Honobu Yonezawa 'Kanenbutsu' (Daily Reading Memo (525))

I read Honobu Yonezawa's 'Kanenbutsu' (Bungeishunju). It is a series of short stories serialized in 'All Yomimono,' featuring Katsura, an inspector with the Gunma Prefectural Police, as the protagonist. Even though he is the protagonist, the human drama of Katsura himself is not the main theme. In fact, it is said that when it was compiled into a book, the author intentionally cut out the descriptions of Katsura's inner feelings that were slightly included in the magazine version.
It depicts how Katsura approaches various incidents that occur within Gunma Prefecture and how he clarifies the truth that is not immediately obvious at first glance.
Since he is a police officer, he has to arrest suspects, but the impression is that Katsura's gaze is directed toward the 'whydunnit' rather than the 'whodunnit.' There is an entanglement of human relationships with superiors who understand his thought process, those who do not, and those who do not want to, and Katsura continues to reason on and on, thinking about how he can carry out his investigation within the organization.
Since it is a police novel set in Gunma Prefecture, when I started reading it, I thought it was like Hideo Yokoyama, but when I read the author's interview, he actually said that he should refer to Hideo Yokoyama's novels when writing.

There are five mysteries.
Under the Cliff: Of the four young people who went backcountry skiing and got stranded, two were found under a cliff; one was in critical condition, and one was murdered. In the snow, with no other footprints, there is no murder weapon. What happened to these two?
Drowsiness: A suspect in a robbery and injury case becomes involved in a traffic accident in a place invisible to the police during a pursuit. Can the suspect be arrested for a separate offense for running a red light? Multiple witnesses testify that the suspect ran a red light, but would a suspect who was trying to shake off the police run a red light?
Life's Debt: A human arm is discovered on a hiking trail, and subsequent investigations lead to the discovery of other parts of the body. The identity of the corpse is determined, and a suspect emerges, but the testimony of the suspect who confessed does not match the condition of the corpse.
Combustibles: A series of arson incidents occurred, and when the police began their investigation, the arson stopped abruptly. What was the culprit's goal? Was the goal achieved?
Is It Real: A hostage situation in a family restaurant manager's office. The man who took hostages has a criminal record, and there was an incident where he came to the restaurant with a child and made a complaint to the staff, but why does that lead to a hostage situation? What are the circumstances behind taking hostages while accompanied by a small child?

Every mystery leaves an impression of 'helplessness,' and they are all poignant mysteries.
The helplessness of the culprit's motive, and the helplessness of the situation of those who are not the culprits.
Katsura suspects every possible situation. He thinks it is strange when a person of interest, who should be emotionally shaken, explains the situation in a logical and orderly manner, and when the statements of multiple witnesses who are not even acquaintances match too perfectly, he looks for contradictions.
The act of identifying a culprit based on a thought process that cannot be shared is difficult to convey to colleagues or successors, and is not necessarily approved of by superiors. Even so, Katsura thinks, he thinks intently. While barely sleeping, but disciplining himself so that his concentration does not break, he finds something like the truth at the last minute while washing down a sweet bun with cafe au lait at his desk until the case is solved.
Well, of course, the very idea that it is the truth might be because it is a fictional world. Perhaps there is no universal truth for everyone.
Even so, the reader is surprised by the 'truth' that Katsura finds, and also cries at the poignancy.

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