Aibou TV Season 5 Episode 1 - Ukyō Sugishita's Very First Case(杉下右京 最初の事件)

Subtitle: Ukyō Sugishita's Very First Case(杉下右京 最初の事件)

 A group of military manias attack a camp where dozens of homeless people were staying. Fortunately, they use paintball instead of live rounds, and most people were only injured including Sergeant Kaoru, who happened to be nearby when the group attacked, However, one homeless man was killed after sustaining injuries to his internal organs. The murdered man was carrying a special pocket watch, a gift from Emperor Meiji. Inspector Ukyō recalls that such a watch was one of the items stolen during a murder robbery incident 22 years ago, his very first case. Inspector Ukyō revisits the Mitarai family and runs into an elderly lady, Kayo, who mentions that the watch was given to Satonaka as a gift. Why did a watch that was given away as a gift find its way onto the list of items stolen from the family? Can the Tokumeigakari pair unravel the Mitarai family's dark secret?

From the police report about the robbery murder incident 22 years ago

A short time past 10 PM on 10/19/1984(昭和５９年), two masked men entered the Mitarai family residence(御手洗邸 Mitarai-tei), a the family of a former earl (旧伯爵家 kyū hakushaku-ke).

The masked men tied up all the adults in the residence, but the elder son Kōichi Mitarai(御手洗 晃一) broke free and attack the two men as they were about to leave with the stolen goods. Unfortunately, one of the robbers stabbed Kōichi and the robbers got away, leaving a dying Kōichi behind.

The problem with the pocket watch

Kuniaki Satonaka(里中 邦明), the homeless who was recently killed, told people around him that the pocket watch was given to him. This matches what Ritsuko Mitarai(御手洗 律子) told Inspector Ukyō, that Yasujirō Mitarai(御手洗 泰治郎) gave the pocket watch to Kuniaki Satonaka(里中 邦明).

This unique pocket watch, however, also appears on the police report's list of items that were stolen from the Mitarai family residence(御手洗邸 Mitarai-tei) 22 years ago.

Note

According to Sergeant Kaoru, Miwako went a bit crazy after her assignment in Egypt when "A sphinx bit her." She quit her job at Teito Newspaper and decided to become an independent journalist.

Characters appearing/mentioned in the story

Satoko Mitarai(御手洗 聖子) - Fusaichirō Sōke(宗家 房一郎)'s secretary and Ritsuko's daughter. She recognizes the Tokuemeigakari pair from the time they visited the congressional office building when they were investigating the former Chief Cabinet Secretary Takehiko Suzaku(朱雀 武比古). She later calls the Tokumeigakari office asking if she could meet them at the lounge of the RIHGA Royal Hotel Tokyo, Hotel in Shinjuku, Tokyo(リーガロイヤルホテル東京 Rīgaroiyaruhoteru Tōkyō) at 4:30 PM that evening. There she expresses her concern that her family members were not themselves when the Tokumeigakari pair visited the Mitarai residence. Inspector Ukyō warns her that the truth might be painful for her - the robbery murder incident might have been concocted to hide the real killer, possibly a family member. Satoko asks her grandmother what really happened the night her father was killed. Later that night, her grandmother dies after falling down a set of stairs. She tells the Tokumeigakari pair that both her mother and grandmother use the back entrance.

While attending college, she aspired to go into the world of politics even though her grandfather disapproved. Shortly before graduating from college, she wrote an inspiring letter to Fusaichirō Sōke(宗家 房一郎) which convinced him to invite her to come work for him as his secretary.

Kayo Mitarai(御手洗 嘉代) - Kōichi's mother who suffers from dementia. Her great grandfather received the pocket watch from Emperor Meiji which Yasujirō Mitarai(御手洗 泰治郎) eventually passed on to Kuniaki Satonaka(里中 邦明). Later, during an outburst caused by her dementia, she points out that the masked men escaped from the back door, which oddly is different from the exit mentioned in the police report, the front entrance. She then apologizes and says that she doesn't really know what happened, and tells the Tokumeigakari pair to ask her husband about the details. Later, she secretly tells Miwako that it was better that Kōichi was killed.

The morning after Satoko asked her grandmother about the truth that night, Kayo is found dead at the bottom of a set of stairs next to a Shinto Shrine. Even though it was raining the night she died, her sandals were relatively clean.

Ritsuko Mitarai(御手洗 律子) - Satoko's mother. She married to Kōichi, and after his death during the robbery murder incident 22 years ago, she remarried Kōichi's younger brother Shinji.

Shinji Mitarai(御手洗 眞治) - Kōichi's younger brother. He was studying abroad when the tragic robbery murder incident took place. Shortly after his elder brother's death, he married Ritsuko.

Kōichi Mitarai(御手洗 晃一) - Elder son in the Mitarai family who was murdered 22 years ago during a robbery at the Mitarai residence.

Yasujirō Mitarai(御手洗 泰治郎) - Head of the Mitarai family 22 years ago. Yasuhiko's father. Kōichi and Shinj's grandfather.

Yasuhiko Mitarai(御手洗 泰彦) - Kōichi and Shinji's father. He and Superintendent Supervisor Onoda play go from time to time. Yasuhiko is the better player of the two.

After Inspector Ukyō presents three reasons why he thinks Kayo was murdered:

1. Her sandals were clean even though it was raining last night,
2. Dirt was found in the garage which probably will match the dirt from the shrine. 
3. Even though she has dementia and was confused enough to walk in the rain at night , she was wearing sandals that matched the clothes she was wearing. None of her other footwear would have matched what she was wearing.

he turns himself in and claims that he killed his wife by pushing her down the stairs at the shrine, because he couldn't bear to see his wife lose her sanity. Before going to the police however, he privately tells Ritsuko that he will still protect "the secret" from 22 years ago.

Later, he calls the Tokumeigakari pair from the Tokyo Detention Center(東京拘置所 Tōkyōkōchisho) and tells them that he killed Kōichi 22 years ago because Kōichi had an extremely bad temper, and Kōichi had hit Ritsuko that night. He and Kōichi struggled over a knife and he ended up killing Kōichi. Even though he could have claimed self-defense, he wanted to protect the family name, and that's why they made up the story about the robbers who broke into the house. After hearing this confession, Inspector Ukyō checks and confirms that Ritsuko had visited him shortly before he talked to them.

Fusaichirō Sōke(宗家 房一郎) - Member of the congress representing the Jiyuu Political Party(自友党Jiyūtō) and the chairman of the policy research council. He has been called the "Miracle of Nagata-cho(永田町の奇跡 Nagatachō no kiseki)" because of his strong moral character who cares about the people. He recently donated twenty million yen(二千万円 Ni sen man-en) in relief money. He is believed to become the country's prime minister some time in the future.

He was a houseboy at the Mitarai residence 22 years ago was called "Fūchan" while his stay there. Satoko Mitarai(御手洗 聖子) apparently doesn't realize/remember that he lived with her since she was only five years old at the time.

He lived outside of Japan for six years starting from 1985(昭和６０年 Shōwa 60-nen), and he was the only person who didn't ask the Tokumeigakari pair why they were investigating a case whose statute of limitations had already expired.

Kuniaki Satonaka(里中 邦明) -  46 year old homeless who died after being beaten which caused his internal organs to rupture. He got the pocket watch as a gift from the Mitarai family while he worked there as a houseboy there about twenty years ago. He wanted to become a writer, but couldn't make it. Yasujirō Mitarai(御手洗 泰治郎) found a job for him, but Satonaka quit that job shortly afterwards and cut contacts with the Mitarai family afterwards. His identity is confirmed using a photograph of him Inspector Ukyō got from Ritsuko Mitarai(御手洗 律子). Half an year ago, he visited Fusaichirō Sōke(宗家 房一郎)'s office.

Toshio Okayasu(岡安 敏男) - Sergeant and a military mania. He works in the city's living safety division and is responsible citizens' peace of mind. He ordered the other military mania members to commence shooting the paint balls at Sergeant Kaoru, saying that they were currently under martial law. After he's caught, he says that they were only taking back land which belongs the people of Japan after the homeless repeatedly ignored demands to remove themselves from that land. His mother turned him in to the police.

Kōken Onoda(小野田 公顕) - Superintendent Supervisor Onoda plays go against Yasuhiko Mitarai(御手洗 泰彦) and loses to him. After the Tokumeigakari pair hears Yasuhiko Mitarai(御手洗 泰彦)'s confession, the Superintendent Supervisor warns Inspector Ukyō against investigating the case any further.

Kenchan(ケンちゃん) - The Mitarai family dog who passed away. Kayo sometimes still thinks that he is still alive.

Yonezō Setouchi(瀬戸内 米蔵) - The former minister of justice who acts as an intermediary between Fusaichirō Sōke(宗家 房一郎) and the Tokumeigakari pair so that they get the chance to interview the politician.