The Castle of Sand (1974)

Two concurrent stories that eventually do intersect are told. The primary story concerns a murder investigation of a bludgeoned John Doe, estimated to be in his early- to mid-sixties, the body discovered at the Kamata Rail Yard in Tokyo and moved there post-mortem to make it look like he died by being hit by a train. The investigative team includes experienced Inspector Eitaro Imanishi and novice Detective Hiroshi Yoshimura. The slim leads they have in even discovering the identity of the John Doe, let alone the murderer, stem from an overheard conversation at a local bar between the victim and the perpetrator, the men unknown to anyone in the bar, the keys to the conversation being one speaking in an accent specific to the Tohoku region, and both men often mentioning the proper name "Kameda". In the ebbs and flows of the investigation, and Yoshimura being taken off the case in a lull to focus on other more active cases, both investigators nonetheless end up with a dogged determination which takes mostly Imanishi to various places throughout Japan in following leads, some on his own dime in being unofficial. The investigation only becomes more confusing in discovering the identity of the victim, what the investigators are told by those that knew him being his general benevolence in all aspects of his life, and that he had no business in Tokyo. The secondary story concerns renowned up and coming composer/conductor Eiryo Waga, his fame which means that he is often surrounded by an entourage. His general sullenness may be attributed to a childhood denied, that denial of which he is the only person who knows, or so he believes.