Promise of Death

Promise of Death (Japanese title: 死との約束 (テレビドラマ) Shi to no Yakusoku) is a 2021 Japanese adaptation of the Hercule Poirot novel Appointment with Death. It was produced by Fuji TV and directed by Hidenori Jôhô with screenplay by Kôki Mitani and first broadcast on 6 March 2021. The film is the third outing for Japanese actor Mansai Nomura in his role as the Japanese Poirot parallel Takeru Suguro.

Note that the literal translation of the Japanese title is "Promise of Death" but in the opening credits, after the Japanese title, is listed together with the English title "Appointment with Death".

Synopsis
Suguro is enjoying a holiday at a luxury hotel in Wakayama Prefecture. There he meets his friend Uesugi Honami, a member of the Japanese Diet. Also at the resort is the domineering Mrs Hondo with her family. While on a hike on the Kumano Kodo trail to the Kumano shrine, Mrs Hondo stops to rest and is then found dead. The local chief of police Kawahari Daisaku asks Suguru to help investigate.

Comparison with original book
(may contain spoilers - click on expand to read)
 * The adaptation is very faithful to plot in the original novel except that the setting is in Japan in 1955. The characters are Japanese and the location is changed from the Holy Land to the Kumano Sanzan, an area with three great Shinto shines connected by a pilgrimage route through woodlands called the Kumano Kodo. Like other Fuji TV adaptations, the Japanese characters are patterned after the originals and even the names are made to look similar. The Solomon Hotel in Jerusalem becomes the Kuromon Hotel. There are other easter eggs which refer back to the original though not all have been found.
 * The character of Dr Gerard is dropped. Part of his role is taken by the Poirot parallel Suguro Takeru. Hence Suguro befriends Sara Kinuko (Sarah King) at the beginning, and they exchange observations about the Hondo (Boynton) family. Suguro is therefore present during the key events in the plot, although he is sometimes some distance away.
 * The backstories of the various characters are slightly embellished or slightly different from the original, but not drastically. Suguro, for example, knows Uesugi Honami (Lady Westholme) from times past.
 * Various key events from the original novel are faithfully reproduced. For example, Sara and Suguro approach Jumonji Yasao (Jefferson Cope) for background information about the Hondo family--in the original, Sarah King and Dr Gerard approached Cope.
 * There are two outings. The first, to the Kumano Hongu shrine (mode of transport not shown) corresponds to the sightseeing trip to Temple Mount in Jerusalem. Like in the original, Hondo Kyoko (Carol Boynton) talks to Sara about her brother. They arrange to meet in Sara's hotel room for a further chat. At this outing, Suguro also meets Uesugi Honami and is pleasantly surprised to encounter an old acquaintance. Junna is made to stay at the hotel.
 * The confrontation between Sarah King and Mrs Boynton is faithfully depicted. This time Sara confronts Mrs Hondo in the lobby of the Kuromon Hotel. The only difference is that Suguro himself is a witness to this event.
 * The second outing is by a bus apparently also to the Hongu shrine. This time, most of the action takes place as the people hike along a woodlands trail, the Kumano Kodo. Part way along the trail, Mrs Hondo says she wants to stop for a rest and sends the rest of her family on. She is later found dead. Junna does not stay in the hotel (like Ginevra in her tent at Petra). Here she comes along but her mother makes her go back to the bus early.
 * A recurrent theme in the plot is the sighting of "Tengu", mythical part man, part bird, part dog creatures. The village in which the hotel is set is called Tengu. At various points, witnesses claim to have sighted Tengu. Junna, forced to stay in the bus, claims to have seen a Tengu running near the assumed time of Mrs Hondo's death. This corresponds to Ginevra claiming that an Arab entered her tent. Jumonji (Cope) also claims to have seen Mrs Hondo beating a Tengu. Uesugi Honami also claims to have seen one with Mrs Hondo and the suggestible Asuka Hana readily agrees.
 * Asuka Hana (Amabel Pierce) does not see Kyoko throwing a syringe away. Here, Kyoko is caught by the police as she tries to bury a syringe in the hotel grounds.
 * Like in the original, the denouement takes place in the hotel. Here, Suguro tells Uesugi Honami that he has only invited people connected to the case to the session. However he suggests to her that she can listen in to what goes on from her balcony which is immediately above. This pointed hint is not present in the original. After the denouement, Uesugi commits suicide by throwing herself off a cliff. In the original, Lady Westholme shoots herself.
 * Because Suguro knows Uesugi's past, there is no need to verify or check with the police--he already knows. It is just that he was satisfied that she had reformed, changed her identity and made good, and had promised to keep her past secret, whereas Mrs Hondo threatened to expose her. Suguro does however get her to pass him a fan. Suguro passes this to the police saying that her fingerprints can be confirmed against their records.
 * Like in the original, Mondo (Raymond) pairs off with Sara and Nagiko (Nadine) goes back to her husband. However we are not told what happens to Kyoko (in the original Carol pairs off with Cope) or to Junna.

Cast
''Note: IMDb lists Japanese names in Western style as given name-family name. However the Japanese names here follow Japanese naming convention with family name-given name. This format is easier when searching for resources on the internet, especially those from Japanese sites. In the episode dialogue, characters are addressed in the Japanese format and this format is also used in the credits. In addition, it should be noted that the character names in IMDB are not exact.

Parallels are in brackets.


 * Nomura Mansai as Suguro Takeru (Poirot)
 * Matsuzaka Keiko as Mrs. Hondo (Mrs Boynton)
 * Yamamoto Kôji as Hondo Reiichiro (Lennox Boynton)
 * Sylvia Grab as Hondo Nagiko (Nadine Boynton)
 * Ichihara Hayato as Hondo Mondo (Raymond Boynton)
 * Hotta Mayu as Hondo Kyoko (Carol Boynton)
 * Hara Nanoka as	Hondo Junna (Ginevra Boynton)
 * Higa Manami as	Sara Kinuko (Sarah King)
 * Tsubokura Yoshiyuki as Jumonji Yasao (Jefferson Cope)
 * Nagano Satomi as Asuka Hana (Amabel Pierce)
 * Anan Kenji as Kawahari Daisaku (Colonel Carbury)
 * Suzuki Kyôka as Uesugi Honami (Lady Westholme)
 * Yoshida Oolongta as hotel staff
 * Komatsu Toshimasa as bus driver

Easter eggs

 * The hotel is named the Kuromon Hotel - sounds like the Solomon Hotel in the original.
 * In one scene, Hondo Reiichiro is seen reading an English novel "The Adventures of Lenox". Reiichiro is the parallel character of Lennox Boynton.

Tropes and themes

 * Suguro also asks for two eggs of the same size, boiled, in his case for 8 minutes
 * It is revealed that Suguro was a former policeman who arrested a jewel thief

Filming locations
The following locations were used for filming:
 * Gamagori Classic Hotel, Gamagori, Aichi - Kuromon Hotel externals
 * Kumano Hongu Taisha Shrine
 * Warp Station Edo - replica town set built for period drama films. Seen during flashback of Suguro as a policeman
 * Hokoji Temple in Hamamatsu, Shizuoka - woodlands scenes, area where the murder took place