An upright young samurai, a cross-dressing sword-wielding maiden, a retired warrior, honour killings, killings not-so-honourable, and lovers of all kinds. Welcome to The Samurai Detectives, the first part of a series of popular historical mystery novels by Shōtarō Ikenami (1923-1990).

Originally written as a serialisation in the monthly magazine Shōsetsu Shinchō between 1972 and 1989, the series was published as 16 complete novels under the title, Kenkyaku Shōbai (Swordsman’s Business). Regarded as one of Ikenami’s three signature works, The Samurai Detectives is the first English translation of his writing.

The book opens with Daijiro, a poor but principled young samurai. As he practices his craft alone in an empty field under the open sky, he is offered a huge sum of gold – but at the cost of his honour. Herein lies the crux of the book, where principle and commitment to the warrior code juts up against the temptations and practicalities of living in Edo-era Japan.

Also known as the Tokugawa period (1603-1868), the country was under the rule of the feudal Tokugawa shogunate. This was a time of peace and flourishing of the Japanese economy and arts, following two centuries of civil war.

Ikenami’s book was published at an apt time. Just as it muses on what to do with the leftover samurai and their skills in an era of peace, so 1970s Japan, following the upheavals of wartime defeat, 1950s post-war and 1960s civil unrest,

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