{"format":"murdoku-puzzle/1","id":"teagarden","version":1,"difficulty":"medium","level":5,"size":{"rows":7,"cols":7},"languages":["en","hu","de","fr","es","it","nl","pl","pt","ro","ca","cs","fi","vi","tr","el","ru","uk","ar","ko","ja","zh-Hans","zh-Hant"],"defaultLanguage":"en","title":"The Tea Garden","tagline":"A tea garden in Kyoto · cherry-blossom week · the kettle kept singing","author":"mathace","concept":"Murdoku – Manuel Garand (murdoku.com); unofficial fan-made case","created":"2026-09-28","story":"Kyoto, the first week of April, when the cherry trees of the old tea garden bloom for a few days only. The tea master's family had invited a small circle of artists to a tea ceremony – and an American collector who had come to buy the garden's famous tea bowl. While the guests strolled across the bridge over the koi pond and the gardener raked the stone garden, the kettle kept singing in the tea house. There, on the tatami beside it, lay Virginia, the collector. Each of them describes where they were – find the one who was alone with her.","rules":{"standard":["Every row and every column holds exactly one person. As soon as you place someone, cross out their whole row and column.","“Beside” = directly left, right, above or below, and in the same area. Squares with objects (the kettle, the stone lanterns, the pond, the rocks and the cherry trees) cannot be occupied; the benches, the tatami mats and the bridge can.","Directions refer to rows and columns, not to the same line: “exactly one row north of him was a woman” = the person in the row directly above is a woman, in any column.","The murderer was alone with the victim: nobody else was in that area."],"special":[]},"roleNames":{"host":"host","guest":"guest","victim":"victim"},"personGroups":[{"id":"hosts","name":"The hosts","persons":["A","B"]},{"id":"guests","name":"Guests","persons":["C","D","E","F","V"]}],"map":{"groups":[],"gaps":[],"areas":[{"id":"Waiting Arbour","cells":[[1,1],[1,2],[2,1]],"fill":"#e8e0cc","pattern":"planks","labelAt":[1,1],"name":"Waiting Arbour"},{"id":"Moss Garden","cells":[[1,3],[1,4],[1,5],[2,2],[2,3],[2,4],[3,1],[3,2],[4,2]],"fill":"#d6e6c6","pattern":"marble","labelAt":[2,2],"name":"Moss Garden"},{"id":"Tea House","cells":[[1,6],[1,7],[2,6],[2,7],[3,7],[4,7]],"fill":"#efe6c9","pattern":"planks","labelAt":[3,7],"name":"Tea House"},{"id":"Koi Pond","cells":[[2,5],[3,3],[3,4],[3,5],[3,6],[4,3],[4,4],[4,5],[4,6],[5,3],[5,4],[5,5],[6,4]],"fill":"#d3e7ea","pattern":"marble","labelAt":[4,3],"name":"Koi Pond"},{"id":"Stone Garden","cells":[[4,1],[5,1],[5,2],[6,1],[6,2],[6,3],[7,1],[7,2],[7,3]],"fill":"#ebe7dd","pattern":"marble","labelAt":[6,2],"name":"Stone Garden"},{"id":"Cherry Grove","cells":[[5,6],[5,7],[6,5],[6,6],[6,7],[7,4],[7,5],[7,6],[7,7]],"fill":"#f3e0e8","pattern":"marble","labelAt":[6,6],"name":"Cherry Grove"}],"objectTypes":{"bench":{"occupiable":true,"name":"bench","icon":""},"bridge":{"occupiable":true,"name":"bridge","icon":""},"tatami":{"occupiable":true,"name":"tatami mat","icon":""},"kettle":{"occupiable":false,"name":"kettle","icon":""},"rock":{"occupiable":false,"name":"rock","icon":""},"sakura":{"occupiable":false,"name":"cherry tree","icon":""},"toro":{"occupiable":false,"name":"stone lantern","icon":""},"water":{"occupiable":false,"name":"pond","icon":""}},"wallTypes":{},"objects":[{"cell":[1,2],"type":"bench"},{"cell":[1,7],"type":"kettle"},{"cell":[2,3],"type":"toro"},{"cell":[2,6],"type":"tatami"},{"cell":[2,7],"type":"tatami"},{"cell":[3,4],"type":"water"},{"cell":[3,5],"type":"water"},{"cell":[3,6],"type":"toro"},{"cell":[4,4],"type":"bridge"},{"cell":[4,5],"type":"bridge"},{"cell":[5,2],"type":"rock"},{"cell":[5,4],"type":"water"},{"cell":[5,5],"type":"water"},{"cell":[5,6],"type":"sakura"},{"cell":[6,3],"type":"rock"},{"cell":[6,7],"type":"sakura"},{"cell":[7,5],"type":"bench"}],"wallFeatures":[],"extras":[],"cellSize":46},"persons":[{"id":"A","name":"Akiko","gender":"F","role":"host","color":"#c62828","avatar":{"bg":"#8c3a5a","skin":"#f3d3b5","hair":"#1c1a1a","style":"bun","shirt":"#c0392b","necklace":true},"clue":"She was beside the pond.","job":"the tea master's daughter","avatarSvg":"","solverRole":"host","constraints":[{"type":"beside","obj":"water"}]},{"id":"B","name":"Benjiro","gender":"M","role":"host","color":"#2e7d32","avatar":{"bg":"#3f6a3a","skin":"#e0b48c","hair":"#8a8278","style":"short","shirt":"#5d4037","cap":true,"mustache":true,"mustacheColor":"#8a8278"},"clue":"He was not in a corner of his area.","job":"the gardener","avatarSvg":"","solverRole":"host","constraints":[{"type":"not_corner_of_area"}]},{"id":"C","name":"Chiyo","gender":"F","role":"guest","color":"#1565c0","avatar":{"bg":"#5b2c6f","skin":"#f3d3b5","hair":"#1c1a1a","style":"long","shirt":"#7a5a9a","headband":"#e0b050"},"clue":"A stone lantern was somewhere in her area. Exactly one row north of her was a woman.","job":"a haiku poet","avatarSvg":"","solverRole":"guest","constraints":[{"type":"area_has","obj":"toro"},{"type":"rel_any","dir":"N","exact":1,"gender":"F"}]},{"id":"D","name":"Daisuke","gender":"M","role":"guest","color":"#6a1b9a","avatar":{"bg":"#1b2a33","skin":"#e0b48c","hair":"#1c1a1a","style":"slick","shirt":"#2f3b4c","glasses":true,"beard":true},"clue":"A rock was somewhere in his row. He was beside the pond.","job":"a calligrapher","avatarSvg":"","solverRole":"guest","constraints":[{"type":"row_has","obj":"rock"},{"type":"beside","obj":"water"}]},{"id":"E","name":"Emi","gender":"F","role":"guest","color":"#e65100","avatar":{"bg":"#6e2c4b","skin":"#f3d3b5","hair":"#2b1d14","style":"bob","shirt":"#e26d8a","earrings":true},"clue":"A cherry tree was somewhere in her row. She was the only woman beside a bench.","job":"a kimono designer","avatarSvg":"","solverRole":"guest","constraints":[{"type":"row_has","obj":"sakura"},{"type":"only_beside","obj":"bench","gender":"F"}]},{"id":"F","name":"Fumio","gender":"M","role":"guest","color":"#00838f","avatar":{"bg":"#35607a","skin":"#e0b48c","hair":"#3a2a1c","style":"short","shirt":"#264653","mustache":true,"mustacheColor":"#3a2a1c"},"clue":"He was not alone in his area.","job":"an art dealer from Osaka","avatarSvg":"","solverRole":"guest","constraints":[{"type":"not_alone"}]},{"id":"V","name":"Virginia","gender":"F","role":"victim","color":"#1b1b1b","avatar":{"bg":"#5a2a2a","skin":"#f6d8c0","hair":"#d9b464","style":"bob","shirt":"#1b1b1b","necklace":true},"clue":"The victim. She was found in the Tea House, beside the kettle – alone with the murderer.","job":"an American art collector","avatarSvg":"","solverRole":"guest","constraints":[{"type":"area","areas":["Tea House"]},{"type":"beside","obj":"kettle"}]}],"victim":"V","murderer":"F","solution":{"F":[1,6],"V":[2,7],"C":[3,1],"A":[4,4],"D":[5,3],"E":[6,5],"B":[7,2]},"walkthrough":[{"place":["E","D","A"],"cand":{"B":[[2,7],[3,2],[3,7],[7,2],[7,6]],"C":[[2,2],[3,1],[3,2]],"F":[[1,1],[1,2],[1,6],[2,1],[2,2],[2,6],[2,7],[3,1],[3,2],[3,7],[7,1],[7,2],[7,6],[7,7]],"V":[[1,6],[2,7]]},"text":"Virginia was found beside the kettle in the Tea House: R1C6 or R2C7 – and the murderer was alone with her there, so the Tea House holds exactly two people. Emi had a cherry tree in her row – the cherry trees are in rows 5 and 6 – and she was beside a bench. The benches are at R1C2 and R7C5, so of all the squares beside a bench only R6C5 lies in row 5 or 6: Emi is at R6C5. Daisuke had a rock in his row – the rocks are in rows 5 and 6 as well – and row 6 is Emi’s, so he is in row 5; he was beside the pond, and the only square of row 5 beside it is R5C3: Daisuke is at R5C3. Akiko was beside the pond too: R2C5, R3C3, R4C4, R4C5, R5C3 or R6C4. Column 3 is Daisuke’s, column 5 and row 6 are Emi’s: Akiko is at R4C4, on the bridge. Rows 4, 5 and 6 and columns 3, 4 and 5 are now taken."},{"place":["B"],"cand":{"C":[[3,1]],"F":[[1,6],[3,1]],"V":[[1,6],[2,7]]},"text":"Benjiro, Chiyo, Fumio and Virginia are left with rows 1, 2, 3 and 7 and columns 1, 2, 6 and 7. Chiyo had a stone lantern in her area – the Moss Garden or the Koi Pond – and in these rows and columns only R2C2, R3C1 and R3C2 are left for her. The woman exactly one row north of her can’t be Akiko (row 4) or Emi (row 6), only Virginia, who is in row 1 or 2 with Chiyo right below her – so one of the two women is in row 2. Nobody can be in the Waiting Arbour: Benjiro would be in a corner of his area (all three of its squares are corners), Chiyo would have no stone lantern in her area, Virginia is in the Tea House, and Fumio would be alone there. Nor can anyone be at R7C1: it is a corner of the Stone Garden (not Benjiro), and the Stone Garden has only row 7 left, so Fumio would be alone there too. So row 1 can only be used at R1C6 (the kettle fills R1C7), and column 1 only at R3C1: column 6 and row 3 are taken. Benjiro was not in a corner of his area: of his free squares only R2C7, R3C2, R3C7, R7C2 and R7C6 are not corners – but row 2 belongs to one of the two women, and row 3 and column 6 are taken. Benjiro is at R7C2."},{"place":["C","V"],"cand":{"F":[[1,6]]},"text":"Column 2 is Benjiro’s, which takes R2C2 and R3C2 away from Chiyo: Chiyo is at R3C1, in the Moss Garden. She is in row 3, so the woman exactly one row north of her, Virginia, is in row 2: Virginia is at R2C7, on a tatami mat beside the kettle."},{"place":["F"],"text":"The Tea House still needs its second person – the murderer. Akiko and Daisuke are in the Koi Pond area, Emi is in the Cherry Grove, Benjiro in the Stone Garden and Chiyo in the Moss Garden, so the only person who can be alone with Virginia in the Tea House is Fumio. Fumio is the murderer. The last free row and column meet at R1C6, in the Tea House: Fumio is at R1C6 – there with Virginia, he was indeed not alone in his area."},{"final":true,"text":"Case closed: Virginia was alone in the Tea House with the art dealer from Osaka. Fumio is the murderer!"}],"solver":{"rules":[],"occupiable":["bench","bridge","tatami"]},"verification":{"tool":"tools/murdoku_solver.py","unique":true,"guessFree":true,"checked":"2026-09-28"}}