The Search for the Man Behind the Name

A Man

Akira Kido follows the false identity of Rié Takemoto’s late husband from a baffling family-register discrepancy to the discovery of Makoto Hara and the living Daisuké Taniguchi.

increasing

Bearing strength in each event

decreasing

A Husband Unmasked A Husband Unmasked from "A Man". A Death with the Wrong Name The discovery After X dies in a logging accident, Kyoichi Taniguchi recognizes that the dead man is not his brother, Daisuké…

A Husband Unmasked from "A Man". A Death with the Wrong Name The discovery After X dies in a logging accident, Kyoichi Taniguchi recognizes that the dead man is not his brother, Daisuké…

A Death with the Wrong Name The discovery After X dies in a logging accident, Kyoichi Taniguchi recognizes that the dead man is not his brother, Daisuké Taniguchi. The question Rié Takemoto learns that her marriage and family life rested on an identity she cannot verify. The apparent certainty of official records becomes the mystery.

The Lawyer Takes the Case The Lawyer Takes the Case from "A Man". A Client Returns Renewed contact Years after representing Rié Takemoto in her first divorce, Akira Kido hears that her second husband died under another man’s…

The Lawyer Takes the Case from "A Man". A Client Returns Renewed contact Years after representing Rié Takemoto in her first divorce, Akira Kido hears that her second husband died under another man’s…

A Client Returns Renewed contact Years after representing Rié Takemoto in her first divorce, Akira Kido hears that her second husband died under another man’s name. A legal beginning Kido agrees to investigate and address inheritance and registration problems. His professional task soon becomes a personal fixation on the unknown man.

Clues in the Registers Clues in the Registers from "A Man". Following the Paper Trail A vanished brother Kido speaks with Kyoichi Taniguchi and Misuzu Goto, compares photographs, and traces Daisuké Taniguchi’s prior…

Clues in the Registers from "A Man". Following the Paper Trail A vanished brother Kido speaks with Kyoichi Taniguchi and Misuzu Goto, compares photographs, and traces Daisuké Taniguchi’s prior…

Following the Paper Trail A vanished brother Kido speaks with Kyoichi Taniguchi and Misuzu Goto, compares photographs, and traces Daisuké Taniguchi’s prior address to Osaka. A new possibility A prison case involving exchanged family registers suggests a broker may connect Daisuké and X. The search widens from one false name to a network of traded identities.

The Impostor’s Past The Impostor’s Past from "A Man". A Face in the Exhibition Recognition At a death-row art exhibition, Kido sees landscapes resembling X’s sketches and learns of Kenkichi Kobayashi’s son, Makoto…

The Impostor’s Past from "A Man". A Face in the Exhibition Recognition At a death-row art exhibition, Kido sees landscapes resembling X’s sketches and learns of Kenkichi Kobayashi’s son, Makoto…

A Face in the Exhibition Recognition At a death-row art exhibition, Kido sees landscapes resembling X’s sketches and learns of Kenkichi Kobayashi’s son, Makoto Hara. Confirmation Boxing-club witnesses identify X as Hara. The resemblance between Hara and Kobayashi’s prison art links the dead husband to a life hidden behind successive names.

The Missing Man Found The Missing Man Found from "A Man". The Living Daisuké Contact A message from a purported legal representative leads Kido to a Skype call and then a meeting in Nagoya with Daisuké Taniguchi.

The Missing Man Found from "A Man". The Living Daisuké Contact A message from a purported legal representative leads Kido to a Skype call and then a meeting in Nagoya with Daisuké Taniguchi.

The Living Daisuké Contact A message from a purported legal representative leads Kido to a Skype call and then a meeting in Nagoya with Daisuké Taniguchi. Resolution and remainder Daisuké confirms his exchange with Hara but refuses to return to his family. Kido solves the identity puzzle without restoring the life that Daisuké left behind.

September 2011

Late 2012

Early 2013

Late 2013

March 2014