Edogawa Ranpo, born Tarō Hirai on October 21, 1894, in Nabari, Japan, was a prominent writer and literary critic known for his influential contributions to the mystery genre. He passed away on July 28, 1965, which means that his works will be in the public domain in around 10 years. Edogawa is celebrated for his detective stories featuring the character Kogoro Akechi, characterized by their unique blend of mystery, horror, and psychological elements.
Ranpo’s pseudonym is a phonetic play on the name of his literary idol, Edgar Allan Poe, but his works include influences from other Western mystery writers such as Arthur Conan Doyle and Maurice Leblanc. His works often explore themes of eroticism and the grotesque, leading to the classification of his style as “ero guro nansensu” (erotic grotesque nonsense) in Japanese literature.
His debut story, “Ni-sen Dōka” (The 2-sen Copper Coin), was published in 1923, marking the beginning of his prolific writing career, but some of his most recognized pieces include The Human Chair (Ningen Isu) from 1925, exploring themes of obsession and horror, in which a woman who receives a disturbing letter from a fan who confesses to hiding inside a chair in her home; The Blind Beast (Mōjū, 1931) in which a blind sculptor kidnaps women to create grotesque sculptures, the unique Vampire (Kyūketsuki) from 1930, and The Case of the Murder on D. Hill (D-zaka no satsujin jiken, 1925), marking the first appearance of Kogoro Akechi.
My favourite story however has to be The Strange Tale of Panorama Island (Panorama-tō Kitan, 1926). The narrative follows Hitomi Hirosuke, a struggling novelist who learns of the death of his wealthy friend, Genzaburo Komoda. Seizing the opportunity, Hitomi impersonates Genzaburo to inherit his fortune, fakes his own suicide, exhumes Genzaburo’s body, and presents he has been buried alive. With his newfound wealth, he constructs a fantastical amusement park on the island of Nakanoshima, designed to be a paradise filled with optical illusions and bizarre attractions.
The island serves as a backdrop for exploring identity, obsession, and the consequences of deceit, rich in grotesque and surreal elements, reflecting Ranpo’s fascination with the bizarre and the doppelganger theme.
The story was turned into a manga written and magnificently illustrated by Suehiro Maruo.
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