The Identity Broker’s Game

A Man

Norio Omiura alternates mockery, hints, and manipulation, forcing Kido to question what he knows about every person in the identity chain.

increasing

Bearing strength in each event

decreasing

A Prison Visit A Prison Visit from "A Man". The Broker Appears A lead from court records Kido visits Norio Omiura at Yokohama Prison after discovering his role in earlier register exchanges.

A Prison Visit from "A Man". The Broker Appears A lead from court records Kido visits Norio Omiura at Yokohama Prison after discovering his role in earlier register exchanges.

The Broker Appears A lead from court records Kido visits Norio Omiura at Yokohama Prison after discovering his role in earlier register exchanges. A destabilizing encounter Omiura identifies Kido as Zainichi and fills their meeting with bizarre claims. Kido leaves with a possible connection but little dependable information.

Gifts and Diversions Gifts and Diversions from "A Man". The Price of an Answer A demand Omiura asks for a tabloid and a book on the Heart Sutra, then uses later visits to tell crude and improbable stories.

Gifts and Diversions from "A Man". The Price of an Answer A demand Omiura asks for a tabloid and a book on the Heart Sutra, then uses later visits to tell crude and improbable stories.

The Price of an Answer A demand Omiura asks for a tabloid and a book on the Heart Sutra, then uses later visits to tell crude and improbable stories. A withheld fact He hints at knowing X but refuses to explain. Kido must decide whether any part of Omiura’s performance can be trusted.

The Postcard Riddle The Postcard Riddle from "A Man". Names on a Drawing A crude clue Omiura sends drawings of women with the names Daisuké Taniguchi and Yoshihiko Sonézaki written on them.

The Postcard Riddle from "A Man". Names on a Drawing A crude clue Omiura sends drawings of women with the names Daisuké Taniguchi and Yoshihiko Sonézaki written on them.

Names on a Drawing A crude clue Omiura sends drawings of women with the names Daisuké Taniguchi and Yoshihiko Sonézaki written on them. The wrong inference Kido assumes the names indicate a direct exchange. The clue is meaningful, but his interpretation remains incomplete.

A Name That Is Not His A Name That Is Not His from "A Man". Omiura’s Admission A reversal Omiura tells Kido that he too may be living under an exchanged identity and asks how Kido knows his name.

A Name That Is Not His from "A Man". Omiura’s Admission A reversal Omiura tells Kido that he too may be living under an exchanged identity and asks how Kido knows his name.

Omiura’s Admission A reversal Omiura tells Kido that he too may be living under an exchanged identity and asks how Kido knows his name. A lesson in distrust The broker turns the investigation back on its investigator. Kido’s confident categories—criminal, witness, source—no longer seem secure.

The Hint Reconsidered The Hint Reconsidered from "A Man". A Chain, Not a Pair A later realization Kido learns that Shozo Tashiro exchanged registers with someone using Makoto Hara’s name, but that person was not the…

The Hint Reconsidered from "A Man". A Chain, Not a Pair A later realization Kido learns that Shozo Tashiro exchanged registers with someone using Makoto Hara’s name, but that person was not the…

A Chain, Not a Pair A later realization Kido learns that Shozo Tashiro exchanged registers with someone using Makoto Hara’s name, but that person was not the real Hara. The clue changes meaning Omiura’s marks point toward multiple exchanges and a displaced identity. Kido can finally reconstruct Hara’s route through the names.

Autumn 2013

The next two visits

Late autumn 2013

December 2013

After Omiura’s final meeting