Sherlock Holmes In Japan
Page 24
Emperor Meiji took the advice of Sherlock Holmes and sent personal emissaries to all the heads of state in Europe where Japanese diplomats had operated in an offensive manner equivalent to subversion. He took full moral responsibility for the actions of his representatives, and explained in detail the various steps he had taken to prevent the recurrence of such incidents as well as to reverse the damages that prior actions might have caused. As Holmes had guessed, after the initial outrage, the gesture was warmly appreciated. Various European governments embarked on a purge of their own Diplomatic Services, guided by the proof supplied by the Japanese government; all seventy-nine identified diplomats were dismissed from service and arrested. Some were released because the proof was not conclusive. Some were hanged, others guillotined and the rest sentenced to various terms in prison. Two of these diplomats were in Her Majesty’s Service, a matter that caused great embarrassment to us. In sum, a cathartic event played out in the diplomatic world, leading to stricter considerations in the selection of career diplomats and the creation of a stern and uncompromising code of diplomatic conduct, unofficially referred to as the Holmes Convention. The reader may possibly be familiar with this.
Akira Fujimoto, the former Yakuza member who visited Bodh Gaya, returned to the Kinkaku-ji temple in Kyoto to resume a life of spiritual enquiry. He took up the role of the late Hiyashi-san and served as an able administrator at the temple.
Professor Moriarty vowed to continue his campaign against the majesty of the law. You may perhaps read about his subsequent battle of wits with Sherlock Holmes in the Case of the New York Counterfeiters, which I am presently documenting; much depends on the eccentricities of modern publishers, driven by lucre rather than good taste and outstanding writing such as this, but time will tell.
Our voyage back to Liverpool on the North Star was uneventful. We did not feel the need to disembark at Shanghai, Singapore, Bombay, Aden, Alexandria or Marseilles. Holmes busied himself with drafting the many monographs I have referred to earlier, while I put together my notes on our experiences. Of course, he also spent time alternately playing the violin or the koto and became reasonably adept at the latter. I could not easily understand the mournful snatches of Indian music he would lapse into. The Japanese music seemed more meditative and pleasing when he played the koto correctly.
Captain Samuel Groves retired soon after. He informed the owners of the North Star that he had decided to become a beekeeper in Sussex South Downs, a prospect that Sherlock Holmes found intriguing and fascinating. He himself became a beekeeper after his reluctant retirement several years later; they were to become neighbours and animatedly discussed the many fascinating traits of Queen Bees1. Privately, Captain Groves told us that he had become a nervous wreck after that harrowing voyage, since he was unused to being a witness to heinous crimes and was attracted to a lifestyle that was entirely more predictable and soothing, where contact with fellow men would be significantly reduced.
My wife was pleased to see me again, but I noticed that she was even more pleased to see Sherlock Holmes, a matter that rather perplexed me.
Acknowledgments
There are many who made this book possible.
My wife Vidya, for innumerable suggestions along the way and for being a focused and very fussy reviewer. She believed in the idea and believed in me. The rest is mere detail.
My son Sarang, for his inspired suggestions on Sherlock Holmes’s journey through India.
My many friends around the world who encouraged me at every turn. In particular, Herma Caelen and Frauke Hertel from Brussels.
Tanaya Vyas, the enormously talented designer responsible for the riveting cover. I have no idea where she came up with the design, but I have only admiration for her creativity.
The young and talented artist Mohan Raj, for creating the map of Sherlock Holmes’s travels and for helping with the ideograms at the beginning of every chapter.
The fine editors at HarperCollins India – and to Ajitha in particular – who in a momentary lapse of good judgement decided to accept the manuscript. Ajitha seems to have a striking resemblance to the young woman that Watson was very frustrated with in more ways than one, as you will have read.
But on a serious note, I must thank my stars that I had such knowledgeable and perceptive editors who helped me along with sage words of advice at various points. I have realized that writing is by far the easier task of the two.
Karthika’s skill came through at every stage. Balancing the story, choosing the more appropriate word, helping me cull text that was adding nothing – her objectivity helped me in so many ways. Thank you.
The Marketing team at HarperCollins for their enthusiasm and willingness to experiment.
Japan, a country I admire, that provided so many motifs that helped develop the theme.
And finally, to Arthur Conan Doyle, for creating a character who will live through the ages and provide endless inspiration to so many.
VASUDEV MURTHY
(Akira Yamashita)
About the Author
AKIRA YAMASHITA is an elderly Japanese expatriate from Osaka living in Bangalore. He runs the elite Nippon Sitar Academy, where he teaches Indian Classical Music; he has particular expertise in Raaga Bhairavi. He offers a ten per cent discount on his classes to anyone who has read this book.
He otherwise spends time writing vivid Japanese short stories that have captured the imagination of millions. His book Sambar for the Indian Soul was on the best-seller list for years. He hopes to marry an Indian woman who excels in the preparation of that exotic Indian dish and invites applications.
VASUDEV MURTHY is a writer, Indian Classical violinist and management consultant. He lives in Bangalore with his wife, two children, five dogs and a collection of musical instruments.
First published in India in 2013 by
HarperCollins Publishers India
Copyright © Vasudev Murthy 2013
ISBN: 978-93-5029-669-1
Epub Edition © July 2013 ISBN: 9789350296707
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Vasudev Murthy asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.
This is a work of fiction and all characters and incidents described in this book are the product of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
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1. The reader may refer to The Final Problem for the immediate context in which Holmes composed this message.
1. Holmes never referred to the director as ‘Oshima-san’.
2. Readers may refer to The Naval Treaty for an introduction to Monsieur Dubugue.
3. The reader is advised to refer to A Scandal in Bohemia for further information concerning the charm and intelligence of Irene Adler.
1. Merely a curious coincidence.
1. The word translates to ‘Resting place for the Mughals’. The Mughals ruled India in the period
immediately prior to the establishment of the British Empire.
1. I recall that I felt a sense of doom and déjà vu as the existence of one more example from an apparently bottomless pit of monographs written by Holmes on every possible arcane subject became known.
2. Here too, my audacious – and perhaps, some may argue, attractive – young editor, foisted on me by Messrs HarperCollins, wanted wholesale cuts claiming that the modern reader sought crime and not botany, missing the point entirely, due to her being young, immature and, after all, a woman. The point of this narrative is to chronicle the interesting discussions and experiences Holmes and I had during our adventure. The modern crime-seeking reader, easily bored with scientific enquiry and seeking unwholesome racy entertainment, is advised to gift this book to an acquaintance with more finely honed sensibilities.
3. I would not be very surprised if the average modern reader complained similarly about this later. But I am clear – and I did inform my young lady ‘editor’ (the meaning and purity of which word has been vulgarly and sadly mutated over time), with the large luminous eyes and piercing pretentious intellect – that I have to report events as they happened and not gloss over them in the name of ‘pace’ or to avoid ‘slack’. The impatient reader who seeks gratification on every page is advised to return this book to the commercial establishment from where he purchased it and apply formally for a refund. The intelligent and mature reader is requested to stay on and read carefully, for he will doubtless benefit.
1. I did not read this monograph as I felt it was one monograph too many.
2. ‘Ah gentlemen, your friends from Bangkok were looking for you! Did they find you?’
‘I’m afraid they did not, Mr Chea, could you describe them?’
‘Two gentlemen, English I would say. Perhaps thirty years old. They were accompanied by a young Cambodian boy. They must have come not more than thirty minutes after you left. They said they had arrived from Bangkok and were most eager to meet you.’
‘We did not meet, regrettably. We shall be leaving immediately for Bangkok, Mr Chea. Do let them know.’
3. Holmes’s mania for monographs certainly called for a separate monograph.
1. Note from Akira Yamashita in the year 2013: Enquiries have been made to trace the painting in the vast archives of the Kinkaku-ji temple. The curator first indirectly confirmed the existence of such a painting but has thereafter declined to provide additional details.
1. One was the case of the lost treaty between Brazil and Ecuador which would have plunged South America into its gravest crisis if not found. The second was the case of the treaty between Liechtenstein and Spain which would have resulted in questions being raised about the neutrality of the former state in the tensions prevailing at that time in the Mediterranean. In both cases, Sherlock Holmes had demanded and received carte blanche to operate on behalf of the states, and both matters were closed to everyone’s satisfaction, with the public being entirely oblivious of the matter.
1. Readers are reminded of Holmes’s seminal monograph on the matter, On the care of the Queen Bee and observations on its reaction to Brahms’ Violin Sonata No. 1 in G major, Opus 78, which was received with great acclaim at the Royal Society.