The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Nicolaes Tulp
JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Nicolaes Tulp (ジョジョの奇妙な冒険 テュルプ博士の解剖学講義, JoJo no Kimyō na Bōken Tyurupu-hakase no Kaibōgaku Kōgi) is an unreleased light novel which Otsuichi started writing around 2001.[1]
The story centered around a nine-year old boy named Kaoru and his mother, who moved into Morioh a year after the events of Diamond is Unbreakable. An art theft case from three years ago resurfaces, and Kaoru's mother is frightened by a mysterious stalker. Kaoru befriends Josuke Higashikata and learns various things about Stands and the history of the town. Eventually, he encounters an old man in the park who ominously asks if his mother is hiding anything.
An incomplete 31-page draft of the novel was published in the December 2002 issue of Yomu Jump on December 3, 2002, featuring new artwork by Hirohiko Araki and a release date of the full novel in February 2003. However, the novel proved difficult to complete and a 400-page manuscript was discarded.[1] A completed version of the novel was eventually released with a completely different story under the title The Book ~jojo's bizarre adventure 4th another day~.
Summary
Prologue
A mysterious individual is in a bus headed to Morioh, watching the person beside them sleep. As the person starts waking up, the individual tells them to keep sleeping and that they'll wake them up once they arrive at Morioh, but they continue talking anyways. They claim to be headed to Morioh on a business trip and ask the passenger several questions, such as why they are going to Morioh and whether it is their first visit. They describe Morioh's unique features and strange facts such as how there is an abnormally high number of people in the town who go missing, particularly children. The individual states that they know of several strange stories from their work travels, such as high-speed flying creatures that can only be seen in photos and videos, a resurrected death-row inmate, and a thief who couldn't be killed despite being shot by bullets. They decide to describe the last story about the thief.
Three years prior, a museum in I Prefecture was exhibiting treasures unearthed in a rural village. Although the museum was strictly guarded with both a surveillance system and armed security guards, an unknown number of intruders managed to break in one night and suddenly steal the treasures. It is unknown how the items were stolen, as all the exhibits were still there ten minutes earlier, every door and window were securely locked, and the glass cases holding the exhibits would trigger an alarm if any human touched it. A security guard immediately turned on the alarm and called the police. The officers eventually found one armed thief in the museum's back premises; a tall, slim man who quietly waited for the officers to approach him. The man ignored the officers' orders and pointed his gun at them. The officers shot him with around ten bullets, which all pierced his body and even his forehead, yet the man did not show any discomfort. Instead, he killed all of the officers with his own gun, aside from one unarmed security guard who watched the whole thing from afar. The narrator telling the story claims not to believe in such supernatural stories. As he finishes reciting it, the bus arrives at Morioh.
Chapter 1
Moving to Morioh
Kaoru recalls how Josuke explained to him about Stands. He knew nothing about them until he moved to Morioh, but assumes he unknowingly activated one about ten months before moving to the town. While taking a break from solving arithmetic worksheets, he was resting his elbows on a windowsill while looking outside. Idly playing with his pencil, he noticed a bruise on his left arm which he poked with the pencil's tip. Suddenly, his right elbow slipped off the windowsill, causing the pencil to pierce about five millimeters through his left arm. Kaoru attempted to remove the pencil, but it was as if it was being sucked in by an unseen force. Upon pressing the area with his fingers, the irregular shape of the pencil was clearly discernible under the skin, as if the pencil had assimilated with his bones. Eventually, the wound had closed on its own, and Kaoru could move his left arm normally without any discomfort from the pencil being inside him. Later, Kaoru started habitually pressing various parts of body with his fingers, feeling irregular bumps and angular objects within his skin. Kaoru figures that must have been his Stand ability.
Kaoru moved to Morioh with his mother on June 1, 2000 while it was raining. They got off the bus at a random stop, not even knowing the town's name until they saw the sign on the bus stop. Kaoru's mom would often move without planning beforehand, simply relying on intuition. They luckily find a real estate agency shortly after walking from the station. Kaoru's mother asks for a cheap apartment where she could move in immediately and where the landlord wouldn't ask too many details, which raises the agent's suspicions. He asks her to bring an adult guardian if she's a minor, angering her. She asserts that she's 26 years old and the mother of Kaoru, who is 9 years old. Kaoru narrates that he and his mother are often mistaken to be younger than they actually are; Kaoru himself is physically underdeveloped and shorter than an average 9 year old. The man hesitates but eventually makes a phone call and leads them to an apartment. Kaoru's mother assumes that it is an expensive building, but the agent assures her that the rate is affordable and meets her requirements.
They meet the landlord inside the building who leads them to their single room. It is on the third floor and the door is numbered "306". Kaoru suspects whether a bomb or something else is planted inside the room since the rent is very low, but he couldn't find anything. Kaoru's mother signs the documents, not wanting to let the room go as they most likely wouldn't get a better deal. For the guarantor section, she writes the name of her late husband's stepfather; he was apparently a man she only met once during her husband's funeral, but was also the only one willing to help her out. Kaoru narrates that in the future, he found out he was right to be suspicious about the room because about a year prior, a young woman living there had gone missing with her boyfriend. Nobody wanted to live in the room anymore, assuming the couple living there was killed by a burglar. Regardless, Kaoru doesn't care, and explains that he and his mother celebrated their new residence by eating a giant frozen pizza.
Not having beds or any furniture, the two slept on sleeping bags for a while. However, they feel much more comfortable than they were before. In the previous winter, they had to sleep outside and would have died if someone hadn't passed by and helped them. Kaoru's mother eventually gets a job at Kameyu Department Store, and gives Kaoru worksheets to do so he could study at home. She is very worried about him being home alone, but Kaoru is more worried about her paranoia. She would often protect or hide him if she saw any man approaching Kaoru. When Kaoru sees students going to Budogaoka Elementary School, his mother tells him that he used to go to school like them too in the first grade, back when his father was alive. However, Kaoru cannot remember as he lost his memory three years ago. His oldest memory is riding in a car with someone. The driver, who was supposedly his father, said something to him while looking sad. His mother told him that the car was in an accident after that, and his father was critically injured while shielding Kaoru. He was taken to a hospital and immediately underwent surgery, but passed away during the procedure.
Kaoru misses his father, wishing he could remember what his father told him that day in the car. His mother was always afraid after that. On the winter night where they were forced to sleep outside, Kaoru's mother warned him that someone might come to him someday. She didn't know who, but was always worried about a mysterious person who would come for him. Consequently, they kept moving from place to place to escape from that unknown individual pursuing them.
Meeting Josuke
Kaoru first met Josuke Higashikata on June 20. He reveals that Josuke isn't deeply involved in this story, as it focuses on himself, his mother, and the mysterious stalker. Nonetheless, Josuke is still important and the outcome would have changed without him.
While walking through the shopping district in the evening on the 20th, Kaoru accidentally bumps into a middle-aged man, knocking down a wooden box he was holding. As the box hits the ground, they hear the object inside shatter. The man confirms that Kaoru isn't hurt and then angrily rants about Kaoru bumping into him because he was transporting an expensive vase to a client. Kaoru's mother arrives and confronts the man, apologizing and promising to pay for the damages. Regardless, the man continues insulting Kaoru and his mother. Josuke arrives and picks up the box, telling the man to check the object inside it first before demanding compensation from them. The man is skeptical since he heard the vase shatter, but opens it anyways. Rather than being shattered, the vase is completely restored. Kaoru and the man are dumbfounded, but Kaoru's mother takes the opportunity for them to leave. However, Kaoru realizes that he caught a glimpse of a translucent arm pop up when Josuke touched the box. The man doesn't understand what happened but thanks Josuke anyways before calling his hair funny. This enrages Josuke, who suddenly punches the man through a nearby luxury boutique's window with his Stand. Kaoru sees the Stand and points it out to his mom. Josuke hears him and looks at him with surprise, but Kaoru's mother pulls him away and dismisses his concerns as a misperception when they're back home.
The next day, Kaoru heads to the Owson convenience store. A high school student suddenly trips him. It is a group of four, and one of them has an oddly-shaped nose. They demand his pocket money, but run away in fear when Josuke notices Kaoru and approaches them. Josuke regrets not waiting a bit longer before showing up since Kaoru's Stand might have manifested. Josuke summons Crazy Diamond to show Kaoru and explains everything about Stands. He demonstrates his Stand's power by having Crazy Diamond grab a leaf on the ground and then release it, sending the leaf back to a nearby branch. Josuke warns Kaoru that having a Stand could lead him to be involved in dangerous situations, so he gives Kaoru his address and phone number in case he needs anyone to contact.
While walking back home, Kaoru feels his cheek hurt from when he was tripped. Touching his cheek, he notices a disc-shaped object lodged in his skin. He tries seeing if he could remove the object from his eyelid by pushing it up from his cheek, but gets scared and stops. When he gets back to the apartment, he confirms that his mother isn't home yet and creates an incision on his cheek with a cutter knife. This causes a foreign gold coin to fall out from his cheek into the sink. Kaoru's mother arrives back home during her break at work, but Kaoru hides the wound on his cheek so she doesn't notice. She apologizes and tells him to eat dinner without her since she has an appointment with friends.
Old Man at the Park
Kaoru often sees Josuke around town and befriends him. Josuke grimaces upon seeing him read Pink Dark Boy at Owson. Kaoru and his mother were big fans of the manga and worried that Rohan got into a traffic accident during his hiatus. Kaoru later learns that the hiatus was because Josuke beat Rohan up. Kaoru worries that he'll forget Josuke one day after leaving Morioh. Josuke was the only friend he had for the past three years, aside from one exception when he was 7. He had met another kid his age on a slide in the park and they quickly became friends, but Kaoru could no longer remember what they looked like after moving away.
Kaoru's mother notices his happy and restless behavior, wondering whether he made any new friends. He reveals that it's Josuke, the boy they met in the vase incident, which stresses her. She worries that he is a delinquent and too old to be Kaoru's friend, but Kaoru asserts that Josuke is a good person. His mother decides to trust his judgement and starts talking about her day at work. Kaoru is relieved she seems to be doing okay, since she would always complain about her previous jobs in other towns. Whenever she needed money, she would call someone on a public phone as a last resort. One day, she snapped at Kaoru for not saying anything in response to her venting; another day, she claimed Kaoru is the only one who listens to her. Kaoru noticed she looked exhausted back then, and also had a bruise on her arm which she tried hiding from him, claiming that she bumped into something at work.
Kaoru visits the library every day in Morioh, trying to understand the origin of the mysterious coin that emerged from his cheek. However, he is unable to find any answers. He stops at a local park on his way home on July 5. He rests on a park bench, enjoying the serene environment around the pond. He is seated next to an elderly man, who strikes up a seemingly mundane conversation. The man, who appears to be a long-time resident of Morioh, shares his observations about the town's evolution from a rural area to a developed suburb. This causes Kaoru to recall when he was walking to Josuke's house three days earlier on July 2, as Josuke invited him to hang out. He was fascinated by the town's residential layout and admired the scenery, noticing a neatly mowed lawn of one house. He compares Morioh's beauty to be the same as that lawn; both are artificial as they are man-made beauty. Nonetheless, Morioh has a dark side, as Josuke informed Kaoru about stories like a serial killer and the souls of his victims lurking behind.
The old man asks whether Kaoru came to Morioh with his mother and father. Kaoru divulges his father passed away in a car accident. He then starts probing about Kaoru's mother, stating it must be tough taking care of a child alone and asking whether they can manage. Kaoru reveals that his mother contacts someone if things get tough, so she might have some hidden assets. The old man continues his cryptic interrogation, asking if Kaoru's mother has any expensive jewelry or gold artworks. He begins to exhibit unsettling behavior after this, unnerving Kaoru. He has an unblinking gaze, blood on his neck from scratching, and dirty skin. The man starts either talking to himself or to someone else, suggesting Kaoru's father is actually alive since he says Kaoru has been made to believe he died. He slowly continues talking menacingly, saying he'll find Kaoru no matter where he is. The man also wonders where Kaoru's mother is hiding something since she must have received it.
Kaoru becomes increasingly uncomfortable and attempts to leave, but the old man grabs his arm with a strong grip. Suddenly, a nurse arrives, gently ushering the old man away. The woman shakes him and he lets go of Kaoru, as if he had just woken up. Kaoru watches them leave, disappearing down the path. There is a hospital near the park, so Kaoru believes the man might be a patient from there. While watching the children playing in the park, the imprint of the man's grip on Kaoru's arm doesn't fade away.
Appearances
Creation and Development
When GioGio's Bizarre Adventure II: Golden Heart, Golden Ring was announced in 2001, Otsuichi wondered why they were skipping from the Part 3 novel to Part 5. Five years after his debut in 1996 while he was visiting Shueisha's editorial department one day, he asked "Why aren't you doing a novel for JoJo Part 4? If by any chance there isn't anyone to write it, mind if I do?". Thus, he began planning the story.[1]
An incomplete 31-page rough draft was released in a December 2002 issue of Yomu Jump (a special novel-based issue of Weekly Shonen Jump) along with a full release date in February 2003, but the novel proved difficult to complete. He wrote a 400-page manuscript which he wasn't satisfied with and discarded.[1] In the 2005 issue of the annual Japanese guidebook, Kono Mystery ga Sugoi!, Otsuichi claimed to have written over 2000 pages, but had thrown them all out. Intent on writing a novel that lived up to the manga, it took him until 2007 to complete it.[2] However, the finished novel ended up being a completely different story titled The Book ~jojo's bizarre adventure 4th another day~.
Author's Comments
Yomu Jump (Hirohiko Araki)Yomu Jump (Otsuichi)Quick Japan Vol. 56Live at Faust@KodanshaKono Mystery ga Sugoi! 2005Gallery
Yomu Jump issue containing the draft
Clean Cover Art
Josuke Higashikata with Kaoru
Josuke summons Crazy Diamond
Kaoru walking through Morioh
Kaoru interrogated by an old man
