The Samurai Detectives by Shōtarō Ikenami
Bought this on a whim while in London, and boy am I glad I did. Samurai Detectives is a series of linked short stories by Shōtarō Ikenami that - as far as I can understand - is a bit of a cult classic in Japan but was never translated into English until recently. Set in XIXth century Edo (for the most part), Samurai Detectives centers on an old sword master, now retired, whose wisdom is renowned amongst those who frequent him and ends up investigating mysterious situations or finding creative ways to solve sticky situations. There is a cast of secondary characters around him, and it's all very low-key, but also super Japanese. The western reader struggles at times with titles, names and expressions of wealth, but that's easily overcome. Loved it and bought the second volume the day after I started reading the first.
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