| Kogoro Akechi | |
|---|---|
| Kogoro Akechi character | |
| First appearance | "The Case of the Murder on D. Hill" |
| Created by | Edogawa Ranpo |
| In-universe information | |
| Gender | Male |
| Occupation | Private investigator |
| Family | Fumiyo Akechi (wife) |
| Nationality | Japanese |
Kogoro Akechi (明智 小五郎, Akechi Kogorō) is a fictional private detective created by Japanese mystery writer Edogawa Ranpo.
Akechi first appeared in the story "The Case of the Murder on D. Hill" (D坂の殺人事件, D-zaka no satsujin jiken) in January 1925 and continued to appear in stories for a quarter of a century. Edogawa Ranpo (a pseudonym for Tarō Hirai) is considered the father of the Japanese detective story and was a great admirer of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Akechi is the first recurring detective character in Japanese fiction and is clearly inspired by Doyle's Sherlock Holmes.
Like Holmes, Akechi is a brilliant but eccentric detective who consults with the police on especially difficult cases. He is a master of disguise and an expert at judo whose genius lets him solve seemingly impossible cases. Also like Holmes, Akechi makes use of a group of young boys to gather information. His version of the Baker Street Irregulars is known as the "Boy Detectives Club" (少年探偵団, Shōnen tantei dan). Akechi smokes Egyptian cigarettes when he is thinking about a case.
Kogoro Akechi is a tall, handsome man with heavy eyebrows who dresses well. He is married to a woman named Fumiyo (文代) and lives with Kobayashi Yoshio (小林芳雄), the leader of the Boy Detectives Club. Kobayashi often plays an important part in solving cases. Like his mentor, he is an expert at disguise and is especially adept at posing as a young woman. Aside from these relationships little is known of the detective's personal life, which always takes a back seat to the mystery in his adventures.
Detective Akechi's most frequent foe is the infamous "Fiend with Twenty Faces" (怪人二十面相, Kaijin ni-jū mensō). The fiend is a master criminal whose infallible gift for disguise may have been inspired by Hamilton Cleek, Thomas W. Hanshew's heroic but amoral "Man of Forty Faces." The Fiend is a non-violent criminal who steals to demonstrate his brilliance rather than out of need for money. He and Akechi have a mutual respect in the stories.
The Akechi stories are based mainly in the detective's home city of Tokyo, though some move the action to the Japanese countryside. The stories often feature supernatural and erotic overtones, though not so much as Ranpo's other fiction.