Crossroad in the Ancient Capital

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Chronology
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Movie 7

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Official trailer
Information
Title: Crossroad in the Ancient Capital
Japanese Title: 名探偵コナン 迷宮の十字路(クロスロード)
(Meitantei Konan: Meikyū no Kurosurōdo)
Original airdate: April 19, 2003
Broadcast rating when aired on television: 16.5% (aired on April 16, 2004)
10.5% (aired on December 25, 2006)[1]
9.9% (aired on April 7, 2017)
Case
Cast: Conan Edogawa
Ran Mouri
Heiji Hattori
Kazuha Toyama
Sonoko Suzuki
Shinichi Kudo
Kogoro Mouri
Hiroshi Agasa
Ai Haibara
Detective Boys
Ninzaburo Shiratori
Goro Otaki
Juzo Megure
Wataru Takagi
Miwako Sato
Fumimaro Ayanokoji
Unnamed officer
Unnamed officer
Maro
Heishiro Bizen
Case solved by: Shinichi Kudo
Staff
Director: Kenji Kodama
Akira Nishimori (sub)
Screenplay: Kazunari Kouchi
Storyboard: Kenji Kodama
Akira Nishimori
Technical Director: Chiharu Sato
Toru Kitahata
Animation director: Masatomo Sudo (chief)
Junko Yamanaka
Seiji Muta (asst.)
Masahiko Itojima (asst.)
Yoshiharu Shimizu (action)
Character Design: Masatomo Sudo
Layout checker: Yoshiharu Shimizu, Chiharu Sato
Design Works: Sachiko Kamimura
Music
Theme song: Time after time ~Hana Mau Machi de~
Soundtrack: Detective Conan "Crossroad in the Ancient Capital" Original Soundtrack
Collectibles
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DC Movies and Specials Shonen Sunday Comics Visual Selection
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Detective Conan Movies Shonen Sunday Comics Special
Crossroad in the Ancient Capital (TMCE) Volume 1.jpg
Detective Conan The Movie Comics Edition
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Detective Conan Movie Novelization

Crossroad in the Ancient Capital is the 7th movie in the Detective Conan franchise. It was released in Japan on April 19, 2003.

Characters introduced

Cast

Gadgets

Case

Situation

We open with a flashback, several years ago. A girl dressed in a kimono plays with a ball and sings the Song of Kyoto underneath flowering cherry trees. Heiji, who is about seven or eight years old, watches her from a window in a temple nearby and is mesmerised by her.

In the present day, Conan (using Shinichi's voice), talks to Ran on the phone using a public phone booth near Beika Station. He tells her he is still quite busy with his ongoing case and Ran asks him to be careful because the weather is going to be worse in the next couple of days. Kogoro mocks them, singing the song Yoshinoyama, a play about two historical lovers in Japan, Yoshitsune and Shizuka Gozen. Kogoro tells Ran that she and Shinichi remind him of those unfortunate lovers who had to separate.

The same night in Tokyo, Nishikuni Tachi City, three men wait for a person called Benkei outside a temple. Suddenly, a mysterious samurai with Okina mask appears, fires a bow at the men and kills one of them.

Murder

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Location: Tokyo - Nishikuni Tachi City (Yabo Tenmangu Shrine)
Victim: Hachiro Kataoka
Age: 34 years old
Cause of death: Arrow shot wound
Suspects: Benkei
Benkei shoots an arrow on Kataoka's chest, instantly killing him.

Then, he slashs the other two men with a katana.

Murder

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Location: Tokyo - Nishikuni Tachi City (Yabo Tenmangu Shrine)
Victim: Shichiro Washinoo
Age: 35 years old
Cause of death: Slash wound
Suspects: Benkei
Shichiro was the first to be katana-killed by Benkei.
Murder

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Location: Tokyo - Nishikuni Tachi City (Yabo Tenmangu Shrine)
Victim: Rokuro Kamei
Age: 35 years old
Cause of death: Slash wound
Suspects: Benkei
Next was Rokuro Kamei, killed in a similar fashion as Washinoo. Benkei then took their three books and the codes inside.

Afterwards, he collects three books and three pieces of paper with a code on them from the deceased and flees the crime scene.

At midnight in Osaka, the murderer stabs Heishiro Bizen, the owner of restaurant Takohei and an old friend of Heiji. The victim also possessed the same book and paper with a code, which the murderer takes with him as he leaves.

Murder

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Location: "Takohei" restaurant in Osaka
Victim: Heishiro Bizen
Age: 35 years old
Time: Midnight
Cause of death: Stab wound on chest
Suspects: Benkei
Heishiro gets stabbed in his restaurant by Benkei, who proceeds to retrieve the fourth book and mysterious code.

The following morning in Kyoto, the murderer kills Jiro Suruga, the owner of a bar. Suruga also had the same book and code as the four previous victims.

Murder

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Location: "Snack Jiro" in Kyoto
Victim: Jiro Suruga
Age: 32 years old
Time: Early dawn
Cause of death: Slash wound
Suspects: Benkei
Benkei slashed Jiro dead and got the fifth book and the mysterious code.

Several days later at the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Headquarters, the local police, supported by Inspectors Otaki from Osaka and Ayanokoji from Kyoto, hold a press conference about the ongoing investigation of the rogue samurai's bloodshed.

Takagi and Sato discuss about Inspector Ayanokoji, who was a classmate of Inspector Shiratori's at the police academy. Sato says Ayanokoji is from a noble family and everyone calls him "The Royal Inspector". Ayanokoji has a pet chipmunk which he carries everywhere with him and the chipmunk can be seen looking out of his suit pocket.

Journalists ask if the police have found any connnection between the victims. They all belonged to an infamous gang of robbers called Genjibotaru. The famous gang has mostly stolen Buddha statues and they have been active since 1991, mostly in Tokyo, Osaka, and Kyoto. Their members are named after servants of Yoshitsune and everyone owns a book called "Yoshitsune Chronicles", which is the book the murderer took from each of his victims. Now, all but three members have been killed. When asked about the killer, Otaki explains that currently, all they know is that the killer is skilled in archery and swordsmanship. The police have no clues to the identity of the remaining three robbers, neither their names nor their genders. Megure ends the press conference.

Heiji is at home reading a magazine on Yoshitsune when he decides to leave the house. While he gets ready, his eyes fall on a crystal on his drawer. He picks it up and looks at it thoughtfully. Outside his bedroom window, a cherry tree is in full bloom. Suddenly, the door opens: it is Kazuha, coming to surprise Heiji. Heiji startles and drops the crystal, she picks it up and gets it back. She has seen this crystal before but doesn't tell Heiji where. Instead she says she actually wanted to ask Heiji if he wanted to go for a walk, but since he seems to be busy, she might as well leave him alone. Heiji laughs and tells her goodbye. Kazuha stays behind, angry at herself that she just let him leave like that.

Sonoko, Ran, Conan, and Kogoro take the train to Kyoto. The chief priest at Sanno Temple asked for Kogoro's help and he took the children along as a special favour. Meanhwile,the Detective Boys visit Professor Agasa who brings them something to drink. As the kids are jealous of Conan, Agasa suggests they can go to Kyoto as well if they are able to answer his newest quiz.

He asks them if they have ever heard of Benkei. Mitsuhiko explains the story of Minamoto no Yoshitsune to ignorant Genta. He was originally called Ushiwakamaru. On Kyoto's Gojyo bridge, he defeated Benkei who wanted to steal his 1000th sword. After his defeat, Benkei became Yoshitsune's servant. At that time, rival clans Genji and Heike were fighting. Yoshitsune was able to defeat the Heike clan, but his older brother Yorimoto hated him for it, leading to Yoshitsune's eventual suicide at a place called Koromogawa, in Hiraizumi, now called the Iwate prefecture.

Agasa praises Mitsuhiko for his good memory and asks his quiz question: "Benkei had a (fictional) first love named Uzune. How did Benkei react when he heard Uzune was going to marry another man? 1) he was angry; 2) he was happy, or 3) he cried?"

Genta and Mitsuhiko both answer that Benkei obviously got angry. Agasa tells them they're wrong. While they still try come up with the correct answer, Ai interrupts them and says it's number 3, Benkei cried. Ayumi asks Ai why and now Mitsuhiko understands as well. There is a spot below one's knee called "mukozune" that makes you cry when you get hit there. Genta wonders what that has to do with the quiz and Ayumi explains to him that "muko" means bridegroom. So when the "muko" marries "Uzune", you get "mukozune" and that makes you cry.

Agasa says that Ai answering the riddle doesn't count but Ayumi angrily replies that Ai also belongs to the Detective Boys and that the professor promised to take them to Kyoto and should better keep his promises. Agasa relents.

Kogoro, Ran, Sonoko, and Conan take a taxi to Sanno Temple in Rokkaku street, where Ryuen, a monk, waits for them. He introduces them to chief priest Enkai, and three supporters of the temple, antique art dealer Shozo Sakura, Noh performer Shuntaro Mizuo, and bookstore owner Taiga Saijo. Enkai says the three men regularly practice kendo with the monks and priests. Kogoro and Ran ask about a famous wooden Buddha statue that is only presented to the public every twelve years, with the next occasion being just three days away. Enkai says the statue, called the Healing Buddha, will be delighted to see someone so interested in him, but Conan sees Ryuen worry.

The two hosts take Ran, Conan, Kogoro, and Sonoko to the room where the Buddha statue was kept and reveal that the Healing Buddha was stolen almost exactly 8 years ago. The statue was kept between two other statues, the sunlight bodhisattva and the moonlight bodhisattva. Ryuen wanted to report the theft but Enkai stopped him, he believed the Buddha would return on his own some day if that was what was meant to be.

The priest then offers tea to his guests and shows Kogoro a mysterious picture someone dropped into the mailbox in front of the temple. It is identical to the pictures stolen from the serial killer's victims. There was a message on the picture that read "solve this riddle and you will find the whereabouts of the Buddha statue."

Heiji investigates the murder of Jiro Suruga. He asks the owners of a shop next to the bar if they witnessed anything but as the murder was committed in the early hours of the morning, nobody was awake.

As he leaves the shop, he watches a cyclist steal a woman's purse. Heiji takes the banner in front of the and wields it like a staff, getting it to catch on the bicycle's pedals. The bike crashes, the thief drops the purse and angrily runs away. Heji picks the purse up and hands it back its owner, Tae Yamakura, who owns a teahouse. Mrs. Yamakura and her young geisha Chikasuzu, who catches up with them, thank him for stopping the thief and give Heiji their cards, telling him he is always welcome at the teahouse. Heiji notices she wears a bandaid on her thumb.

He says goodbye to Yamakura and Chikasuzu, climbs back on his motorcycle and drives on. Inspector Ayanokoji watches him drive by from a nearby alleyway.

Back at Sanno Temple, Kogoro tries to solve the picture riddle that was left in the letterbox at the temple. Conan says there are a lot of animals pictured, perhaps they are a clue towards the solution: a cicada, a tengu and a goldfish on the fifth row, a chicken, a leech and a strange dot on the fourth row, and between the second and third row, there is a violet, another tengu, Mount Fuji and on the side, an acorn.

Sonoko suggests that she and Ran go sightseeing while Kogoro works. Ran agrees and says she's already asked Kazuha to show them around Kyoto and that Heiji won't accompany her because he's bus. She also asks Conan if he wants to join her and Sonoko. Conan tries to come up with an excuse and says he's already going fishing with a few children who live near the temple. While he leaves, he wonders why the picture was sent to the temple and what it means.

At Gojo bridge, Conan tries to look for clues, when someone suddenly attacks him from behind with a shinai, reciting the story of Yoshitsune and Benkei's first meeting on the same bridge. Conan blocks the "attack" and is hardly surprised to find Heiji behind it. A few children have watched him swing the shinai and applaud Heiji, who gives them the staff. Conan and Heiji go down to the river and talk about the current state of the investigation into the serial murders. Heiji explains to Conan that his old friend had always been kind to Heiji when he was in middle school and that he wants to solve Bizen's murder and avenge his friend.

Conan shows Heiji the picture and asks Heiji to take him to every place he thinks could hold a clue to the whereabouts of the statue.

First, they visit the Gojouten shrine, which is where Benkei and Yoshitsune first met according to the "Yoshitsune Chronicles". Conan searches the shrine for clues but doesn't find anything. On their way out, Heiji wonders why nobody asked for his assistance in the case because Osaka is much closer to Kyoto than Tokyo. Conan says it might be because his father is the police chief in Osaka and the temple didn't want the police involved.

Next, they stop near Benkei Stone, a boulder that Benkei frequently sat upon (according to one legend) or that Benkei threw from Mount Hie (according to another legend).

Heiji and Conan get ready to drive up to Keage Incline but are interrupted by Inspector Ayanokoji who tells Heiji to keep away from the investigation.

Ran, Sonoko, and Kazuha visit Kiyomizudera temple which offers a beautiful view of many flowering cherry trees. Kazuha seems sad about something and when Ran asks her why, Kazuha tells her friends that Heiji's first love lives in Kyoto and that she's worried Heiji is going to find the girl again.

On Keage Incline, Conan and Heiji search the statue of the Perfected Great Sun Buddha. There aren't any relevant clues on or near the statue so they decide to leave and have lunch.

As they climb down the hill again, they pass a field of flowering cherry trees and Heiji tells Conan about one of his fondest memories: On a visit to Kyoto when he was eight, he decided to explore all the temples in the city.

At one temple, he climbed up to look out of a barred window, the bars broke, Heiji fell backwards and hit his head on the floor. He briefly lost consciousness. When he came back to his senses, he heard someone singing outside of the temple and looked out to saw a pretty girl about his age, dressed in a colourful kimono, playing with a ball while she sang. A gust of wind blew past, causing Heiji to squeeze his eyes shut. When he opened his eyes again, the girl was gone. All he found was a square crystal near the trunk of the cherry tree. He shows the crystal to Conan and Conan asks whether Heiji has ever told the story to Kazuha. Heiji says he has, but she doesn't know every detail.

Sonoko, Ran, and Kazuha have lunch at a restaurant and also talk about that incident eight years ago. Kazuha says Heiji was recently interviewed about his first love by a Kansai magazine. He said the girl must have been a bit older than him and that they met while Heiji was in year three of primary school. Ran tries to reassure Kazuha that this girl is firmly in Heiji's past and Kazuha is Heiji's future, but Sonoko interjects that most men always care a lot about their first love.

Conan and Heiji reach the west gate of Kurama temple, wanting to take a shortcut. They climb off the motorcycle and Conan sees a blue motorcycle parked nearby. As they go up the stairs leading to the inner temple sanctuary, the killer watches them from above. At the top of the stairs lies the Immobile Hall of Sojyougatani where, legend has it, the Tengu taught Ushiwakamaru the art of war. Heiji says the place seems perfect to practice sword fighting.

At the same time, the killer prepares to shoot at Heiji with an arrow.

Attempted Murder

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Location: Tree near the Immobile Hall of Sougyougatani
Victim: Heiji Hattori
Attack types: Shooting
Suspects: Benkei
Benkei aims at Heiji from a tree and shoots, but the arrow misses since Conan pushed Heiji on the side.

Conan notices just in time and yells at Heiji to get down. Conan runs after the attacker and Heiji runs back to his motorcycle, picks Conan up and they chase after the attacker. They come to a path in the forest that ends near a bridge. The attacker races across the bridge, cutting the rope off behind him and Heiji manages to get to the other side just in time.

The chase continues down the hill to Kurama temple station and the two motorcycles race down the train tracks at the Eizan Electric Railway (Eiden) Kurama Line. The attacker throws a smoke bomb, Heiji loses sight of him and they narrowly escape collision with a train coming the other way. As Conan and Heiji scramble back to their feet, the unknown attacker drives off into the distance. Conan wonders why he was attacking Heiji.

They meet up with Sonoko, Kazuha, and Ran and Heiji explains that they were trying to solve the mysterious picture riddle. Conan asks where Kogoro has disappeared to and Enkai tells them the men have all gone to a teahouse in Pontochō.

At the Sakuraya teahouse, Ichikayo, a geisha, sings, while Chikasuzu dances for Kogoro, Ryuen, Sakura, Shuntaro, and Taiga. Kogoro calls for more sake, at which point Kazuha, Conan, Sonoko, Ran, and Heiji enter the teahouse. Ran tells Kogoro off but Ryuen asks her to be kind to her father as the entire evening was Ryuen's idea, he thought Kogoro needed to relax while he tried to find the missing statue. Heiji recognises Chikasuzu from earlier.

The landlady wants to know more about the "Yoshitsune Chronicles".

Taiga says the book actually tells Benkei's story and Shuntaro that he particulary enjoys the story of "Ataka no Benkei". He says that this story is quite popular in Noh theatre as well. While escaping from Yoritomo's pursuing party, Yoshitsune and his servants disguise themselves as mountain priests to get past a checkpoint at Ataka. Yoshitsune comes under the scrutiny of a guard, but Benkei, acting in a split-second, beats Yoshitsune with a stick to fool the guards as it was unheard of that a servant would hit his master. The company gets past the checkpoint unharmed. Later, Benkei, embarassed by his actions, apologises tearfully but Yoshitsune tells him there is nothing to forgive and praises Benkei for his quick reaction. Everyone agrees that this story is a good example of the close friendship Yoshitsune and Benkei enjoyed.

Sakura asks the landlady if he can have a quick nap in one of the rooms downstairs and tells her to wake him at nine PM.

Sonoko opens the window and everyone marvels at the beautiful full moon and clear night sky. The teahouse overlooks Misogi River, which, according to Ichikayo, is a popular meeting place for couples because it is lined with flowering cherry trees. Heiji spots Inspector Ayanokoji standing downstairs on the riverbank and points him out to Conan.

Ran, Kazuha, and Sonoko go downstairs to have a better view of the cherry tries.

Kogoro plays more games with Chikasuzu while everyone watches him and laughs.

Conan looks up wistfully and says the full moon reminds him of a date he once had with Ran. Shinichi was two hours late and he ran to their usual meeting spot, worried Ran would either be angry or had already left. Instead, Ran smiled when she saw a tired Shinichi hurrying to her and said she wasn't angry but glad nothing serious had happened to him. Heiji teases Conan and asks if that was the day he found out he was in love with Ran. Conan doesn't answer but thinks that he already knew that back then and wonders how long Ran will keep waiting for him.

Ran tells Kazuha she is slightly envious of her because Kazuha gets to see Heiji whenever she wants.

It is nine PM and the landlady goes downstairs to wake Sakura. She doesn't find him so she looks for him in the cellar. The door to the storage room is open, she looks inside and finds Sakura dead on the floor near the window.

The landlady yells out in panic.

Murder

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Location: Storage room in the teahouse
Victim: Shozo Sakura
Age: 51 years old
Cause of death: Slit wound on the throat
Suspects: Ryuen, Shuntaro Mizuo, Taiga Saijo, Tae Yamakura, and Chikasuzu
The landlady scream the sixth victim in storage room.

The guests run downstairs and Ran calls the police. Kogoro inspects the body and says that Sakura died because someone slashed his carotid artery with a sharp weapon. The police arrive and ask everyone except Heiji and Kogoro to leave. Heiji thinks this was not a robbery, but before he can elaborate further, Kogoro notices Conan has stuck behind and throws Conan out of the room. Conan secretly took a set of keys from the dead man's pocket before Kogoro discovered him.

Inspector Ayanokoji and two police officers go upstairs to talk to the witnesses. Heiji and Conan discuss the case quietly and Heiji asks Conan if Conan thinks the murderer broke into the teahouse. Conan says he can't entirely discount that idea, but Sakura would have heard the front door open if the murderer came in that way and nobody is stupid enough to hang onto the murder weapon after they used it. It is more likely that the murderer was already in the teahouse, meaning the main suspects are Saijo, Ryuen, and Mizuo. All three of them excused themselves to go to the bathroom during the evening, giving them an opportunity to sneak downstairs and kill Sakura. Conan wonders why Chikasuzu followed Mizuo to the bathroom but didn't do the same for Ryuen and Saijo. All of which makes it more likely that either Ryuen or Sajo are the culprit since they didn't have any witness when they left the room.

Heiji asks Conan for the keys he "so obviously stole from Sakura" and together, they go to the deceased's antiquities shop in Teramachi street. Conan finds the "Yoshitsune Chronicles" among Sakura's books with the name "Ise no Saburo" on the back. Sakura was therefore one of the remaining members of Genjibotaru. The picture riddle is stuck between the pages of the book and Heiji says he thinks it was Sakura who sent the letter to Sanno Temple.

Heiji and Conan meet up with the others and tell Kogoro of their findings. Kogoro immediately panics, wondering if he's next as he's "got a five in his name" but Conan reminds him this was an entirely different serial killer (see: movie 2). Conan wonders if the picture in Sakura's book was a copy and if the murderer knew about it. Sonoko remembers that she heard a splashing sound from the Misogigawa river a few seconds before Tae found Sakura's body. The police are still looking for anything that could have been thrown into the river but couldn't find anything so far. Heiji says the murderer must have had an accomplice who collected the murder weapon before it could be found by the police but Conan rejects that idea, saying such an accomplice would have been spotted by Ran, Kazuha, and Sonoko. Kogoro wonders if the murderer climbed in through the basement window, hid in the bathroom and waited for Sakura to come downstairs, where he killed Sakura and climbed out of the window again holding the murder weapon.

Heiji and Kazuha ride home on Heiji's motorycle in Teramachi street and are pursued by the murderer who stands up on his motorcycle from Saijo's closed store and shoots at them with bow and arrow. The arrow fizzes past Heiji and breaks the left side mirror of his motorcycle. The murderer takes a turn into a park, Heiji and Kazuha pursue him. Heiji tells Kazuha to stay behind while he follows the murderer on foot. They meet near the train tracks and the murderer throws a wooden sword at Heiji, challenging him to a kendo fight. During their fight, Heiji notices the murderer wears arm guards.

Eventually, Heiji loses balance and drops his sword. He tells the murderer to cut him like he cut Sakura. The murderer hits him twice before he cuts through a sleeve into Heiji's pocket where he keeps the old crystal. Heiji picks it up but when he tries to get up, his vision suddenly blurs and he feels dizzy. Heiji leans against a tree and the murderer takes a knife out and prepares for the fatal blow.

Attempted Murder

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Location: Road and forest near the train
Victim: Heiji Hattori
Attack types: Stabbing
Suspects: Benkei
Benkei prepares to stab Heiji, but Kazuha throws a blackjack at him, ripping his mask and forcing him to escape.

Before he gets to it, a sock containing a heavy stone comes fizzing through the air and hits the murderer on the head, chipping off a part of his mask. When he hears someone shout "he's over here, officer!", the murderer runs away with the swords but drops the knife. Kazuha hurries to Heiji who tells her that was a smart idea and thanks her for saving his life before he loses consciousness. When he comes to, he is in Umekouji Hospital with Ran, Kazuha, and Conan. Otaki and Shiratori ask Heiji if he remembers anything about his attacker and Heiji tells them to inspect the wounds the murderer made with the short sword. Unfortunately, Otaki says there is not a lot of evidence to go by as even the motorcycle the murderer rode was stolen. Kazuha remembers that some of the murderer's mask was chipped off by her sock weapon and leaves soon after the police officers, determined to look for the piece of wood. Ran, who has been talking to Kogoro on her phone, comes back to the room to find Heiji and Conan gone.

Conan and Heiji go back to the city centre by train and talk about the attack. Heiji tells Conan about the arm guards the murderer wore and that he deliberately wanted to be wounded by the short sword to collect evidence for the police, but that he doesn't understand why the murderer left his short sword behind and tried to grab the pouch with the crystal ball from Heiji.

They meet up with Mizuo to ask him about the mask the murderer wore and to check everyone's alibis. Shuntaro explains that he went directly home after the teahouse but he lives alone with his mother so he has no witnesses for his alibi. Saijo says his situation is exactly the same, his apartment is above his shop and nobody else lives in the building. Ryuen also went home by himself.

Heiji then wants to know if anyone of the suspects have ever practiced archery. Shuntaro says he uses a bow and arrow just for theatre and Ryuen uses the sound generated by a bow string to meditate, but does not practice archery. Sajio mumbles "Yamakura" but Heiji says Tae Yamakura was nowhere near the park and is not considered a suspect for his attack. Chikasuzu comes to check how everyone is doing. She has an unusual way of sitting down on the mats on the floor which Conan immediately notices. Saijo sits down in a similar fashion but bends his knees more than she did.

Heiji and Conan accompany Chikasuzu back home. As they go down Ebisu avenue, Chikasuzu - more to herself - sings a song which Heiji immediately recognises, it is the same song he heard in the temple eight years earlier. Chikasuzu explains that this is a temari (a Japanese ball game song) that tells the names of the major roads in Kyoto that run east to west and that the roads appear in the order from north to south. They say their farewells to the young geisha at Oike avenue.

Immediately after she leaves, Otaki calls Heiji from Police headquarters and says the test results from the hilt of the short sword are back. They found Sakura's bloodtype on the handle and the marks the sword left are the same as the marks on Sakura's body. Conan wonders if that doesn't exclude every single of their four main suspects. Heiji has hardly paid attention, staring after Chikasuzu.

Suddenly, the Detective Boys show up and explain that Agasa has taken them to Kyoto, but they have lost Genta. They have reached him with their badges but Genta can't tell them where he is since he can't read kanji yet. Conan locates him with his glasses and Heiji takes the glasses from him and follows the signal along with the children.

Agasa's stomach growls suddenly and Ai gives him a pill from a case she carries in her bag. Agasa proudly presents his newest invention - a set of pills that include one that supresses a growling stomach, to be used for special occasions, one that helps people tolerate alcohol better, one that turns your face red and a pill that makes cold-like symptoms appear when you swallow it, allowing the user a day off work.

They eventually find Genta in the Rokkaku temple. Conan explains that the badges use the same frequency as his glasses which is how he was able to locate Genta.

This sentence suddenly makes everything clear to Conan and Heiji - they now know how Sakura was murdered but have no idea who committed the murder, so they go back to the teahouse to look at the crime scene again. Conan says all four main suspects could have killed Sakura, but Heiji, believing Chikasuzu was his first love, immediately corrects him, saying there is no way his first crush could be a murderer, but of course Conan doesn't listen his pathetic discrimination. He still wonders why the song she sang was different to the one he remembers, in his memory the lyrics went "yome-san rokkaku", not "ane-san rokkaku" as she sang.

In the meantime, Kazuha is back at the park and finds the wooden chip that she took off the mask with her throw.

At Police Headquarters, Megure inspects three pieces of evidence that were found on three of the murder victims, three different pieces of clothing with the same colour and design. He wonders what the significance of those items are. Takagi thinks that "if Shiratori died, we would also divide his belongings up among ourselves". Shiratori joins his colleagues and updates them on a new piece of information from the investigation. Her's mother, who died when Chikasuzu was five, was also a geisha working in the Miyagawa district. The orphaned girl was taken in by Tae Yamakura after her mother's death and the teahouse got anonymous donations to help with Chikasuzu's upbringing since that day. The donations suddenly stopped three months ago.

Megure calls Shiratori and asks him if he has any theory about the items found next to the victims. Shiratori says that to him, it looks like Yoshitsune or Benkei died and each remaining member of the Genjibotaru picked up one of the items as memento of their associate. They are interrupted by Kogoro who calls everyone to the temple, announcing he has figured out the case.

Suspects and police officers gather at the temple, Conan wonders what Kogoro is thinking but is hardly surprised when Kogoro announces a completely false conclusion. He accuses Chikasuzu of the murder, telling her she is Yoshitsune's daughter who wanted revenge for her father who was betrayed by his men and died three months ago. Ayanokoji, who was actually Benkei, was her accomplice. Chikasuzu secretly took the short sword and the chipmunk with her to the teahouse and killed Sakura when she "went to the restroom", after the murder she tied the sword to the chipmunk and let it escape through the basement window. The chipmunk jumped into the Misogi and swam downstream where Ayanokoji picked it up later before he tried to kill Heiji. Triumphantly, Kogoro asks the accused if they practice archery. Ayanokoji says no but Kogoro announces that there is evidence Chikasuzu is an archer since she has a wound on a part of her thumb where archers get injured often. She angrily defends herself, saying that she hasn't practiced archery for long and that Kogoro shouldn't take this as proof. Tae also supports her ward, saying she takes her job seriously and a dancer has no time to even think about killing anyone. Conan asks Kogoro if he really thinks the chipmunk could carry a short sword. Kogoro tries to prove it but fails.

Watching this pathetic scene unfold, Heiji quietly asks Conan if he's also sure who the actual killer is and Conan says yes, that it was in fact archery that provided him with the final answer. They still have no evidence, however, and haven't found the missing statue either.

Genta, Ayumi, and Mitsuhiko play with the chipmunk and Genta wants to feed an acorn to the little rodent. Several acorns fall from his pocket and splash into the fountain around which all of them sit. Ayumi laughs and says this feels like a real-life version of the children's song "Donguri Koro Koro" which is about acorns that fall into a puddle.

Conan now realises the meaning behind the map - it can be solved with the help of the temari song.

People

  • Characters from the past

  • Resolution

    In other languages

    Language Title Translation
    Flag of Catalonia Catalan Cruïlla a l'antiga capital Crossroad in the Ancient Capital
    Flag of China Chinese (Simplified) 迷宫的十字路口 Crossroad in the Maze
    Flag of France French Croisement dans l'ancienne capitale Crossing in the Ancient Capital
    Flag of Galicia Galician Encrucillada na antiga capital Crossroad in the Ancient Capital
    Flag of Germany German Die Kreuzung des Labyrinths The Crossroad of the Labyrinth
    Flag of Italy Italian La mappa del mistero The Map of the Mystery
    Flag of Thailand Thai คดีฆาตกรรมแห่งเมืองปริศนา Murder Case of the Mysterious Town
    Flag of Vietnam Vietnamese Mê cung trong thành phố cổ Crossroad in the Ancient Capital

    Gallery

    Trivia

    • This is the first Detective Conan movie to be made using digital animation, alongside the use of 3D graphics, which was provided by Studio A-CAT.[2]
    • The café from which Shinichi calls Ran at the start of the movie has number 221B as it address, just like Sherlock Holmes and John Watson's apartment, 221B Baker Street.
    • The girl in the live action ending theme is Nanami Komori.
    • Benkei's motorcycle is a Yamaha WR 450 F.
    • Sanno Temple is modeled after Daigo-ji, and Gyokuryu Temple after Ninna-ji, Tenryū-ji, and Kurama-dera.
    • The Genjibotaru robbers group's name is also the name of a widely known species of fireflies in Japan.

    References

    See also

    Detective Conan Movies
    Movies Movie 01: The Time-Bombed SkyscraperMovie 02: The Fourteenth TargetMovie 03: The Last Wizard of the CenturyMovie 04: Captured in Her EyesMovie 05: Countdown to HeavenMovie 06: The Phantom of Baker StreetMovie 07: Crossroad in the Ancient CapitalMovie 08: Magician of the Silver SkyMovie 09: Strategy Above the DepthsMovie 10: The Private Eyes' RequiemMovie 11: Jolly Roger in the Deep AzureMovie 12: Full Score of FearMovie 13: The Raven ChaserMovie 14: The Lost Ship in the SkyMovie 15: Quarter of SilenceMovie 16: The Eleventh StrikerMovie 17: Private Eye in the Distant SeaLupin III vs. Detective Conan: The Movie (crossover) • Movie 18: Dimensional SniperMovie 19: Sunflowers of InfernoMovie 20: The Darkest NightmareMovie 21: The Crimson Love LetterMovie 22: Zero the EnforcerMovie 23: The Fist of Blue SapphireThe Scarlet Alibi (compilation) • Movie 24: The Scarlet BulletMovie 25: The Bride of HalloweenThe Story of Ai Haibara ~Black Iron Mystery Train~ (compilation) • Movie 26: Black Iron SubmarineDetective Conan vs. Kid the Phantom Thief (compilation) • Movie 27: The Million-dollar PentagramMovie 28: One-eyed Flashback
    Related cases 16 Suspects!? (movie 4) • Conan, Heiji, and the Vanished Boy (movie 7) • Time Travel of the Silver Sky (movie 8) • Follow the Vanished Diamond! Conan & Heiji vs. Kid! (movie 10) • A Challenge from Agasa! Agasa vs. Conan and the Detective Boys (movie 11) • Magic File 2: Shinichi Kudo, The Case of the Mysterious Wall and the Black Lab (movie 12) • Lupin III vs. Detective Conan (crossover) • Magic File 3: Shinichi and Ran, Memories of Mahjong Tiles and Tanabata (movie 13) • Magic File 4: The Osaka Okonomiyaki Odyssey (movie 14) • Magic File 5: Niigata~Tokyo Souvenir Capriccio (movie 15) • Bonus File 1: Flower of Fantasista (movie 16) • The Missing Sweets in the Old Shop (movie 17) • The Coded Invitation (movie 18) • Promise with a J-Leaguer (movie 16) • Munch's Missing Scream (movie 19) • The Shadow Approaching Amuro (movie 20) • The Mystery of the Vanished Black Belt (movie 21) • The Melting Cake! (movie 22) • The J League Bodyguard (movie 16) • Intrigue at the Food Court (movie 23) • The Beika City Shopping Center Garbage Bin Mystery (movie 24) • The Flying Jack-o'-lantern (movie 25) • The Cameras Targeting Haibara (movie 26) • Behind the Scenes of the J League Finals (movie 16) • Mystery of the Lost Treasure (movie 27)