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sparklyjojos · 4 years

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THE SAIMON FAMILY CASE recaps [12/13]

In which we confront Gensui, make even more puns, and learn the beautiful boy’s secret. [tw: ED mention]

On September 19th, the first anniversary of Tamako’s death, everyone mobilizes to make sure not a single person will die this time. The entire giant family gathers in the auditorium of the stage next to their house, where they will spend the entire day guarded by several of Nihon Tantei’s Club office workers and detectives, young members of Fujita-gumi providing additional security.

The only family members to stay behind in Sanasou are the two surviving Tamakos, old man Gensui, as well as Tousen Natsuko and Tsukumo Karan who will provide them care. In order to guard these five, Ajiro, Kirigirisu, a few of their detectives and Fujita-gumi members will stay in the house.

The stakes are even higher than usual; if they fail to prevent yet another murder, Ajiro will quit the Club. A few of the Club's detectives, like Arito Tarou, only agreed to come here and help so they can witness his failure in person.

Ajiro asked Soga Tensui to meet him and Kirigirisu by the aviary at noon “for the final discussion about the Case”, so both detectives head there early. Ajiro chose the time and place on purpose; he knows from the dove caretaker Ranma that the big box with Onikaru-sama opens every year on September 19th between noon and 1 PM—apparently there's something about it that Ajiro wants to see.

As they wait for noon watching the doves, Ajiro points out more interesting (and wacky) coincidences. Prince Shoutoku lived in the Asuka period, Asuka being spelled with kanji for “flying birds” (飛鳥). The temple Houryuu-ji is located in the town Ikaruga (斑鳩), the name of which includes the kanji for “dove” (鳩).

When noon arrives, the detectives hear a loud coo, coo seemingly coming from within the box, and its double door opens to reveal Onikaru-sama.

No matter how long Kirigirisu stares at the figure, it doesn’t look like a dove. It’s more similar to a gray sparrow, its spread wings and tail darker, its distinctive beak gold. It's perched on a triple-pillared torii… and actually, the bird itself also has three legs.

Ajiro explains that the bird is a Japanese grosbeak, known as Ikaru or Ikaruga—the same name as the town Ikaruga that has just been mentioned. It’s likely that instead of Onikaru-sama, the figure was once called "the honorable lord grosbeak", On-Ikaru-sama (on being a honorific).

The triple-pillared torii is reminiscent of the shrine Kaiko no Yashiro, which is located near Kouryuu-ji, a temple founded by Prince Shoutoku’s close ally Hata no Kawakatsu. A fringe theory claims that the Hata clan was Jewish believing in Nestorian Christianity, and that Kaiko no Yashiro viewed from above resembles the Star of David. Perhaps that’s one more “proof” strengthening Soga Tensui’s belief in the connection between Shoutoku and Jesus.

As the detectives are lost in conversation, suddenly they hear another loud coo coo, but not from the box—it comes from right behind them.

The master of vocal mimicry Soga Tensui is standing behind them, a smile on his face.

“Souji, Kirigirisu… it looks like you have finally discovered our secret.” The man is speaking to them out loud, so he must be Gensui.

“Gensui… are you Jesus?” Ajiro asks without beating around the bush.

Gensui spreads his arms wide, creating the shape of a cross with his body—

“YES, I AM!”

[And what a horrible pun it is, since イエス is both “yes” and “Jesus”. Jesus I Am.]

“So… so you really are convinced you’re Prince Shoutoku and Jesus?” Kirigirisu takes a step back. “I can’t believe it…”

Gensui’s expression turns stern for just a second before that calming smile returns to his face. Kirigirisu realizes where else he saw a smile of this kind. It’s the “archaic smile”, often seen on Buddha statues. No doubt this too is a part of the man's delusion...

“It's not that I’m convinced,” Gensui says. “I really am both Shoutoku Taishi and Jesus Christ.”

“But that’s… are you claiming that you’re immortal?”

“No. Unlike Hikami Sensai, I'm not immortal.”

Hikami Sensai—the Mountain God that Hyousen once mentioned.

“I can think of only one explanation that supports your claims,” Ajiro says. “Shoutoku Taishi and Jesus Christ are succession names.”

“Indeed. Just like with stage names of kabuki theater or rakugo, Shoutoku Taishi and Jesus are also heritage names. In the Asuka period the name Jesus was first introduced to Japan, and a version of it changed to Japanese became a succession name. Its official form is Umayato no Miko. If Shoutoku Taishi was the first person to have that name, I would be the ninety-eighth Umayato no Miko in turn. ...I know you would not believe us even if we had definitive proof. No matter. It is enough that I know who I really am. No one else has to believe it.”

Kirigirisu naturally thinks that the man is completely nuts, but Ajiro warns him not to get heated; they have to accept what Tensui says for now or the conversation will get nowhere. Tensui comments that other people often refuse to believe giant truths that would turn their entire understanding of history around.

“I don’t doubt what you claim,” Ajiro says carefully, “but could you tell me how the next Umayato no Miko is chosen? Can there exist two at once?”

“When an Umayato no Miko senses their death approaching, they appoint a successor who will inherit the name. Anyone at all can be appointed, even those not related by blood. In the short period between appointing the successor and the predecessor's death, there technically exist two Umayato no Miko at the same time.”

“You said earlier, I quote: you have finally discovered our secret. By our, you mean…?”

“Mine and my predecessor’s. I am the only Umayato no Miko right now.”

“Could your predecessor be… Saimon Tamako?”

Ajiro explains how he came to this outrageous conclusion. Even though Tamako was Korean, she spent a lot of time travelling through Japan, and the title could be passed to anyone no matter the blood connection.

The three rich men who married the three Tamakos—Saimon Taishin, Tsukumo Taigen, Tousen Taikun—all changed their names, so they had a shared kanji tai (太). Everyone assumed that this name change occured before the triple marriage, but what if the opposite was true? What if it was in fact Saimon Tamako who proposed that change? While we’re at it, maybe it was her who came up with names for her daughter Akiko and some other family members like Taishi and Tsushima?

Once Gensui confirms that’s the case, Ajiro explains his thoughts in details.

Let’s look at the names of Taishin (太臣) and Taikun (太君) and replace that first kanji with another similarly looking tai (大). Taishin’s name would now mean a minister (大臣), while Taikun’s name could be read as ookimi (大君), like the emperor’s title in the times of Prince Shoutoku. Quite the coincidences.

Saimon Taishi was named after Shoutoku Taishi, though spelled differently. Tsushima is an island near the Korean Peninsula. The name Akiko (明子) is somewhat similar to mentaiko (明太子), which happens to both be a popular culinary ingredient in Korea and also have Shoutoku’s name Taishi (太子) in it. Many other members of the family have the kanji for “horse” in their names, which again relates to Umayato no Miko, “the Stable Door Prince”.

The next mystery to solve hid in the words Tamako used to repeat. Kudaranai… ima wa kudaranai. What she was actually saying was Ima wa Kudara nai, “there is no Kudara now”. Kudara is the Japanese name for Baekje, one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea. Ajiro thinks Tamako might have been born in the region formerly known as Baekje.

Gensui states that while he can’t know Tamako’s thoughts, the reasoning about her Kudara line seems legitimate.

Ajiro’s next rhetorical question touches on a more practical matter: aside from the name, what else does an Umayato no Miko inherit from their predecessor? The answer is easy to guess when you look at what Tamako and Gensui had in common: magic. What’s passed down is the art of illusion.

“The current public image of Shoutoku Taishi or Jesus Christ greatly differs from reality,” Gensui says. “Historical facts passed down through the ages turn into false nonsense. I don’t intend to deny what people believe about either of the two, but from my point of view, they were above all else splendid magicians. You're free to choose whether you believe it.”

Well, it’s true that Jesus made a lot of miracles happen, and the art of illusion as we know it was first introduced to Japan in Asuka period.

“Let's accept the premise of Jesus Christ and Shoutoku Taishi being magicians,” Ajiro says. “Maybe the problem lies not with them, but with those who came afterwards. Perhaps they weren’t just plain magicians, but—magicians of murder.”

“Not the softest way of phrasing it,” Gensui comments with a somber expression.

Ajiro exposits some more.

Ajiro’s grandfather Soujin is a skilled detective who up until now has solved every case thrown his way… except for one: the Kuroyashi (“black peddler”) case, which killed hundreds of yakuza members throughout a few decades. The murderer wore a black kimono and matching black garments, held white prayer beads in his hand, and hid his face behind kokushikijou, the black Noh mask of a happy old man.

It was an open secret that Kuroyashi's true identity was Fujita Kyuuzou, who killed anyone trying to encroach on Fujita-gumi’s turf in Tsuwano. Even if Soujin knew that fact well, he had never managed to gather enough proof. Strangely enough, the two ended up becoming good friends even as a detective and a suspect constantly trying to figure each other out.

Kyuuzou was missing the tip of his thumb (for typical yakuza reasons), instead wearing a magician tool called simply a thumb tip. Soujin theorized that this could be where Kyuuzou hid the murder weapon he used to kill as Kuroyashi—poison needles. Maybe his death from a hornet sting was a fitting end for someone like him.

"I trust in my grandfather's abilities, so I also believe that Kyuuzou was Kuroyashi. However, the murderer in this Case isn't just him… The mastermind was Saimon Tamako, wasn't she? As the previous Umayato no Miko, she was a true magician of murder, a professional assassin of much greater skill than Kuroyashi. Since you claim you're not the culprit, then it must be her, right? No one other than you two—the magicians of murder—would be able to orchestrate the Saimon Family Case."

Gensui doesn't move. That archaic smile returns to his face.

"It's so unlike you to say such bizarre things, Souji. I understand why you suspect me, even though I am not the culprit. But to accuse Lady Saimon, who died a year ago…"

Gensui clearly isn't going to tell them anything as readily as he confirmed being Jesus.

"Souji, Kirigirisu, I think you have misunderstood something," he continues. "Except for the incident involving Yumeji, none of the deaths were murders. Even the police said there was no case."

"Are you seriously still claiming that?" Ajiro finally breaks and shouts in anger. "All just accidents, all on the same day of the month, twelve times in a row?!"

"You truly don't know when to give up. When I requested your help, I asked you to explain how these deaths could be murders. It seems you won't be able to fulfill my request no matter how much time passes. I have no choice but to withdraw the investigation request."

"Oh, so you’re withdrawing now? I don't care! I'm not here to investigate just because you asked me. I lost two of my people in this case. I will not back down!"

Ajiro and Tensui stand against each other, a detective against a suspect, just like Soujin and Kyuuzou before them. History repeats.

"If you still wish to investigate, I'm not stopping you," Gensui says finally. "Just let me give you a friendly warning. No matter how much you try, it's impossible to solve something that’s not a murder case like it is a murder case. Souji, it might sound weird coming from me, but do not underestimate the divine providence that can be nothing other than a miracle. No human can win a battle against the heavens. Even if the best detective alive investigated this case, they still wouldn't be able to solve it. My words aren't meant to challenge you; I'm simply telling you the truth."

"Then let me also tell you the truth. No matter how great a magician of murder you may be, I won’t let anyone die today. I used everything I had to prepare. Can you still make another incident happen? Here's a friendly warning: as soon as you try, it will be all over for you. These aren't the words of challenge, but simply the truth."

Gensui's smile doesn't waver, but his eyes fill with sadness. His expression turns to that of Buddha looking with compassion at all life.

"I didn't want to tell you this, but now I feel pity for you, Souji. You will learn for certain that I am not the culprit very soon; the Case is still going to continue even after my death. I may not be a fortune-teller, but even I can predict some things. You should know, Souji, that "prediction" is even a genre of magic. Magic always has secret methods behind it, but my own prediction is simply based on reasoning, something anyone can do with enough data. I'm going to die of illness. Illnesses are given to people by the heavens, and no human can possibly fight against their orders."

Illness? This is the first time they're hearing of this. Gensui looks perfectly healthy...

"The Case started on September 19th last year," Gensui continues, "and the incidents always take place on the 19th day of the month. If the will of heavens is connected to the number nineteen, then it stands to reason that the Case might last for nineteen months in all. My life will reach its end before the Case is finished."

Suddenly, they hear a loud coo, coo and Onikaru-sama's door closes again; it must be 1 PM. Gensui takes advantage of the others' momentary confusion and turns around to leave.

"I'm not going to run or hide," he assures them. "I'm just going to join my family in the auditorium. I… even now, I hold a favorable impression of you. I'd like to spend more time with you before my life ends… Let me give you a piece of information that might prove useful. My successor, the ninety-ninth Umayato no Miko, will be my nephew Saimon Juku. Ask him whatever you wish."

With this, Gensui leaves.

When later that day Ajiro and Kirigirisu check on everyone gathered in the auditorium of the stage, they witness Tsukumo Tsushima suddenly falling off his chair, their fellow detective Arito Tarou crumbling to the ground right afterwards. Both die shortly after being taken to the hospital. The cause of death in both cases is determined to be acute heart failure related to overworking.

Ajiro and Kirigirisu resign from Nihon Tantei Club.

“You didn’t have to quit as well, Kirigirisu,” Ajiro says, though he looks a little glad.

“Boss—no, Souji… I owe you my life. I have already decided to commit my life to helping you. I will stay by your side no matter what.”

Soon, Ajiro creates a small private detective bureau with Kirigirisu as the only coworker, Mizuki taking care of office matters. The bureau is located in Ajiro’s own house, so his son Souya is constantly running around, and Kano sometimes comes to visit.

Even though they’ve just started working on their own, Ajiro gets an astounding number of investigation requests, probably because he made a name for himself as the leader of Nihon Tantei Club. In fact, it turns out many people had only called Nihon Tantei Club in the first place because Ajiro was there, and now his private bureau ends up getting more requests than the Club.

With this new wind pushing them forward, Ajiro is sure they will solve even the Saimon Family Case.

Just like Gensui predicted, new incidents still keep coming.

Fourteenth… On October 19th, Saimon Miku dies in the bath from carbon monoxide poisoning, indirectly caused by a wild bird’s nest blocking the chimney.

Fifteenth… On November 19th, Saimon Yurine dies from shellfish poisoning—more specifically from red tide toxins—when dining with friends in Yamaguchi.

Sixteenth… On December 19th, Saimon Akiko (junior) is found starved to death in the family’s storehouse, suspended by her arms inside the giant bell. It is noted that the girl had developed anorexia some time before and was under significant stress after her mother Yurine’s death. The police doesn’t consider the incident a murder.

While investigating Akiko’s death, Ajiro and Kirigirisu learn another secret behind the magic show. Three bells are used in the show, one real and two gimmicks. The gimmicks are shown on stage, while the real one is kept backstage and struck in accordance with the performers striking the gimmicks to give the impression that the latter are real. The magician can hide inside the gimmick easily and be moved somewhere else with it, so he can magically appear even in places without a trapdoor.

When armored Soga Tensui disappears behind the projection screen, he actually pulls himself up inside the bell above him. When the other bell near the front of the scene is then lowered down, the second Soga Tensui shows up from beneath it using the trapdoor. Both bells are then lowered to the ground and covered with black cloth. At this point, the bells (and the first Soga Tensui who’s still inside) are taken off stage through the trapdoor—apparently the gimmicks can be easily taken apart so they fit through. Two frames are put up instead to give the impression of two bell-like things underneath the cloth. The frames are black, so even after the Soga Tensui who’s still on stage removes the cloth, spectators can’t really see it in front of the black curtain.

The cases still keep coming.

Seventeenth… On January 19th, Tsukumo Touji (Tsushima’s young son) dies when a hospital nurse accidentally gives him the wrong IV drip. The boy was hospitalized due to serious malnutrition, the long-term effect of stress after his father’s sudden death.

If Gensui’s prediction was true, there will be two more cases, one of them surrounding his own death.

...that’s assuming he’s telling the truth. As far as Ajiro can tell, Gensui already lied to them about Saimon Juku being his future successor. When back in September the two detectives asked the boy about whether he’s Umayato no Miko, he just looked at them with honest confusion and repeated his usual ima wa kudaranai. When Ajiro explained what that phrase actually meant and asked about Prince Shoutoku, the boy still kept staring at them completely lost, visibly not understanding what on earth is going on.

When they brought this up to Gensui, he told them that Juku was just feigning ignorance; that specifically because the boy was Umayato no Miko, he wouldn’t let anyone know his secret. This explanation just sounded like Gensui trying to confuse them further.

After repeated attempts to ask Juku about the topic and never getting any solid answer, the two detectives gave up on trying to talk to him.

Eighteenth… On February 19th, Ajiro and Kirigirisu find Gensui’s body in front of Shouryouin. He looks so thin and miserable it’s hard to believe he could be the same healthy strong man they knew. Autopsy reveals he had last-stage cancer.

On the same day, the only remaining Soga Tensui disappears. Kirigirisu instantly thinks that the two may have switched places—the classic mystery plot twist—but Ajiro cools his enthusiasm by revealing yet another secret of the two brothers.

When Tensui (that is, the older brother Ryuusui) was a young man, he lost his left hand in the Pacific War. It’s hard to notice nowadays as he always wears a prosthetic, the movements of which can be secretly controlled with his right hand. The device was designed by the late Tousen Yomi, the genius magic prop maker. Tensui and Gensui both wore white gloves at all times to hide the difference. Apparently Tensui hates to be looked at with pity, can’t stand the prospect of being seen as “that disabled magician” rather than being recognized strictly for his art, so he trained hard to make his movements look as natural as possible. That’s also why Ajiro stayed quiet about it until now.

The body they found in front of Shouryouin definitely has a real left hand, so it can’t possibly be the older brother… although Ajiro can’t completely deny the possibility that Tensui could have been lying about his disability, and actually used an illusion to make it look like he’s removing a prosthetic hand (an event that Ajiro saw with his own two eyes once). Or maybe the person he thought to be Tensui at the time was actually Gensui, and it was him who had a prosthetic… who knows which brother was actually which.

It’s all quite confusing, but Ajiro proposes they keep calling the dead brother Gensui and the one still alive Tensui, since this is what the rest of the family will think is the case… even though he personally suspects that the person they knew as Gensui is still alive.

What a weird brotherly switcharoo.

Ajiro gets lost in thought for a long time after that conversation, as if something pushed his mind onto a completely new track. After all the funeral rites are over and the house calms down, he takes Kirigirisu along to talk with Saimon Juku one more time.

Apparently Ajiro has no intention to needlessly prolong things, as he immediately asks the boy:

“Juku… are you actually Juku?”

“Boss, what are you even saying?!”

“If Gensui told us the truth, then Saimon Juku was chosen as the next Umayato no Miko. However, the boy in front of us doesn’t even know that name. I think the brother who died in the accident wasn’t Joukei, but Juku. Gensui—no, Tensui must have known about this switch. That’s why he sounded so confident when telling us we can ask the boy anything: because the child who knew all about Umayato no Miko was already dead.”

For a long moment, the boy with sunglasses is quiet. Then—

“You're right… Juku was the one who died,” Saimon Joukei says. Tears fill his eyes. “I was supposed to be the one to die that day. The man with the white demon mask came here and said he would kill everyone if I didn’t go with him… He really should have taken me, but… but Juku went to meet him instead. Before he went, Juku said… if something happens to me, please live as me from now on...”

Then Shiroyasha was the murderer in the Saimon Family Case as well…

“And after that,” Ajiro says with an expression like he just figured something out, “you suddenly became so beautiful that people faint just looking at you. I think I can explain it. The reason why babies are cute is because that cuteness is their only weapon; they can’t do anything by themselves and have to rely on adults being charmed into providing for them. Perhaps when people have no other means to protect themselves, they can somehow make themselves more beautiful in order to survive. Joukei, I think your sudden beauty is a defense mechanism. You can’t possibly allow anyone to notice that you and Juku switched places, not after he sacrificed his own life to protect you. That’s why you turned so beautiful that no one can take a closer look at you—so no one can notice the truth.”

Even Joukei himself looks surprised learning the reason behind his beauty.

Kirigirisu wonders whether this sort of supernatural transformation is actually possible in real life… well, he already knows that the boy really does make people faint, so the only choice left is to accept the improbable.

Now that the detectives are sure the boy really doesn’t know anything more about the Case or Umayato no Miko, they decide they can’t get him tangled into any more dangerous matters. They turn back to leave.

“Mr. Ajiro! Mr. Kirigirisu!” the boy shouts, making them stop. “From now on… will you protect me?”

“Of course we will,” Ajiro answers without hesitation.

[>>>NEXT PART>>>]

#sparkly reads the saimon family case #maijo and jdc stuff

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