The Black Lizard and Beast in the Shadows by Rampo Edogawa
In magazine serial form, The Black Lizard (Kurotokage) first appeared between January and December of 1934 in twelve monthly chapters. It stars Akechi Kogor, the protagonist of Rampo’s detective series, who is a hybrid of Poe’s Auguste Dupin and the gentlemen explorers of British golden age detective fiction. A brilliant criminal and femme fatale, The Black Lizard is revered by readers of all generations for her fraught connection with investigator Akechi and her overt sadism. A 1968 feature film with a cameo by Mishima Yukio and a theme song with lyrics by the renowned novelist was the most notable adaptation of the narrative for film and television.
Mishima also contributed to the stage adaption Miwa Akihiro created and produced that same year, in which Miwa portrayed the Black Lizard himself. The story continues to be associated with sexual transgression and the fuzziness of lines separating men and women, hunters and prey, and detectives and criminals in great part because of this masterpiece of Japanese theatre from the 1960s.
The Black Lizard and Beast in the Shadows by Rampo Edogawa
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Beast in the Shadows (Inju), a story from the height of Rampo’s grotesque phase that ran in serial form between August and October 1928, is heavily influenced by themes of deviance and sadomasochism. The polite detective stories previously common in English literature stand in stark contrast to this tale of hidden identities, violent sexuality, and dark crimes. It can be compared to the most opulent portions of cinema noir as well as the American pulp fiction serial, the genre that gave rise to the classic modern American crime book. But Beast in the Shadows, which has its roots in the illustrated books and mass market shockers of the Edo period, harkens back to traditional themes in Japanese popular fiction (1600-1868).
Rampo made a unique contribution by fusing this trend in Japanese literature with European influences, such as those of Oscar Wilde and Maurice Maeterlinck as well as Rampo’s own contemporaries in American pulp fiction and English novels.
The Japanese storylines resembled their American counterparts in many aspects, fast-paced, action-packed, and full of twists and turns. The sexuality present in Rampo’s writings is one glaring distinction. The Black Lizard features, at the very least, overtones of exhibitionism and voyeurism, dominance and submission, while the fundamental theme of The Beast in the Shadows is sadomasochism. […] Kurodahan Press has produced a magnificent book with two excellent pulp stories, a fantastic cover illustration, and an educational preface.
