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Rashomon Gate is an excellent book set in 11th century Kyo (now Kyoto) Japan. Sugawara Akitada is a minor government functionary. His old friend and professor from the Imperial University, Hirata, asks for Akitada's help. Due to a mixup with robes, Hirata has found that one of his colleagues is being blackmailed. He asks Akitada to find out who is blackmailer and blackmailed so that the issue can be handled with the least damage to the university, already under stress from insufficient funds and competition from private schools. Akitada takes leave from his government job and becomes, temporarily, assistant professor of law at the university. One of his students is ten-year-old Lord Minamoto, whose grandfather seems to have recently ascended to Nirvana. The emperor himself declared it a miracle. Akitada, however, believes it to have been a clever murder and fears Minamoto is in danger. Minamoto asks for his help. Akitada and his servant Tora find the body of a young woman while walking through Divine Spring Garden. Akitada recognizes her as a lutist he saw taking lessons from Sato, another professor at the university. The student who was besotted with her and is accused of her death begs Akitada to find who killed her. To complicate matters further, the professor of Chinese classics, Oe, is murdered. It may or may not be related to the blackmail issue. Akitada undertakes to solve all of these mysteries and has a sometimes friendly, sometimes adversarial relationship with the local law enforcement. At the same time he is dealing with hurt and bewilderment at his rejection by Tamako, Professor Hirata's daughter. I. J. Parker has written a complicated story which has the added difficulty of explaining a vastly different time and culture. The author handles the challenge marvelously. The characters are richly drawn, flaws and all. The culture is explained within the context of the story, never interfering with the tale. The book includes a map of Kyo and several drawings. They are not great art, but help to visualize the setting and the characters. Recommended, with the hope that more in the series will be available soon.
Reviewed by Mary A. Axford, August 2002
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