Japanese detective and suspense novels have been the rage in reading circles in recent times with many liking their generally sensitive tone and nuanced and intricate plots.Thanks to this interest in crime fiction from the Land of the Rising Sun, not only are we getting to see works from contemporary authors ranging from the elegant, almost classical Keigo Higashino to the rather eccentric Utseku, but also translations of some older, well-known works.One of these is the first volume of The Samurai Detectives written by Shotaru Ikenami. Ikenami, who passed away in 1990, was mainly known for his historical novels, but in the 1970s wrote a series of books called Swordsman Business, about a Samurai warrior, which gained cult status in Japan.Serialised in a monthly from 1972-1989, Swordsman Business comprised selling millions of copies. The Samurai Detectives is the English translation of Swordsman Business, giving English readers a chance to read this famous series.More Shogun than Sherlock“Shogun meets Sherlock Holmes” is the line that has been frequently used to market Samurai Detectives. That is totally inaccurate. The Samurai Detectives is more about life in what seems to be eighteenth century Japan, known as the Edo period. It was a time of strict and rather elaborate social and political structures, and the book captures this wonderfully well. There are long passages about trees, houses, food, clothes, traditions, and of course, the land and the people living on it.In fact, there are times when the book almost starts reading a bit like a text of Edo Japan, rather than the detective novel it claims to be. For instance, when a character discovers that his usual scallion soup has some tanishi in it, we are told: “Tanishi was a small freshwater snail with a dark, spiral shell, found in rice paddies, ponds and swamps. There was plenty to be foraged from around the time of year when frost began to thaw and the bare paddies were ploughed for the coming spring. One could pick the fattest snails, soak them in water to get the dirt out, and stew them in miso or dress them in a paste made with leaf buds of sansho pepper.”Also Read | From Carrie Bradshaw to Booker judge: Should Sarah Jessica Parker, or any celebrity be deciding the biggest prize in books?We will be direct: if you pick up this 272 page book (with a beautiful cover, we must add), hoping to read about Kimono clad warriors with Katanas sniffing out evil doers, we would request you to temper your expectations. Yes, there is a (very) complex plot here but The Samurai Detectives is more about the life of some characters in general than about a crime or mystery in particular.Story continues below this ad Ikenami, who passed away in 1990, was known for his historical novels. (Wikimedia Commons)‘Enjoy women more than swords’The main character in The Samurai Detectives is Kohei Daijiru, a famous Samurai, who now leads a retired life in Terajima village. In keeping with the highly descriptive nature of the book, we are told how to get there, with directions about turns in the river and footpaths. Now almost sixty years old, Kohei claims to have lost interest in being a warrior, scandalises his son Akiyama (a young Samurai) by declaring “these days I’ve come to enjoy women more than swords,” and having an intimate relationship with a girl young enough to be his grandchild, nineteen year old Oharu.He however, continues to play an important role in local and even national matters. Visitors keep dropping in, asking for his advice and intervention in matters ranging from getting arms of obstinate daughters broken to corruption to suspected poisoning of high officials.Unlike conventional detectives, Kohei does not go to crime locations and look for clues or hold extended conversations with suspects. His way is more leisurely and generally revolves around talking to people he knows – and thanks to his fame, he knows many people – and putting two and two together. And while he may be on the older side, he remains agile and adept enough to keep enemies at bay. Helping him are his son, a girl warrior named Mifuyu (whose adoration of Kohei upsets both him and Oharu) and a number of other characters.Plenty of action, but all of it briefThere is plenty of sword (and other weapon) wielding action in the book, but rather oddly, it is dealt in a rather brief (almost brusque) manner – “Kohei moved in a blur, and Horigome instantly dropped his weapon and collapsed headfirst on the floor.”Story continues below this adThis lack of detail in a book that thrives on detailed and vivid descriptions, ends up making most combat sequences very lifeless. At one stage, Mifuyu battles four attackers bravely. The author describes what happened in two succinct, and rather simple sentences:“She had kept them at bay, not giving them a chance to take a simple step closer to her. That wasn’t all; she had already incapacitated two of them by severing some of their limbs.”More about culture, less about crimeThe Samurai Detectives is more about culture and conversations rather than action and suspense. Ikenami takes us to Edo Japan, carefully describing the roles of many officials and buildings, and the politics that always lurked beneath the surface. Once we got the hang of all the names of people, places and personnel (and there is a surfeit of them), we found the book to be a pleasant rather than compelling read. In fact, we ended up being more invested in the characters (particularly Kohei and Mifuyu), rather than the plots.We suspect that the book loses some of its narrative tension because of its translation. While a number of Japanese terms have been retained, which can make matters confusing, some of the conversations seem stilted and odd. When Oharu is advised by Kohei on how to make a dish, she responds with a “Aye, sounds good to me,” which seems more out of a Scottish book than a Japanese one. These oddities are fortunately balanced out by some slices of Samurai wisdom that we found ourselves underlining to return to, such as Kohei telling Daijiro “A swordsman must always shoulder the grudge of others every time he comes out alive from a clash of blades.”Story continues below this adWhile the constant rain of Japanese names and terms can get confusing, there are many nuggets of interesting information lying among them. For instance, we discovered the true meaning of Geisha, when Kohei remarked with a wry grin, “Geisha was what we used to call those accomplished in martial arts, but now…it is a name for dancers. You never realise that a word is shapeshifting until, one day, it hits you in the face.”The first volume of The Samurai Detectives is more about people and relationships than about crime and detection. Read it to be transported to Edo Japan, rather to be racked with suspense and tension.We are already lining up for Volume 2 of the series, not to read about how Kohei tackles another villain, but to find out how Kohei and Oharu get on, whether Oharu can get over her jealousy of Mifuyu, whether Akiyama will get any pupils…and life around them in general.The Samurai Detectives is a lot of Shogun and Samurai and very little Sherlock. Which is not a bad thing.Story continues below this adThe Samurai Detectives: Volume 1By Shotaro Ikenami, translated by Yui Kajita272 ppPenguinRs 599