Photo/Illutration Police officers at the scene of the fatal shooting of Takayuki Ohigashi, president of Ohsho Food Service Corp., on Dec. 20, 2013, in Kyoto (Asahi Shimbun file photo)

Three stubs of a foreign brand of cigarette were found at the murder scene, and there was lipstick on two of them.

This was enough for a shrewd Kyoto prefectural police detective to identify the killer in the novel “Toshu Satsujin Jiken” (The case of murder of a baseball pitcher) by Ango Sakaguchi (1906-1955), who was associated with the “Buraiha” or “Decadent School” that arose after World War II.

“You’re a smoker, right?” the detective asks a person of interest. “Of course. I can’t even breathe the air for 10 minutes without a cigarette,” the individual replies.

The detective persists in interviewing suspects, whose names are readily recognizable puns related to cigarette smoking, such as Kemuriyama (literally, smoke mountain), Ippuku (a puff) and Mokusuke (the “moku” here is slang for cigarette).

Sakaguchi’s characteristic wit is on full display.

In the real world, the Kyoto prefectural police on Oct. 28 arrested Yukio Tanaka, a senior yakuza gang member currently serving a prison term, on suspicion of fatally shooting Takayuki Ohigashi, president of national restaurant chain Ohsho Food Service Corp., aka the “Gyoza King,” nine years ago in the prefectural capital.

Reportedly, it took just one cigarette butt recovered near the crime scene--not three like in Sakaguchi’s novel--for the investigation to nail Tanaka through DNA testing.

According to a colleague who covered this case nine years ago, the stub was found in a dark passage by a warehouse.

Kyoto police also recovered several other stubs in the vicinity, conducted DNA testing on them all, and identified the smokers, one by one.

But one stub eluded identification, and that was what eventually led the police to Tanaka, my colleague explained.

As this case grew colder, it was feared it may never be solved. But the investigators are refusing to give up.

Still, there are many things that remain unexplained. For instance, the crime was obviously thoroughly planned, so how could the perpetrator be so careless as to discard a cigarette butt near the scene? And what, exactly, was the motive?

One glaring fact is that the yakuza group to which Tanaka belonged has a track record of committing many heinous crimes that victimized innocent people.

If Ohigashi’s murder is to be avenged, any “smoke” that shrouds the truth must be completely cleared.

--The Asahi Shimbun, Oct. 29

* * *

Vox Populi, Vox Dei is a popular daily column that takes up a wide range of topics, including culture, arts and social trends and developments. Written by veteran Asahi Shimbun writers, the column provides useful perspectives on and insights into contemporary Japan and its culture.

Related News