Hello, everyone. Today I will begin publishing my translation of the twelfth volume of Asakihara Shinobu's こちら秘封探偵事務所 or 'This is the Hifuu Detective Agency.' As always the original Japanese version of this story is available on the author's website, where it is presented with illustrations, though I will warn anyone going there that for this particular case the illustrations contain spoilers for some of this volume's mysteries.
This volume is the story of Touhou Shinkirou ~ Hopeless Masquerade which is not only one of the longest stories to date in this collection, but also one that is critically important to the overarching plot of the whole series. After this volume there are only two more to go in the whole series, and the meta-plot elements are now beginning to fall into place for the climax. As a result, from here on out the series expects that you've read every volume and will drop any pretext of trying to avoid spoilers. If you care about preserving the mystery of any of the previous entries you might have skipped, consider yourself warned.
In terms of content warnings there's nothing objectionable in this volume. In fact, after the way the previous volume ended I'd go so far as to say that this one is a pleasant palate-cleanser with lots of good moments for a variety of characters. There is something notable that's missing in this story though and that's a proper, fair mystery. For the first time, at least one of the major questions presented in this volume will require knowledge of Touhou lore from outside of this series in order to solve. The story itself admits this, but if you happen to be a mystery purist you have now been warned of that as well.
Aside from that, this story makes extensive reference to Noh theatre and Noh masks in particular. Noh is a traditional Japanese style of performing art that incorporates song, music, poetry and dance and dates back as far as the Asuka period though it reached the height of its popularity in the Edo era. All performers wear masks in a Noh performance and the stories told in the plays often feature supernatural events and the presence of gods, demons, ghosts and youkai. The origins of Noh are somewhat murky, but they combined low-brow folk entertainment of the day with styles of dance that descended from Shinto Kagura rituals to create an art form that was originally viewed as not only modern and refined but divinely inspired.
The masks in Noh are particularly important for two reasons: First they represent specific stock characters or emotional states. Often the audience won't get much chance to meet a given character in a Noh play or find out much about their personality or situation before the action begins. All of that information is relayed by their mask, which sets them up in the mind of the audience as a known entity -not a specific person per se, but a known character archetype. Second, Noh masks are carved in a very careful and specific way with complex three-dimensional shapes that are intended to take full advantage of the flickering candlelight that would traditionally have illuminated Noh stages. When properly lit in this way, these masks not only appear eerily animated but are also capable of showing different emotions depending on the direction that the performer tilts their head. The Hannya mask, for example, which depicts a woman in the process of transforming into a demon, will use shadow to widen its grimace and lower its eyebrows as the performer tilts their head down, becoming slowly more leering. Noh performers master the art of controlling their bodies precisely as they act, allowing them to alter the masks' expression at will.
With all of that information dispensed, I will now step back and leave the rest of the storytelling up to our narrator. I hope that you enjoy the tale to come.