Mabi, Kurashiki City, was where Seishi Yokomizo, the author famous for the Kindaichi Kosuke series, evacuated during and after the war.
Seishi Yokomizo, who became one of Japan’s leading authors, recalled that the days he spent in Mabi were “the happiest of his life.”
Places associated with Kindaichi and Yokomizo have been connected into a walking route called the “Meguri: Kindaichi Kosuke Trail.”
In addition, every November, a Kindaichi Kosuke cosplay event is held in Mabi, and has become a seasonal feature of autumn.
This article introduces locations featured in Yokomizo’s works while tracing the author’s footsteps.
With details that evoke the world of his stories throughout, this walking route is highly recommended for fans of Yokomizo’s works.
You can walk the entire route in half a day, so why not explore it imagining yourself as Kindaichi Kosuke?
The information presented was current when this article was published in March 2020. Please note that it may differ from current information.
Kiyone Station, where Kindaichi Kosuke first appeared
The “Meguri: Kindaichi Kosuke Trail” begins at Kiyone Station, served by the JR Hakubi Line and the Ibara Line.
Kiyone Station is where Kindaichi Kosuke, the great detective who represents Japanese mystery fiction, made his first appearance. In the story, the station is written with one character obscured as “Kiyo— Station.”
His first appearance was in The Honjin Murders, Seishi Yokomizo’s first full-length novel after the war.
The passage introducing Kindaichi Kosuke is a little long, but let’s take a look.
A young man got off at Kiyo— Station on the Hakubi Line and came walking leisurely toward Kawa— Village. He looked about twenty-five or twenty-six, of average build and height—or perhaps a little on the short side. He wore a matching haori and kimono in a kasuri pattern, along with narrow-striped hakama, but both the haori and kimono were covered in wrinkles, the hakama were so slack that their pleats could hardly be made out, his navy tabi socks looked ready to split at the toes, his geta were worn down, and his hat had lost its shape… In short, for a young man of his age, he was an astonishingly unkempt figure.
Quoted from: The Honjin Murders
Kindaichi arrived in Kiyone from Kurashiki on the JR Hakubi Line.
Yokomizo evacuated to Mabi because Tokyo had been bombed and his relatives had urged him to leave the city.
After staying for a time in Soja City, the Yokomizo family moved to Sakura, Aza Okada.
I evacuated with my wife and three children to the very heart of the farming village of Sakura, Aza Okada, Kibi District, Okayama Prefecture.
The war had already ended, but the villagers were very kind, and we were comfortable there. In the end, until I had to leave because my son entered university, I was in their care for nearly four years—three years and three months in all.
Quoted from: Kindaichi Kosuke’s Monologue
The period Yokomizo recalled as the happiest time of his life was when he was evacuated to Mabi.
The circumstances that led to Seishi Yokomizo’s evacuation and his life in Mabi are described in his essay collection, Kindaichi Kosuke’s Monologue.
Route of the “Meguri: Kindaichi Kosuke Trail”
Now, let’s follow the “Meguri: Kindaichi Kosuke Trail” in order, starting from Kiyone Station.
As soon as you exit Kiyone Station’s west exit, you’ll find a Kindaichi Kosuke face-in-hole panel—perfect for a commemorative photo.
The Meguri: Kindaichi Kosuke Trail is about 7 kilometers long.
Exit through Kiyone Station’s west exit and continue straight along the road.
Take the side road on the left side of the bridge to reach the area where the story is set.
At the end of the road, you’ll come to Kawabe Bridge.
Cross at the traffic light and continue along the pedestrian lane.
Cross the bridge and head left, passing the “Historic Sanyo Road Milestone” site.
During the Edo period, the Sanyo Road ran through Mabi.
As a result, there was a honjin where feudal lords stayed, and stone monuments marking the “Kawabe Honjin” and “Kawabe Wakihonjin Site” still stand today.
After a while, you’ll see Ushitoro Onzaki Shrine; turn right here.
Go through the torii gate and follow the side road to an underpass. Here, you’ll pass beneath National Route 486.
Once you emerge from the underpass, you’ll finally be on the “Meguri: Kindaichi Kosuke Trail.”
There’s a 7-Eleven just ahead, so you can stock up on drinks and other supplies.
Former Okada Village Office Site to the Seishi Yokomizo Walking Path
Walk straight for about 10 minutes from 7-Eleven and you’ll reach Okada District Park.
During the Edo period, Mabi was governed by the Okada Domain, and the domain’s district office was located here. (Part of the Yata district was territory of the Okayama Domain.)
The village office was also located at Okada District Park, and it appears in The Honjin Murders.
The area around Okada District Park is where Yokomizo took walks and developed ideas for his works.
The site of the village office is now a park with benches where you can take a break.
There’s also a restroom, so get ready before continuing on.
There’s a walking map of the “Meguri: Kindaichi Kosuke Trail” in this park, so you can check the route.
Continue for a while, and when you get near Yokomizo Seishi's Wartime Residence, you’ll find the “Koicha Shrine.”
Based on the legend associated with this shrine, Yokomizo created the Dark Tea Nun who appears in The Village of Eight Gravestones.
The walk to the Dark Tea Shrine takes you through peaceful rural scenery, which has probably changed little since the time Yokomizo lived here during the war.
Little by little, you’ll start to feel as though you’re walking through the world of his stories.
Yokomizo Seishi's Wartime Residence
Pass the Dark Tea Shrine and continue straight ahead to reach Yokomizo Seishi's Wartime Residence.
This is the house where Yokomizo actually lived during his wartime evacuation, and it has been preserved just as it was.
Yokomizo befriended local residents, borrowed a field, and listened to local legends as he developed ideas for detective stories.
Since villagers had to pass in front of Yokomizo’s house to get to their fields, they would sometimes stop there to rest between tasks.
Admission to Yokomizo Seishi's Wartime Residence is free.
It is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and is closed on Mondays, Thursdays, Fridays, and during the New Year holidays.
If you’re going for a walk, be sure to check the closing days before setting out.
This is the very house where he came up with ideas for his best-known works, including The Honjin Murders, Gokumon Island, and The Village of Eight Gravestones.
The entrance opens onto an earthen-floored area, where you can see materials such as a chronology of Yokomizo’s life and enjoy the world of his works even more.
Facing the gate is a waist-high shoji screen, beyond which is a fairly large earthen-floored area. On the left side of the earthen floor is a six-tatami-mat room, and farther to the left is a four-and-a-half-tatami-mat room, which served as my study and bedroom.
Quote: Kindaichi Kosuke's Monologue
Reading Yokomizo’s writing about the wartime residence makes it clear that the house remains as it was back then.
When the writer visited the residence, the staff also gave an enthusiastic explanation.
You can see how much the community cherishes this place and its connection to the settings of Yokomizo’s works as a source of local pride.
When the writer visited, the Doll Festival was approaching, so hina dolls were on display.
Usually, you can see the house as it was when Yokomizo stayed here.
During the war, detective fiction was banned by order of the military.
With the end of the war in sight, Yokomizo read books he had brought from Tokyo and worked out ideas for plots.
Paper was also in short supply, so he gathered discarded manuscript paper from the belongings sent from Tokyo, pieced it together, and wrote his stories on the blank sections.
He also began discussing various detective-story tricks with friends at this place.
These discussions eventually led to the tricks used in The Honjin Murders and The Butterfly Murders.
After the war, Edogawa Ranpo, a master of Japanese detective fiction, also visited this area to meet Yokomizo.
There’s a face-in-the-hole panel of Kindaichi in the garden.
There’s also a statue of Yokomizo Seishi, so be sure to see it.
Incidentally, near Yokomizo Seishi's Wartime Residence is Senkoji Temple, which served as the model for the temple in Gokumon Island.
Kurashiki City Mabi Furusato History Museum
Now, let’s continue along the route.
About a 10-minute walk from the wartime residence brings you to a pond called Okada Oike.
Here is a statue of Orin, a character in The Devil's Ballad.
Beyond Okada Oike is the Kurashiki City Mabi Furusato History Museum.
The Kurashiki City Mabi Furusato History Museum opened in 1994 as a hub for sharing the culture of Mabi.
There is a free parking lot in front of the facility, as well as restrooms shared with Oike Furusato Park.
Please change into slippers at the entrance when entering.
Inside, there is a space where you can learn about Yokomizo’s works and Mabi, including paperback editions of his books, as well as an exhibition room about the history of Mabi.
Here, you can read Yokomizo’s works, including the paperback editions.
According to a staff member, photography is allowed both in the rest area, where photos and materials are on display, and in the exhibition room, where old documents and exhibits about Seishi Yokomizo are displayed.
In the exhibition room, you can see old documents related to the Okada Domain, which governed Mabi during the Edo period, as well as other valuable exhibits.
For Yokomizo fans, the Seishi Yokomizo Corner—featuring items from his life—is a must-see.
A table that Yokomizo used in his study at home in Tokyo was donated and is on display.
According to a staff member, it is not the table Yokomizo actually used in Mabi, but it should give you a sense of the atmosphere in which he wrote.
Also on display are the screenplay for the film adaptation of The Honjin Murders and the magazine in which the work was first published.
Outside the museum is a statue of Kindaichi Kosuke.
Incidentally, among the actors who played Kindaichi Kosuke, Yokomizo is said to have been fond of Ikko Furuya.
Following the route from the museum, you’ll come to a rest area where you can take a break.
At this rest area, you’ll find a statue of Priest Ryozen, a character in Gokumon-to.
Walk straight downhill from the rest area, then pass by the Sanyo Marunaka supermarket to reach Kawabejuku Station on the Ibara Line, the end of the course.
Kawabejuku Station, the end of the course
The Meguri: Kindaichi Kosuke Trail ends at Kawabejuku Station on the Ibara Line.
Under the elevated tracks at Kawabejuku Station, you’ll find artworks themed around the world of the Kindaichi series.
Be sure to take a look at the information board on the platform, too.
To get from Kawabejuku Station toward Kurashiki, take the Ibara Line to Kiyone Station, then transfer to the JR Hakubi Line.
From the Writer
I completed the entire Meguri: Kindaichi Kosuke Trail in under three hours. That was a leisurely walk, with time to take notes and photos and talk with people along the way.
There are places to stop and rest along the route, so it’s also fun to bring a packed lunch and take your time.
The route is easy to walk, with no steep slopes, and you can enjoy it while immersing yourself in the world of Yokomizo’s works.
After walking the route, I felt that local people still cherish Yokomizo and want to pass on his legacy as a source of pride for the community.
In his later years, Yokomizo apparently often talked about Okada Village over evening drinks, sometimes speaking with tears in his eyes.
Mabi had become the birthplace of the great detective Kindaichi Kosuke and a cherished place that could be called Yokomizo’s spiritual home.
Be sure to explore the birthplace of one of Japan’s most celebrated detectives.
▼You can enjoy it even more by joining the annual cosplay event.
Meguri: Kindaichi Kosuke Trail details
| Name | Meguri: Kindaichi Kosuke Trail |
|---|---|
| Dates | Anytime |
| Location | Mabi, Kurashiki City |
| Admission (tax included) | Free |
| Website | Kindaichi Kosuke Trail |
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