Celebrating Asian-American Heritage Month: Laura Joh Rowland, Chinese-Korean-American mystery author

I have read every book in Laura Joh Rowland's excellent Sano Ichiro, a samurai-detective set in feudal Japan, in the late 1690s to the early 1700s.  I enjoyed them very much and was not happy when she ended the series.  Oh, well.

She is the daughter of Chinese-American and Korean-American immigrants and grew up in Michigan. Her first novel of the Ichiro series Shinju was published in 1994.

Book review - The Red Chrysanthemum by Laura Joh Rowland

I read this book a few years ago, but decided to read it again for some inspiration.  Of all of Rowland’s books, this one seems to be the most twisted of plots.

Her hero, Sano Ichiro, has reached the pinnacle of his career.  He is now Chamberlain, second only to the shogun.  Despite his lofty position, Rowland still has Sano as Japan’s favorite whipping boy.  Everybody is against him.  The only people on his side are the ones in his pay.  He has no friends or allies.  None. Zilch. Nada.  This situation is made even more obvious and more dangerous when Sano’s wife, Lady Reiko, is found one morning naked, next to the mutilated body of Lord Mori, covered in his blood.

Any supporters he might have had abandon him like rats off of a burning ship.  And it seems everyone has it in for Lady Reiko.  Lady Mori, Police Commissioner Hoshina and even the shogun is ready to send her to the execution grounds.  Lord Mori’s enemies also hamper Sano’s investigation.

It isn’t long before the scandal splashes over onto Sano.  Nobody seems to doubt Hoshina’s transparent and lame attempts to have Sano disgraced. 

Only Sano believes his wife’s innocence.  Not even Reiko is sure of herself.  Her memory of the night is faulty.  Nevertheless, she decides to investigate the murder she is accused.

While all of this is going on, Hirata, Sano’s chief retainer, is studying the mystic arts.  Although his success has been less than encouraging, his powers manifest themselves gloriously during the exciting climax.  I’m not sure how to take Hirata’s abilities because they seem to shift the story from historical fiction to science fiction.  Everything that transpires up to the final battle seems plausible but when Hirata exhibits super-human abilities, the reader has to reconsider what is based on fact and what is truly fiction.

As the series continues, Hirata’s powers become even more bizarre.

Just a heads-up.

Still, it was well-worth a second read!

Review of Shinju by Laura Joh Rowland

I’ve read two of Laura Joh Rowland’s novels featuring samurai/investigator Sano Ichiro in late seventeenth century Japan, enjoying them both, so I figured it’s time to start the series from the beginning.


Her first novel, Shinju, opens with the bodies of a young, wealthy girl and a lowly artist, twice her age, bound together and floating in the river. It’s assumed they committed a ritual suicide, shinju, what lovers do when they are forbidden by family and culture to marry. The couple feels they will be together forever in the Buddhist afterlife.

Sano is a newly appointed yoriki, a sort of policeman for the village outside of Edo Castle, but he has received the post through an intervention by his patron, and not through the usual channels like family tradition. Therefore, he is ostracized and oppressed by his fellow yoriki. Being the low man on the totem pole, he is given the job of ‘solving’ the double suicide quietly and quickly by his superior, Magistrate Ogyu.

Sano isn’t satisfied the couple killed themselves so against his master’s direct orders, he begins to investigate the deaths. Almost immediately, he finds proof the crime was murder. His own sense of honor and finding the truth spurs him on disobeying repeated orders and threats from the magistrate.

Anyone else probably would’ve given up after the number of setbacks Sano encounters. For much of the book, he runs up against brick walls in his inquiry and receives more threats and risks dishonor. The story bogs down while Sano repeatedly finds himself at a dead end. Even after he’s dismissed in disgrace Sano continues his investigation, only then does he make progress. He discovers a plot to assassinate the shogun.

Rowland’s descriptions of seventeenth century Japan are incredibly detailed. The architecture and lay-out of Edo castle, the jail, the houses of the wealthy and pour, and the township are described down to the color of the walls and the smalls. She depicts aspects of the Japanese culture, clothing, hairstyles, society and holiday traditions with meticulous details. One could probably become an expert on Japan in the sixteen-eighties just by reading a few of her books.

Her eye for detail becomes a plus when she pens sword fights. Then the action rises to a fever-pitch and the reader turns the pages as fast as Sano blocks, parries and thrusts, defending himself from his sword –wielding opponents. The action is perfect.

At 437 pages, Shinju is much longer than most medieval mysteries, but the length doesn’t diminish the enjoyability. The story flies by.

The Concubine's Tattoo by Laura Joh Rowland

The first novel I read by Laura Joh Rowland was The Pillow Book of Lady Wisteria and I was immediately struck by the author’s ability to make medieval Japan come to life. The Concubine’s Tattoo is earlier in the series featuring Sano Ichiro (but not the beginning) and every bit as vivid and brilliant.

Even though I enjoy reading a number of authors who set their mysteries in medieval or ancient Europe, I find the Asian setting of Rowland’s novels refreshing. It’s a glimpse into another culture which sets her works apart. European courts were full of conspiracies, schemes and intrigue but that all pales in comparison to the environment at the shogun’s palace in Edo in 1690.

The Concubine’s Tattoo opens with the death of one of the shogun’s many concubines Harume. Fearing she died of disease, the shogun calls in his honorable investigator Sano Ichiro to determine if the palace is at risk from contagion. Sano, whose wedding festivities were interrupted and postponed by Harume’s death throes and the ensuing panic, quickly ascertains that the concubine was poisoned. It’s well-known but not discussed openly that the shogun’s tastes run toward men rather than women. It comes as no surprise to Sano that Harume, a woman of youth and unparalleled beauty, had a lover, someone for whom she tattooed herself. He is shocked to learn that she was pregnant when she met her demise.

Sano finds that Harume may have had a number of admirers and wannabe suitors and not all of them were men. Who was jealous enough to murder her and the possible future shogun of Japan?

Confounding his efforts is his sworn enemy Chamberlain Yanagisawa, who is certain that Sano will not replace him as the shogun’s favorite. Also frustrating him is his new wife Reiko, fiercely independent and headstrong. For much of the book, they butt heads as she tries to convince him to let her help with his investigation. She is eager to prove that she is a good detective and worthy to aid him. Sano is horrified since he was expecting an obedient unassuming traditional Japanese wife.

Rowland depicts late seventeenth century life in Japan’s court with stark realism and transports the reader there. Her biggest strengths are the characters she develops. She’s almost feminist in The Concubine’s Tattoo since all the women are strong, independent and intelligent. Some of the men, those with a lot of power mainly, are rather hen-pecked. Even Sano must bow to the whims of his bride Reiko.

Another aspect of Rowland’s novel that sets her apart is the amount of eroticism. She unabashedly writes lively scenes of men and women coupling as well as same-sex partners. But she uses them to advance the plot as opposed to just spicing up the action.

Since her main character is a samurai, there is no shortage of exciting fight scenes. Here Rowland spices up the action with sword play and other Japanese weapons.

I found The Concubine’s Tattoo a very exciting and satisfying read. It gives us a rare insight into a world where few mystery writers take us.