#imagine if bsd Poe has written all the stories that real Poe has written

[wow-an-unfunny-joke]

I need a fic where Poe and Ranpo bond over both being orphans

[weretigerkun]

Edogawa Ranpo, from inside the storehouse

I was very fortunate to be able to visit the Edogawa Ranpo Memorial Center with Lea ( @looking-for-stray-dogs ). The compound used to be Ranpo’s home and studio, and it also housed his large library (sidenote: thank you very much to Lea for bringing me there and translating some of the signs! <3 couldn’t have read them all without her AHAHA). It’s located in Ikebukuro, within the Rikkyo University campus, which in itself is also stunning.

To enter, we walked through a stone pathway lined with trees and autumn shrubbery.

Admission is free, and photography is allowed. So expect a very photo-heavy post up ahead.

Some of the books in Ranpo’s Boy Detective Club series. The series was mainly for young readers, and remains popular even today. An American equivalent would be something like the Hardy Boys or Nancy Drew series. Many of these stories were created post-war.

A collection of his glasses and writing utensils

A really blurry photo (whoops) of his manuscript for A Murder on D Street. Honestly, his handwriting isn’t that bad. (Higuchi’s was much, much worse)

More books. Black Lizard is to the right.

Ranpo and young fans of the Boy Detective Club series (topmost photographs)

New Year’s Cards he received from his readers (second row, right photo)

An advertisement listing his short stories for the Boy Detective Club

There was another segment about Twenty Faces. It included a mock-up of him, as well as some more book covers. Next to it was a short write-up about the Detective Story Writers’ Club (Ranpo was a part of it), including Ranpo’s own membership haori (with the club name and his name written on it).

A view of the garden behind his home and storehouse. Up ahead is the school’s baseball field.

Here’s Ranpo’s living room

Some interesting details: the boxes of whiskey, the photographs, and the little statue of Edgar Allan Poe on the shelf. Can you see it?

This photograph was taken in 1944 and published in a newspaper. Ranpo helped with the war effort, and created maps to depict air raid shelters in the area. While Tokyo was heavily bombed, Ranpo’s home survived the attacks.

Apparently Edogawa Ranpo and Yumeno Kyusaku were somewhat contemporaries. Edogawa praised Yumeno’s work Dogra Magra, and in the same year, Yumeno gifted him this doll. (It’s beautifully crafted, but it’s even creepier than Bungou Yumeno’s doll I think…)

More books

Ranpo admired Poe so much that not only did he get his pen name from him, but he also wrote words inspired by Poe’s. (Asagiri really loves to switch things around, huh)

The text on blue paper roughly means “Real life is an illusion so my dreams at night are what I consider real.”

I think the quote is very fascinating, and you can see that it does reflect his worldview, especially when based on his other (mainly eroguronansensu) works.

Didn’t get a photo of it, but apparently Ranpo really enjoyed taking videos of casual, everyday scenes. The exhibit included a short film he made about his family.

My favorite part of the entire complex. This storehouse has two floors and contains Ranpo’s book collection. Some of the older Japanese books are kept in the Rikkyo University’s library, but a lot still remain here. Among these are mystery novels, non-fiction works such as criminal psychology books, and even Western literature. Ranpo himself was a big fan of many Western mystery writers, though Poe might have been his favorite. Ranpo was able to read in English but could neither speak nor write in it, and if you look closely at the right side of the first floor, you can find one bound collection of Shakespeare in English (though I think the title wasn’t clearly captured in my photo).

Imagine having a big storehouse just full of books like this. The dream.

The back of the storehouse, complete with period windows.

Finally, a poster. “Edogawa Ranpo, from inside the storehouse.” It briefly explains his biography and lists down some of his renowned works. Ranpo’s home and storehouse were transferred to Rikkyo University in 2002.

 We couldn’t look at the books because that required a reservation, but it was still really interesting to see Ranpo’s old house! Didn’t get a photo, but right near the front desk were an empty stamp pad of what might have been his seal, as well as a bunch of brochures including one for the Ichiyo Memorial Museum (complete with the adorable BSD Higuchi clear file). Although there was no mention of BSD itself in this complex.

The information above is mainly from the exhibit, but I’ve also included some extra details that I researched afterwards.

If you’re ever in Tokyo during a Wednesday or a Friday, drop by the Edogawa Ranpo House located in Rikkyo University! It’s very interesting :)