The Ghost in the Tokaido Inn 3rd semester Book Report By: Brady Anderson

Problem  One night, a rare gem was stolen from Lord Hakuseki, a famous samurai at the Tokaido Inn. That night, a boy named Seikei saw the thief almost enter his room with the jewel in his hand. Seikei is now with the famous Judge Ooka to help solve this mystery.

Setting The setting of the story is few areas over Japan of the 1920s. These areas includes famous cities and on the road details. It also includes several Inn’s, various play theaters, and a temple for a Japanese goddess.

Protagonists, Part 1  Seikei is a young 14 year old that is called to the call of duty to help find the thief that stole a very rare gem. Seikei has dreamt of being a samurai and is not allowed to because of his heritage, a merchant.

Protagonist, Part 2  Judge Ooka is very mysterious man that has solved many mysteries in his life as a judge. Knowing nothing of the thief, he realized he can’t do this alone and turns to Seikei for help.

Antagonist  Tomomi is a mysterious late 20s man that holds a secret past. As a child Tomomi or Genji lived as a young samurai as Kirishtans, which where not allowed to live back then, his family killed by Lord Hakuseki, he pledged to get his revenge on him, and succeeded.

One main Event  A main event was when Seikei was at Tomomi’s final play. The play is in front of the shogun and Lord Hakuseki. Tomomi’s plan was for Lord Hakuseki to draw his sword in front of the shogun, which was illegal, so they would both die. His plan worked. The gem was found on one of the props and both samurai died.

Resolution  The booked ended with Seikei having a meeting with Judge Ooka and the shogun. During the meeting, Judge Ooka says that he would like to adopt Seikei, since he has no son to help him in his detective duties. Seikei is glad to except and joins the judge as a samurai.