Chapter 57 Comment on Edogawa Ranpo in the novel

Edogawa Ranpo appears from time to time in the novels of other writers.From this we can see how strong his aura is and how much his sense of presence cannot be ignored. No matter from which angle you dig, you can find attractive materials.Among these works, I would like to single out a few for in-depth discussion.Because it helps us understand the image of the writer Edogawa Ranpo in the eyes of others, and at the same time, it seems to be part of the virtual image of Ranpo. There are novels with Ranpo appearing in the works or with Ranpo as the theme. An early one can be cited "Edogawa Ranpo" published by Yukio Namiki in the January issue of the 27th year of Showa (1953) of "Yoki" magazine as an example.Afterwards, Namiki Yukio successively published "The Novel Daixia Utari", "The Novel Nomura Godo", "The Novel Takataro Mugi", all of which belong to a kind of biographical novels.However, if these works are novels, they are indeed novels, but the content does not have too many fictional elements.

Next, "Biographical Novel Edogawa Ranpo" by Kawataro Nakajima can also be cited.This was published in the special issue commemorating Ranpo's 60th birthday in December of Showa 29 (1955).The story begins with the scene of receiving the news of Kosai Fuki's death, and describes Ranpo's half life in the style of monogatari.From this perspective, this method is more suspenseful than a simple straightforward narrative, and it is more fascinating to read.However, the creative orientation of this work is also a biography, and there is no room for whimsical imagination. In recent years, more and more writers have written novels on the theme of Edogawa Ranpo, such as "The Man Who Buys a Corpse" by Utano Akio.There is also Shoji Shimada, who has also mentioned Ranpo in several works.Seicho Matsumoto also wrote works such as "Forehead and Teeth".In addition, there are works like Kaoru Kitamura's "Twenty Faces of a Monster" and "The Bronze Demon". Although Ranpo himself did not appear, the topic was aroused by the characters in Ranpo's works.

As for the most topical work in recent years, it should be Mitsuhiko Kuze's "Winter 1934-Ranpo".This novel focuses on the period when Ranpo announced to stop writing for the second time and wandered around without knowing whereabouts.As soon as this book was released, it attracted attention from all walks of life. In 1994, it won the Yamamoto Goro Award.In the book, the fictional Ranpo is currently creating the novel "Gardenia Ji", and the three-dimensional outline of Ranpo is widely appreciated.However, regarding this "Winter of 1934 - Random Steps", there are many opportunities to be mentioned by various circles, so I won't go into details here.Here, I would like to start with Yoshio Matsumura's novel "The Manuscript of Edogawa Ranpo Murder" in his later years.

The novel "The Edogawa Ranpo Murder Manuscript" written by Yoshio Matsumura was published in 1990.The story begins with the sudden appearance of Edogawa Ranpo's unpublished manuscripts, which triggered a series of murders.If unpublished manuscripts are discovered after the death of a well-known author, that in itself is an event that is bound to cause a stir.There are also such themes in the famous detective novels of the past, such as Dixon Carr's "The Mystery of the Mad Hatter" and Ellery Quinn's, which are based on the unpublished works of Edgar Allan Poe and Shakespeare. The appearance of the manuscript is the development of the topic.However, in the "Manuscript of Edogawa Ranpo Murder", readers will soon find that only the signature at the beginning of the draft is authentic, but the content is fake.

The story begins with a package being delivered to a political leader who is almost securely elected as the next president of a political party.The person who sent the package was a well-known detective novelist and a friend of the politician in the past, but the two had almost no intersection at that time.When he opened the package, he found that there was a copy of the draft of a novel called "Disciple", the author signed Edogawa Ranpo, and the politician had a sneak peek, and the content inside surprised him.It is implied that a young woman, officially treated as a suicide, was actually murdered by one of four men.Although the real name is not directly mentioned in the work, the content vaguely overlaps with the politician's experience in the first half of his life. Considering his delicate position, the politician cannot sit idly by.

In the "Manuscript of Edogawa Ranpo Murder", the full text of the problematic novel "Disciple" is inserted.In the early years of the Showa era, a seventeen-year-old boy met Daigoro Asami, a popular detective novel writer. Afterwards, the boy and three other partners visited frequently, and the relationship became closer, but behind the intimate attitude of the writer was a greedy intention.In other words, the writer deliberately induces a beautiful woman he knows to fall in love with one of the teenagers, trying to help write his novel by observing the tragedy that this relationship may cause at close range.In the end, the woman died, leaving an unsolvable mystery.Unlike ordinary detective novels, the article only hints that the real murderer is one of the four teenagers, and there is no clear process of solving the mystery.

This manuscript came from a mysterious beauty, and it was delivered to the novelist through a second-hand book dealer. When he got the manuscript, the novelist agreed to two conditions: the novel must be published to the world; the copy must be sent to the political Home.Instead of making direct contact with the novelists who sent their manuscripts, however, the politicians attempted to break the impasse on their own.The immediate task is to find the missing two of the four people who shared their youth.On the other hand, the novelist was caught in the vortex of Edogawa Ranpo's unpublished manuscripts before he had time to doubt that the politicians had received no news from the package.The mysterious beauty also took the initiative to approach the politician, and a murder occurred in the process of searching for the two missing people.

The "Disciple" that appeared in the article, as early as the stage when the novelist reached the original manuscript, it was judged based on the differences in style and handwriting that it was not the authentic work of Edogawa Ranpo.Originally, "Disciple" was written in the style of a criminal record with the criminal police involved in handling the case as the first person.It can also be seen from the book "Uncle Ranpo" that will be mentioned later that Yoshio Matsumura tried to position Ranpo as an anti-realist writer.Under such a setting, it is hard to imagine that Ranpo will write a novel in the style of documentary.In other words, Yoshio Matsumura, the author of "The Original Manuscript of Ranpo Murder in Edogawa", deliberately constructed "Disciples" as a work that does not resemble Ranpo's style on the premise that "this is a fake work".So there can be no romance accompanying the unpublished manuscript, and the publishing turmoil described here is nothing more than a farce.

Regardless of the plot development of the story, we can examine this work and Edogawa Ranpo from various perspectives.First of all, we should talk about Paul Bourget's "The Disciple" as the blueprint of "The Disciple".Before entering the literary world, Ranpo worked at the Toba Shipyard. When he first came into contact with Dostoevsky, he was shocked. It is said that he read many translated novels later.According to his records in "Forty Years of Detective Fiction", he was deeply moved not only by Goethe, Stendhal and Gide, but also by Bourget's "Disciple".

Although Bourget's works are no longer popular, they were translated into Japanese in large numbers from the Taisho era to the early Showa period.He is regarded as the founder of modern psychological novels, and the detailed analysis of human psychology is the characteristic of his works.Especially this "Disciple" has a strong ethical color. At the end of the love experiment, the behavior of the young man who drives his lover to commit suicide constitutes the climax of the whole story.The process of investigating the criminal responsibility of young people has a lot in common with detective novels. Not only Edogawa Ranpo, but Kigi Takataro also mentioned this work when discussing detective novels.In the first half of the last century, under the influence of Freud's thoughts, psychology set off a climax. It was a special period. Inspired by Munsterberg, Ranpo also wrote "Psychological Test" and "Psychological Test".In addition, behind the success of the American writer Van Dyne, we can also see the shadow of the logical structure of psychology.

The topic returns to "The Edogawa Ranpo Murder Manuscript".This book takes Ranpo's favorite Bourget's "Disciple" as the starting point, and seeks the key to solve the puzzle from Ranpo, which is worthy of attention.But although it is the key to solving the puzzle, it is actually just a very small hint.In addition, apart from the fact that the time background set in the work "Disciples" is similar to the time when I wrote it, we don't feel the necessity of being necessary.The biggest reason for deliberately moving out here is probably the author Yoshio Matsumura's own strong will. Published in "Chuo Koron" in September of Showa 9 (1935), it is a short work that has not been seen for a long time for Ranpo, who has serialized popular novels in various magazine reading materials.In addition, the publication stage of this work is a mainstream magazine in the literary world, so it is naturally written with great energy and full of hard thinking.Ranpo himself was very satisfied with the result.In the tenth year of Showa (1936), the hardcover self-selection published by Liuxiang Academy was even used as the title of the book, but unfortunately it did not get much response in the detective novel circle.Here, the author will not mention the detailed process for the time being, but Yoshio Matsumura obviously intends to attract more attention while speculating on the intention of Ranbu. It is well known that Yoshio Matsumura (1918-1992) was a relative (son of a cousin) of Ranpo Edogawa."Uncle Ranpo" published by Jingwenshe after his death is a work review written by him after carefully rereading all of Ranpo's works, interspersed with various personal memories.According to the book, Yoshio Matsumura, who often went to Ranpo's house when he was a boy, visited Ranpo with his friends regularly, especially before he turned 20, to listen to fragrant literary topics.The members at that time included Ishikawa Ichiro and Hanazaki Kiyotaro (Hanasaki Kazuo). "The Manuscript of Edogawa Ranpo Murder" is the work "Disciple", in which Daigoro Asami, a popular detective writer, appears in the work, which makes people think of Edogawa Ranpo at once.As for the four youths gathered beside Asami Daigoro, it is undeniable that there are some projections of the author when he was young.From a certain point of view, this work can also be regarded as the afterimage of the author's youth.Although this book is Yoshio Matsumura's masterpiece in his later years, it can also be regarded as a volume not to be missed in exploring a certain aspect of Edogawa Ranpo's life trajectory. After the war, the systematic introduction of overseas detective novels was one of the main achievements of Edogawa Ranpo.Many of his essays and reviews published in magazines headed by "Gem" and "Gem Supplement" belong to this type of introductory article.In addition, we must not forget that Hayakawa Shobo, which has made great efforts in the translation and publication of foreign editions, plays a very important and decisive role in the detective novels.The pocket version of the reasoning series started in the 28th year of the Showa era (1954). From the very beginning, the slogan "Edogawa Ranpo Complete Volume Commentary" was printed, and the list of included works was also exhausted when selecting the list of works. A lot of power.There is also the founding of the Japanese version of EQMM in Showa 31 (1951), which is said to be based on Ranpo's suggestion. "Romance Hayatero" by Jiro Ikushima begins by looking back at the young days of writer Koshiji Genichiro and the scene where he first worked in Hayakawa's study.The first job after graduating from Koshiji University was not ideal, so he applied for it while Hayakawa Shobo was recruiting for a new magazine, and was hired by Tamura Ryuichi.Here, Koshiji saw the long-standing bad workplace atmosphere of Hayakawa Study, the extreme stinginess of the president, and the low salary that was not enough to afford living.Although he lives with his parents and commutes to and from get off work, the money he can use freely is too little, forcing him to live a tight life. Needless to say, Koshiji Genichiro in the book is based on Ikushima Jiro himself.He joined Hayakawa Shobo on the eve of the founding of the Japanese version of EQMM, and left in Showa 38 (1958).This "Romantic Gale Records" is a novel written based on the experience of Hayakawa's study period. All the writers at that time appeared in the novel under their real names.As mentioned in the "Postscript" at the end of the volume, I deliberately put a pseudonym on myself to avoid the first-person narration because I don't want this work to be regarded as a so-called private novel.At the same time, this method can create a relative distance from the characters in the novel, making the world in the work look more objective and three-dimensional.In addition, the ins and outs of his becoming a full-time writer are explained in detail in his second novel "Can You Be a Star". In other words, Yue Lu in the article not only had to proofread the original text and translation of the novel published in the magazine, but also had to learn various procedures from editing to printing into a book. He actively devoted himself to the unfamiliar work field.When the work finally reached the stage of selecting the required works for the three issues including the first issue and publishing the first issue, the first editor-in-chief suddenly resigned.Takashi Tamura rushed the ducks to the shelves and recruited Michio Tsuzuki to take over as the editor-in-chief.Therefore, Yuelu began to study editing work with Duzhu.Later, due to the numerous cultural activities outside the agency, Du Zhu decided to leave his job and concentrate on becoming a writer. Therefore, Yue Lu became the third editor-in-chief of EQMM. Although Ranpo does not have many opportunities to appear in this book, there are occasional shots of him visiting Hayakawa's study. Ranbu appeared in the editing room like a bald monster, which was scary. (omitted in the middle) Of course, Yuelu has been a fan of Ranpo since the Boys Detective Corps, not only juvenile books, but also adult works such as "Shadow Killer". After this meeting, Ranpo led a total of 20 editors and new writers, and went to the Japanese restaurant kiosks in Shinbashi and Yanabashi to spend a lot of money.Afterwards, the group went to Ginza and drank family after family.Yuelu doesn't hold a lot of alcohol, but Tamura Ryuichi, who brought him with him, is the king of wine, and he can accompany Ranpo to get drunk. Seeing that the night is getting darker, there is no sign of going back home. ", but Tian Cun asked him to stay, and told him to "change to another family to drink".Luanbu dodges a stride into the taxi, and Tamura chases after him, yelling "Ranbu, don't run!" The scene is really funny and makes people laugh. Edogawa Ranpo used to have a poor capacity for alcohol. Before the war, he didn't like to participate in banquets, but after the war, he seemed to be a different person. He liked to take people around to drink. Only then did he develop his capacity for alcohol. Incidentally, according to the description in "Forty Years of Detective Fiction", after obtaining Ranpo's permission, one of Sasamoto's relatives opened a small cheap bar called "Ranpo" in Tokyo, but Ranpo I don't seem to visit often.Indeed, judging from the description in the article of going to high-end kiosks and drinking in clubs, it is certainly unlikely that he would go to small bars.In addition, a tempura restaurant in Kanda is said to still have Ranpo's signature board. These episodes aside, there are many other scenes in "Romantic Haze Records" that would have been mentioned even if Ranpo hadn't appeared.For example, it is mentioned in the article that Ranpo introduced Hoshi Shinichi to "Gem", and after seeing the scene of Haruhiko Ohyabu, he wrote: "From very short stories to hard-line novels, Ranpo does not distinguish between fields, and I want to cultivate young potential .” This should be regarded as a good story that profoundly describes Ranpo without emphasizing any genre, and hopes that detective novels can have a healthy development. In the article, Yuelu's idea of ​​fighting against the existing concept of detective novels that focuses on solving puzzles is obvious, and he has made a crushing effort to compare the results of overseas works, trying to open up a new horizon.In other words, doubting and correcting the deep-rooted nature supremacy in the Japanese detective novel circle is exactly the basic attitude of Yuelu.It is also described in the article that he had searched for an entire batch of back issues of "New Youth" as a reference for editing EQMM, but in the end it was hardly of any use.Past values ​​can be recognized as historical values, but how to jump out of them is the key point.As a result, it became Koshiji's personal pride to use a new writer to complete the ten-volume "Japanese Mystery Series" in the Showa 30s. But the existing supremacy of character is actually not limited to the era described in the article, and its influence is still flowing, and its lifeline is still there.Where does this strange phenomenon come from?Looking at the history of Japanese detective novels, the so-called mystery novels have been leading the mainstream for a short time.Even if the broadest measure is used, at most it is only the decade after the early Showa 20s.Moreover, even the works of Masashi Yokomizo and Kikuo Kakuda, who seem to have brought puzzle-solving novels to the peak at first glance, may not be classified as puzzle-oriented novels if verified from the current point of view.At best, only some of the works of Binguang Takagi and Takao Tsuchiya can be classified as puzzle-solving novels through a strict definition, and there are also groups of works by Tetsuya Ayukawa, Kusuda Kusuke, Saburo Washio and others.This is obviously following the same line as Mugi Takataro's immature "Supreme Art Theory of Detective Fiction", which is empty of ideas but has no substance. This is the true face of puzzle-solving and even trick-orientation. Edogawa Rampo loves the particularity of detective novels, so in his essays and reviews, he seems to have a tendency to emphasize this particular part.In order to promote the popularization of detective stories, it is a natural choice to make people understand the particularity rather than the generality.Ranpo even makes a classification list of tricks, and the enthusiasm for the specificity of detective novels is extraordinary.Therefore, although it can be seen from the above-mentioned anecdotes that Ranpo is not stingy with praise for all kinds of detective novels, he is usually regarded as a trick supremacist and is often dragged into the core camp of puzzle novel fans.Therefore, Yuelu in "Romantic Wind Record" also has to fight against the illusion of chaos. However, it is better to say that the more serious problem should be the problem of name (or terminology).Not only in Japan, but also in other parts of the world, there are special detective novels that lack examples. Unknowingly, the original meaning of the term "benge" has been kicked out, and it has been stereotyped as a real detective novel.Moreover, when Yuelu in "Romantic Gale Records" tried to resist the existing values, he had to subconsciously recognize this title, which further deepened the seriousness of the situation.Because, the proposition that the supremacy of the character hinders the cultural development of the detective novel itself is a contradiction in terms of the meaning of the words.Presumably, no matter in any situation in the world, it is natural for the original (orthodox) part to occupy the largest stronghold.If someone says that you can't pursue Benge, anyone will be confused by the image of the term "Benge" and feel suspicious.In short, we should start with the understanding that "the detective novels that are definitely not Benge schools are called Benge detective novels for some reason, which is a mistake". In order to avoid misunderstandings, I must first declare that I am not taboo against puzzle novels and have no intention of rejecting them.Or should I say, I cherish the special aspect of detective novels that this kind of novels have.But if you look at the overall trend of novels, puzzle novels are a rare variant, and to put it bluntly, they are just the playthings of a few detective fanatics.Such an existence is called Benge, but no one doubts it. It is even more incredible to think about it calmly.As for the critiques and objections of the supremacy of nature, there is no review, but hysterical repetition of the same old tune. Therefore, the discussions of the two sides cannot gain the same foothold, and they will always play the piano against each other.This state lasted for a long time, just like the concept of legal statute of limitations, which made the situation stalemate.As mentioned above, the entity is obviously very fragile, but the supremacy of personality is like a paranoid dead soul, which still lingers so far. Koshiji Genichiro of "Romantic Hayate Records" was forced to use the term "benge" uncritically, and he may have fallen into a predicament of restraining himself in discussions.But he succeeded in giving substance to that field as an editor first and a writer second.In the Showa 30s, when the social situation was changing rapidly, the cultural energy created was astonishing.This should also be regarded as a precious documentary literature that vividly describes the various conditions of the times through the form of fictional novels.In addition, if you read the novel "The Wall of Dreams" written by Nobuhiko Kobayashi that appeared in this book, and the collection of essays "Until You Become a Reasoning Writer" written by Michio Tsuzuki, the background span will be wider and more fascinating. Another point I want to emphasize is the existence of Edogawa Ranpo.As recorded intermittently above, in the mode of confrontation between the supremacism of the original style and the supremacy of the original style, the two camps are vying to win over Edogawa Ranpo.As long as there is chaos, he can reinforce his own argumentation. From this perspective, it is clear how great his influence is.But Luanbu's remarks sometimes seem to be fundamentalist, and sometimes they seem to be the opposite, reminiscent of the fable of the blind man and the elephant.Since the proposition and the antithesis start from different phases, the Japanese detective novel world cannot achieve unity after all.But with the existence of a giant like Edogawa Ranpo, maybe it shouldn't be seeking unity from it. I still clearly remember the first time I read Saito Sakae's "Ranpo Fantasy Spectrum".I remember that I had just entered college not long ago.Pushing open the door of the coffee shop I often go to, and sitting down on a yellow-based chair, a senior present showed me the cover of a book and asked me with a smile, "Do you want to read it?" That book is "Random Fantasy Spectrum". The seniors must have known for a long time that I am not only fond of reading Edogawa Ranpo's novels, but also interested in his contributions and character outside of creation.At that time, the senior seemed to have just taken the book back from someone, and then handed it to me directly.At that time, the aftermath of the price hikes caused by the first oil crisis was still there, and the relative price of books was higher than it is now. Poor students were very grateful to be able to borrow new books. Here, by the way, to cite specific figures, the price of the first edition of "Ranpo Fantasia" is 750 yuan.At that time, the national railway fare started at 30 yen within five kilometers (now, JR East’s fare within the capital circle starts at about 500 yen within three kilometers).The simple stand-up soba in front of the station is only 80 or 90 yen (now it costs 800 or 900 yen) even with a tempura.After all, it was an era when banquets that cost more than 5,000 yen per person could be held for as little as 1,000 yen.Now that the price of goods has risen, compared with the fact that the price of books has remained unchanged, some people still complain that books are too expensive. Most of these people are not good at mathematics.The current pricing of general books is too cheap even if compared with the historical prices of the entire publishing industry. That's all for the digression, anyway, I immediately took over the "Ranpo Fantasy Spectrum" written by my senior.In fact, there is no problem borrowing it home to watch, but should it be said that it was in high spirits at the time?I just sat on a chair in a coffee shop and started reading with coffee and a cigarette.I finished reading it in about an hour, but I didn't borrow the book home and returned it to the original owner on the spot.The senior should have asked me how I felt, but I really don't remember how I answered.Now that I think about it, this is the first encounter between me and Saito Sakae's "Ranpo Fantasy Spectrum". Regarding the content and overall style of Saito Sakae's works, there is no need to elaborate here.In retrospect, the winning work of the Edogawa Ranpo Award, "The Chess Book of Murder" and the early "King General Murder", seem to be quite interesting in my impression, but I remember that before and after "The Japanese Iron Mask Murder Incident", I Withdrew from the ranks of loyal readers.In this process, the first time I read "Ranbu Fantasia" became the last time, and I never opened it again.Later, probably influenced by the lively atmosphere commemorating Ranpo’s centennial birthday, I remembered that I should have a copy at home, so I decided to re-read it. After searching the library, I found that "Ranpo Fantasia" was indeed placed on the shelf of related literature of Ranpo as expected.Of course, this is because I don’t have a dedicated shelf for Saito Sakae’s related literature in my library, but the Ranpo related literature area is also full of various complicated materials in addition to Ranpo’s own works.When I was a student, I didn't have so much money to buy home the books I read once, so I probably bought them when I met them in a second-hand bookstore in the future.When I opened the back cover, there was indeed a label from a second-hand bookstore in Banqiao District.When it comes to the connection between the old bookstore in Banqiao and Ranpo, you will think of the owner of the local bookstore who has passed away, but this book was not bought at the local bookstore.Although I don't remember the exact time, I think I bought it by chance on the way to the bookstore. This "Ranpo Fantasy Spectrum" is a long novel in the style of a series of works. It was originally a serial novel published in a magazine.It has been republished several times after the first publication, and many people must have read it, so there is no need to introduce the content of the story in detail here. In short, the basic structure is based on the facts mentioned in Ranpo's memoirs and other books, and then fills in some personal creations of different works.For example, at the beginning, Ranpo's serial "Dark Night Movement" was not going well, and he was harassed by a young woman who claimed to be Chizuru Onitou asking to be her disciple, so he decided to go to a hot spring hotel in Nishi-Izu to change his mood.Knowing that the wreckage of Panorama Island built by a local prodigal son remained in the sea, Ranbu became curious and took a boat to find out, but was almost killed.The person who rescued him at the critical moment was Qianhe who followed him.So Ranpo got creative inspiration from it. Similar to this, it is divided into ten chapters (or ten stories) based on the 15th year of Taisho to the 11th year of Showa.Ranpo is involved in absurd adventures in every chapter, and often gets themes and inspirations for new works because of this.Needless to say, the novels that Ranpo actually wrote, even non-fictional anecdotes such as the controversy over Ranpo's wife running the student dormitory are also widely used in the text, and the most interesting thing is that these facts and fictional parts of the novel are actually matched very natural.However, the experience of Ranpo, who is known by his real name, in the book is too curious and too realistic.Although it should not be possible for some people to mistakenly think that the contents of the book are all true, there must be many people among the supporters of Ranbu who are repelled.To be honest, even I myself was a bit overwhelmed when I first read it twenty years ago. However, in this re-reading, some places unexpectedly resonated with me.For example, in the chapter of Showa 5th Year (1931) whose title is directly called "Curiousness Hunting", it describes that Ranpo was taken by his friend Jun Iwata to the Ezumi shop deep in the alley. There, he saw Da Su Fangnian's cruel style paintings for the first time, and the strong visual impact made him shudder.In fact, Ranpo began to collect Yoshinen's brocade paintings in the fifth year of Showa (1931). In this year, Ranpo successively created "The Result of Hunting for Strangeness", "Golden Mask", and "Vampire". It is said that It is the stimulating inspiration brought by Fangnian's paintings.Judging from the atmosphere of his popular novels at that time, this statement is quite reasonable.Incidentally, according to the chronicle records, this stimulating inspiration continued to the works after the second year, such as "Blind Beast", "White-haired Ghost", "Landscape of Hell", "King of Terror", and continued until Showa Seventh year (1933), and then came to an abrupt end like a power outage.Ranpo is not considered prolific, no matter in the past or in the future, there is no example of such a large number of novels created in a short period of time, so it may be reasonable to attribute this phenomenon to the inference directly related to Fangnian's cruel paintings. Also, the "Fantasy Child" in the last chapter also has an intriguing story.As mentioned above, this chapter is set in Showa 11 (1937) as the background. After Ranpo finished his trip to Kyushu that started at the end of the previous year, although he got the idea of ​​a novel with the potential to become a masterpiece, he still insisted on writing. Less than three days.This year, Yumeno Hisaku died suddenly, and Ranpo and Yumeno's other friend Daxia Yutuer worked together to publish the complete works of Mengye. Relationships come to the fore.In other words, Yumeno and Oshita have similar views on detective novels, but Ranpo disagrees with them.But whether it is Yumeno or Oshita, of course, they still appreciate Ranpo's works deeply.The gap between the style he wanted to write and the style he could actually write was a problem that haunted Edogawa Ranpo throughout his life.And this problem is clearly reflected in the novel "Ranpo Fantasy Spectrum" through his dialogue with Oshita Udoer. The enthusiastic response to the juvenile detective books that Ranpo started writing in the same year has further strengthened this problem.Luanbu looked up at the summer night sky, whispering "Is this all right?", exuding a touch of loneliness. "Ranpo Fantasy Spectrum" must not be Saito Sakae's best work, nor can it be the best novel based on Ranpo.Because this book has a common feature with other similar novels, that is, they all focus on the high popularity and interesting life experience of Luanbu, but relatively, the original part of the author is not attractive enough.Especially "Ranpo Fantasy Spectrum", the extremely bold fictional style makes people unable to erase the impression of some kind of trendy and hyped topics. But another angle, or can get another view.The reason why Edogawa Ranpo's novels have remained popular for many years is that readers can find corresponding fun in them according to their own characteristics.Ten readers will have ten ways to enjoy, and each person can set their own image of Ranbu.The strong charm of Ranpo novels lies in their ability to stimulate imagination and make people have more fantasies.The chain structure that is stimulated by the novel and then produces delusions is purely the reader's personal property, and there is no room for others to intervene.Just like a person locked in a spherical mirror, anyone who wants to see is guaranteed to be able to see there. Therefore, the reason why the story of Saito Sakae's "Ranpo Fantasia" is bold may be because the world of Ranpo's novels is inherently attractive and extraordinarily associated.If you are not afraid of being misunderstood, to put it more extreme, it is simply a product of the author's own delusions.Therefore, for readers who have a chaotic image in their hearts, this novel may not be able to arouse resonance.However, if you can clearly recognize the existence of this difference, and read it with reference to everyone's imagination of Ranpo, you should be able to gain fun, and at the same time, you will definitely be able to generate new perspectives.In this respect, the novel "Ranbu Fantasy Spectrum" is a work that cannot be ignored casually. Under the current practice of publishing houses trying to reduce costs in inconspicuous parts in order to lower prices, Tsutsui Komi's "Moon Shadow City" is cheap but surprisingly exquisite.The cover of the book cover is printed on both sides, and the front is gilded in two colors.There are also four pages of illustrations printed in four colors in the main text.However, the illustrations are printed on the back of the white paper and inserted. After all, it is impossible to arrange such a large amount of money directly in the printed version of the text. Incidentally, if the multi-color printing part of a book is scattered in several places, the most extravagant method of production should be to make a plate together with the printing plate of the main text.Assuming that there are four four-color printings in the twelve-folio version, and not on the same side of the sixteen-page printed paper, the number of four-color printing is four.The four-color printing plate-making fee including color separation processing is incomparably expensive for monochrome printing, and basically has nothing to do with the size of the four-color part.In other words, for a plate of a plate-making unit, whether all eight pages use four colors or only a small part uses four colors, the cost of plate making is the same.Therefore, simply calculating, if we use another plate to use four colors on four pages, we must spend the cost of printing thirty-two pages in four colors.The printing with additional white paper backing is a convenient method that has been used for many years. The basis for calculating the production cost is based on the number of printed sheets. However, within eight pages on the plate making side, one plate can be processed.The preoccupation in this aspect can be said to be the painstaking efforts of those responsible for calculating the cost of the publishing house. There is actually a reason why I go on and on about explaining such trivial matters.Edogawa Ranpo changed many jobs in his youth before becoming a writer.According to his own account in "Forty Years of Detective Fiction", after graduating from Waseda University in the fifth year of Taisho (1917) after a hard study, he first went to Osaka for the dream of going abroad to develop his ambitions. Worked in the company, but left in just one year. I did different jobs after that, but none lasted.To list the main categories, including the clerk of the Toba Shipyard in Mie Prefecture, the operator of the Danzizaka second-hand bookstore, the editor of "Tokyo PACK", the owner of the Chinese noodle restaurant, the civil servant of the Tokyo City Government, the reporter of the Osaka Jiji Shinpo, and the secretary general of the Japanese Workers' Club , the manager of the pomade manufacturing industry, working in a law firm in Osaka, and a staff member of the advertising department of the Osaka Mainichi News.The above is roughly the work that Ranpo did in the eight years since he graduated from university in the fifth year of Taisho until he became a professional writer in the thirteenth year of Taisho. He came and went between Tokyo and Osaka. He worked as an English typewriter salesman, and rented performance venues to hold record concerts and other strange jobs. The reason why Ranpo emphasizes the "main category" must be because the occupations he has done are really varied.For example, at the end of "Forty Years of Detective Fiction", it is mentioned that after he failed to run a second-hand bookstore in Tuanzizaka, he immediately decided to become a private detective and visited Saburo Iwai's detective agency.It's a pity that he didn't seem to be hired at the time, so he didn't add private detective to Ranpo's resume.Thinking of Hammett, who was born in the same year as Ranpo, worked for the famous Pinkerton National Detective Agency (Pinkerton National Detective Agency) before becoming a professional writer. ), there can be a commonality of fate between the two, which must be said to be a pity.In addition, there are also related works about Iwai Saburo, who is equivalent to the founder of the private detective circle in Japan. After the war, he reunited with Ranpo. 不只是江户川乱步，在现实生活中很多人都曾在短期内不停更换工作。虽说不能一概而论，但是不管做什么都做不好，被直属上司一再批评，最后终于受不了索性递辞呈的例子想必占了大半。他们不看自己暴露出的无能，老是嘀咕着世上某处一定有适合自己的工作，就这样在寻寻觅觅的过程中不知不觉老去。但是反观江户川乱步，根据他自己写的回忆录，大致上他在职场都能胜任工作，至少起先上司也很喜欢他。正如前面引用的文章，他这份与其说是多彩多姿不如该用支离破碎来形容的工作履历，都是还没被解雇前便已主动决定离职。是他自己厌倦了那份工作，但这或许也是因为当时的乱步，是一种与周遭众人格格不入的怪人吧。比起工作内容本身，或许该说是他与按时上班这件事八字不合。 日后平凡社替江户川乱步出版第一套全集时，他自己还提出了几个宣传企划案。其中有些他亲手写的原案就这么直接被制版转作他用，令乱步大为错愕。乱步自少年时代便热爱铅字，还买齐四号铅字，借由原版印刷尝试凸版印刷，甚至起意创办杂志，对出版事业野心勃勃的他，对于宣传也自有一套想法。在他不断更换工作的过程中，也做过编辑和广告文宣，虽然为时甚短，但通过这个事实可清楚看出他的能力与品位。换言之，江户川乱步身为原稿作者的同时，也是一位熟稔文字媒体各个层面的全方位出版人。 在作家之中，把全副心血都投注在稿子完成前的阶段，对于交稿后到出版成册的过程毫不关心也一无所知的人并不少。当然，作家的工作本就是交出优质稿件，之后的步骤自有编辑和印刷业者等专业人员负责。因此，即使对专业之外的事不通晓，也不能随意指责，但就算不到通晓的地步，至少具备基本知识不会有损失。由许多人分段合力完成的工作，通常有按部就班的步骤，假使定期刊物的作者因为自己的私人原因延迟交稿一天，接下来的影响将会呈几何级数增大。尤其是在创作上比别人速度慢一倍的乱步，正因他很清楚杂志连载小说拖稿会给多少人造成麻烦，这种矛盾肯定也更大。 前面提到的小林信彦，在《回忆江户川乱步》中的叙述，就表现出了江户川乱步在侦探小说作家之外的另一种面貌。此书将小林信彦一九七一年发表的小说《半巨人的肖像》，以及作为杂志报道和卷末解说的两篇回忆散文收录成册，并且还加上了他与弟弟小林泰彦的对话。从小看乱步小说长大的小林信彦，在二十出头时得到乱步赏识，昭和三〇年代得以参与宝石社发行的杂志《宝石》的编辑工作。该杂志在当时日本侦探小说界的地位堪称中流砥柱，有段时期却因种种原因导致经营不善。乱步看不下去这种惨状，最后干脆自掏腰包意图振兴，同时也亲自加入编辑阵容强力指挥。因此小林信彦得以近距离观察乱步的姿态，也针对杂志编辑工作互相交换意见。收在同书中的文章，从不同角度描述出这段经过。 小林信彦不久便挑起同由宝石社创刊的日本版《希区柯克杂志》的编辑工作。在弟弟泰彦的协助下，逐一引进办杂志的新构想。刊载的小说虽然大致上不如美国版，但日本版自行企划的专题和报道都颇有特色。这本杂志在正好满四年的第四十八期（再加上手枪特集的增刊号两册共五十册）画下句点，但作为日本杂志文化精华之一至今仍备受肯定。小林信彦的编辑才能自不待言，执笔阵容的强大也是最主要原因，但看了这本《回忆江户川乱步》就会发现，与乱步一再开会做脑力激荡也帮了大忙。 附带一提，《半巨人的肖像》既是传记小说，同时或也算得上是一种私小说。文中主角是青年今野，令人联想到江户川乱步的侦探小说作家则叫做冰川鬼道。故事就在不断回顾鬼道的贡献与言行的过程中，勾勒出他晚年至逝世这段时期的情景。透过今野的眼光，重新审视小说喜欢描绘异常世界，连私生活似乎都在模仿作品风格的鬼道实像，应可说是这篇小说的基调。在小林兄弟的对话中，也出现大量小故事，可以看出面对现实的江户川乱步，一反世间印象其实是个普通的正常人，也可窥知他对杂志编辑与出版事业细节的熟悉。相较于乱步经常被人与作品特异性联想到一起的假象，这本书透过作者自身体验呈现乱步的实像，就此点而言堪称意义深远。 好了，开场白的部分一扯就扯了太多，关于本稿最初提到的小说作品内容也得略述一二。作者筒井共美本为剧作家，这本《月影之市》似乎是她的第一本小说。故事以第一人称的“我”为中心逐渐展开，正文中虽只用“海獭老师”这个代名，但任谁都会怀疑这个“我”就是江户川乱步。容我再次借用《侦探小说四十年》的记述，昭和二年（一九二八）这一项的开头有下列文章： （前略）灵机一动，我在浅草公园的五重塔附近租了一间破屋子，在邻近的廉价小饭馆吃饭，把逛一整日的浅草公园当成日课，而且，有时直到深夜一两点还坐在公园长椅上，因此被警察盘问，有时还乔装走在公园里，因此又被斥骂，也曾窝在上野不忍池畔的小旅社，连续好几天就这么瞪着房间天花板…… 这正是描写他在长篇小说《一寸法师》完结时陷入自我厌恶、头一次宣布停笔后的放荡生活的一面。之后，直到昭和三年（一九二九）写出重新复活为止，其间乱步一篇小说也没发表。不过他并非完全没写作。有一次他对写好的稿子感到不满意，本该把那篇稿子交给横沟正史，却在与横沟同宿的名古屋某饭店的厕所撕破稿子扔掉，然后才告诉对方，发生了这著名的“事件”。各位都知道，这篇稿子正是两年后《带着贴画旅行的人》的雏形。 筒井共美的《月影之市》，就是描写乱步在昭和二年（一九二八）的放荡旅途中，得到《带着贴画旅行的人》的灵感的过程。当然，这是虚构作品，作中的“我”遭遇的离奇事件，并非完全照搬事实。文思枯竭的小说家又有偷窥的嗜好，以丸之内大楼为据点的奇妙女子团体，把“我”以及追查她们的刑警耍得团团转，于是“我”对于男人为了与喜爱的女人在一起不惜进入贴画中的故事产生兴趣。而故事就在“我”提笔开始撰写新作品时落幕。这是一篇掺杂着昭和初年东京风俗的都市小说，同时，本该消失的“十二层楼房”忽然复活的奇幻风格，也令人不忍释手。最重要的是，这又是一个江户川乱步的虚像编织出崭新幻想的好例子。