Welcome to Poem of the Day – Murder Case by Sakutaro Hagiwara.
Sakutaro Hagiwara is often regarded as one of the most significant figures in Japanese modernist poetry, known for his exploration of themes such as death, isolation, and the existential dilemmas of the human experience. His poem “Murder Case” provides a striking example of his ability to blend dark imagery, surrealism, and psychological tension, offering a complex portrait of crime, investigation, and human nature. The poem is brief, yet packed with layers of meaning and symbolism that demand a close reading.
Murder Case Poem
A gun goes off in the distance.
And again.
Ah, the Inspector dons his glass outfit,
And he enters through the mistress’ window.
Crystal quartz floors,
Deathly pale blood runs
Between fingers.
On the tragic girl’s corpse,
A cold-hearted grasshopper cricks.
Morning at the beginning of the Frost-Moon of November,
The Inspector dons his glass outfit,
And makes a crossroad turn,
Where the autumn fountain stood.
Left alone, the inspector’s turns an aggrieved one soon.
Look. On the empty marble path out there,
The intruder takes to his heels, gliding away.
Murder Case Poem Explanation
The poem begins with the stark, violent image of a gunshot: “A gun goes off in the distance. / And again.” This repetition of the sound of the gunshot, echoing through the space, immediately creates a sense of unease and disorientation. The gunshot is not just a physical act of violence; it becomes an auditory representation of chaos, signaling an event that has already occurred and is now reverberating in the world. The echoing sound suggests that the murder is part of a larger, perhaps unresolved, cycle of violence. The use of the word “again” implies that this is not an isolated incident, but rather part of a pattern—perhaps of crime, suffering, or an inescapable fate.
The choice of the gunshot also carries symbolic weight. In many literary traditions, the gunshot is an instrument of finality, a clear and abrupt end. It may symbolize the severance of life, the finality of death, or the violence inherent in human nature. Hagiwara’s decision to begin with such an image immediately places the reader in a world that is not only violent but also inescapably tragic.
The Inspector and His “Glass Outfit”
The poem then shifts to the figure of the Inspector, a classic archetype in detective fiction, entering the scene with an almost surreal description: “The Inspector dons his glass outfit.” This image of the Inspector dressed in glass is jarring and intriguing. On the surface, it suggests a transparency—glass is a material that allows one to see through it, offering clarity and a sense of objectivity. However, glass can also be fragile and fragile things can shatter. The Inspector’s glass attire may symbolize a distorted view of reality, a vulnerability in the search for truth, or the inability to truly penetrate the complexities of the crime or the human psyche.
The choice of the word “outfit” is also notable. It implies a certain artificiality or constructed nature. The Inspector is not just a man, but a role or performance. His identity is not one of inherent meaning but rather of social and psychological design. This suggests that the search for truth, represented by the Inspector, may be a constructed, even illusory process. What is truth when the one searching for it is clothed in something as fragile and artificial as glass?
The Mistress’s Window
The next line in the poem, “And he enters through the mistress’ window,” is highly suggestive. The “mistress” is traditionally a figure linked with secrets, adultery, or illicit affairs, and her window becomes a symbol of both intrusion and revelation. The window is a threshold between two worlds: the private, inner sanctum of the mistress’s life, and the external world of law and order, represented by the Inspector. The window is also a metaphor for the limits of perception and knowledge. Just as one can only see through a window in a limited way, the Inspector’s ability to understand the full nature of the crime is constrained by his perspective.
Moreover, the window evokes the idea of voyeurism—the Inspector is an outsider peering into the private world of the mistress, potentially seeking not just the facts of the murder but the emotional and psychological truths that underpin the act. The fact that the Inspector enters through the window, rather than a door, suggests that his investigation is neither straightforward nor conventional. He is entering through a means that is indirect, perhaps bypassing traditional forms of authority, and as such, his findings may be distorted or incomplete.
The Tone and Structure of the Poem
The tone of the poem is cold, detached, and almost mechanical, which aligns with the themes of alienation and emotional numbness that pervade much of Hagiwara’s work. There is a dissonance between the violent, chaotic imagery of the gunshot and the seemingly clinical description of the Inspector’s actions. This tension between the visceral and the cerebral—between the act of murder and the dispassionate investigation—creates a sense of unease and emotional detachment, which is a hallmark of modernist poetry.
The structure of the poem itself, with its brief lines and stark images, mirrors the fragmentation and disconnection that the speaker perceives in the world. The events unfold almost like a tableau, disconnected and incomplete, leaving the reader with a lingering sense of mystery and ambiguity. The lack of a traditional narrative or resolution is itself a commentary on the futility of the search for meaning or understanding in a world where violence and mystery seem to reign.
Conclusion
In “Murder Case,” Hagiwara deftly explores the themes of violence, investigation, and human alienation, all while playing with the boundaries between perception and reality. Through the recurring gunshot, the Inspector in his glass attire, and the mistress’s window, Hagiwara creates a surreal, fragmented vision of a crime that cannot easily be understood or resolved. The poem speaks to the futility of seeking clear answers in a world filled with complexity, secrecy, and psychological distance. In this way, “Murder Case” becomes not just a meditation on crime, but on the nature of truth, the limits of knowledge, and the inherent violence in human existence.