavy coin to criminals as a weapon. Nomura took this idea from "Suikoden" which is a Chinease classical literature.

    One of the biggest difference between Heiji and Hanshichi is the existance of a Watson, Hachigoro. He is a tall easy-going Shitappiki who was described as "my dear Watson rushed in the mysterious case first and foremost." in "Jigoku no Mon(The Gate of Hell)". He tells Heiji all the trivial news occured in Edo. With some of them, Heiji solves a mystery. Hachigoro is not only a Watson but also a newspaper of Edo.

    Heiji has some resemblance to Holmes. Though always he is poor, he never receive any money from people concerned. He is sometines called "Shikujiri Heiji(Heiji the Miscarriage)". He connives at many criminals because he feels sympathy for them. He hates crimes but not criminals. It reminds Holmes judge criminals by himself in BLUE, DEVI, ABBE, 3GAB and BOSC. He says in BOSC, "I have done more real harm by my discovery of the criminal than ever he had done by his crime." He drinks a little but is a heavy smoker. Heiji wants no fame. He never feel uneasy even his rivals steal Heiji's merits. Though Heiji works for Machi-bugyosho, he dislike samurais who are men of power. He is a defender of the common people. The biggest defference between Heiji and Holmes is the existance of his wife, Oshizu. She is a good Mrs.Hudson for Heiji and Hachigoro.     There are many Heiji stories under the influence of the Canon. The most famous one is "Neko no Kubiwa(A Cat Collar)". A retired merchant was treated cruelly by his adopted son and his wife. One morning, the old man was found dead in his room. His throat was cut and the murder weapon which the victim owned was found in the garden far from the dead body. His favourite cat was smeared with blood. The heartless son was arrested. Heiji saw through it was a suicide. The old merchant despaired of his and his small daughter's future. After cutting his throat by himself, he inserted the knife between the cat collar. The cat was astonished and jumped out his room. This is the plot of THOR. There is another case used this plot. This is "Arasoi no Odori(The Dance Match)". The criminal must have known the case of "A Cat Collar". She killed her employer, and disguised as if the victim committed suicide with the plot of THOR. In this episode, the murder weapon was linked to a cart.

    There are two episodes which used the plot of MUSG. In "Fujimi no Tou(The Mt.Fuji viewing Tower)", the treasure was found under the shadow of the tower which was burnt down as the spell said. In "Yaso no Shi(The Death of Yaso)", Yaso was found dead held between a stone case and its lid. He planned to steele the treasure in it as Brunton opened the heavy flagstone.

    In "Aya no Tsuzumi(A Drum with Figured Cloth)", the crimimal shot the  suicide. The old merchant despaired of his and his small daughter's future. After cutting his throat by himself, he inserted the knife between the cat collar. The cat was astonished and jumped out from his room. It made this soicide as if his son killed this old man. This is the plot of THOR in which Mrs.Gibson set a trap for Miss Grace Dunbar. There is another case used this plot. This is "Arasoi no Odori(The Dance Match)". The criminal must have known the case of "A Cat Collar". She killed her employer, and disguised as if the victim committed suicide with the plot of THOR. In this episode, the murder weapon was linked to a cart away which a neighbour draw.

    There are two episodes which used the plot of MUSG. In "Fujimi no Tou(The Mt.Fuji viewing Tower)", Heiji found the treasure under the shadow of the tower which was burnt down, as the spell said. In "Yaso no Shi(The Death of Yaso)", Yaso was found dead held between a stone case and its lid. He planned to steele the treasure in it with "the different billets of wood", as Brunton opened the heavy flagstone.

    In "Aya no Tsuzumi(A Drum with Figured Cloth)", the crimimal shot the victim's shadow like that of EMPT. In "Ofune Otan", the trick of a finger print of John Hector McFarlane in NORW was used being modified into a foot print. Heiji asked a doshin to wash down a female bagger like that of TWIS in "Bijo o Araidasu(Washing out a Beauty)". She made herself dirty to avoid her admirer not to be killed by her brother in law.

    In "Hanamino Adauchi(The Revenge at the Flower-viewing)", we can find that "when you have excluded the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth." which appears in BERY as words of Holmes. We can also see in "Hanami no Hate(After the Flower-viewing)", "Moreover, what winding around the neck is a speckled band, a lace of an epron looks like a snake."

    But such resemblances do not reduce of "The Crimefile of Zeingata Heiji". Nomura Kodo's intention is making "A Utopia of Law". Heiji's humanity touched hearts of many readers. One hour television series of Heiji broadcasted eight-hundred and eighty-eight programs. It may tell how Japanease people feel sympathy toward Heiji and Hachigoro. The only person whose waxdoll is displayed at Madame Tussaud's of Baker Street, Yoshida Shigeru who was a primemimister said his favourrite book was "The Crimefile of Zeingata Heiji". It made him rising in popularity so much. Heiji is the ideal performer of law for us.

    Twenty-six years after the first story of Heiji "A Virgin in Gold", he wrote the last Heiji story "The Sound of a Rifle" for his eye illness when he was seventy-five years old.

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I was astonished at a advertisement of "Mainichi Shinbun" newspaper on July 14 1985. It was that of a Videocassette of a famous actor Hasegawa Kazuo who was a star of samurai movies. This videocassette included excellent scenes of his movies. There were the names of his movies whose scenes included on the advertisement. I found "The Crimefile of Zenigata Heiji, The Speckled Snake" in these names. Hasegaga Kazuo played Heiji in movies many times. Heiji was his successful part. But Nomura Kodo never wrote a crimefile of Heiji named "The Speckeld Snake". I wonder it was "The Adventure of The Speckled Band". If so, Hasegawa Kazuo was the first person who played the story of Holmes.

    I visited a library to investigete what it was with great expectations. This movie was made in 1956 by Daiei Kyoto Movie. The director was Kato Bin, Zenigata Heiji was Hasegawa Kazuo and Hachigoro was Sakai Shunji.

    Saying a conclusion, it is not "The Speckled Band". It is a original story of false gold coins for a movie. The villans kidnapped gold workers, shut in a secret underground factory to make false gold coin, and tattooed the craftsmen pictures of speclked snake to find them when they escaped from the factory.

    But it told me how Heiji is close to Sherlock Holmes. 

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It was 1917 when "Torimonocho" was borned by Okamoto Kido. He is a Edgar Alan Poe of "Torimonocho" who made its style from the Canon of Sherlock Holmes. Nomura Kodo who wrote Heiji in 1931 is a Conan Doyle. Because he established "Torimonocho", and had many "Rivals of Heiji".

    There was another reason why there were so many rivals appeared in late 1930's. The power of army grew and detective stories which soldiers considered insincere were oppressed. Many jobless detective story writers began to write "Torimonocho" to live. One of them was Yokomizo Seishi, one of the most famous detective story writer of Japan. He started his career as a writer in 1921. But he started to write "The Crimefile of Ningyo Sashichi" in 1938 and had to give up writing detective stories soon. "Torimonocho" was his only way to live under the war time.

    Takahashi Hidehiro says in "The Appeal of Ningyo Sashichi", "In contrast with "The Climefile of Zenigata Heiji", we find a interesting fact. We compare "Heiji and his wife Oshizu" and "Sashichi and his wife Okume". Heiji is a serious strong chalacter and Oshizu is obedient. On the contrary, Sashichi is a handsome flighty man. Okume is a jealous person. They two couples are described in contrast. ...The flightness of Sashichi who is handsome like a actor was a Sashichi's originality to challenge serious strong Heiji. It was what Yokomizo Seishi wanted to say. The jealous chalacter of Okume describes her vivid chalacter, and it stands out that of Sashichi, too.".

    The next boom of "Torimonocho" had come after the war, because free publications realized. In 1949, the year when Nomura Kodo wrote 200th episode of Heiji, The Torimonocho Writers Club was constituted. The first president was Nomura kodo. It was also the year when the first movie of Heiji "Heiji Happyakuyacho" played by Hasegawa Kazuo appeared. In 1950, he wrote 31 Heiji episodes. This is the best record of "The Climefiles of Zenigata Heiji".

    After the appearence of realistic mystery stories reprisented by Matsumoto Seicho, Torimonocho and "detective" stories became old-fashioned. The Torimonocho Writers Club was absorbed to The Japan Mystery Writers Association. The time of Torimonocho has gone, Though some writers still providing Torimonocho stories. 

@@But there are excellent Torimonocho writers even now. Ikenami Shotaro writes "Onihei Hankacho". Tsuzuki Michio's "Namekuji Nagaya Torimono Sawagi" is the best Torimonocho, it is considered. The desendants of Hanshichi, Heiji and Holmes are still alive now.