The Master Key (大いなる幻影, Ōinaru gen'ei) is a 1962 novel by the Japanese novelist Masako Togawa which received the Edogawa Rampo Prize upon publication.[1] The English translation by Simon Grove was first published by Dodd, Mead & Co in 1985.[2]

It is a mystery story set in the 1950's postwar Ikebukuro, Japan with the setting of K Apartment for Ladies, reserved only for women. Many of the aging residents have their own secrets bound to the master key, which opens all of the 150 rooms in the K Apartment.[3] All the secrets start to unravel when the building is slated for construction work to be moved four meters with the residents inside.

Characters

Major Characters:

  • Katsuko Tojo/Haru Santo - older receptionist with a limp/white haired mysterious resident.
  • Kaneko Tamura - younger receptionist.
  • Chikako Ueda - previous school teacher who waits for her dead husband.
  • Toyoto Munekata - professor guarding her dead husband's manuscripts.
  • Noriko Ishiyama - eccentric woman known to other residents as Ms. Bladderwrack who forages for fishbones at night.
  • Suwa Yatabe - violinist who previously stole a Guarnerius violin from her teacher.
  • Yoneko Kimura - retired school teacher who writes letters to her previous students.

Minor Characters:

  • Yasuyo Aoki - mysterious guest of Chikako Ueda.
  • Keiko Kawauchi (Mrs. Kraft) - divorced from Major Kraft after disappearance of their son.
  • Major D. Kraft - U.S. Army major who returned to the U.S. after divorce from Keiko Kawauchi.
  • George Kraft - son of Major Kraft, reported kidnapped and missing.
  • Priest - leader of the Three Spirit Faith cult, performs seemingly miraculous revelations.
  • Thumbelina the Vestal - small statured woman who is the medium of the séance.

Translation

  • Togawa, Masako. The Master Key. Translated by Grove, Simon. Dodd, Mead & Co. ISBN 9781782273639

References

  1. The Master Key by Masako Togawa - Ebook | Scribd.
  2. Austlit. "Ōinaru gen'ei | AustLit: Discover Australian Stories". www.austlit.edu.au. Retrieved 2022-02-12.
  3. Noble, Barnes &. "The Master Key|Paperback". Barnes & Noble. Retrieved 2022-02-16.
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