Those Who Submerge Like the Water Spirit / 水魑の如き沈むもの

And so one we come once again to a spooky murder mystery with Genya Toujou. I find it funny how for both series I review on a set schedule—this and Lychee Kamiki—both series ended up with a snake-themed entry during the Year of the Snake. Coincidence, or something more...?

(Alright, so as far as the Chinese zodiac is concerned, the “water spirit” corresponds more to the dragon rather than the snake, so hopefully the previous paragraph wasn’t blasphemy. But still a funny pattern!)

Those Who Sneer Like the Mountain Fiend / 山魔の如き嗤うもの

Another Genya Toujou book, another series of bizarre murders in a remote village that are entangled with the local folklore. Those Who Sneer Like the Mountain Fiend is mainly set in the village of Kumado, but the impetus begins in the nearby village of Hado. Nobuyoshi Gouki is the youngest son of the Gouki family, a prominent clan in Hado. While Nobuyoshi’s father and brothers are outdoorsy and outgoing, Nobuyoshi is subdued and introspective. Naturally, he does not have a particularly happy upbringing. He leaves Hado to go to college in Tokyo and doesn’t look back. The Gouki family has a coming-of-age rite where each family member must visit three shrines in the holy mountains neighboring the village, but Nobuyoshi uses his studies as an excuse to put off the rite.

Eventually, however, once Nobuyoshi has graduated and gotten a job as a teacher, his grandmother persuades him to undergo the rite. While Nobuyoshi was always the black sheep of the family, he sees this as a way to potentially earn acceptance. Even if Nobuyoshi isn’t as physically active or familiar with the mountains as his brothers, the rite is essentially a day hike through a single-path trail, so it’s not a huge undertaking. 

Obviously, it doesn’t go as planned. (But, miraculously, it doesn’t end in murder!)

Those Who Cast a Curse Like the Headless / 首無の如き祟るもの

And so we arrive at the third book in the Genya Toujou series. The previous two books provided a wonderful blend of J-horror, murder mystery, and folklore, and Those Who Cast a Curse Like the Headless is supposed to be a contender of the peak of the series. So does this book have enough to take the crown, or is it getting ahead of itself?

Those Who are Shunned Like a Bird of Ill Omen / 凶鳥の如き忌むもの

Shinzou Mitsuda is a menace. Do not let this man write novels!

Those Who Bewitch Like Evil Spirits / 厭魅の如き憑くもの

In my Village of Eight Graves review, I mentioned how one of the reasons I felt I didn't find it majorly compelling was because other works have done the "creepy rural Japanese village" thing better. Those Who Bewitch Like Evil Spirits was one particular work I had in mind. It's a book about a creepy rural Japanese village (shocking, I know) but goes all-in on that premise, blending orthodox murder mystery with Japanese horror.