TV-Series
Description
Isamu Yoshii appears as a supporting character, a poet and regular patron at the Milk Hall newspaper office and Kikunyasha establishment. His background mirrors the real-life Japanese poet and playwright of the same name, active from the Meiji to Shōwa periods. He inherited the title of count from his grandfather, a former samurai retainer and member of the House of Peers, placing him within the aristocracy despite later financial and personal struggles. He struggled with health issues, including tuberculosis, throughout his life.
Abandoning studies at Waseda University, he joined the Tokyo New Poetry Society and contributed to its literary magazine, *Myōjō*. Dissatisfied with its optimistic romanticism, he co-founded the Pan no Kai with Kitahara Hakushū, embracing darker themes from European decadent literature. This group met at a restaurant featuring an image of the Greek god Pan, discussing Edo-period Japanese and French art and literature. Later, he became involved with the literary magazine *Subaru* under Mori Ōgai's patronage, publishing plays there. An incident during his editorship involved misplacing Ōgai's *Vita Sexualis* manuscript after a party; it was later found in a liquor cabinet.
His literary career included publishing bittersweet tanka poetry collections like *Revelry* (1910), reflecting his indulgence in alcohol, women, and melancholic longing. Works such as *Gion Verses* (1915) drew from his frequent visits to Kyoto's Gion entertainment district, where he eventually resided. A monument there bears his famous tanka about Gion, celebrated annually by geiko and maiko. As a playwright, he contributed to the *shingeki* movement with works like *Yumesuke and the Monk* and wrote radio drama scripts in the 1920s.
In 1933, he divorced his wife, Tokuko, following her involvement in the "Florida Dance Hall Scandal," where she introduced wealthy women to a dancehall owner and engaged in an affair. Her subsequent arrest implicated Yoshii's friends in an illegal gambling incident.
Within the series, he participates in investigations alongside the main characters. During the Red Light District case, he initially theorized that Kyōsuke Kindaichi attempted to assault a woman named Otaki, leading to her murder. Evidence later disproved this theory, revealing her death resulted from suicide due to tuberculosis. His personality is characterized by a romantic yet indolent demeanor; he openly displays emotions, struggles with loneliness, and often seeks distractions from sadness through alcohol or social interactions.
Abandoning studies at Waseda University, he joined the Tokyo New Poetry Society and contributed to its literary magazine, *Myōjō*. Dissatisfied with its optimistic romanticism, he co-founded the Pan no Kai with Kitahara Hakushū, embracing darker themes from European decadent literature. This group met at a restaurant featuring an image of the Greek god Pan, discussing Edo-period Japanese and French art and literature. Later, he became involved with the literary magazine *Subaru* under Mori Ōgai's patronage, publishing plays there. An incident during his editorship involved misplacing Ōgai's *Vita Sexualis* manuscript after a party; it was later found in a liquor cabinet.
His literary career included publishing bittersweet tanka poetry collections like *Revelry* (1910), reflecting his indulgence in alcohol, women, and melancholic longing. Works such as *Gion Verses* (1915) drew from his frequent visits to Kyoto's Gion entertainment district, where he eventually resided. A monument there bears his famous tanka about Gion, celebrated annually by geiko and maiko. As a playwright, he contributed to the *shingeki* movement with works like *Yumesuke and the Monk* and wrote radio drama scripts in the 1920s.
In 1933, he divorced his wife, Tokuko, following her involvement in the "Florida Dance Hall Scandal," where she introduced wealthy women to a dancehall owner and engaged in an affair. Her subsequent arrest implicated Yoshii's friends in an illegal gambling incident.
Within the series, he participates in investigations alongside the main characters. During the Red Light District case, he initially theorized that Kyōsuke Kindaichi attempted to assault a woman named Otaki, leading to her murder. Evidence later disproved this theory, revealing her death resulted from suicide due to tuberculosis. His personality is characterized by a romantic yet indolent demeanor; he openly displays emotions, struggles with loneliness, and often seeks distractions from sadness through alcohol or social interactions.