Detective

The **Detective** (探偵(たんてい), *Tantei*) is a major figure within the mystery genre. In the context of detective fiction, the term detective does not necessarily refer to the occupation, but rather to a specific narrative role, although the two meaning tend to coincide. The detective is the character in the story who attempts to piece together the mystery and arrive at the truth. The detective is usually a part of the main cast, although there are some outliers (for example, Kuraudo Ooishi from *Higurashi When They Cry*), and they tend to be the perspective character. There is usually only one central detective figure in a story, but there are also cases of multiple detectives (for example, the JDC from the *JDC Series*).

## History

Although the modern concept of a detective is more recent, crime has long been a subject of fiction, and as a result there have always been characters throughout the literary canon who represent the forces of legal justice. Chinese Gong'an fiction featured magistrates of the ancient Chinese state who served a similar role to the detective of modern mystery fiction, and these works date back as far as the Song dynasty. The modern style of fictional detectives first started in the West with crime solvers such as Edgar Allan Poe's C. Auguste Dupin and Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes.

These early Western prototypes became the basis of the archetypical detective character for almost all later incarnations: They were eccentric crime solvers with genius intellects and unshakable moral convictions. Over the course of the Golden Age of Detective Fiction in the West, the most popular authors had their own variations attain enough recognition to set trends in their own right. Such examples include Agatha Christie's timeless Hercule Poirot, Josephine Tey's Inspector Alan Grant, S. S. Van Dine's Philo Vance, Ellery Queen himself, and John Dickson Carr's Sir Henry Merrivale.

## The Three Great Detectives of Japan

The **Three Great Detectives of Japan** (日本三大名探偵(にほんさんだいめいたんてい), *Nihon Sandai Meitantei*) are three classic, famous and highly recognizable fictional Japanese detectives of great importance to the mystery genre. Over the years, they have inspired, directly or indirectly, many other detectives, some even being directly connected to the originals (such as Hajime Kindaichi from *The Kindaichi Case Files*).

The Three Great Detectives are:

* **Kousuke Kindaichi** (金田一(きんだいち) 耕助(こうすけ), *Kindaichi Kōsuke*), created by Seishi Yokomizu.
* **Kogorou Akechi** (明智(あけち) 小五郎(こごろう), *Akechi Kogorō*), created by Ranpo Edogawa.
* **Kyuusuke Kamizu** (神津(かみづ) 恭介(きゅうすけ), *Kamizu Kyūsuke*), created by Akimitsu Takagi.

## Archetypes

* **Great Detective** (名探偵(めいたんてい), *Meitantei*)**:** A staple figure of Honkaku Detective Fiction, this archetype refers to the classic, Sherlock Holmes-inspired detectives, usually private detectives, who play the role of riddle solvers. Their motivation is usually to challenge their intellect, treating crime as a game, a worldview which coincides with the narrative purpose of the stories they belong to. They are often eccentric geniuses.
* **Hardboiled Detective:** An internationally popular style of detective which came to dominate their own subgenre in the West. They are also a staple of shakai detective fiction. They are distinguished by their emotional detachment and cynicism. They are usually detectives who have done away with the pretence of puzzle-solving or games in order to meet the challenge of a cruel world. Rather than the amateur sleuths that are common of other archetypes, many hardboiled detectives work directly for the police force, and must deal with the seedy underbelly of the legal system.

## The 'Watson'

The **Watson**, or the **assistant**, is a common character archetype, inseparable from the idea of the detective. Chiefly inspired by John H. Watson, it refers to a character which accompanies and assists the detective throughout the case. Due to the nature of mystery stories, there is often a need for explanations from the detective about their various deductions, and the 'Watson' serves as a useful tool to naturally insert that exposition into the text; a person of average intelligence, whose wit doesn't match the detectives', and thus needs to have the case explained to them. This useful archetype is seen very often in mystery fiction, the 'Watson' also serving the secondary purpose of giving the detective a constant partner to interact with, the assistant's relationship with the detective generally being a main focus of the story.