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The Curious Adventures of Sherlock Holmes in Japan
Sherlock Holmes fans know about the "missing years" - the time when Holmes traveled in Asia after his epic battle with Professor Moriarity. Now, thanks to recently discovered notebooks, some of the Great Detective's most challenging cases can be revealed in The Curious Adventures of Sherlock Holmes in Japan.Holmes is secretly brought to Japan disguised as an explorer named Sigerson. His host in Japan, Doctor Junichi Watanabe, helps Holmes unravel a series of perplexing cases.How can the sound of an obscure Japanese garden instrument help Holmes solve a case of madness and the voice of the Devil? Why would a thief risk capture to steal countless jars of pickles? Why would ghostly samurai appear to guard a waterfall? These and other puzzling mysteries challenge Holmes and Doctor Watanabe in The Curious Adventures of Sherlock Holmes in Japan.DALE FURUTANI is the first Asian-American to win major mystery writing awards and his books have appeared on numerous bestseller lists. He has spoken at the US Library of Congress, the Japanese-American National Museum, The Pacific Asia Museum, and numerous conferences. The City of Los Angeles named him as one of its "Forty Faces of Diversity" and Publisher’s Weekly called him “a master craftsman.“ He has lived in Japan and traveled there extensively. He now lives with his wife in the Pacific Northwest.
228 pages, Paperback
First published November 22, 2011
41 people are currently reading
123 people want to read
About the author
Dale Furutani
20 books34 followersDale Furutani's first novel, Death in Little Tokyo, was nominated for an Agatha Award, and won Anthony and Macavity Awards for best first mystery. He lives in Los Angeles.
Series:
* Ken Tanaka
* Matsuyama Kaze
Series:
* Ken Tanaka
* Matsuyama Kaze
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews
September 15, 2019
Ovunque ci sia Sherlock per me vale sempre la pena di essere letto. In più, se a Sherlock si unisce il Giappone, cos’altro chiedere?
Dale Furutani, riprendendo degli appunti veritieri del dottor Watanabe, scrive le avventure di Sherlock in Giappone, attraverso tanti piccoli casi proprio alla Baker Street!
Se amate questo investigatore e vi piace la cultura giapponese, non fatevi scappare questa chicca! Ho inoltre scoperto posti e usanze di questa cultura che non sapevo!
Dale Furutani, riprendendo degli appunti veritieri del dottor Watanabe, scrive le avventure di Sherlock in Giappone, attraverso tanti piccoli casi proprio alla Baker Street!
Se amate questo investigatore e vi piace la cultura giapponese, non fatevi scappare questa chicca! Ho inoltre scoperto posti e usanze di questa cultura che non sapevo!
November 18, 2014
This book is written from the notes kept by Doctor Junichi Watanabe, an English-trained physician who lived in Karuizawa at the end of the nineteenth Century. Watanabi-sensei was a practitioner of what was then called “Dutch medicine” as opposed to traditional style “Chinese medicine.” At this time, twenty five years after the “Meiji Restoration,” Japan was assimilating all sorts of foreign practices after being closed to gaijin (foreigners) for more than 350 years by the Shogunate, a military dictatorship. The restoration of the Emperor to the position of Head of Government and the creation of a semi-democratic form of Government were rapidly changing Japan from a feudal despotism into a modern state in the European style.
According to Watanabe-sensei’s notes, an English diplomat arrived at his surgery in the summer of 1892. This was not odd, as many gaijin who lived in Tokyo spent much of their summers in Karuizawa, to escape the heat, noise and crowding of Metropolitan Tokyo. This particular visit was odd, as the diplomat had come to ask a favor. Apparently, some gaijin of importance to the English Foreign Office was coming to stay in Japan and orders had come from Whitehall to give him every possible assistance. After a long discussion, the doctor agreed and added a ‘crazy foreigner’ to his household.
This premise introduces Watanabe-sensei to Sigerson-san, a Norwegian of some undefined importance to the British Foreign Office. Watanabe-sensei sees Sigerson-san as a true original and gives a typically Japanese description of him in his notes, built up out of opposites. This first book contains eight small stories. In the Japanese sense, these would be called ‘satori,’ little objects of a useful nature that fulfill a decorative purpose. Part of the fascination of these tales lies in watching Sigerson-san and Watanabe-sensei adjust to one another. Both are educated, intelligent men with a number of unconscious biases from their cultures trying to understand one another.
The author has managed to make each of the stories stress some aspect of Japanese culture and practices. In many ways, the characters in these tales would be as strange to modern Japanese as they are to Westerners. The era of the Meiji Restoration has been truly gone for a hundred years, with its outrageous mixture of the old and the new Japan. The people involved are people, not stick figures or one-dimensional. They have pains, needs and dreams, although they express themselves differently than the readers may be accustomed to, they share our humanity.
Just as some satori are true pieces of art, so are these stories. The author has taken a great deal of care to picture a time and a place that are gone into an ill-remembered past. I visited Karuizawa more than fifty years ago and, even then, it was taking on the garish nature of tourist traps everywhere. But it also retained the elements that had always made it precious to people from Tokyo in the summer. It is high up in the mountains, with cool, fresh air and the smell of pines was still there to be enjoyed. As it is on a main railroad line, it still takes only an hour or so to travel there from the great stations in Tokyo. It was also much more devoted to nature than was possible in the dense metropolitan area of Tokyo and the Kanto Plains that surround Tokyo Bay. Japanese Shinto beliefs treasure natural beauty and seek to preserve it and make it available to view and enjoy. Karuizawa remained a haven for a little bit of the wild that lurks in the old places.
I certainly hope that the author continues this series as he has left open to do. The stories are thoughtful gems, carefully placed to show their beauties and complexities to advantage.
Reviewed by: Philip K. Jones, May 2012
According to Watanabe-sensei’s notes, an English diplomat arrived at his surgery in the summer of 1892. This was not odd, as many gaijin who lived in Tokyo spent much of their summers in Karuizawa, to escape the heat, noise and crowding of Metropolitan Tokyo. This particular visit was odd, as the diplomat had come to ask a favor. Apparently, some gaijin of importance to the English Foreign Office was coming to stay in Japan and orders had come from Whitehall to give him every possible assistance. After a long discussion, the doctor agreed and added a ‘crazy foreigner’ to his household.
This premise introduces Watanabe-sensei to Sigerson-san, a Norwegian of some undefined importance to the British Foreign Office. Watanabe-sensei sees Sigerson-san as a true original and gives a typically Japanese description of him in his notes, built up out of opposites. This first book contains eight small stories. In the Japanese sense, these would be called ‘satori,’ little objects of a useful nature that fulfill a decorative purpose. Part of the fascination of these tales lies in watching Sigerson-san and Watanabe-sensei adjust to one another. Both are educated, intelligent men with a number of unconscious biases from their cultures trying to understand one another.
The author has managed to make each of the stories stress some aspect of Japanese culture and practices. In many ways, the characters in these tales would be as strange to modern Japanese as they are to Westerners. The era of the Meiji Restoration has been truly gone for a hundred years, with its outrageous mixture of the old and the new Japan. The people involved are people, not stick figures or one-dimensional. They have pains, needs and dreams, although they express themselves differently than the readers may be accustomed to, they share our humanity.
Just as some satori are true pieces of art, so are these stories. The author has taken a great deal of care to picture a time and a place that are gone into an ill-remembered past. I visited Karuizawa more than fifty years ago and, even then, it was taking on the garish nature of tourist traps everywhere. But it also retained the elements that had always made it precious to people from Tokyo in the summer. It is high up in the mountains, with cool, fresh air and the smell of pines was still there to be enjoyed. As it is on a main railroad line, it still takes only an hour or so to travel there from the great stations in Tokyo. It was also much more devoted to nature than was possible in the dense metropolitan area of Tokyo and the Kanto Plains that surround Tokyo Bay. Japanese Shinto beliefs treasure natural beauty and seek to preserve it and make it available to view and enjoy. Karuizawa remained a haven for a little bit of the wild that lurks in the old places.
I certainly hope that the author continues this series as he has left open to do. The stories are thoughtful gems, carefully placed to show their beauties and complexities to advantage.
Reviewed by: Philip K. Jones, May 2012
August 11, 2018
Dale Furutani, autore di origine giapponese, ma cresciuto negli Stati Uniti, utilizza il pretesto di fantomatici taccuini di tal dottor Watanabe, finiti casualmente nelle sue mani, per immaginare le avventure nel paese del Sol Levante del più famoso consulente investigativo di tutti i tempi, Sherlock Holmes.
Chi conosce la storia del celebre personaggio creato da Arthur Conan Doyle, sa che lo scrittore si era liberato dell'ingombrante Sherlock nello scontro con Moriarty alle Cascate Reichenbach; a causa delle pressioni da parte del pubblico che non voleva arrendersi alla morte del proprio beniamino, è stato costretto, però, a "resuscitarlo". La sua assenza dalle scene era stata giustificata con un lungo periodo di soggiorno all'estero, durante il quale si era fatto passare per l'esploratore norvegese Sigerson. Ed è proprio delle "imprese" in Giappone di Sigerson-san che il buon dottor Watanabe (giapponese che ha studiato la cosiddetta medicina olandese - ossia la medicina occidentale - in Inghilterra) racconta nei suoi diari.
In pratica, Watanabe non è che un Watson giapponese: non a caso, sono entrambi medici, e tutti e due rimangono affascinati dai metodi di Holmes/Sigerson, cominciando pian piano a divertirsi nei panni di improvvisati investigatori, e rivelandosi molto più di una semplice spalla.
Strane avventure di Sherlock Holmes è indubbiamente un grande omaggio a Conan Doyle e ai suoi personaggi, ma è anche una lettura piacevolissima che non può non far sorridere nei momenti in cui la cultura nipponica si scontra con gli atteggiamenti di Siegerson-san; il buon Watanabe vede in Siegerson la perfetta incarnazione del henna gaijin ("lo straniero bizzarro"), ignorando che i modi e le abitudini di Sherlock Holmes risultano alquanto eccentrici anche per la maggior parte degli Occidentali.
Il libro si rivela quindi anche un'ottima occasione per approfondire alcuni aspetti dello stile di vita giapponese, i suoi usi e suoi costumi.
Dopo la lettura sarà difficile guardare con gli stessi occhi un panetto di burro, soprattutto se ad offrirvelo è un giapponese!
Chi conosce la storia del celebre personaggio creato da Arthur Conan Doyle, sa che lo scrittore si era liberato dell'ingombrante Sherlock nello scontro con Moriarty alle Cascate Reichenbach; a causa delle pressioni da parte del pubblico che non voleva arrendersi alla morte del proprio beniamino, è stato costretto, però, a "resuscitarlo". La sua assenza dalle scene era stata giustificata con un lungo periodo di soggiorno all'estero, durante il quale si era fatto passare per l'esploratore norvegese Sigerson. Ed è proprio delle "imprese" in Giappone di Sigerson-san che il buon dottor Watanabe (giapponese che ha studiato la cosiddetta medicina olandese - ossia la medicina occidentale - in Inghilterra) racconta nei suoi diari.
In pratica, Watanabe non è che un Watson giapponese: non a caso, sono entrambi medici, e tutti e due rimangono affascinati dai metodi di Holmes/Sigerson, cominciando pian piano a divertirsi nei panni di improvvisati investigatori, e rivelandosi molto più di una semplice spalla.
Strane avventure di Sherlock Holmes è indubbiamente un grande omaggio a Conan Doyle e ai suoi personaggi, ma è anche una lettura piacevolissima che non può non far sorridere nei momenti in cui la cultura nipponica si scontra con gli atteggiamenti di Siegerson-san; il buon Watanabe vede in Siegerson la perfetta incarnazione del henna gaijin ("lo straniero bizzarro"), ignorando che i modi e le abitudini di Sherlock Holmes risultano alquanto eccentrici anche per la maggior parte degli Occidentali.
Il libro si rivela quindi anche un'ottima occasione per approfondire alcuni aspetti dello stile di vita giapponese, i suoi usi e suoi costumi.
Dopo la lettura sarà difficile guardare con gli stessi occhi un panetto di burro, soprattutto se ad offrirvelo è un giapponese!
August 12, 2019
Apocrifo ben scritto e coinvolgente. Furutani al contempo si libera dell'impellenza di misurarsi col maestro affidando la narrazione ad un nuovo personaggio e riesce comunque a risultare ipnotico esattamente come lo stesso Conan Doyle.
Il contesto è molto affascinante e i casi proposti sono, a parte uno o due leggermente sotto tono, molto avvincenti ma anche troppo pochi.
Si tratta sicuramente del miglior apocrifo che abbia letto insieme a "La Soluzione 7%" e "L'arte nel Sangue"
Il contesto è molto affascinante e i casi proposti sono, a parte uno o due leggermente sotto tono, molto avvincenti ma anche troppo pochi.
Si tratta sicuramente del miglior apocrifo che abbia letto insieme a "La Soluzione 7%" e "L'arte nel Sangue"
March 27, 2019
I generally enjoyed this book. I think you have to have an appreciation for Japanese culture to really enjoy this book, but I think any fan of Holmes will still enjoy it just as much. I feel as though Mr. Furitani managed to capture spirit of Holmes fairly well (bear in mind, that I haven't read all the Holmes Stories by Arthur Conan-Doyle as of the completion of this book).
Without giving away any spoilers, most of the chapters are broken up into separate cases taking place in Karuizawa. Most of the cases were interesting to read with interesting characters, but the only one I found a little disappointing was the last case, but only because it seemed to be a little too short, given the build up that was sprinkled through out the book. Speaking of, there could have been more of a build up of the final case.
Still overall, I liked the book. I think it's worth a read.
Without giving away any spoilers, most of the chapters are broken up into separate cases taking place in Karuizawa. Most of the cases were interesting to read with interesting characters, but the only one I found a little disappointing was the last case, but only because it seemed to be a little too short, given the build up that was sprinkled through out the book. Speaking of, there could have been more of a build up of the final case.
Still overall, I liked the book. I think it's worth a read.
March 26, 2015
Il fascino di Sherlock Holmes è indiscusso ma, quando un personaggio di questo tipo entra in contatto con un Paese altrettanto seducente, siamo di fronte ad un evidente successo.
Dale Furutani, scrittore americano dalle origini nipponiche, è stato abile nel coniugare gli aspetti tradizionali della cultura giapponese con gli ingredienti tipici del genere mystery. Ne deriva così un romanzo dall’ intrigo raffinato e dal sapore speziato. Un bouquet di suspense ed ironia allieta la lettura di un romanzo insolito e dai toni garbati.
La mia recensione completa sul blog:
http://langolinodiale.com/2015/03/25/...
Dale Furutani, scrittore americano dalle origini nipponiche, è stato abile nel coniugare gli aspetti tradizionali della cultura giapponese con gli ingredienti tipici del genere mystery. Ne deriva così un romanzo dall’ intrigo raffinato e dal sapore speziato. Un bouquet di suspense ed ironia allieta la lettura di un romanzo insolito e dai toni garbati.
La mia recensione completa sul blog:
http://langolinodiale.com/2015/03/25/...
December 11, 2023
True Sherlockians will be offended at the disrespectful way Sherlock has been portrayed in this book. This Sherlock (or Sigerson-san as he is referred to incessantly) is pale and colorless with none of the spark or creativity of the original. His assistant is a Japanese physician named Junichi Watanabe (same initials as John Watson) and the good doctor is clearly the hero of this little book. Holmes stumbles around, relying on the doctor for translation and explanation of the various clues they come across while solving several mysteries. It's self-published and filled with annoying spelling and grammatical errors. The author plays fast and loose with the true Sherlock canon (the story of the waving cat is literally the Red-Headed League transposed to Japan in the 19th century). The only reason I didn't give it one star is that some of the mysteries rely on Japanese customs and myths (hence the over-reliance on Watanabe for help understanding the landscape and shunting of Sherlock to the side of the action) which would have made for an interesting series of stories with another protagonist. The author missed an opportunity to create a whole world of a brilliant detective in Meiji-era Japan running around solving crimes. The mysteries themselves are pretty easy - Encyclopedia Brown would have little trouble solving most of these crimes - but the cultural nuances that serve as the lynchpin for many of the stories are interesting and the author weaves them into the stories in interesting ways. Too bad he decided to mess with one of the most iconic characters in literature and force him into stories into which he doesn't belong. There is a lot of racism in the book too - smelly Europeans, comments on the prejudicial physical characteristics of Asians and a horribly racist painting of a vaguely Asian looking Sherlock with very Asian features wearing a deerstalker and smoking a pipe. It's just disrespectful and wrong.
June 14, 2020
"Strane avventure di Sherlock Holmes in Giappone" racconta del periodo che Holmes passa in oriente a seguito della morte di Moriarty alle cascate del Reichnbach per sfuggire ai suoi sottoposti. In particolare, dopo aver trascorso un periodo in Tibet, Holmes si sposta in Giappone e da qui inizia la storia.
Holmes, sotto il falso nome di Sigerson fingendosi un esploratore norvegese, viene ospitato da un medico giapponese, Junichi Watanabe, in una località montana a nord di Tokyo. Qui, non riuscendo a trattenere il suo animo investigativo, insieme a Watanabe (che gli fa da interprete avendo studiato medicina in Inghilterra) inizia a risolvere alcuni casi di furto o omicidio avvenuti in città.
Il romanzo è molto bello e ben scritto; i casi che vengono affrontati sono leggeri e poco intricati (viene esposto e risolto un caso per ogni capitolo) però, almeno secondo me, questi passano quasi in secondo piano rispetto alla forza e bellezza con cui vengono trattate la cultura e le tradizioni giapponesi e il confronto che viene effettuato tra occidente e oriente e che si riflette nelle figure di Holmes e Watanabe.
In conclusione, "Strane avventure di Sherlock Holmes in Giappone" è un libro leggero, bello e divertente perfetto da leggere per staccare la spina, affrontare un viaggio in un Paese esotico e risolvere nuovi casi in compagnia del Sherlock Holmes di sempre.
Holmes, sotto il falso nome di Sigerson fingendosi un esploratore norvegese, viene ospitato da un medico giapponese, Junichi Watanabe, in una località montana a nord di Tokyo. Qui, non riuscendo a trattenere il suo animo investigativo, insieme a Watanabe (che gli fa da interprete avendo studiato medicina in Inghilterra) inizia a risolvere alcuni casi di furto o omicidio avvenuti in città.
Il romanzo è molto bello e ben scritto; i casi che vengono affrontati sono leggeri e poco intricati (viene esposto e risolto un caso per ogni capitolo) però, almeno secondo me, questi passano quasi in secondo piano rispetto alla forza e bellezza con cui vengono trattate la cultura e le tradizioni giapponesi e il confronto che viene effettuato tra occidente e oriente e che si riflette nelle figure di Holmes e Watanabe.
In conclusione, "Strane avventure di Sherlock Holmes in Giappone" è un libro leggero, bello e divertente perfetto da leggere per staccare la spina, affrontare un viaggio in un Paese esotico e risolvere nuovi casi in compagnia del Sherlock Holmes di sempre.
June 22, 2020
If I did not need to read this for a class I am teaching, I would have abandoned it after the first chapter. Instead, I had to force myself through it, slogging through reluctantly and torturously. Dramatic, I know, but I just didn’t like this book. The premise, Sherlock Holmes hiding from the Moriarty gang in Japan and taking up with a Japanese Watson, is interesting, and something could have been made of it. And there are a few intriguing moments as we see Sherlock navigating Japanese culture and customs. But the writing and plot lines didn’t live up to the promise of the premise. The writing is flat, awkward, and often just plain boring- a bit too “elementary” to hold my interest. The cases are somehow simultaneously contrived and predictable- I was not surprised by any of the endings, just as I wasn’t hooked by any of the beginnings.
At the end of the day, it’s an interesting read if you’re purely in it for the comparisons to Conan Doyle and the diversion of seeing your favorite literary detective dropped into a foreign culture. But taken on its own merits, it just wasn’t worth the time.
At the end of the day, it’s an interesting read if you’re purely in it for the comparisons to Conan Doyle and the diversion of seeing your favorite literary detective dropped into a foreign culture. But taken on its own merits, it just wasn’t worth the time.
September 29, 2021
This was my second time reading this book. The only reason for reading it both times was because I teach a critical reading class on Sherlock Holmes. I enjoyed it, but the part that I enjoyed the most was not the cases but the cultural perspective. I enjoyed how Japanese culture, language, and folklore were woven into the tales. The cases are a little derivative of the original canon (but then again, couldn’t one argue that this is the definition of pastiche?), but it is interesting to see how these elements inform the crimes. I do not enjoy how flat Sherlock Holmes is in this book; he does not seem like the Sherlock of the canon and I often forgot that I was reading a book about Holmes.
March 11, 2022
A nicely done set of short pastiches which find Sherlock Holmes, under the guise of Sigerson the Norwegian explorer, during his time in Japan as part of “the Great Hiatus.” Furutani, a Japanese-American whose family immigrated from Japan in the 1890s, is an accomplished mystery writer. This is his only Holmesian book. DF uses these Sherlockian stories to describe traditions and social mores of Meiji Japan, as well as some historical notes otherwise. These short works are fun reads and unusual mysteries. A Dr. Watanabe fills in for Dr. Watson, and a “Karuizawa Bori” style box plays the role of the battered tin despatch-box. A must for fans of Holmesian pastiches.
September 13, 2022
Entertaining mystery listening 🎶🔰
Eight will written novellas Sherlock Holmes adventure thrillers while in Japan by Dale Furutani . Each story is different with the two main characters, Sherlock and the doctor, investigating the events of the mystery. They solve each using Sherlock' s intelligence. I would recommend this novel to readers of mysteries and fans of Sherlock Holmes. Enjoy the adventure of reading. 2022 😮😤
Eight will written novellas Sherlock Holmes adventure thrillers while in Japan by Dale Furutani . Each story is different with the two main characters, Sherlock and the doctor, investigating the events of the mystery. They solve each using Sherlock' s intelligence. I would recommend this novel to readers of mysteries and fans of Sherlock Holmes. Enjoy the adventure of reading. 2022 😮😤
October 13, 2020
The final story in the book, The Case of the Broken Heart, has the narrator, Dr. Watenabe, and Holmes playing Go. The game is not tied to the plot, but Dr. Watenabe uses it to illustrate Holmes’s thinking style.
This is the third (out of six so far) of Mr. Furutani’s books to feature a scene of the game. One can hope that he will some day write a mystery in which the game plays a larger role.
This is the third (out of six so far) of Mr. Furutani’s books to feature a scene of the game. One can hope that he will some day write a mystery in which the game plays a larger role.
May 7, 2022
Brilliant!
This collection of Sherlock-in-Japan tales is brilliant! Each story captures the Holmes/Sigerson we know, but through the eyes of the Japanese doctor at his side throughout. I wish there were more stories. Can we hope that this author has more in store for us?
This collection of Sherlock-in-Japan tales is brilliant! Each story captures the Holmes/Sigerson we know, but through the eyes of the Japanese doctor at his side throughout. I wish there were more stories. Can we hope that this author has more in store for us?
January 10, 2025
A fun read for this Sherlock fan. The title piqued my interest and I found myself drawn to this Japanese retelling of Sherlock Holmes. I was impressed by the details of the 19th Century Japanese culture as well as a Japanese observation of Holmes himself. I enjoyed this book and look forward to reading more by this author.
June 18, 2017
Fantastic read. I only wish there were more books on SH from Furutani.
March 4, 2019
Interesting idea and POV showing cultural differences. It’s like a series of short stories. The mysteries are easy to solve but still fun to read.
July 4, 2022
Bello, scorrevole e soprattutto mai banale.
March 19, 2021
Non so descrivervi quando è stato bello ed entusiasmante perdersi tra le sue pagine e ritrovare Sherlock, di cui avevo letto tutti gli scritti usciti e che mai avrei sperato di ritrovare. Ogni racconto era più bello e coinvolgente del precedente. Era come ritrovare un vecchio amico e correre con lui dietro a tutti gli strani casi che attiravano la sua attenzione. Queste avventure le porterò sempre con me insieme a questo straordinario detective che riusciva a dare importanza ad ogni piccolo particolare e a svelare misteri che senza di lui non avremmo mai scoperto.
July 15, 2013
The crafting of new tales for another writer’s character is a well-established literary tradition, although not one always done with success. Dale Furutani takes on the considerable challenge of adding adventures for Sherlock Holmes and emerges triumphant, temporarily relocating Conan Doyle’s legendary amateur detective to the mountain resort of Karuizawa in Meiji-era Japan. Such a move might have felt strained, but with Furutani’s feel for language, character, Japan and Holmes it is pulled off with an elegant plausibility.
Hiding out in Japan from the threat to his life posed by the now deceased Moriarty’s surviving criminal network, Holmes adopts one of his Conan Doyle aliases, “Mr Sigerson”, and as this Norwegian explorer is secreted in the home of an English-speaking Japanese doctor, Junichi Watanabe. Together they form a formidable pair, solving mysteries and murders involving locals and westerners, deepening their understanding of each other and each other’s culture as they do so. If Holmes, or rather Sigerson-san, remains an elusive if distinctive silhouette, it is Watanabe-sensei whose character is given greater depth as the book proceeds. The cultural clashes are interesting and amusing, but with the restraint of manner and the attention to detail Japanese culture and Sherlock Holmes are not entirely unsuited.
Each of the stories in this book is well-crafted and impressively distinct from the others. Given the volume of rubbish on Japanese television it is surprising that some NHK executive has not decided to commission a short series based on these tales, which would no doubt be greatly enjoyed by a Japanese audience. If the book has a weakness it is that the drama never reaches the highest pitch; the twists in the tale being more gentle curves. Nevertheless, Mr Furutani has created readable, entertaining new stories about the great detective, and that was far from elementary.
Hiding out in Japan from the threat to his life posed by the now deceased Moriarty’s surviving criminal network, Holmes adopts one of his Conan Doyle aliases, “Mr Sigerson”, and as this Norwegian explorer is secreted in the home of an English-speaking Japanese doctor, Junichi Watanabe. Together they form a formidable pair, solving mysteries and murders involving locals and westerners, deepening their understanding of each other and each other’s culture as they do so. If Holmes, or rather Sigerson-san, remains an elusive if distinctive silhouette, it is Watanabe-sensei whose character is given greater depth as the book proceeds. The cultural clashes are interesting and amusing, but with the restraint of manner and the attention to detail Japanese culture and Sherlock Holmes are not entirely unsuited.
Each of the stories in this book is well-crafted and impressively distinct from the others. Given the volume of rubbish on Japanese television it is surprising that some NHK executive has not decided to commission a short series based on these tales, which would no doubt be greatly enjoyed by a Japanese audience. If the book has a weakness it is that the drama never reaches the highest pitch; the twists in the tale being more gentle curves. Nevertheless, Mr Furutani has created readable, entertaining new stories about the great detective, and that was far from elementary.
January 8, 2014
Premetto che conosco bene il canone sherlockiano e quindi probabilmente mi sono accorta di limiti che diversamente non mi sarebbero saltati agli occhi, però quando si sceglie di 'usare' un personaggio con delle caratteristiche così specifiche o lo conosci e lo sai gestire alla perfezione oppure meglio lasciar perdere. Il problema è che questi racconti non hanno proprio nulla di Sherlock Holmes a partire dalla gestione del personaggio principale che è decisamente off character. Una persona curiosa e attenta ai dettagli come Holmes non avrebbe mai permesso a qualcuno di filtrare i discorsi di altre persone attraverso la traduzione (ne canone scopriamo che Holmes a una certa attitudine per le lingue). Questo espediente serve solo a giustificare la presenza di Watanabe. Altrettanto irrealistico è che il dottore riesca a risolvere i casi praticamente da solo oscurando Holmes e di fatto stravolgendo in peggio il senso dei racconti canonici e travisa completamente il ruolo di Watson.
Però queste sono disquisizioni letterarie di poco conto. Attenendomi ai racconti, mi aspettavo l'intensità anche il sensazionalismo dei racconti di Sherlock Holmes, non delle soluzioni che lasciano il lettore con una sensazione di tiepido meh. Insomma mi sono lasciata ingannare dall'accostamento Sherlock/Giappone, ma per stile e storie questo libro proprio non funziona e non convince.
Però queste sono disquisizioni letterarie di poco conto. Attenendomi ai racconti, mi aspettavo l'intensità anche il sensazionalismo dei racconti di Sherlock Holmes, non delle soluzioni che lasciano il lettore con una sensazione di tiepido meh. Insomma mi sono lasciata ingannare dall'accostamento Sherlock/Giappone, ma per stile e storie questo libro proprio non funziona e non convince.
January 3, 2017
This has been on my radar to read for a long time, and I finally decided to buy the e-book and check it out. It's not very long, and is pleasant, quick reading material. Admittedly, I'm an absolute devotee of Sherlock Holmes.
Assuming familiarity with Holmes "hiatus" in Doyle's canon during which the great detective is said to have visited Tibet in particular, the premise of this book works well for me. After Tibet, etc, Holmes stops off in Japan ~1892/3 and is hosted by a doctor (Watanabe) who has acquaintances in the British diplomatic community and familiarity with English. During the stay, our detective has some adventures, of course.
I liked the way things were framed, and the viewpoint of the narrator (the Japanese doctor) who is hosting Holmes during his stay. A few of the stories began in ways that reminded me of other Holmes tales (from the canon), but they went in different directions that worked pretty well. There is also a thread involving a neighbor and her daughter that binds the collection together.
The narrative style is quite different from how Watson might have narrated the same events (for example if he had been with Holmes during this journey), and I think the style lends the whole book a feeling of authenticity that I found enjoyable and convincing.
Assuming familiarity with Holmes "hiatus" in Doyle's canon during which the great detective is said to have visited Tibet in particular, the premise of this book works well for me. After Tibet, etc, Holmes stops off in Japan ~1892/3 and is hosted by a doctor (Watanabe) who has acquaintances in the British diplomatic community and familiarity with English. During the stay, our detective has some adventures, of course.
I liked the way things were framed, and the viewpoint of the narrator (the Japanese doctor) who is hosting Holmes during his stay. A few of the stories began in ways that reminded me of other Holmes tales (from the canon), but they went in different directions that worked pretty well. There is also a thread involving a neighbor and her daughter that binds the collection together.
The narrative style is quite different from how Watson might have narrated the same events (for example if he had been with Holmes during this journey), and I think the style lends the whole book a feeling of authenticity that I found enjoyable and convincing.
June 13, 2014
Sherlockiani, Nipponofili: ecco il libro che vi riunisce in un unico movimento henna gaijin, che vi rivelerà il gap narrativo che intercorre tra la 'morte' a Reichenbach di Sherlock e il suo ritorno fra i vivi. Che ha fatto l'investigatore degli investigatori in questi anni di buio? E' andato in Giappone, per sfuggire alla rete di Moriarty affamata di vendetta.
E in Giappone, eccolo, il Dottor Junichi Watanabe (John Watson del Sol Levante)che si trova ad ospitare il più strano dei gaijin: Sigerson-san un norvegese altissimo, magrissimo, che parla un inglese perfetto ed è disinteressatissimo a tutto fuorchè ai casi di cronaca nera.
Watanabe descrive Sigerson-san e descrive attraverso lui ogni occidentale che si rispetti alle prese con la cultura giapponese fatta di bagni scrupolosi, niente scarpe in casa, mai mostrare sentimenti, misurare il livello di profondità dell'inchino.
Ignorante della lingua e delle dinamiche sociali, diverso quanto un alieno, Holmes in incognito sarà ugualmente in grado di applicare il suo metodo deduttivo e risolvere misteri anche in un paese strano come il Giappone?
Libro gradevolissimo.
E in Giappone, eccolo, il Dottor Junichi Watanabe (John Watson del Sol Levante)che si trova ad ospitare il più strano dei gaijin: Sigerson-san un norvegese altissimo, magrissimo, che parla un inglese perfetto ed è disinteressatissimo a tutto fuorchè ai casi di cronaca nera.
Watanabe descrive Sigerson-san e descrive attraverso lui ogni occidentale che si rispetti alle prese con la cultura giapponese fatta di bagni scrupolosi, niente scarpe in casa, mai mostrare sentimenti, misurare il livello di profondità dell'inchino.
Ignorante della lingua e delle dinamiche sociali, diverso quanto un alieno, Holmes in incognito sarà ugualmente in grado di applicare il suo metodo deduttivo e risolvere misteri anche in un paese strano come il Giappone?
Libro gradevolissimo.
February 21, 2016
Due cose apprezzo negli apocrifi di Sherlock Holmes: il risparmiare al lettore lo sforzo di spinare il personaggio per capire quanto ci sia di originale e quanto ci sia di scopiazzato dall'archetipo (e quanto nella presunta originalità sia in realtà pretestuoso) e, come seconda cosa, il maggior divertimento che l'autore secondo prova e provoca, sempre che sia un bravo autore, nel giocare con il mazzo di tarocchi che il Canone gli ha messo in mano. Divertimento che è notoriamente maggiore di quanto ne provasse Conan Doyle nel gestire la sua creatura.
In questo caso Furutani ha una mano felicissima nel giocare le sue carte, rivitalizzando anche cliché che lo stesso autore primo aveva riutilizzato più volte. Complici anche un certo garbo nell'ammiccare al lettore, giocando con lui oltre la mera costruzione dei vari casi, e nel costruire un contesto esotico reale nel quale collocare il personaggio, ben diverso da quello esotico di maniera utilizzato spesso per insaporire le storie dall'autore originale. Pure lo pseudo-Watron, il dottor Watanabe, con tutti i suoi punti di similarità con l'originale alla fine risulta più simpatico e arguto.
In questo caso Furutani ha una mano felicissima nel giocare le sue carte, rivitalizzando anche cliché che lo stesso autore primo aveva riutilizzato più volte. Complici anche un certo garbo nell'ammiccare al lettore, giocando con lui oltre la mera costruzione dei vari casi, e nel costruire un contesto esotico reale nel quale collocare il personaggio, ben diverso da quello esotico di maniera utilizzato spesso per insaporire le storie dall'autore originale. Pure lo pseudo-Watron, il dottor Watanabe, con tutti i suoi punti di similarità con l'originale alla fine risulta più simpatico e arguto.
January 14, 2016
Sherlock Holmes in Japan was just the right mix of the famous crime fighter and Japanese culture. Although I have lived in Japan, I could not find any fault with the Japanese aspects of the book.
Each chapter is another case. Some are easy to figure out and others more difficult. The book reads easily and I completed it in one day. An enjoyable light read.
Each chapter is another case. Some are easy to figure out and others more difficult. The book reads easily and I completed it in one day. An enjoyable light read.
August 23, 2016
What a delightful read! Classic Holmes with his Japanese Watson. I enjoyed all of the mysteries immensely.
December 15, 2015
Enjoyable read for those, like me, who are fans of both Sherlock and Japan.
July 29, 2016
These chapter stories of Sherlock in Japan are fun to read...perfect for a hot summer.
Enjoyed in particular the settings.
Christy you'd enjoy this.
Enjoyed in particular the settings.
Christy you'd enjoy this.
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