A Master of Go (December 1998)
Akitada arrives for his lesson with a master of go and finds the police investigating his murder. None of the old man’s earlier visitors appears to have a motive. In a contest of wits with Kobe, the police captain, Akitada solves the crime by studying the game board and applying the go lessons learned from the master.
Akitada’s First Case (July/August 1999)
Akitada, newly dismissed from his first job as a clerk in the Ministry of Justice, confides his troubles to a disappointed petitioner who hires him to find his missing daughter. His first investigation reveals that the young woman was murdered in the secret villa of a high-ranking nobleman and forces him to make a dangerous accusation.
Rain At Rashomon (January 2000)
While waiting under the wide eaves of the city gate Rashomon during a heavy rain, Akitada, overhears two men discussing murder. A month later he recognizes one of the voices again during the murder trial of a poor vagrant. The voice, however, is not that of the accused, but of one of the constables. Akitada sets out to uncover a plot within a plot.
The New Year’s Gift (April 2001)
A former maid brings Akitada a small carved turtle as a New Year’s gift and begs him to help her husband who has been arrested for the murder of his adoptive father. He had a motive and was seen by a neighbor. Akitada discovers that others also had motives and left clues. One just had to look in the right places.
Welcoming the Paddy God (December 2001)
A middle-aged Akitada runs into his old friend Kobe, now Police Superintendent, who invites him to meet a monk who has confessed to an unspeakable rape-murder of a peasant girl. Though the prisoner appears depraved and repulsive, neither Kobe nor Akitada are quite satisfied. The subsequent investigation takes Akitada to a peasant village and a strange clue involving rice planting and the worship of the paddy god.
Death and Cherry Blossoms (June 2002)
Sent to deliver marriage contracts to a nobleman’s villa outside the capital, young Akitada hopes for a pleasant outing among cherry blossoms, but finds a murdered bride, unrequited love, and shocking family secrets. The O-Bon Cat (February 2003)
On the eve of the festival that welcomes back the spirits of the dead, Akitada encounters a lost deaf-mute boy who reminds him of his little son who has died recently. The child briefly fills an emotional void for him but is taken away, leaving behind only the clue of a feral cat and an abandoned lakeside villa. Obsessed with the double loss, Akitada pursues the trail, and uncovers a tragic story of murder and abandonment.
The Kamo Horse (October 2003)
Broke and in disgrace, Akitada ponders the inequities of fortune when Wataru, a handsome and wealthy young nobleman not only weds the most beautiful lady at court, but also wins the great Kamo race on the emperor's own horse. But the much beloved Lady Kesa is found murdered in her husband's bed and the "lucky" Wataru is the only suspect. Akitada uncovers a tragic web of court intrigue, broken promises, greed, and obsessive love.
The Tanabata Magpie (September 2005)
A junior clerk in the Ministry of Justice is arrested for the murder of a wealthy man, whose daughter he has been courting. The case looks black against him. Akitada, who does not like the clerk, procrastinates, but the young man's suicide fills him with self-reproach and sends him belatedly on a complicated search for the real killer.
Moon Cakes (January/February 2007)
When a hermit carrying an imperial heir’s compromising letter disappears in a famous temple, Akitada not only solves this case but also the apparent suicide of a monk and the strange behavior of the temple cat. The Incense Murders (September 2009)
In this story, a young Akitada is forced by his mother to visit a detested cousin where he uncovers an ingenious plot but ends up being charged with murder.
The Water Sprite (September 2011)
A maid has disappeared, and her parents want blood money from her employer. Akitada, much against his will, has been ordered to investigate rumors that a water sprite residing in a nearby pond is to blame. Fox Magic (September 2011)
Sugawara Akitada, junior clerk in the Ministry of Justice, attempts in vain to convince his boss that a murder has occurred when the minister's neighbor claims a shape-shifting fox has attacked him.
Main Characters
(Japanese family names precede first names. Only nobles have two names.)
SUGAWARA AKITADA
Nobleman, a minor government official
books: all
AKIKO
The older of, Akitada’s sisters, married to Toshikage
books: 05 THE HELL SCREEN
GENBA
Akitada’s retainer, former wrestler
books: 02 - RASHOMON GATE, 03 BLACK ARROW, 06 THE CONVICT'S SWORD, 07 THE MASUDA AFFAIR, 09 DEATH ON AN AUTUMN RIVER
HANAE & YUKI
Tora’s wife and baby son
books: 08 THE FIRES OF THE GODS
HIRATA
Professor of law and Akitda’s surrogate father
books: 02 - RASHOMON GATE
HITOMARO
Akitada’s lieutenant
books: 03 BLACK ARROW
KOBE
Captain of the Heian Kyo Metropolitan Police
books: 02 - RASHOMON GATE, 05 THE HELL SCREEN, 06 THE CONVICT'S SWORD, 07 THE MASUDA AFFAIR, 08 THE FIRES OF THE GODS, 09 DEATH ON AN AUTUMN RIVER
LADY SUGAWARA
The widowed Sugawara matriarch
books: 04 ISLAND OF EXILES
SADENARI
Akitada’s clerk
books: 09 DEATH ON AN AUTUMN RIVER
SEIMEI
Family retainer of the Sugawaras and Akitada's trusted companion
books: all
TAMAKO
Professor Hirata’s daughter and later Akitada’s bride
books: 02 - RASHOMON GATE, 03 BLACK ARROW, 04 ISLAND OF EXILES, 06 THE CONVICT'S SWORD, 07 THE MASUDA AFFAIR, 08 THE FIRES OF THE GODS, 09 DEATH ON AN AUTUMN RIVER
TORA
Akitada’s retainer, former soldier, deserter
books: all
YASUKO
Akitada ‘s little daughter
books: 09 DEATH ON AN AUTUMN RIVER
YORINAGA (YORI)
Akitada’s infant son
books: 04 ISLAND OF EXILES, 06 THE CONVICT'S SWORD
YOSHIKO
The younger of Akitada s sisters
books: 05 THE HELL SCREEN