The Ghost In The Tokaido Inn

The Ghost in the Tokaido Inn (1999), by Dorothy and Thomas Hoobler, is the first novel in the Samurai Detective young adult series, currently comprised of seven books. The novel follows Seikei, the son of a merchant who aspires to be a samurai, as he helps the judge investigate the theft of a ruby from a samurai lord. It explores the themes of Personal Ambition Versus Societal Expectations, The Deceptiveness of Appearances, and The Importance of Honor in Japanese culture. The novel was an Edgar Allan Poe Award finalist for Best Young-Adult Mystery and was also named an ALA Best Book for Young Adults.

This guide uses the 2005 Puffin Books paperback edition.

Content Warning: This guide describes and discusses the source text’s depiction of ritual death by suicide, called seppuku, which was significant to Japanese samurai culture from the 12th century until its prohibition in 1873.

Plot Summary

It is 1735, a peaceful era for Japan and the age of the samurai—hereditary warriors with high social status. The Tokaido Road stretches from the emperor’s home in Kyoto to the shogun’s home in Edo, and everyone from pilgrims to samurai use it. Seikei travels with his father to learn about the family tea business, though he’d rather be a samurai. His dream is impossible because his is not a samurai family. When they reach a checkpoint near Kameyama, Seikei observes an interaction between a powerful daimyo, or samurai lord, and a beggar. When the daimyo nearly tramples the beggar with his horse, the beggar backflips out of his path and scowls at the man in hatred. The beggar has a unique scar across his cheek.

The daimyo, Lord Hakuseki, stays at the same inn as Seikei and his father. When Seikei meets the daimyo, he sees that Hakuseki has little talent for writing and behaves dishonorably, though he is a samurai. Seikei observes the daimyo’s interaction with a merchant girl, Michiko, during which the daimyo reveals a large ruby he intends to give the shogun. That night, Seikei cannot sleep, so he goes outside. When Michiko joins him, she tells him a scary story about a jikininki, a monster who eats the flesh of the dead. The story keeps Seikei up, and, later that night, he witnesses a monster silently enter his room while holding a gleaming red object. Fearing a jikininki, he tells it that he is still alive, and the creature retreats. Seikei follows it so he can alert the other sleepers, but his voice fails him, and he can only stomp his feet. He watches the monster sink into the floor. The next morning, Hakuseki reports his ruby is missing and Judge Ooka is called to investigate.

When the ruby is found in Michiko’s room, Seikei confesses what he saw to protect her. His conscience will not allow him to keep silent when Hakuseki wants her tortured. The judge invites Seikei to assist with the investigation, leading to the discovery of a tunnel beneath the inn. Though afraid, Seikei follows the tunnel to an open courtyard, where the actors from a kabuki troupe slept the night before. The judge commends Seikei’s bravery before smashing the glass imitation jewel found in Michiko’s room. Ooka detains the innkeeper for questioning, and the man commits death by seppuku—ritual death by suicide—revealing that he is likely protecting someone. Ooka instructs his man to teach Seikei to ride a horse, and he gives Seikei a wooden sword.

Seikei and Ooka travel toward Ise, a town with a shrine to the sun goddess, Amaterasu. They learn the actors passed this way. When they arrive, Ooka tells Seikei to rest because they will go to the kabuki tonight, even though samurai—like Ooka—are forbidden. They see a play called The Forty-Seven Ronin, in which 47 samurai are brought to disgrace when their daimyo is dishonorably killed; they then bide their time for one year, behaving shamefully to avoid suspicion, and kill the daimyo responsible. They commit death by seppuku to avoid execution, which is the punishment for murdering a daimyo, thereby retaining their honor. Though Seikei wishes the play could end differently, the audience applauds the characters’ sense of honor. Afterward, Seikei wishes to pursue the actors, but Ooka is tired and tells Seikei to go alone.

Seikei meets Kazuo, a boy who works in the kabuki. Kazuo tells him that the actor who played the main character likes to go out in costume after shows. They pursue the actor, who calls himself Tomomi, to the pleasure quarter. They find him drunk, and Tomomi becomes angry when he learns that Seikei works for Ooka. He challenges Seikei, calling himself “Genji,” the son of the daimyo Takezaki Kita. Tomomi cries, smearing his makeup and revealing his scar. He says he is committed to avenging his honor, and Seikei sees the man’s crucifix, realizing Tomomi is a Kirishitan, though the religion is outlawed. Tomomi wins Seikei’s sword from him, promising to return it if Seikei helps him.

The next morning, Seikei awakens in a courtyard with the actors. Later, he sees Tomomi drop a red jewel into an offering bowl at the shrine, and Tomomi asks him to tell Judge Ooka what he saw, returning Seikei’s sword. When Seikei returns to Ooka’s lodgings, however, the judge is gone but has left him a note: It says to follow the “correct path.” Irritated, Seikei reminds himself that a samurai must respect his lord always, so he sets out for Edo, continuing to walk even after his feet become raw and bloody. He sees a komuso, a wandering holy man with a basket on his head, playing the flute. Seikei catches up with the actors, and Kazuo invites him to travel with them. Tomomi promises the actors a new play for the bon festival in Edo. Seikei asks Kazuo what Tomomi did on the night they stayed in Kameyama, and Kazuo says Tomomi wore his costume out and returned it, covered in mud, the next morning.

When the group reaches Edo, Kazuo and Seikei spread news of the troupe’s performance. A komuso snatches Seikei and takes him to Ooka, who reveals that the komuso is his man, who has been watching Seikei. Seikei updates Ooka, and Ooka reveals that the Takezakis were Kirishitans, executed for their religion. Seikei says he saw Tomomi offer the ruby to Amaterasu, and Ooka tells Seikei not to tell Tomomi that Ooka knows. He instructs Seikei to continue to follow Tomomi and commends him for his resourcefulness.

At the performance, Seikei knows it is Tomomi dressed as a woman, but the illusion is uncanny. As he watches the play, Seikei wonders why someone would give up life as a samurai to become an actor. The play’s lovers, forbidden to be together, die by suicide to avoid disgracing their families. Seikei goes to Tomomi’s dressing area during the performance and finds a real Kirishitan sword there. Still dressed as a geisha, Tomomi finds Seikei with the sword and addresses him as though he were Genji’s own mother, telling Seikei that “she” is the reason Tomomi had to give up his name. After the performance, Tomomi tells Seikei he will teach him to use a sword if Seikei acts in his new show. Seikei will utter the most important line—a vow to disgrace his opponent—after receiving a blow to the cheek.

Tomomi teaches Seikei to fight, often encouraging him to practice his line, until Seikei bests Tomomi and disarms him. When they reach Edo, Seikei follows Tomomi, disguised as a geisha, to Hakuseki’s home. Tomomi calls this a special night, when spirits return to see if they are honored, and Tomomi vows to keep his promise to his parents. He says the troupe will perform his new play for the shogun at Hakuseki’s residence. Seikei realizes the play presents the story of Tomomi’s own family. Tomomi will play his mother, Nanaho, and Seikei will play the young Genji. The play mocks Lord Hakuseki, portrayed by the character Lord Shakuheki, and shows how Nanaho rejected Shakuheki, choosing to marry a Kirishitan. When her husband is slain by Shakuheki’s men, she saves Genji and gives him the beautiful Kirishitan sword before committing death by seppuku. She wears a golden crucifix adorned with a large ruby. Seikei resolves to follow “the path” to the end, even though it could endanger him.

Seikei realizes how well-planned Tomomi’s revenge is. Hakuseki cannot draw his sword in the shogun’s presence, so he must endure the play. In the final scene, Tomomi, dressed as Nanaho’s ghost, insults the sleeping Shakuheki; enraged, Hakuseki finally draws his sword. Tomomi stabs Hakuseki repeatedly, and Seikei realizes Tomomi will not kill Hakuseki because such a death is honorable. Tomomi’s actions compel the shogun to order his execution, and Tomomi submits peacefully, dying with a smile. Ooka closes Tomomi’s eyes.

Seikei is invited to a tea ceremony with Ooka and the shogun the next day. The judge reveals how he solved the mystery and why he allowed Tomomi to walk his own path. He also claims that Seikei exhibits the heart of a true samurai. The shogun reveals that Hakuseki was so dishonorable that he could not commit death by seppuku. Finally, Ooka asks the shogun to allow him to adopt Seikei so that Seikei can become a samurai, and the shogun agrees.