Deviance and Social Darwinism in Edogawa Ranpo's Erotic-Grotesque Thriller

Deviance and Social Darwinism in Edogawa Ranpo's Erotic-Grotesque Thriller "Kotō no
oni"
Author(s): Edogawa Ranpo and Jim Reichert
Source: The Journal of Japanese Studies , Winter, 2001, Vol. 27, No. 1 (Winter, 2001),
pp. 113-141
Published by: The Society for Japanese Studies
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JIM REICHERT
Deviance and Social Darwinism in Edogawa Ranp

Erotic-Grotesque Thriller Koto no oni
Abstract: The cultural phenomenon known as erotic-grotesque-nonsense

guro-nansensu) flourished in Japan during the late 1920s and early 19
Dominating this milieu was the popular author Edogawa Ranpo (1894-1
One of his most successful, and sensational, novels was Koto no oni (D
of the lonely isle, 1929-30), which offered readers the kind of freakish ch
ters and shocking incidents they had come to expect from a master of er
grotesque cultural production. In addition to its undeniable appeal as a skil
executed piece of commercial fiction, the text is also noteworthy for its co
cated engagement with contemporaneous systems of literary, political, so
and scientific signification. In a manner comparable to its cast of charact
menagerie of "freaks" who challenge standard notions of what consti
"normal" humanity, Koto no oni itself destabilizes conventional literar
ideological interpretive positions.
In the first decade of the Showa period (1926-1989), Edogawa Ranpo

cupied an important place in the Japanese cultural imagination. To a
extent, this was a result of his position as the undisputed master of
tive fiction (tantei shosetsu), the popular-literature genre of choice a
up-to-date inhabitants of Japan's major urban centers. He has, in fact
credited with introducing this genre to Japan.' Ranpo's impact on th
tural landscape was further heightened through savvy exploitation o
portunities available in other media. Building upon his early success
author, he achieved a kind of cultural omnipresence through regular
I would like to thank Kathleen Geisse, Adrienne Hurley, Ken Ito, Ann Sherif, Gen
Weisenfeld, Atsuko Ueda, and the anonymous referees of The Journal of Japanese Stud
their suggestions on ways to improve this article. I also wish to thank Sharalyn Orbau
Tomiko Yoda for providing me with opportunities to present my ideas about Ranpo.
1. James B. Harris, "Preface," Japanese Tales of Mystery and Imagination (Ru
Charles E. Tuttle Company, 1956), p. ix.
113
Journal of Japanese Studies, 27:1
? 2001 Society for Japanese Studies

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114 Journal of Japanese Studies 27:1 (2001)
as a playwright, a screenwriter, a radio personality, and even an "expert"

commentator on crime for newspapers and magazines.2 Also contributing
to Ranpo's high profile was his status as a leading spokesperson for erotic-
grotesque-nonsense (ero-guro-nansensu), the prewar, bourgeois cultural
phenomenon that devoted itself to explorations of the deviant, the bizarre,
and the ridiculous.3 Indeed, he was instrumental in popularizing this shock-
ingly outre sensibility for a mass audience.
Among the many highly commodified pieces of erotic-grotesque enter-
tainment that Ranpo produced, the novel Koto no oni (Demon of the lonely
isle, 1929-30) stands out as a lurid achievement. Consisting of 14 install-
ments, which ran from January 1929 to February 1930 in a popular literature
(taishu bungaku) magazine called Asahi, Ranpo's narrative renders an ac-
count of "the exceptionally bizarre experiences" endured by a handsome
young Tokyoite named Minoura Kinnosuke.4 The resulting story is exces-
sive even for Ranpo. It involves a child assassin, a ruthless villain, a gang of
medically engineered "freaks," a "deviant" sleuth, and a damsel in distress
who suffers from an unusual physical disability. The story's overall impact
is further enhanced by the accompanying illustrations, which were created
by Takenaka Eitaro (1895-1973).5 A famous illustrator, who worked with
Ranpo on a number of occasions, Takenaka contributed otherworldly im-
ages that perfectly complemented the weird atmosphere of Ranpo's written
narrative.
Although this fare might not appeal to everyone, the unqualified com-
mercial success of Koto no oni leaves little doubt that there was among
Japanese readers at the time a sizable audience for such material. The pub-
lication history alone attests to the remarkable popularity of the work. A
few months after concluding its triumphant run in Asahi, the publishers at
Kaizosha rushed the novel out in book form. One year later, in 1931, the
2. For an overview of Ranpo's writing career and his other varied accomplishments, see
Matsuyama Iwao and Suzuki Sadami, "Shincho Nihon bungaku arubamu" Edogawa Ranpo
(Tokyo: Shinchosha, 1993).
3. Ranpo was well aware that he was inextricably linked with erotic-grotesque-nonsense
in the popular consciousness. He once commented: "Before the war, the phrase erotic-
grotesque was all the rage, and my novels were thought to epitomize this trend." Quoted in
Ouchi Shigeo, "Karei na yutopia-Ranpo no chohen shosetsu" (1975); reprinted in Edogawa
Ranpo-hyoron to kenkyu (Tokyo: Kodansha, 1980), p. 168.
4. The phrase "exceptionally bizarre experiences" is taken from an ad for the first install-
ment of Koto- no oni. The ad appeared in Shin seinen, Vol. 10, No. 1 (1929), p. 26.
5. Takenaka was the leading illustrator for the Japanese detective fiction industry of the
1920s and 1930s. He collaborated with Ranpo on two other projects, Inju (The beast, 1928)
and Akumu (The nightmare, 1929). He eventually stopped working as a professional illustrator
so that he could devote himself to political activism. For a more detailed account of Takenaka's
life and career, see Fujikawa Chisui, "Kaiki e no naka no seishun: Takenaka Eitaro suiron,"
Shiso no kagaku, Vol. 5, No. 30 (1974), pp. 40-48.

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Reichert: Deviance in Edogawa Ranpo 115
novel was published again as the fifth volume in Heibonsha's Edogawa

Ranpo zensha (1931-32).
Clearly, then, there is no denying that the brand of erotic-grotesque
thrills that defines Ranpo's prewar oeuvre in general and Koto no oni in
particular resonated powerfully with consumers during the 1920s and 1930s.
The question that arises, however, is why this kind of cultural product ex-
erted such a strong hold over audiences. One standard explanation accounts
for the popularity of these products in unrelentingly negative terms. Accord-
ing to this school of thought, put forth by prewar Marxist cultural critics
such as Oya Soichi, instances of erotic-grotesque cultural performance were
mere commodities that manipulatively catered to the tastes of Japanese con-
sumers.6 That is to say, erotic-grotesque fantasies like Koto no oni were
clever, but ultimately meaningless, products churned out to beguile mem-
bers of the bourgeoisie, an audience that had been led astray by the tempta-
tions of capitalism and consumerism, and therefore required ever more
extreme diversions to sate its appetite for pleasure.
Balancing this negative interpretation is another, more optimistic theory
that is championed by postwar scholars such as Minami Hiroshi.7 According
to this explanation, erotic-grotesque cultural performance functioned as an
indirect form of resistance against the totalitarian tendencies exhibited by
the Japanese state during the 1920s and 1930s. This school of thought fo-
cuses on the fact that works such as Koto no oni were produced and con-
sumed at a historical moment when Japanese citizens were bombarded by
propaganda urging them to devote themselves to such "productive" goals
as nation building and mobilization. In this context, the sexually charged,
unapologetically "bizarre" subject matter associated with erotic-grotesque
cultural products is reconstituted as a transgressive gesture against state-
endorsed notions of "constructive" morality, identity, and sexuality.
It is my contention, however, that in Koto no oni the production of
meaning through signs and other symbolic means, or what I refer to here-
after as Koto no oni's signification, is far more complicated than either of
these formulas would suggest. Despite the fact that the novel was clearly
produced and marketed in order to attract consumers partial to erotic-
grotesque thrills, Koto no oni cannot be dismissed as inconsequential, es-
capist fare. By the same token, the text cannot be treated as an unambiguous
celebration of difference, sexual experimentation, and other forms of trans-
gression. These formulaic interpretive frameworks are disturbed, although
6. Oya articulates this position most forcefully in his article "Modan-s6 to modan-so"
(1929); reprinted in Oya Soichi zenshu, Vol. 2 (Tokyo: Soyosha, 1981), pp. 5-8.
7. Minami makes this case in his introduction to the special issue of the journal Gendai
no esupuri that was devoted to the topic of erotic-grotesque-nonsense. "Nihon modanizumu ni
tsuite," Gendai no esupuri, No. 188 (1983), pp. 5-7.

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certainly not entirely eclipsed, by the inscription of other ideological posi-

tions. Signaling the text's allegiance to these varied ideological stands are
periodic affirmations of bourgeois individualism, "productive" male cama-
raderie, eugenics, and criminology.
Rather than treat Koto no oni as a static crystallization of any single
ideological perspective, it is more illuminating to highlight the "freakish"
nature of the text itself. My use of this term is influenced by recent theoreti-
cal discussions of freak discourse, which define "freakishness" as the qual-
ity that fascinates and horrifies by "blurring identities (sexual, corporeal,
personal)" and by "travers[ing] the very boundaries that secure the 'nor-
mal' subject in its given identity and sexuality." 8 In other words, the distin-
guishing characteristic of Koto no oni is its resistance to easy categorization.
Echoing the symbolic position inhabited by "freaks" of various stripes,
including individuals who exhibit an extraordinary body, a "deviant" sexu-
ality, or an "exotic" cultural identity, Koto no oni occupies an unstable
position that blurs boundaries relied on to separate different discursive, lit-
erary, and ideological positions.9 The result is a signifying field, by which I
mean both Ranpo's written narrative and Takenaka's images, that simulta-
neously enraptures and repels. In this sense, then, the text of Koto no oni
embodies in its own signification the freakish quality associated with its
story and characters. It is a veritable Frankenstein's monster, a disturbing
conglomeration of formal elements and ideological signs that have been
removed from their familiar context and stitched together.
Erotic-Grotesque-Nonsense
Before examining the freakish signification of Koto no oni it will be

helpful first to consider the larger discursive field within which the text cir-
culated. Specifically, I am referring to the commercial/cultural phenomenon
known as erotic-grotesque-nonsense, which flourished in Japan during the
late 1920s and early 1930s. In his discussion of discourses of sexuality from
the interwar period, Greg Pflugfelder offers the following description of this
sensibility:
Each of the three elements implied a perversion, as it were, of conventional

values. The celebration of the "erotic" (ero) in its myriad forms constituted
a rejection of the Meiji dictum that sexuality was unsuited for public display
or representation unless it conformed to the narrow standards of "civilized
morality." The elevation of the "grotesque" (guro) betrayed a similar dis-
8. Elizabeth Grosz, "Intolerable Ambiguity: Freaks as/at the Limit," Freakery (New
York: New York University Press, 1996), p. 64.
9. For a more detailed discussion of the manifold ways that the label of "freak" is as-
signed to groups or individuals, see Rosemarie Garland Thomson, Extraordinary Bodies (New
York: Columbia University Press, 1997), especially pp. 19-51.

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regard for prevailing esthetic codes, with their focus on traditional canons
of beauty and concealment of the seamier sides of existence. Finally, the
valorization of the "nonsensical" (nansensu) signaled a discontent with the
constraining nature of received moral and epistemological certitudes.'0
One of the distinguishing characteristics of the erotic-grotesque sensibility,

then, is its oppositionality. Cultural products associated with this phenome-
non conspicuously differentiated themselves from conventional moral and
aesthetic standards. This would explain their appeal to urban sophisticates,
who constituted their primary audience. For modern girls (moga) and mod-
ern boys (mobo) on the cutting edge, consumption of erotic-grotesque cul-
tural paraphernalia signified their participation in the avant-garde lifestyle
known as modern life (modan seikatsu). The erotic-grotesque sensibility
thus thrived in a variety of modern-life contexts, including nightclub re-
views, popular song lyrics, poster art, advertising campaigns, tabloid jour-
nalism, and various literary genres.
Complicating the signification of these consumer spectacles was the
view, current in Japan during the 1920s and 1930s, that all orders of phe-
nomena adhered to the principles of evolution." That is to say, evolution
was conceived not only as a biological process involving the modification
of species over successive generations, but it also served as a theoreti-
cal model for interpreting and evaluating social and cultural phenomena.
Within this hermeneutic framework, commonly known as Social Darwin-
ism, one could distinguish between more evolved and less evolved societies
and social practices. This tendency to view social distinctions through the
prism of evolutionary theory impinged itself to varying degrees on such
prewar disciplines as sexology, criminology, and eugenics. In the specific
context of erotic-grotesque cultural production, Social Darwinist assump-
tions manifested themselves in the practice of categorizing individuals who
exhibited a proclivity toward "deviant" sexual activity as inherently infe-
rior, or less evolved.
This inclination is typified by an article entitled "Petchi Ruiza sono ta"
(Petite Louisa and others, 1930), written by Hanabusa Shir6 and published
in one of the leading erotic-grotesque magazines, Hanzai kagaku. The ar-
ticle offers readers a titillating expose of homosexual practices in Europe
and Asia. Although "Petchi Ruiza sono ta" contains no explicit references
to Darwin or his theories, its overall investment in the principles of Social
Darwinism is evident throughout. For example, a vignette concerning a
sexually predatory male transvestite is followed by the statement: "The
thought of a male transvestite roaming the streets and public places looking
10. Gregory M. Pflugfelder, Cartographies of Desire (Berkeley: University of California

Press, 1999), p. 290.
11. Suzuki Zenji, Nihon no yuseigaku (Tokyo: Sankyo Shuppan, 1983), p. 136.

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for a [male] sexual partner must be extremely disturbing to any normal per-
son [futsu no ningen]." 12 Elsewhere Hanabusa assures his readers that the
bizarre social practices under discussion mostly occur in foreign countries,
most prominently China.'3 Encoded in assertions such as these are the val-
ues of a hegemonic interpretive community, known as "normal Japanese
society." In accordance with the reigning systems of intelligibility of this
interpretive community, practices such as same-sex sexuality and transves-
titism are coded as abnormal and foreign.
Consequently, "Petchi Ruiza sono ta" covertly reaffirms an implicit
hierarchy, in which the categories of "normal" and "Japanese" occupy a
higher position than the categories of "abnormal/deviant" and "foreign."
The condescending commentary on the male transvestite, for example, is
premised on the assumption that for a "normal" heterosexual, who care-
fully maintains his/her appropriate gender role, contemplation of a cross-
dressing homosexual male will necessarily elicit feelings of discomfort.
Embedded in these feelings of discomfort is a sense of superiority. A
comparable dynamic operates in the narrative's claim that the inhabitants of
China are more prone to same-sex sexuality than the citizens of Japan. Here
the narrative reinforces the perception that the Chinese are inherently less
fit than the Japanese, an idea that gained credence during the Sino-Japanese
War (1894-95) and was once again trotted out in the late 1920s and early
1930s to justify Japan's colonial expansion into Manchuria and China.'4
Both of these insinuations reassert Social Darwinist views that were in com-
mon currency at the time. Specifically, the text reaffirms the notion that
there are unassailable hierarchies in operation not only within the confines
of a single community but also among different national and ethnic groups.
Inscribed within the text of "Petchi Ruiza sono ta," then, one can detect an
implicit reminder of the benefits accrued to those who identify themselves
as "normal Japanese" citizens. Inclusion in this select community carried
with it considerable prestige, especially vis-a-vis those who for reasons of
sexuality, culture, or nationality were excluded.
Koto no oni
Emerging from the same cultural milieu as "Petchi Ruiza sono ta,"
Ranpo's Koto no oni also capitalized on the popularity of erotic-grotesque-
12. Hanabusa Shiro, "Petchi Ruiza sono ta," Hanzai kagaku, Vol. 1, No. 12 (1930), p. 78.
13. Ibid., p. 76.
14. Donald Keene, "The Sino-Japanese War of 1894-95 and Its Cultural Effects in
Japan," Tradition and Modernization in Japanese Culture (Princeton: Princeton University
Press, 1971), pp. 133-43. Louise Young, "Imagined Empire: The Cultural Construction
of Manchukuo," The Japanese Wartime Empire, 1931-1945 (Princeton: Princeton University
Press, 1996), pp. 77-78, 91-93.

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nonsense. Despite its status as one of the crowning achievements of this

vibrant cultural movement, however, the novel has received almost no atten-
tion from literary critics or scholars.'5 The following statement from Ouchi
Shigeo suggests why:
No doubt, the novel's many shortcomings are a consequence of the story

being serialized in a popular magazine .... Ranpo once declared that Koto
no oni "marked the beginning of my degeneration into a literary hack."
Elsewhere he commented: "In contrast to the scrupulousness of my early
days as a writer, I had become satisfied with producing mediocre work." 16
Ouchi clearly perceives Kot6 no oni to be a step down from the more legiti-
mate pieces of detective fiction that Ranpo produced as a young writer. In-
scribed within this assessment, it turns out, are assumptions borrowed from
the standard narrative history of Ranpo's prewar literary career. This master
narrative typically charts a decline from intellectual and artistic integrity to
crass commercialism. In the years immediately following his debut as a
writer in 1923, Ranpo's output consisted mostly of short stories. Starting
around 1927, he shifted to full-length novels.'7 The short stories written
during the first phase of his career, often described as "pure mystery fiction"
(jun tantei sh6setsu),'8 are thought to be Ranpo's best work. The pleasure
of these narratives is said to lie in their intricate plots, rigorous explorations
of the criminal mind, and clever surprise endings.19 Scholars have treated
the novels composed after 1927 with considerably less enthusiasm. The
main reason behind this disdain is the shared perception that these novels
are excessively vulgar.20 Ranpo's efforts to extend his appeal beyond a core
15. Two noteworthy exceptions to this critical oversight are Taguchi Ritsuo, "Koto no
oni ron," Kokubungaku: kaishaku to kansho, Vol. 59, No. 12 (1994), pp. 109-14; and Mark
Driscoll, "Imperial Textuality, Imperial Sexuality," Proceedings of the Midwest Association
for Japanese Literary Studies, Vol. 5 (1999), pp. 156-74.
16. Ouchi, "Karei na yutopia," p. 172.
17. Ranpo shifted his focus from short stories to full-length novels with the composition
of Issun boshi (The midget, 1926).
18. The use of the term "pure detective fiction" also reveals the extent to which discus-
sions of popular literature are overdetermined by the doctrine of pure literature (jun bungaku).
An alternative label for personal fiction (shishosetsu or watakushi sh6setsu) of the 1910s and
1920s, the term pure literature denotes an approach toward literary production that ostensibly
makes no concessions to the demands of the market or the expectations of the common reader.
This interpretive regime forces critics and scholars to conclude that catering to the preferences
of his audience cheapened Ranpo's literary output and distanced his work from some absolute
standard of artistic merit.
19. Nakajima Kawataro, "Ranpo bungaku no chokan" (1954); reprinted in Edogawa

Ranpo (Tokyo: Kodansha, 1980), pp. 60-62. Gonda Manji, "Tojikomerareta yume" (1973);
reprinted in Edogawa Ranpo-hyoron to kenkyu, pp. 148-49.
20. Nakajima, "Ranpo bungaku no chokan," pp. 63-64. Gonda, "Tojikomerareta
yume," pp. 148-49.

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audience of detective fiction aficionados resulted in works of questionable

taste and scant intellectual value. The plots became too fantastic; the crimes,
too horrific; and the characters, too perverted.2
As a work thought to epitomize Ranpo's descent into sensationalism,
Koto no oni has been deemed unworthy of serious critical attention. This
judgment, however, reveals less about the novel than it does about the limi-
tations of standard critical commentary on prewar detective fiction. Specifi-
cally, it suggests that the critical community clings to an extremely narrow
conception of detective fiction. From this perspective, sensational trappings
diminish a piece of detective fiction, because they interfere with the serious
business of representing a legitimate criminal investigation. To my mind,
this is a misguided approach toward evaluating a text like Koto no oni, since
it can only account for the novel's excesses in negative terms. I contend that
these excesses actually enrich the text's signification since they intensify its
capacity to horrify and to fascinate. The text achieves this heightened inten-
sity by flagrantly augmenting a fairly conventional murder mystery with a
plethora of seemingly incompatible generic formulas, topics, and images.
These excesses generate what I have termed Koto no oni's freakish signifi-
cation: freakish in that it "imperils categories and oppositions dominant in
social life . . . and exists outside and in defiance of the structure of binary
oppositions that govern our basic concepts and modes of self-definition."22
The text thus destabilizes such essential binaries as normal versus abnormal,
fit versus unfit, hero versus villain, and respectable citizen versus deviant.
Although a brief plot summary can never fully capture the bizarreness
of Koto no oni, a basic outline of the narrative will facilitate later discussions
of the text's signification. The fantastic events of the story are recounted in
the first person by the novel's protagonist, Minoura Kinnosuke. The first half
of the story centers on Minoura's efforts to solve the murder of his fiancee,
Kizaki Hatsuyo, whose body is found in a room in which all points of entry
have been secured from the inside. Minoura initially suspects that the crime
was committed by a mysterious acquaintance of his, a research physician
named Moroto Michio. Moroto is the prime suspect mainly because he is
a homosexual who has made no secret of his affection for the attractive
Minoura. It turns out, however, that Moroto is not the perpetrator. To the
contrary, he has been trying to solve the mystery on his own. Moroto, in
21. With the publication of Kaijin niju menso (The mystery man of many faces, 1936),
Ranpo started devoting himself to the composition of adolescent fiction (shonen bungaku). His
adolescent fiction has received even less serious attention than works like Koto no oni. There
seems to be a shared assumption that texts written for and about children do not merit serious
literary consideration, regardless of how popular or influential they are. For an example of this
tendency, see Gonda Manji, "Gentaiken to shite no Ranpo," Edogawa Ranpo (Tokyo: Kawade
Shobo, 1992), pp. 100-1.
22. Grosz, "Intolerable Ambiguity," p. 57.

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fact, becomes the driving force behind the investigation, bringing his con-
siderable intellectual faculties to bear on the case. He eventually discovers
that Hatsuyo was murdered by a trained child assassin in the service of an
ominous figure known as Ototsan (a variation on the word "father").
The second half of the story revolves around Minoura and Moroto's at-
tempts to bring the mysterious Ototsan to justice. Their determination is
motivated by three additional factors. First, they are moved by pity after they
uncover a diary written by a young girl named Shu-chan, who has been held
prisoner by the evil Ototsan. Her plight is even more pathetic in that she is
one half of a pair of conjoined twins. Second, Moroto gradually becomes
aware that Ototsan is none other than his own father, Moroto Jogoro. Third,
the young men ascertain from another piece of evidence that a treasure is
hidden somewhere on Ototsan's island. After infiltrating Ototsan's head-
quarters, they learn that he too is in hot pursuit of the treasure. He wants
the money to finance a nefarious scheme of scientifically creating a race
of freaks (katawa). The motivations behind this plot are complicated, but in
essence Ototsan sees the production of freaks as both a source of profit (he
ships his victims off to commercial freak shows) and as a means for exacting
revenge on "normal" humanity (as a hunchback, Ototsan has suffered nu-
merous indignities in mainstream society). Due to Moroto's considerable
resourcefulness, the two young heroes succeed in foiling Ototsan's plans and
capturing the hidden treasure.
Their investigation also uncovers some critical information about the
lineage of Hatsuyo, Shu-chan, and Moroto. It turns out that Hatsuyo was
the rightful heir to the treasure that Ototsan coveted, which explains his
decision to have her killed. It also becomes apparent that Shu-chan is Ha-
tsuyo's younger sister, and that Ototsan had surgically attached her to an-
other child in an early experimental effort to create a freak. Finally, Moroto
finds out, much to his relief, that he is a foundling and not Ototsan's actual
son. Once matters on the island are settled, Shu-chan undergoes corrective
surgery to separate her from her "twin." After recovering from the opera-
tion and claiming her sizable inheritance, she marries Minoura. The only
remaining loose end in this happy scenario is Moroto, who still nurses an
unrequited love for Minoura. This problem is resolved when a fatal illness
claims Moroto's life.
The preceding plot outline helps to explain why critics have treated Koto
no oni as a scandalous deviation from the parameters of "pure" detective
fiction. To be sure, there are sections of the novel that adhere closely to the
standard formula of this genre. The specifics of Hatsuyo's murder, for ex-
ample, are patterned after Edgar Allan Poe's "The Murders in the Rue
Morgue" (1843), which also recounts the investigation of a murder that was
apparently committed in a room where all points of entry had been secured
from the inside. This unmistakable homage to Poe, the acknowledged mas-

46.103.11.43 on Thu, 17 Nov 2022 12:13:13 UTC
ter of the mystery genre, should not come as a surprise given that Ranpo's
penname is a direct transliteration of "Edgar Allan Poe." The text, in fact,
abounds with references to other works by Poe. Most of these come from
Moroto, a self-described mystery fan, who deliberately models his investi-
gation after precedents found in Poe's fictional narratives.
Once the specific circumstances involving Hatsuyo's murder are re-
solved, however, the narrative begins to deviate from the formula of ortho-
dox detective fiction. Sections of the narrative focusing on Ototsan's efforts
to construct a race of freaks, for example, exhibit characteristics associated
with the genre of science fiction. Although there are no explicit references,
the text resonates powerfully with H. G. Wells's science-fiction novel The
Island of Doctor Moreau (1896). Like Koto no oni, Wells's novel also in-
volves a villainous figure, ensconced in an island hideaway, who utilizes
medical science to effect bodily changes on a community of hapless victims.
Meanwhile, parts of the story that deal with Minoura and Moroto's search
for hidden treasure conform closely to the patterns of adventure fiction.
These sections are particularly evocative of the genre that Wendy Katz re-
fers to as "treasure stories." 23 As they endeavor to decipher clues concealed
in a coded message and endure an arduous journey through a maze of un-
derground caverns, Moroto and Minoura participate in a venerable literary
tradition typified by classics such as Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Is-
land (1883) and Rider Haggard's King Solomon's Mines (1885).
What holds this pastiche together is the erotic-grotesque atmosphere
that suffuses the entire text. Given the nature of erotic-grotesque spectacle,
however, even as it functions to unify the text it simultaneously generates a
countervailing instability. Examination of two specific story lines reveals
the way that the erotic-grotesque operates in Koto no oni. The first story line
involves Moroto's unrelenting desire for Minoura. The text devotes a great
deal of attention to this issue. The same basic scenario plays itself out on
numerous occasions. Moroto expresses his desire, only to have his propo-
sitions rebuffed by Minoura. Significantly, the terminology used to describe
Moroto shifts constantly. On occasion, he is depicted as an eminently desir-
able figure. He is referred to as beautiful (utsukushii) and alluring (nama-
mekashii). With equal frequency, though, the text asserts the abnormality of
Moroto's desire by utilizing such pathologizing terms as pervert (henshi-
tsusha) and invert (seiteki tosakusha).
The characterization of Minoura's sexuality, as it manifests itself in his
response to Moroto's advances, is equally indeterminate. There are times
when Minoura seems open to the possibility of sexual relations with Mo-
roto. For example, after Moroto first professes his love, Minoura indulges
23. Wendy R. Katz, "Introduction," Treasure Island (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University

Press, 1998), p. xxix.

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in a startling erotic fantasy: "This might sound weird, but for a moment it
felt as though I had become a woman ... and that this beautiful man were
my husband." 24 Comments like this suggest that even the ostensibly "nor-
mal" Minoura can appreciate, at least on the level of fantasy, "deviant"
sexual urges. Most of the time, however, he is simply perplexed by Moroto's
feelings. On one occasion he comments: "I could not fathom the feelings in
Moroto's heart. But I could tell that he was unable to rid himself of this
bizarre love. In fact, over the course of time, it only became more in-
tense. .. .Is it not difficult to comprehend why he would harbor these feel-
ings for me?"25 Here, as Minoura professes complete bafflement when
confronted by a form of desire supposedly foreign to his own experience,
his final rhetorical question is especially significant. Through this device,
Moroto implicitly signals his inclusion in a larger interpretive community
of "normal" readers that shares his views about what constitutes "devi-
ance." That is, he emphatically aligns himself with a community of readers
not susceptible to homoerotic desire. The persuasiveness of this gesture,
however, is seriously undermined by his tendency to engage in erotic fan-
tasies about Moroto.
Further militating against any neat interpretation of Minoura and Mo-

roto's relationship are Takenaka's stunning visualizations. This component
of the text cannot be overlooked for the simple reason that these illustrations
played a vital role in the marketing and consumption of the text as a piece
of popular fiction. Indeed, the vast majority of popular-fiction texts from the
1920s and 1930s were prodigiously illustrated. The publishing industry re-
alized that securing the services of a talented artist could dramatically
heighten the impact of a narrative. Among the many illustrators working
at the time, Takenaka was especially sought after because his images so
thoroughly enriched the signification of the texts they accompanied. His
images of Minoura and Moroto underscore the indeterminate nature of their
relationship.
Figure 1 accentuates the erotic possibilities of the bond. It depicts the
comrades as they languish in an underground maze. Not coincidentally, this
illustration resembles a cinematic closeup, with many aspects of its com-
position recalling images found in still photographs taken from Western ro-
mantic films. The relative position of the two faces, for example, evokes
cinematic conventions for composing the passionate "clinch" shot. In this
particular image, the more assertive Moroto's face is on top, with the more
submissive Minoura's on the bottom. The representation of their expressions
is significant as well. With his clenched teeth and staring eyes, Moroto con-
veys the crazed intensity associated with male heartthrobs of the era. With
24. Edogawa Ranpo, Koto no oni (Tokyo: Sogensha, 1996), p. 33.

25. Ibid., p. 36.

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Figure 1. Minoura and Moroto trapped in an underground maze.

Originally published in Asahi, Vol. 2, No. 1 (1930), pp. 142-43. Reprinted in Koto no oni
(Tokyo: Sogensha, 1996), pp. 354-55. Used here with permission from Sogensha.
his slightly open mouth, closed eyes, and the backward tilt of his head, Mi-
noura evokes the cinematic heroine, overwhelmed by her passionate lover.
Comparison to Figure 2, a photographic image from a 1931 series devoted
to "erotic-grotesque" love scenes, reveals the degree to which Takenaka
relied on the visual idiom of contemporary film to eroticize this encounter.
Figure 3 offers a very different visualization of the two men. Specifically, it
coincides with the moment when Moroto's umpteenth declaration of love
devolves into an actual physical attack. Although most descriptions of Mo-
roto focus on his physical beauty and sophisticated sense of style, this par-
ticular passage presents him as a grotesque monster. He is variously com-
pared to a snake (hebi), a dog (inu), and a leech (hiru). The terms beast
(kedamono) and animal (jurui) are also applied to him.26 In essence, Moroto
26. Ranpo, Koto no oni, pp. 366-67.

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Figure 2. This still photograph is taken from a pictorial series entitled "Eiga rabu shin"
(Movie love scenes), which appeared in the 1931 publication Gendai ryoki sentan zukan
(Images from the cutting edge of contemporary weirdness).
This particular still photograph comes from the 1928 German film Ungarische Rhapsodie
(Hungarian rhapsody), starring Willy Fritsch and Lil Dagover.
is transformed into a freakish monstrosity, a chimera consisting of incongru-

ous parts. The implication of these comparisons is obvious. They offer
readers a metaphorical manifestation of Moroto's deviant sexuality. Fig-
ure 3 duplicates this operation by presenting Moroto as a terrifying monster.
The monstrous nature of this incarnation is signaled by such details as Mo-
roto's demented expression and his hand clutching at Minoura's throat. The
horror of the moment is also conveyed by the image of the hapless Minoura,
whose desperate expression and thrashing limbs suggest the intensity of his
efforts to escape. The dark background in which images of bats and other
ghoulish creatures are just discernible further highlights the frightening
atmosphere.

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Figure 3. Moroto attacking Minoura.

Originally published in Asahi, Vol. 2, No. 1 (1930), pp. 146-47. Reprinted in Koto no oni
(Tokyo: Sogensha, 1996), pp. 364-65. Used here with permission from Sogensha.
The second erotic-grotesque story line to be examined here revolves

around the conjoined twins, Shu-chan and Kit-chan. This plot device is
particularly interesting because it offers readers what can be described as
metacommentary on the exploitative nature inherent in most instances of
erotic-grotesque cultural production. The narrative describes how Ototsan
kidnapped two infants, stitched them together, provided them with a catchy
moniker, Hideyoshi, and raised them with the intention of sending them to
a freak show.27 The signification of this plot device is especially ambiguous
27. As discrete individuals the conjoined twins are referred to as Shu-chan and Kit-chan,
but as a composite entity their name is read as Hideyoshi. The ideographs used to repre-
sent their name(s) are the same as those used for the personal name of Toyotomi Hideyoshi
(1536-98).

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because it implicates the erotic-grotesque industry as it simultaneously

functions as a selling point for the erotic-grotesque commodity Koto no oni.
This complex dynamic is explored further through Minoura's response
to Shu-chan and Kit-chan. Each twin elicits different reactions from Mino-
ura. Shu-chan, the female twin, strikes Minoura as the epitome of pathos.
With her gentleness and uncanny beauty, she inspires in him feelings of
affection. Indeed, he is completely entranced from the first moment he lays
eyes on her. "I blushed and looked away. Stunned by the young girl's
strange beauty, my heart pounded." 28 The physicality of his reaction (the
blushing and the pounding heart) suggests that there is an underlying ele-
ment of erotic desire to his feelings. Intensifying and complicating Mino-
ura's erotic attraction for Shu-chan are his feelings of pity and condescen-
sion. These feelings are mostly in reaction to her pathetic determination to
rise above her miserable circumstances. The narrative contains numerous
descriptions of Shu-chan as she gamely tries to conform to the images of
"normal" humanity that she has gleaned from a small cache of books and
magazines.
Kit-chan, on the other hand, elicits feelings of contempt and hatred from
Minoura. This antipathy is established immediately: "Kit-chan turned his
dark, ugly face toward me, and glared at me with undisguised hostility. I'll
never forget the frightening look on his face. It was a malicious expression,
conveying his warped, petty character." 29 With just one glimpse, then, Mi-
noura is able to recognize Kit-chan as a debased individual. Echoing the
precedent established by more conventional pieces of erotic-grotesque dis-
course, the definitive marker of Kit-chan's debasement turns out to be his
"perverse" sexuality; he masturbates excessively. Significantly, Kit-chan is
never given an opportunity to articulate his position. This silence is essen-
tial, however, if he is to function in the narrative as the ultimate cipher upon
which Minoura projects his darkest fantasies about the freakish denizens of
the erotic-grotesque world.
Koto no oni thus offers a remarkably elaborate enactment of the erotic-
grotesque spectacle. The text does not simply reify widely accepted cate-
gories, such as normal or freakish. Rather, it vitiates these categories as it
cannily exploits their notoriety. When the text's signification is expanded to
include a panoply of contemporaneous issues, a comparable dynamic oc-
curs. That is to say, discursive systems, such as political rhetoric, moral in-
struction, and scientific research, are reformulated when they operate within
the freakish signifying field of Koto no oni. As a result of this process, fun-
damental concepts that underpin some of the governing contingencies of the
era are destabilized, although never completely elided. In the remaining sec-
28. Ranpo, Koto no oni, p. 257.

29. Ibid., p. 263.

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tions of this article I will explore the complex manner in which Koto no oni
thematizes two closely related issues of general concern: the social ramifi-
cations of deviance and the utility of science to contain its effects.
The Social Ramifications of Deviance
Koto no oni was composed at a historical moment when deviations from

respectability were frequently treated as a social problem with wide-ranging
implications. This tendency to consider various categories of deviance as
forms of socially disruptive or dangerous behavior reflects a wider set of
concerns that preoccupied the era. As George Mosse explains in his enlight-
ening discussion of nationalism and sexuality in Western Europe, national-
istic rhetoric often posited respectability as one of the pillars upon which
national identity and righteousness rested.
In the second half of the nineteenth century, Darwinist ideas amplified the
nationalist animus against the abnormal. Such ideas were thought appli-
cable to the management of human society, just as the medical theorists had
provided a quasiscientific justification for sexual rigor. Natural selection,
which had been seen at work among animals, would reward a healthy na-
tional organism free of hereditary disease and moral weakness.30
By freely adapting the principles of evolution, nationalistic rhetoric was

able to conflate the categories of the deviant, the criminal, and the immoral.
Once they were reconfigured in this manner, deviations from respectable
behavior came to be seen as a detriment to the smooth operation and natural
evolution of society, and therefore became a matter of serious national
concern.
Although it arose a few decades later, a similar phen

discerned in prewar Japan. There was widespread conc
informs us, among early twentieth-century Japanese
creased incidents of deviance were sapping the Japanese
Moralists such as Nogami Toshio and Tokutomi Soho pr
ample, that the appearance of aggressive, "masculine"
"feminine" men would be the undoing of Japanese soc
developments in the West, these arguments were lent f
when they became linked with scientific "advances." De
sions of scientific objectivity, Roden points out, many p
viant behavior continued to be read primarily as prescri
Eiji and Sawada Junjiro's influential Hentai seiyoku ron
viant sexual desire, 1915) was typical:
30. George L. Mosse, Nationalism and Sexuality (New York: Howard

31. Donald Roden, "Taisho Culture and the Problem of Gender Am
and Identity: Japanese Intellectuals during the Interwar Years (Princet
Press, 1990), pp. 44-45.

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The format of the book bears a close resemblance to Krafft-Ebing's Psycho-

pathia Sexualis (1886), to which the authors refer explicitly throughout the
text. And like their Viennese predecessor, Habuto and Sawada seemed ob-
sessed by the destructive threat that "unnatural desires" [fushizen seiyoku]
posed for the Japanese social order. At the most obvious level, aberrant
sexual feelings underlay criminal acts of brutality, but of more concern to
the authors was the less dramatic but more widespread pattern of antisocial
behavior that arose from the confusion of the sexes.32
Once it was coded as a form of social pathology, deviance came to be seen

as a serious threat to the well-being of Japanese society.
In its first few chapters, Koto no oni seems to unquestioningly perpetu-
ate the most negative stereotypes associated with deviance. The focus of
these paranoid fantasies is Moroto. As the specific circumstances surround-
ing Hatsuyo's murder are gradually revealed, all the evidence points to
Moroto. It is revealed, for instance, that on more than one occasion he had
tried to sabotage Minoura's relationship, even going so far as to pursue Ha-
tsuyo's hand in marriage himself. After this plan failed, the narrative im-
plies, Moroto in all likelihood became desperate enough to commit murder.
Even more damning than this circumstantial evidence is the simple fact that
Moroto is a homosexual. Minoura explains:
It might seem as though I were jumping to ridiculous conclusions [by ac-

cusing Moroto]. But you can't judge a pervert by normal standards. Wasn't
he a man incapable of loving the opposite sex? Wasn't it more than likely
that he had tried to interfere with my engagement because of his homo-
sexual desire for me? Wasn't his campaign to win Hatsuyo's hand in mar-
riage excessive? Didn't his love for me border on the insane?33
The reasoning here is echoed throughout the first few chapters of the novel.
Moroto figures as the most likely suspect merely because he prefers men as
his sexual partners. Variant sexuality, in other words, is tantamount to crimi-
nality, a recognizable threat to the smooth operations of a civil society.
There are occasions, however, when the text undermines the facile as-
sumption that variant sexuality is inherently dangerous or socially disrup-
tive. These instances mostly occur in the "treasure story" sections of the
novel, after Minoura and Moroto embark on their expedition to find the
buried gold. This pattern of imbuing male-male bonds with an implicit
erotic component is not out of character for the genre of adventure litera-
ture. In fact, homoeroticism energizes texts ranging from Mark Twain's
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1885) to Iwaya Sazanami's Koganemaru
32. Ibid., pp. 45-46.


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(1891).34 In the particular case of Koto no oni, the text infuses the Minoura-
Moroto partnership with erotic overtones by presenting them as an updated
version of premodern samurai comrades. The model for this pattern of
male bonding is derived from Edo-period (1615-1867) literary representa-
tions of an idealized form of samurai love known as The Way of Young
Men (shudo).35 By implying that Minoura's relation with Moroto conforms
loosely to the shudo ideal, the narrative eroticizes Minoura and Moroto's
relationship as it neutralizes the negative connotations associated with their
sexually charged interaction.36
In Koto no oni's reformulation of the shudo couple, Minoura clearly
plays the role of the youthful partner (wakashu). The text underscores this
position by having Minoura regularly acknowledge the spiritual and intel-
lectual superiority exhibited by the older, more experienced Moroto. In-
deed, mirroring the dependence of a "youth" on his "adult" (nenja) partner,
there are numerous occasions during their quest when the callow Minoura
actually relies on Moroto to save his life. The most striking instance of this
dependence occurs when the two young men are trapped together in a cave
that is filling with water. Just as Minoura is about to give up, Moroto revives
his flagging spirit:
Moroto put his arm around my waist and held me tightly. The darkness
prevented me from seeing his face even though it was only about one or two
inches away from mine. But I could hear his steady breathing and feel his
breath upon my face. Comforting warmth from his muscular body passed
through our soaking-wet clothes and enveloped me. I noticed that he gave
off a pleasant scent, which wafted all about us. All of these things gave me
the strength to carry on. Thanks to Moroto, I was able to stay on my feet. If
it were not for him, I would certainly have drowned.37
Two things stand out in this scene. First, it foregrounds an important dy-
namic of Minoura and Moroto's relationship. Here, as always, Minoura is
34. For a more detailed discussion of the homoerotic inflections of these narratives, see
Leslie Fielder, "Come to the Raft Ag'in, Huck Honey!" (1948); reprinted in Mark Twain
(Gerald Graff and James Phelan, eds.), Adventures of Huckleberry Finn: A Case Study in Criti-
cal Controversy (Boston: Bedford Books of St. Martin's Press, 1995), pp. 528-34. Komori
Yoichi, "Koganemaru no kanosei: Nanshoku bungaku to shite no shonen bungaku," Nihon
jido bungakushi o mukainaosu: Hyogenshi no shiten kara (Tokyo: Tokyo Shoseki, 1995),
pp. 35-54.
35. Examples of Edo-period texts treating the topic of shudo include Ihara Saikaku's Nan-
shoku okagami (Great mirror of male love, 1687) and a late Edo narrative entitled Shizu no
odamaki (The humble man's bobbin; author and exact date of composition unknown).
36. For a fuller discussion of expressions of male-male sexuality in Ranpo's writing, see
Furukawa Makoto, "Edogawa Ranpo no hisoka naru j6netsu," Kokubungaku: kaishaku to kan-
sho, Vol. 59, No. 12 (1994), pp. 59-64.

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completely reliant upon Moroto. This scene also reveals the extent to which
their relationship is infused with homoerotic energy. Like a premodern adult
warrior with his youthful lover, Moroto's support and guidance is clearly
overlaid with a sexual element. Incidents such as this counteract the impres-
sion that Moroto's sexuality is inherently detrimental to the establishment
and maintenance of constructive social bonds. To the contrary, the narrative
suggests that his sexual attentions can have an energizing effect on Minoura.
Without it, Minoura would never be able to contribute to the important task
of finding the buried treasure and overthrowing Ototsan. The narrative thus
implies that, under certain circumstances, intense, sexually charged male-
male bonds can foster concrete, useful achievement.
The ambiguous way that the text thematizes male-male sexuality reflects
the indeterminacy of its position on the social ramifications of abnormality
in general. This uncertainty is played out most dramatically in the novel's
concluding chapter. On one level, the denouement is noteworthy for its
seemingly unproblematic valorization of the status quo. Like the grand fi-
nale (daidan'en) of Edo-period drama and fiction, an association that is un-
derscored by the use of this outdated term as the title of the last chapter,
Koto no oni's conclusion seems to uphold the generic conventions of "re-
ward virtue and punish vice" (kanzen choaku).38 In this particular context,
virtue equals "normality" and vice equals "abnormality." The grand finale
consists of a rapid succession of events, including the apprehension of Otot-
san, the discovery of Shu-chan's true lineage, the successful performance of
Shu-chan's corrective surgery, the marriage of Shu-chan and Minoura, and
the timely death of Moroto. Every one of these resolutions asserts the pri-
macy of normative values; the threat of abnormal elements disrupting Japa-
nese society is totally erased, through death, incarceration, or assimilation.
In a manner reminiscent of the Bakufu-endorsed literary convention of "re-
ward virtue and punish vice," Koto no oni appears to end on an appropri-
ately orthodox note.
Of all the events recounted in Koto no oni's grand finale, the most seem-
ingly conformist is the transformation of Shu-chan. After all of his travails,
Minoura proclaims that nothing could be more satisfying than the thought
of Shi-chan becoming a "normal" (seijo) woman who "styles her hair, puts
on make-up, wears a beautiful kimono, and speaks in the standard Tokyo
dialect." 39 With these changes, she becomes a suitable choice for his wife.
The text implies that after years of suffering, she has finally achieved fulfill-
ment through the triple intervention of corrective surgery, repatriation into
mainstream society, and, most important of all, "normal" heterosexual love
38. For a more detailed discussion of this literary formula, see Jay Rubin, Injurious to
Public Morals (Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1984), pp. 18-19.

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and marriage. This notion that the primary avenue for a woman to fulfill her
destiny is the institution of marriage was officially codified by the Meiji
Civil Code (1898) and unofficially promoted by popular women's maga-
zines such as Shufu no tomo (Housewife's friend).40 The final image of Shu-
chan as a conventional housewife is a far cry from the young girl who once
believed that "humans come in different forms" and assumed that a person
with only one head was somehow deficient.4' Once she is exposed to the
values and aesthetics of respectable, bourgeois society, Shu-chan comes to
realize the "error" of her youthful misconceptions. Only then, after she has
come to accept the "shamefulness" of her previous condition, can she fully
appreciate the "gallantry" of Minoura's actions. In this sense, she fulfills
the role of the poor waif who, once rescued, becomes the grateful wife of
her savior.
The assimilation of Shi-chan is also reflected in Takenaka's illustra-
tions. Figure 4 offers a reassuring vision of the new and improved Shu-chan.
In physical terms she is now part of the "normal human race." 42 The illus-
tration also suggests that she has successfully taken on a "normal" social/
gender role; she has been transformed into the picture-perfect bride, signal-
ing her domesticity through her choice of traditional Japanese clothing
and her sophistication through her stylish modern-girl bob. With her out-
stretched arms she displays the results of this successful metamorphosis to
the paternalistic gaze of her husband (the cigarette-smoking figure in the
lower left corner of the frame) and, by extension, the viewer of the illustra-
tion. Significantly, this is the final image in the text, the last visual impression
made on the reader. The tone of this conclusion seems to suggest that, despite
its gratuitous attention to the erotic-grotesque, Koto no oni endorses "nor-
mal" values. Specifically, it valorizes conformity to a rigid set of physical,
sexual, and gendered standards. Heightening this impression is Minoura's de-
cision to open a philanthropic institution. After returning from his quest with
a beautiful wife and an immense fortune of about one million yen (approxi-
mately four billion yen in today's currency), Minoura decides to use a portion
of his newfound wealth to establish a haven "where the latest advances in
medicine can be used to turn freaks into normal humans."43 This act is pre-
sented as the ultimate sign of Minoura's fundamental decency.
Yet the text simultaneously enables a more skeptical interpretation of
this outcome by gesturing to its absurdity. The absurd nature of the situation
becomes apparent when the reader recalls that at the outset of his retro-
spective narrative Minoura describes himself as a "white-haired demon"
40. Minami Hiroshi, ed., Showa bunka (Tokyo: Keiso Shobo, 1987), pp. 219-23.
42. Ibid., p. 393.
43. Ibid.

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W.
Figure 4. Shu-chan showing off her new appearance to her husband, Minoura.
Originally published in Ashai, Vol. 2, No. 2 (1930), p. 181. Reprinted in Koto no oni (Tokyo:
Sogensha, 1996), p. 392. Used here with permission from Sogensha.
(hakuhatsuki).44 This is an explicit reference to his "weird" appearance. The

comparison refers to the fact that Minoura's hair has been permanently
bleached white by the traumatic experiences he has undergone. The condi-
tion is so unusual that it elicits questions and comments from complete
strangers. On an implicit level, the white hair also functions as a physi-
cal manifestation of Minoura's deep-seated deviance, which reveals itself
through his tendencies toward male-male sexuality, teratism, and cannibal-
ism.45 It is highly ironic therefore that Minoura would appoint himself the
44. Ibid., p. 11.

45. In the lexicon of early twentieth-century sexology, teratism refers to sexual attraction
for extraordinary bodies. Minoura's initial obsession with Shu-chan can therefore be catego-
rized as an example of this condition. As for Minoura's cannibalism, the incident occurs shortly
after Hatsuyo's death. On departing from her funeral, Minoura absconds with a charred frag-
ment of Hatsuyo's body, which in a moment of extreme despair, he consumes. Ibid., p. 62.

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patron of an institute, the sole purpose of which is to either isolate or cure,

both for their own sake and for society's, individuals who exhibit deviant
characteristics comparable to his own.
The text further opens the possibilities for an ironic reading of the con-
clusion by providing the reader with details of Moroto's death. The final
lines of the novel read as follows:
Moroto eventually found out from Ototsan's wife who his real parents
were. It turned out that he was the son of a wealthy farmer from the region
of Kisshu. After an absence of 30 years, he returned to an unfamiliar home-
town and became reacquainted with his forgotten parents.
I anxiously awaited his return, since we had arranged that he would be-
come the director of my new medical institute. But alas he passed away
while still visiting his birth parents. After all of my recent good fortune, this
alone turned out unhappily. His father wrote me a letter describing the last
moments of Moroto's life: "As he drew his last breath, Moroto clutched to
his breast a letter he had received from you. The last words on his lips
were not the name of his father or his mother, but your name, repeated over
and over." 46
In practical terms, of course, Moroto must die in order to ensure a smooth

conclusion to the story. His continued presence would only destabilize Mi-
noura's domestic situation. At the same time, however, the manner in which
Moroto's demise is presented conveys a certain aversion to the final turn of
events. As his last words suggest, the most important presence in Moroto's
life was not his biological family, but rather Minoura, the object of his
ceaseless affection. By closing with a reference to Moroto's love, the novel
suggests that although a world where the regime of normalcy prevails is
inevitable, there is always a segment of the population that is sacrificed to
this conventional social order. By giving Moroto the last word, the narrative
acknowledges the burdens endured by those who do not conform to the
rigid standards of respectable society. Through its excessive tone, this con-
cluding incident also throws into high relief the absurdity of the entire situ-
ation. Given his consistent ineptitude and self-involvement, Minoura hardly
merits devotion as unwavering as Moroto's. Even more unbelievable (and
undeserved), the text implies, is the impossibly sanguine resolution in
which everything, including the convenient disappearance of his ardent
male suitor, works out perfectly for Minoura.
Utility of Science
Responding to widespread concerns about the impact that deviant indi-

viduals can have on society, the Japanese discursive field of the 1920s and
1930s was overrun with "scientific" proposals promising to contain this
46. Ibid., p. 394.

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potential threat. One major source of these proposals was the discipline of
eugenics, or the science of improving the hereditary qualities of a race or
breed. As the historian of science Suzuki Zenji points out, eugenics exerted
considerable influence on prewar Japanese social policy.47 Among the pro-
ponents of these social programs, certain factions continued to work under
the assumption that the sole application of eugenics was in modifying the
hereditary composition of the national community through programs of se-
lective breeding, birth control, and sterilization. But in its more popular for-
mulations, eugenics dealt with questions of culture as frequently as it did
with issues of heredity. The following statement issued by the Nippon Yusei
Und6 Ky6kai (Japanese Eugenics Society) in 1928 typifies this tendency:
The primary goal of the Nippon Yfisei Und6 Ky6kai is to ensure that in the
future the Japanese people can maintain their position of world leadership.
There are two essential steps that will allow us to achieve this goal. First,
we must work to improve our mental and spiritual health, strengthen our
physiques, extend our life spans, and create families without any trace of
psychological weakness or hereditary illness. Second, we must commit our-
selves to raising the level of our national culture, to familiarizing ourselves
with the Imperial Constitution, and to realizing our full potential as law-
abiding citizens.48
Based on this ultranationalistic manifesto, we can see that Nippon Yuisei

Undo Kyokai's primary goal is to offer a blueprint for strengthening and
disciplining Japanese imperial subjects so that they can contribute to Japan's
success in the competitive arena of international relations. Also apparent
from this statement is the fact that the Nippon Yusei Undo Kyokai conceives
eugenics not simply as the practice of selecting the fittest members of a
community and making sure that only they reproduce, but also as a program
for improving the character and vitality of society and national culture. In
its new guise as an impetus to cultural revitalization, the actual scientific
component of this kind of "eugenics" program invariably became increas-
ingly vague.49 Yet science continued to be essential to such proposals, since
it functioned as a signifier of intellectual rigor.
Criminology was another discipline that offered solutions to the delete-
rious effects that aberrant individuals have on society. In the prewar context,
47. For a fuller discussion of the influence of eugenics on social policy, see Suzuki Zenji,
Nihon no yuseigaku (Tokyo: Sankyo Shuppan, 1983), pp. 99-141.
48. Ikeda Ringi, Yasei undo, Vol. 3, No. 6 (1928); quoted in Suzuki, Nihon no yusei-
gaku, p. 115.
49. This tendency was epitomized by Ikeda Ringi's Walking Club (Ashi no Kai), a
"eugenics" program structured around the principles: "Get plenty of sunshine. Enjoy nature.
Enliven one's spirit. Sing traditional folk songs. Resurrect old legends." Judging from this
slogan, "scientific" concerns about heredity and breeding took a back seat to fascist-inspired
affirmations of the pastoral ideal. Suzuki, Nihon no yuseigaku, pp. 120-23.

46.103.11.43 on Thu, 17 Nov 2022 12:13:13 UTC
Japanese criminology operated in compliance with a set of assumptions re-

markably similar to those of eugenics. For example, criminology was also
predicated on the Social Darwinist belief that society is divided into two
categories of people: the fit and the unfit.50 In the case of criminology, the
category of the "unfit" consisted of criminals, whose actions diminish
society, while the category of the "fit" consisted of law-abiding citizens
whose behavior contributes to society's betterment. The two disciplines had
in common another important characteristic; they shared the absolute con-
viction that science offered the best weapon in the battle against forces
threatening to diminish the social body.
A comment by the cultural critic Hirabayashi Hatsunosuke exemplifies
the widespread belief that science was an essential component of any seri-
ous crime-prevention program. The statement appears within the context
of a larger discussion outlining the cultural attributes required for the com-
position of successful detective fiction. Legitimate detective fiction, Hira-
bayashi maintains, can only be produced and appreciated in a society where
the intellectual foundations of criminology are already in place. This can
only be achieved in societies that have modernized sufficiently.
In abstract terms, the necessary condition is the establishment of a "civili-

zation of science" [kagaku bunmei]; in other words, the establishment of
rationality, an analytical outlook, and a rigorous methodology. To put it
simply, crimes and crime-solving are by nature scientific, the investigation
and conviction of suspects relies on the collection of physical evidence, and
a carefully conceived body of laws maintains the order of the nation-state.5
This statement reveals the ease with which the discipline of criminology
can be absorbed into the larger project of Japanese nationalism. Hiraba-
yashi, for example, unquestioningly assumes that "maintain[ing] the order
of the nation-state [kokka]" is a desirable goal. As is the case with eugenics,
the potentially authoritarian consequences of this sort of rhetoric are legiti-
mated through the imprimatur of science. In other words, actions committed
in the name of criminology (or eugenics) are rationalized by asserting their
foundation in the infallible epistemology of science. The fact that the exact
mechanics of this epistemological system are often only vaguely articulated
50. A representative example of this tendency to conflate the categories of the criminal
and the unfit can be seen in Katsumi Atsuyuki's Hanzai shakaigaku (Criminal sociology,
1922). Katsumi assumes that criminality is a sign of inherent atavism (kakusei iden) and con-
sequently links it with traits such as bushy eyebrows, sloping forehead, prominent cheekbones
and jaws, deformed skulls, brutish strength, and left-handedness. Hanzai shakaigaku (Tokyo:
Ganshodo Shoten, 1922), p. 162.
51. Hirabayashi Hatsunosuke, "Nihon no kindaiteki tantei shosetsu: toku ni Edogawa
Ranpo-shi ni tsuite" (1925); reprinted in Edogawa Ranpo: hyoron to kenkyu (Tokyo: K6dan-
sha, 1980), p. 9.

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makes it even more difficult to refute the programs and policies carried out
in its name. Indeed, the hazier the science, the more potent the rhetoric.
That Hirabayashi's commentary on criminological science occurs in the
context of a discussion of detective fiction is also significant. It suggests that
even fictional accounts of criminal investigations were expected to exhibit
a sufficient air of scientific rigor. Moreover, as Hirabayashi explicitly indi-
cates, science continued to function, even in the fictional realm, as an intel-
lectual justification for what typically constituted nationalistically inflected
promotions of law and order. As I mentioned above, Koto no oni was noted
for its departure from this rigorous approach. This, not coincidentally, was
one of the main reasons that critics dismissed it. I assert once again, how-
ever, that this deviation from the standard model of detective fiction is not
necessarily grounds for characterizing Koto no oni as a failed literary exer-
cise. Rather, it further demonstrates that the text's signification cannot be
contained by any single interpretive regime.
That is not to say, however, that Koto no oni completely dismisses sci-
ence as a means of responding to problems caused by criminal/unfit ele-
ments in society. To the contrary, the text frequently endorses the applicabil-
ity of scientific rationality in such cases. These endorsements primarily
appear in sections of the narrative that conform most faithfully to the con-
tours of conventional detective fiction. They are conspicuously present, for
example, in the scenes where Minoura and Moroto collect and analyze vari-
ous pieces of evidence in the course of investigating Hatsuyo's murder. In-
terestingly enough, the character who best exemplifies a scientific approach
toward life is not the novel's protagonist, Minoura, but rather his comrade,
Moroto. On the most basic level, his profession as a research physician sig-
nals his investment in this system. This scientific background, he insists, is
what makes him an ideal candidate to undertake a criminal investigation.
He reassures an uncertain Minoura: "I might just turn out to be an excep-
tional detective. After all, didn't I study science in medical school?" 52 The
reliability of the scientific method for Moroto is underscored constantly.
During his lengthy explanation of how an intruder broke into Hatsuyo's
room, murdered her, and then managed to escape leaving all the doors and
windows locked from the inside, Moroto makes clear that all of his conclu-
sions have been based on careful "deductive reasoning" (suiri). He explains
how he first conducted preliminary "research" (kenkyu), then "developed a
hypothesis" (kasetsu o kumitateru), and finally "examined the existing evi-
dence" (kakujitsu na shoko o miru), before offering a solution to the crime.
After listening to this report, Minoura can only marvel at the "systematic
order" (chitsujo seizen) of Moroto's approach.53

53. Ibid., pp. 125-46.

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The results of this deductive tour de force are far too elaborate to sum-
marize here. Suffice it to say that a ten-year-old professional acrobat flexible
enough to conceal himself in a large vase committed the murder. Of course,
the premise is fantastic; this is precisely what makes the narrative so enter-
taining. What is interesting, though, is the way that scientific theories are
used to shore up the plausibility of this incredible scenario. For example,
when the dubious Minoura questions the likelihood of a ten-year-old com-
mitting such a heinous crime, Moroto explains: "Child specialists [jido
kenkyusha] know that, contrary to our expectations, children are much cru-
eler than adults. .. .According to proponents of evolution [shinkaronsha],
children resemble primitive man; they are barbaric and cruel."54 Leaving
aside the question of whether there is any truth to these "scientific facts,"
statements like this play a crucial role. They lend a patina of verisimilitude
to Moroto's otherwise ludicrous theory.
Science also figures prominently in the "adventure-story" sections of
the narrative, which focus on Minoura and Moroto's efforts to locate the
hidden treasure and rescue Shui-chan. The ability to reason scientifically is
ultimately what allows Moroto to accomplish these goals. The race to find
the hidden treasure, for example, involves an elaborate process of decoding
a secret message and then using the information to follow a trail of inge-
niously concealed clues. Securing the treasure is especially significant be-
cause it deprives Ototsan of the financial resources that would have allowed
him to realize his dream of inundating Japan with his race of freaks. Mo-
roto's scientific expertise also proves invaluable in the quest to deliver Shu-
chan from her misfortunes for it is he who performs the surgical procedure
that separates her from her lascivious worse half, Kit-chan, and allows her
to begin life anew as a "normal person."
In both these sections of the novel, then, science is key to the resolution
of various crises. In the detective-story portion of the narration, things are
resolved when Moroto deduces the circumstances surrounding the murder
of Hatsuyo. More complete closure is achieved when the mysteries of the
hidden treasure and Shui-chan's lineage are made clear. In short, science
makes possible a progression from a state of chaos to a state of order. More
important, the "natural" order of society is restored with the triumph of the
"normal" over the criminal and the unfit. The legitimacy of this hierarchy
is assured, because it is founded on truths attained through the incontrovert-
ible logic of science.
Questions about the utility of science as a system for social manage-
ment, however, emerge in the narrative's "science-fiction" subplot involv-
ing Ototsan's plan to flood Japan with an army of freaks. A discussion of
Moroto's research, for example, exposes the disturbing possibility that sci-
54. Ibid., p. 142.

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ence can operate as a pernicious force. This passage occurs at a significant

point in the narrative when the connection is made between Moroto's work
as a research scientist and Ototsan's plot to produce a race of freaks. The
reader learns that Ototsan has been supporting Moroto's research with the
view of using the eventual results to further his own designs. It is this ex-
pectation that originally motivated him to send Moroto to medical school.
At first, Moroto was unaware of the terrible implications of this uncharac-
teristically generous act. He manages to sustain enthusiasm for his research,
even after Ototsan starts goading him into performing ever more horrible
atrocities:
Once I had mastered some basic theories, I started to experiment on ani-

mals. I cruelly maimed and killed mice, cats, and dogs. Using my scalpel I
cut open animals as they howled in agony. For the most part, my experi-
ments consisted of vivisection; I dissected animals while they were still
alive. Then I started to work on constructing "animal freaks." ... I cut off
the legs from one frog and attached them to another; later, I constructed
a marmot with two heads. In my attempts to perform a brain transplant,
I sacrificed any number of rabbits .... .The horrible thing is that I started to
feel grim satisfaction with the successful creation of each monstrosity. After
every success, I sent glowing reports to my father. He responded with words
of praise and encouragement.55
In this passage, science itself becomes a force of perversion. Not only

does it lead to the mutilation of lab animals, but it also corrupts Moroto
himself. He starts to derive a grim sense of accomplishment from the pro-
cess of transforming healthy animals into monstrosities. On a material level,
science wreaks similar havoc at Ototsan's island lair, where it allows the
villain to inflict various physical deformities onto human subjects. Ironi-
cally, Ototsan's efforts can easily be interpreted as a eugenics program gone
awry. Like proponents of eugenics, Ototsan exploits science to engender
hereditary changes in the Japanese race. To be sure, his scheme is motivated
by hatred and desire for revenge, and therefore involves "diminishing" the
population rather than "improving" it. Yet the basic formula is the same:
science provides the know-how that makes it possible to bring about lasting
changes in the composition of a racial community. This threat was all the
more credible for readers in the early 1930s because neo-Lamarckian theo-
ries of heredity were still in common currency. In other words, it was widely
believed that acquired characteristics, such as those that Ototsan visited
upon his victims, could actually be passed on to future generations.56
According to Taguchi Ritsuo, Ototsan's assault on his victims serves as
a metaphor for the increasing tendency of scientific theories to impinge on
55. Ibid., pp. 225-26.

56. For more information on the impact of French naturalist Jean de Lamarck's theories
on the prewar Japanese understanding of heredity, see Suzuki, Nihon no yuseigaku, pp. 45-97.

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the evaluation and management of human bodies. In his recent article "Koto
no oni ron" (On Demon of the lonely isle, 1996), Taguchi argues that the
novel espouses a sustained challenge to the oppressive body culture pro-
moted by eugenics programs. The text, he asserts, defies the assumptions
of eugenics by offering an extended "homage to differently enabled bod-
ies." 57 Taguchi goes on to suggest that the central message of the narrative
is encapsulated in Shu-chan's idealistic assertion: "Humans come in differ-
ent forms." 5 Taguchi thus reads the narrative as a defiant celebration of
difference.
Taguchi's interpretation of Koto no oni is extremely helpful because it
foregrounds moments in the narrative that convey an emancipatory critique
of Social Darwinist notions of fitness and normality. His interpretation is
insufficient, however, because it fails to acknowledge the complexity of the
text. By presenting Koto no oni as a cohesive expression of a single ideo-
logical position, his reading cannot account for the inconsistencies and con-
tradictions that characterize the text's freakish signification. For every por-
tion of the narrative that Taguchi points to in support of his argument that
Koto no oni offers a utopian vision of an alternative reality where difference
is actively affirmed, there are others that promote the worst kind of body
fascism. Ironically, the representative expression of this animosity toward
the differently enabled comes from none other than Moroto. He conveys
these sentiments in a speech vilifying Ototsan and his project. "What a hide-
ous nightmare, flooding Japan with freaks until not a single normal person
remains. If my father has his way, Japan will become crippled, a nation of
cripples [fugusha no kuni]."59
In diatribes such as this, the narrative expresses an unmistakable revul-
sion at the prospect of Japan being overrun by physically "deficient" freaks.
What is more, the outrage elicited by Ototsan's plan is clearly premised on
the eugenic conviction that the presence of unfitness, regardless of its ori-
gins, will seriously compromise the health of the Japanese national body.
Indeed, suspense in the narrative's "science-fiction" subplot is generated
entirely by the question of whether Moroto and Minoura will be able to foil
Ototsan's plot and prevent this crisis from occurring. Given the structure of
this plot line, then, it must be acknowledged that, on some levels at least,
the text has internalized a eugenic perspective on what constitutes a serious
threat to society.
At the same time, operating in accordance with the logic of the erotic-
grotesque spectacle, Moroto's excessive rhetoric also invites titillation. Eu-
genic paranoia becomes grist for the mill of Koto no oni's outrageous explo-
ration of the bizarre. The text thus deflects serious contemplation of its more
57. Taguchi, "Koto no oni ron," p. 114.

58. Ibid., p. 112.
59. Ranpo, Koto no oni, pp. 359-60.

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sober implications and encourages an ironic appreciation of its sensational

pyrotechnics. This is a natural tendency for any piece of erotic-grotesque
entertainment, since its success as a commodity is directly proportional to
its capacity to attract an extensive audience. That Koto no oni succeeds in
this respect should not be cause for dismay. It merely is another indication
of the text's multivalence.
Conclusion
At the outset of his first-person narrative, Minoura comments on the

process of composing his account.
Novelists these days simply drone on interminably about their feelings. If

that's all there is to it, I can write too. It should be even easier, since I am
going to record actual experiences and not make anything up... But it has
turned out to be just the opposite. Writing about things that really happened
is harder than I thought." 60
This statement is dripping with irony. Not even the most naive reader would,
for a moment, be taken in by Minoura's assertion that the events about to
unfold really happened. To the contrary, through contradistinction to the
revered genre of personal fiction (shishosetsu or watakushi shosetsu), which
justifies its existence by asserting absolute symmetry between written text
and author's lived experience, Minoura's comment throws into high relief
the overt, excessive fictionality of Koto no oni.
That is not to say, however, that the text exists in a vacuum, completely
unaffected by the larger discursive field in operation around it. As I have
demonstrated, fragments from this discursive field regularly impinge upon
the text's signification. Inscribed on the text, to various degrees and with
varying effects, are the discourses of empire, bourgeois individualism, racial
hygiene, criminology, sexology, and modernism. The meaning of these
fragments, however, is irrevocably modified when it is mediated through
Koto no oni's morphing signification. For example, the sexual edge to Mino-
ura and Moroto's relationship variously functions as a provocative instance
of erotic-grotesque performance, a familiar sign of intense male camarade-
rie, and a frightening emblem of the deviant forces that threaten to topple
the Japanese state. In this manner fragments are perversely mutated after
their absorption into the text's field of signification. In a sense, then, the text
itself enacts on its various constituent elements a process of enfreakment
remarkably similar to the one carried out by Ototsan on his victims. Ulti-
mately, this process of textual enfreakment sustains our interest because it
celebrates the monstrous possibilities inherent in literary signification.
STANFORD UNIVERSITY
60. Ibid., p. 14.

46.103.11.43 on Thu, 17 Nov 2022 12:13:13 UTC

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