his fingerprints before the crime. He also disguised himself on the evening of the crime and delivered the apparent letter to himself. Saburo hid the hand in the dead cat's grave, where he is mistakenly identified as the wanted man by the sleepwalking Suzuko. The narrator eventually elaborates that Saburo had to serve in the Second Sino-Japanese War as a punishment, where he fell in battle. The other members of the family also died within a short time, so that the murder essentially marked the end of the family's wealth. Main characters Key figures An omniscient narrator Writer of detective stories Kosuke Kindaichi A private detective, summoned by Ginzo Kubo Detective Inspector Tsunejiro Isokawa An inspector from Okayama prefecture in charge of the case The Ichiyanagi Family Ihei Ichiyanagi Great-uncle of Kenzo, Ryosuke etc. Itoko Ichiyanagi Mother of Kenzo, Taeko, Ryuuji, Saburo, Suzoko, widowed Kenzo Ichiyanagi The eldest son, the present head of family, and an independent scholar of philosophy, engaged to Katsuko Kubo Taeko Ichiyanagi The eldest daughter, married and living in Japanese-occupied Shanghai Ryuuji Ichiyanagi The second son, a doctor employed at an Osaka hospital Saburo Ichiyanagi The ne'er-do-well third son, an avid reader and collector of detective novels Suzuko Ichiyanagi The second daughter, a seventeen-year-old but with the mind of a child but a skilled koto player Ryosuke Ichiyanagi An Ichiyanagi first-cousin, the head of a branch of the family who shoulders much of the day-to-day management of the estate Akiko Ichiyanagi Ryosuke's wife Sakue Ichiyanagi Husband of Itoko, father of Kenzo, Taeko, Ryuuji, Saburo, Suzoko, deceased Hayato Ichiyanagi Uncle of Kenzo, Taeko, Ryuuji, Saburo, Suzoko, father of Ryosuke, deceased The Kubo Family Rinkichi Kubo Father of Katsuko Ginzo Kubo Katsuko's phlegmatic uncle and guardian, prosperous and yet a tenant farmer and therefore lower class Katsuko Kubo A schoolteacher, fiancee of Kenzo Ichiyanagi Shizuko Shiraki Friend of Katsuko Kubo References 1946 novels 20th-century Japanese novels Novels first published in serial form Works originally published in Japanese magazines Locked-room mysteries Fiction set in 1937 Novels set in Okayama Prefecture