"Simply Masa" by Boris Akunin, summary Automatic translate

Boris Akunin’s novel was published in 2020. The author shifts the narrative focus from Russian detective Erast Fandorin to his loyal servant, Masahiro Shibata. The reader learns the story of the Japanese man’s birth and the mystery of his birth parents’ death. The plot follows the hero’s independent detective investigations in his ancestral homeland after the death of his master.

The book is part of the "Adventures of Erast Fandorin" series of novels. The series includes such well-known works as "Azazel," "The Turkish Gambit," and "Not Saying Goodbye." This work is considered the seventeenth, concluding installment in the expanded literary universe. The plot chronicles the fate of the famous detective’s orphaned companion.

The Edo Period and the Legacy of the Great Thief

The events begin in the Japanese capital during the Edo period. The noble thief Tatsumasa lives by the Kitodo code. He takes property only from bad people and never takes human life. The master has a devoted wife, O-Suzu, and a one-year-old son, Masahiro. The couple hosts a renga poetry evening. Among the guests are the physician Sayama and the famous courtesan Orin.

The poetry competition is interrupted by Governor Kashizawa’s adviser. He asks Tatsumasa to help the state. The master secretly infiltrates the British envoy’s secure residence. He successfully copies the foreigners’ secret instructions. The resulting document aids Japan in complex diplomatic negotiations. As a reward, the official frees the enormous strongman Yamabito from prison. The thief needs the giant for his own personal gain.

Tatsumasa decides to destroy the gang of the cruel bandit Saruhei Tadaki. This group has imposed tribute on honest citizens. With the help of a giant, Tatsumasa steals the symbol of the bandit’s power — a 170-kilogram bar of pure gold. Enraged, Saruhei searches for the thief everywhere. Tatsumasa takes his family into the mountains. The courtesan Orin helps them find a secret cave beyond Lake Miyagase.

The enemy finally tracks down the fugitives. Bandits surround the family. O-Suzu leaps into the abyss. Tatsumasa throws his son down onto a treetop and also steps into the abyss. Saruhei Tadaki picks up the surviving infant. The bandit hands the child over to the yakuza Ryuzo Shibata. He orders the boy raised as a ruthless criminal as a form of sophisticated revenge.

Returning Home and the Great Earthquake

Forty years pass. The year is 1923. Orphaned, Masahiro Shibata sails to Japan. On board, he meets an Englishwoman, Naomi Trevor. There, he also meets the Russian Bolshevik Momotaro Kibalchich. The ship arrives at the port of Yokohama just as the Great Kanto Earthquake strikes. The coastal city collapses before the passengers’ eyes. A fiery typhoon erupts.

Masa helps Naomi get off the burning shore. They reach her mansion on foot. The heroes encounter an old man who refuses to be saved. They witness the young yakuza leader Sandaime Tadaki pulling an old woman from the rubble. A terrible revelation emerges. Naomi’s young daughter, Gladys, has been kidnapped by unknown marauders. A Japanese servant, Saburo, tried to protect the girl and was cut down with a sword.

Masa takes on the case. He turns to police captain Baba for assistance. The detective also goes to the head of the local yakuza clan, Sandaime Tadaki. The detective identifies the culprits. The girl was kidnapped by gangsters from the rival Uraga gang. Masa tracks the criminals by the distinctive scar on their forehead. He rescues the child from a pornographer in Tokyo’s Shinjuku district.

The Mystery of the American Bank

The action shifts to 1925. Masa has opened the "Banner of Death" detective agency in Tokyo. Captain Baba asks him for help. A priceless Buddhist scroll has disappeared from a secure vault in an American bank. The door lock is completely intact. It’s pitch dark. Metal detectors are installed, and a watchful guard guards the armored doors. The criminal left behind only a ivory figurine of the blind seer Tiresias.

The detective buys a night vision goggle and a medical stethoscope. He successfully retraces the thief’s steps, proving the vulnerability of the banking system. Masa then visits a private club for the blind. The establishment is called "Tiresias." Inside, pitch darkness reigns. Waiters and patrons navigate solely by sounds and smells. There, he meets jazz singer Mari Sayama.

The detective analyzes the facts and deduces the truth. She committed the robbery. Blind from birth, she underwent surgery. She regained her sight but retained her ability to navigate in complete darkness. Marie confesses to the theft. She returns the stolen scroll to Masa.

The singer makes a surprising announcement. She tells the detective about his origins. Masa learns that he is the son of the great Tatsumasa. The proof is a distinctive red dragon tattoo on the detective’s stomach. Mari proposes a criminal deal with Masa. She wants to rob the Russian ataman Semyonov together.

Operation at the White General’s House

White General Semyonov lives in a villa near Tokyo. He is believed to be hiding part of the Russian Empire’s gold reserves. Masa gets a job as the general’s translator under the name Yegor Katsura. He quickly gains the ataman’s trust. The detective discovers that Semyonov is playing a complex double game.

Grigory Semenov meets with Soviet Ambassador Kopp. They are sailing on a boat along the Sumida River. The ataman promises loyalty to the diplomat in exchange for a financial advance. At the same time, the general extorts money from Japanese oil industrialists. Masa carefully examines Semenov’s gold bars. The detective realizes the truth: they are high-quality cast iron counterfeits. Semenov has no intention of financing anyone.

Mari decides to act independently. At night, she sneaks into a villa and steals a crate of counterfeit gold. Cossacks spot the thief. Masa saves Mari from pursuit. Fighters from the Hinomaru clan suddenly attack the fugitives. The yakuza attempt to shoot the detective. The bullet hits a metal ingot on Masa’s chest. The detective kills the attackers with his pistol.

At the same time, Masa meets with Baron Tanaka. The Japanese politician recognizes Masa as an old acquaintance. In his youth, the detective solved the murder of a courtesan in St. Petersburg. The Baron asks Masa to spy on Semyonov. Soon, Masa exposes the ataman’s intrigue to the police and the yakuza. General Semyonov is permanently exiled from the country.

Old secrets and new discoveries

Mari confesses another secret. She secretly searched the house of an old man named Kurano. This respected man is the chief ideologist of Japanese nationalists. In reality, Dankichi, a former senior student of Tatsumasa, is hiding behind the guise of a political sage. A replica of the stolen gold is hidden in his house.

It was Dankichi who betrayed the teacher many years ago. Kurano ordered the yakuza to kill Masa. The old man feared the exposure of his long-ago crimes. Masa enters Kurano’s bedroom. The old man reveals the truth about the detective’s parents’ deaths. He confesses to collusion with the bandit Saruhei.

The courtesan’s true role is revealed. Orin betrayed no one. Dankichi forced the woman to admit her guilt under threat of physical harm. The terrified elder asks for poison. Masa allows the traitor to die, leaving him a vial of the poison. The yakuza learns of their mentor’s dishonor.

Inheritance in the Mountain Cave

Masa and Mari find Orin in a remote monastery by a mountain lake. She has long since taken a vow of eternal silence. The former courtesan writes them short haiku poems. The poem contains a mathematical riddle. The solution to the riddle reveals the exact route to a mountain cave. It was there that Masa’s parents hid and died.

The detective and the singer arrive at the Harami Pass. They descend a rope ladder into a deep rock crevice. Masa turns on an electronic metal detector. The device finds a copper chest buried in the ground. Inside is a farewell letter from Tatsumasa. The father asks his son to uphold the noble principles.

He writes, "Observe the Canon and the Three Precepts." The treasure turns out to be aluminum bars. In the Edo period, this new metal was more valuable than gold. Father traded gold with the foreigner Jefferson for the lightweight bars. Now this material is almost worthless. Mari is furious at the loss of her wealth. Masa laughs loudly. He understands the higher meaning of his father’s message. The heroes sit in the cave and watch the sunrise together.