The Hasekura Incident

甲贺三郎 / Bo YuJan 2025

3.8

Word count: 169K words
Chapters: 26

Summary

This book is a factual record of a sensational criminal case in Japanese history and an outstanding work of crime writing. The protagonist, Kihei Hasukura, is a Christian missionary who flees after stealing a Bible, but police investigation turns up several new suspicions against him—arson, insurance fraud, rape, and even murder. After arresting him, the police charge him with eight offenses in total. He confesses at one point, but after receiving the verdict he continually protests his innocence, ceaselessly cursing the police and the witnesses, and ultimately takes his own life in bitterness. Was he wronged? Did the police employ special coercive interrogation methods? These remain mysteries to this day.

Editor's review

This book uses documentary-style writing to reconstruct a sensational case from modern Japan. The protagonist, Kihei Shibahata, falls from missionary to defendant on eight charges; after confessing, he repeatedly protests his innocence and ultimately takes his own life in despair. The tension lies not in clever deduction but in the case's unresolved nature: was he wrongly accused, and were special methods used during interrogation? The author leaves these questions to the reader. The reading experience conveys a cold, immediate sense of the scene: police investigation records, the defendant's repeated retractions, and witness testimony pull against one another, forming a social picture that resists conclusion. It suits readers interested in modern Japanese judicial history and crime documentary literature, as well as those who like to judge for themselves in the gaps between facts. Note that the book describes charges including arson, insurance fraud, rape, and murder; readers should maintain a cautious attitude toward documentary material and should not expect the twists of fictional detective fiction.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers interested in modern Japanese social cases and judicial history
Readers who enjoy crime documentaries and true unsolved cases
Readers willing to analyze and judge for themselves among inconclusive materials
Readers concerned with interrogation procedures and the credibility of confessions

Not a good fit for

Readers expecting orthodox detective-style puzzle solving and a clear truth
Readers sensitive to descriptions of sexual offenses and violence
Readers seeking light, entertaining reading

Reading tips

Read the case timeline first, then compare each party's account chapter by chapter and mark contradictions in the confessions.
Record police investigations, the defendant's protests, and witness testimony in separate columns to compare differences in stance.
After reading, consult public-domain common knowledge about modern Japanese judicial procedures to better understand the interrogation context.
Do not rush to decide guilt or innocence; pay attention to how the author preserves doubt in the narrative.

版权信息
诅咒信
逃亡
嘲笑
旧恶
追踪
业余侦探
纵火事件
徒劳
魔手
发掘坟墓
曙光
网中之鱼
就擒
审讯
自白
断罪
宿业
公判
三封信
诅咒
保释申请
大正的佐仓宗五郎
最后的公判
绝望
大结局

FAQ

Is this book a fictional detective novel or a record of a real case?

According to the materials, this work is a true record of a sensational social case in Japanese history. Although presented in the style of a crime novel, its core is material from a real case, not a fictional puzzle story. Readers should approach it expecting a documentary work.

Was Kihei Shibahata ultimately proven innocent?

The materials show that he once confessed, repeatedly protested his innocence after receiving the verdict, and ultimately took his own life in despair. Whether he was wrongly accused remains a mystery to this day. The book does not give a definite conclusion, and readers must face an unresolved ending.

What charges does the book involve, and what psychological preparation is needed before reading?

The materials mention multiple suspicions and charges, including arson, insurance fraud, rape, and murder, and the content includes descriptions of violence and sexual offenses. Readers sensitive to such subject matter should choose carefully or skip the relevant passages before reading.

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About the author

甲贺三郎 Author

Koga Saburo (birth and death dates and nationality are not well documented in publicly available sources) is a Japanese mystery writer. Six of his works are included in the collection: The Shibakura Incident, The Amber Pipe, Koga Saburo's Short Mystery Stories, The Man Who Fell into the Trap, The Man in Blue, and The Toad House Murder Case, commonly categorized as suspense and mystery. These works suggest that his writing centers on criminal cases, emphasizing puzzle construction and plot momentum. He wrote both short stories and full-length novels, with themes involving murder, traps, and anomalies in everyday life, showing a strong bent toward classic fair-play detective fiction. Represented in Chinese by his short-story collection and several novels, his work offers a point of entry into early Japanese mystery writing.

Bo Yu Author · China

Bo Yu is a Chinese translator about whom limited public information is available, and who has long been engaged in translating Japanese detective fiction. His translations cover works by Japanese mystery writers such as Edogawa Ranpo and Kaga Saburo. Nine of his translated works are held in the collection, including Edogawa Ranpo's Daydream: Ranpo's Masterpiece Short Stories (II) and Kaga Saburo's The Man in Blue. Most of these works fall under the categories of mystery and detective fiction and foreign literature, with plots centered on puzzling cases and logical deduction, reflecting the eerie and unpredictable narrative style of classic Japanese honkaku mystery. The related e-books are mostly authorized by Beijing Zi'ang Culture Media and produced and distributed on the Zhangyue platform. As the translator has left no detailed biography, his academic background and translation philosophy cannot be verified; nevertheless, the existing translations show that Bo Yu has provided Chinese readers with a relatively reliable body of texts for understanding Japanese detective literature.