Chapter 101 This time I really dug a hole and buried myself!
Chapter 101 This time I really dug a hole and buried myself! (owing 6)
In the huge courtyard, a large, bare and lonely cherry tree stood quietly. In this season, there were no cherry blossoms flying all over the sky. Only the rustling autumn wind and the corpses that might be buried under the cherry tree were left.
Next to the pond, at a small low table, two old men with white hair and beards sat cross-legged and drank hot tea.
Shintaro Ishihara knelt on the side. His knees hurt a lot, but when facing these two old men, he could only play the role of a disciple who served tea and water.
The bamboo "Deer Startling" on the side of the pond made a clear "thump thump thump" sound, and fine streams of water continuously flowed out of it.
"Jinglu" was originally an agricultural tool used in rural Japan to scare away birds, wild deer, and wild boars that broke into the courtyard. Its function is the same as that of a scarecrow in the countryside.
Later, Japanese writers who highly praised the aesthetic concept of "quiet and elegant" gradually became fascinated by this seemingly simple but Zen-like farm tool. It gradually became an indispensable "show-off tool" in Japanese rural courtyards or the courtyards of rich people's villas.
In the 90s, you could always see scenes like this in places that maintained Japanese style:
In the quiet Japanese garden, cherry blossoms fall in spring, cicadas chirp in summer, the wind blows in autumn, and snow falls in winter. In the silence, the bamboo tube filled with water hits the stone, occasionally making a crisp sound.
One of the old men was Ichiko Sadajiro. He kept drinking hot tea from a small tea bowl, waiting for the old man opposite him who was slightly younger than him to finish reading the book "Literature and Art".
"These are some wonderful haiku." The old man's name is Mutsuro Takahashi, and he is one of the few surviving haiku poets from the pre-war era who has lived to the present day.
He had not written haiku for nearly forty years, and his retirement was hailed as "the last brilliant ending of haiku." The entire haiku era was buried under the cherry tree along with his pen.
"Do you think so too?" Ichiko Sadaji was reluctant to admit Kitagawa Hide's ability to compose haiku, but after hearing the other party's praise, he could only sigh.
"Five haiku, four styles, a true genius. At least in the field of haiku, he deserves the title." Mutsuro Takahashi nodded truthfully.
The old friend traveled all the way from Tokyo to Kyoto to see him. The copy of "Wenyi" he brought with him had not yet been sold in Kyoto, but it had already made him sense the arrival of the new haiku era.
Among these poems, he likes the Zen-filled "Ancient Pond" the most, and the one he admires most is "My Wife and I". The colloquial writing style is no longer restricted to describing a certain scene, but conveys the so-called poetic beauty.
Just a few lines made this old man feel the same way.
"Compared to you?" Although Ichiko Sadayoshi had the answer in his mind, he still couldn't help asking.
Shintaro Ishihara, who was pouring tea at the side, looked up.
Takahashi Mutsuro shook his head: "I am ashamed of myself."
Damn!
This Kitagawa Hide really deserves to die!
Ishihara Shintaro knelt down respectfully and offered the new tea to Takahashi Mutsuro: "Teacher Takahashi, please give us a helping hand for the sake of your friendship with Teacher Mishima!"
The Mr. Mishima he mentioned was a deceased "unique person in the world" who had a close relationship with the Ishihara family and the Akutagawa Prize.
Mutsuro Takahashi’s literary works may not be considered “the best in the world”, but his poems can.
And in the literary circle, everyone knows a secret that is not a secret -
Mutsuro Takahashi and Mr. Mishima were good friends of the same sex.
The Japanese literary world no longer has those masterpieces that shocked the world, but these writers still retain the messy relationships in the original history.
The older generation in Japan, especially the group of intellectuals starting from the pre-war era, were very keen on two things.
One is suicide, and the other is making friends with the same sex, well, the kind of "making friends" you are thinking of.
This is the case with people and things in this country, often severely polarized, as if they have schizophrenia.
For example, Japanese women, on the one hand, desperately appeal to society for women's rights and status, but on the other hand, they are willing to accept the "gate of humiliation" on their wedding night.
The so-called "gate of humiliation" means that the bride will ask the groom to "humiliate" her in various forms on the wedding night in order to show his male authority.
They think it’s a sign of love.
In short, because of the relationship between Mutsuro Takahashi and Sensei Mishima, he could not refuse the request of Mishima's last disciple Shintaro Ishihara.
Besides, there is a Shi Gu Zhenci bus here.
"We can't let him step on you so easily. Only by raising the status of that haiku master can we curb the momentum of Wen Yi Magazine." Shintaro Ishihara prostrated himself on the ground and said respectfully.
Only by repeatedly belittling Kitagawa Hide's literary talent can the fairness and authority of the Akutagawa Prize be proven.
By praising the historical status of the haiku master of the University of Tokyo, and even better by rating his "Tanka of the Thunder God" as a masterpiece of all time, he could also step on Kitagawa Hide. This is what Shintaro Ishihara hopes Mutsuro Takahashi will do.
This kind of flattery will only be effective if a sufficiently influential figure in the haiku world comes out.
"I understand." Takahashi Mutsuro nodded. "I can write a literary review praising the 'Thunder God Tanka', but I will not belittle this young man named Kitagawa Hide. His poetry is indeed amazing."
"That's enough. Someone will naturally do the dirty work." A chrysanthemum-like smile appeared on Ichiko Sadaji's dry cheeks.
In the living room of a villa in Tokyo's Minato Ward.
slam-la-
The table that had just been laid was violently overturned by Noma Airi.
Tea, pastries, and cakes were mixed together and scattered all over the floor on a copy of Literature and Art.
The maid prostrated herself on the ground, not daring to move.
"Give me another one! No, give me ten!" Noma Airi said, stretching out her hand.
The maid tremblingly picked up ten brand new books of "Literature and Art" from the basket, but before she could hand them over, she was slapped hard by Noma Airi!
"Idiot! I asked you to hand over ten books and you handed over ten? Look how many hands I have." Noma Airi yelled, breathing out of her big nose. Her baggy figure couldn't support the beautiful dress at all.
"Yes, I'm sorry, miss." The maid picked up a book and handed it over.
"Snapped--"
Another slap, then she grabbed the "Literature and Art" and tore it into two pieces. Not feeling satisfied enough, she threw the debris and the remaining half of the book on the ground and kicked it hard with her high heels!
Those pages are the end of this serialization of "I Am a Cat".
Mrs. Kaneda, with her big nose, appeared, arrogant and annoying, and got angry at the maid.
Just like now.
Of course, in order to make this Meiji period critical literature work adapt to the present, Kitagawa Hide made a lot of revisions, while trying to maintain its core, he also made changes that are suitable for readers of this era.
Some of the irony in the film also cleverly corresponds to people like Airi Noma.
Therefore, Noma Airi has a deeper sense of empathy for the current Mrs. Kaneda!
But she doesn't want this sense of substitution at all!
"Damn it! Damn it! Damn it! How dare he do that?" Noma Airi stomped her feet in anger. After a long time, when she had vented her anger, she let the maid hand her the phone.
"Director Hanamori, this is the last time I will tell you this. Immediately, find that haiku master from the University of Tokyo! No matter how high the price is, even if it's 100 million yen for a haiku, I'm willing to pay it!
What? If you can't find it? Then you will disappear from Kodansha forever, you hear me! "
"Peter Cat" Jazz Café.
Kitagawa Hide was sitting at the bar, next to the desk, and Pete was yawning lazily. Ever since Kitagawa Hide found the lost football, it has also become a beneficiary, having cat noodles for every meal, and its fat butt is getting bigger and bigger, more like us in "I Am a Cat".
"Although I have read the manuscript, the sales volume still surprises me." Shizuko Kawaide skipped work today and came here with Rena Saito just to tell Kitagawa Hide the good news.
As tough as an iceberg she was, she broke the ice instantly after getting the ten-day sales data sheet.
There was also a rare look of surprise on Kitagawa Hide's face. In the past, Saito Rena had never seen him make such an expression.
When No Longer Human was not selling well, he did not panic like everyone else. Later, the book continued to sell well and now has sold about 95 copies, ranking first on the physical book sales list. However, he did not smile much.
It seemed as if nothing could ever shock him. Then today, Kitagawa Hide failed.
Yes, he really had a small setback.
"I Am a Cat" is different from the previous four novels.
"The Youth Trilogy" is close to this era and is the famous work of the sales god Haruki Murakami. "No Longer Human" is a masterpiece that transcends time and country. Coupled with the story of Takuya Iwao's family, it is like a tiger with wings, and it took off directly.
"I Am a Cat" actually covers a very long period of time. It is a product of the Meiji period. Strictly speaking, it is almost close to ancient Japanese literature, and the words and sentences in it cannot be copied.
Kitagawa Hide spent a lot of time deleting and revising these 30 words. The reason why he had been reading forums, investigating a lot of information, and even asking for data from "Gunzo" was because he wanted to better understand the tastes of readers in this era and Japan.
In addition, the original intention of writing this book was to satirize Noma Airi and those who won the Akutagawa Prize, so he also secretly stuffed in some personal opinions to ensure that when Noma Airi saw it, she would immediately identify with them and then be furious.
Even with all these things added, Kitagawa Hide really can't guarantee that "I Am a Cat" will be as amazing as before.
But this is also a challenge for him.
Because there are only a few usable works in modern times, and Keigo Higashino has fallen first, there are only a few other works of the great Murakami left, so he has to step out of his comfort zone and break the limits of plagiarism.
"I Am a Cat" is a semi-experimental product, so in order to ensure sales and not let it down, Kitagawa Hide attached a haiku to it, as well as the "Akira Literary Award Serial Murder Case" that is currently being prepared.
But now...something's not right, it shouldn't be so high!
"The third section of I Am a Cat has caused a huge response online," Saito Reina added, "and so has the haiku column. After this issue of the magazine went on sale, the editorial office's mailbox has been filled with haiku submissions in the past ten days."
"What a genius idea," said Shizuko Kawaide with emotion.
When Kitagawa Hide insisted on including "Salad Day" and "My Wife and I", she was a little hesitant to agree.
Compared with "Thor's Song" and "Autumn Beauty", the former is too cliché. Although both are songs praising love, their quality is too low.
Can the latter be considered a haiku?
But the result is that these two songs received much more response among the general public than the other songs.
At least the haiku market has been completely activated.
Regardless of whether there are any good new haiku in the final submissions, with this number of submissions, Kawaide Shobo will make a lot of money!
Who knows if there will be some new writers and poets emerging?
"It's a popular internet phenomenon, so that makes sense."
Kitagawa Hide nodded.
Total sales exceeded 30 copies in ten days after its release, matching last month's sales in just one-third of the time.
At least half of the entire issue of "Wenyi" is published with Kitagawa Hide's works. If you say that the credit has nothing to do with him, even the board of directors themselves won't believe it.
The rising stock prices are the best proof of this.
"Kitagawa, don't you think you're not satisfied enough?" Saito Reina was a little worried that Kitagawa Hidema wanted to become fat all at once. "The best-selling "Literature World" only sold 39 copies. "Shincho" and "Gunzo" are on par with us. "Gunzo" has been left behind. Even if it's only temporary, it's pretty good, really."
"I'm quite satisfied. I just don't know whether it's due to the haiku or to "I Am a Cat." Kitagawa Hide thought for a while and decided that he could only draw a conclusion after the product was sold out that month and compared with the next issue.
In his conception, "I Am a Cat" becomes more and more exciting as it goes on.
Of the first three sections, two tell stories and personal experiences from the cat's perspective, which is a bit boring, so he tried to shorten it as much as possible.
The story gradually becomes interesting when villains such as Mrs. Kaneda appear later.
In addition to the capitalists represented by Jin Tian, there are a total of 5 intellectuals in the novel, namely:
Kushami, a poor, old-fashioned and weak teacher and cat owner, seems unwilling to go along with the corrupt, but in fact he envies the capitalists and wants to be their son-in-law;
Miting, an aesthete who seeks to attract attention and likes to make up stories;
Han Yue, a writer who thinks highly of himself but actually has no talent;
Mr. Dongfeng, a fence-sitter, a poet who is easily influenced by the wind;
Duxian is a writer who is obsessed with pseudo-philosophy and theology and has a fame that does not match his ability.
These five people were labeled by Hideichi Kitagawa and portrayed in comparison with certain people.
The interesting part of the story starts from the visit of Mrs. Kaneda. The Kaneda family wants to marry their daughter to Kanetsuki. Kusami and others look down on the "greedy and cruel" capitalists, so arguments and conflicts arise, causing a small disturbance.
This part of the plot will be revealed in the next installment, and that should be the time when sales will peak.
The ending of the story will be revealed in the last issue of the series, which will also boost sales.
Because at the end of the story, Hanyue still married Miss Kaneda, and the cat died after drinking beer.
"This will be verified in the next two issues. Anyway, I have confidence in this novel and these haiku." Saito Reina pushed today's Yomiuri Shimbun to him. "If it's not deeply rooted in people's hearts, they won't do such a thing."
The Yomiuri Shimbun obviously received a lot of money and actually used a large amount of space in the literature section to publish two literary reviews.
One was written by Kitagawa Hide's old friend "Ichiro", and it was still the same flavor, angrily criticizing the heresy of "I Am a Cat" and the asshole behavior of those haiku poems that blasphemed the poetry genre. It was well written, but Kitagawa Hide only wanted to say one thing, "Didn't you eat? Try harder!"
The other one is interesting.
An old-generation haiku master named Mutsuro Takahashi published a literary review for the first time in thirty years.
I have specifically checked this old man Kitagawa Hide. He retired from the literary world in disgrace decades ago because of a scandal involving many people being gay.
It was hard for Hidetoshi Kitagawa to imagine how chaotic their private lives must be, as they were criticized in such an inclusive Japanese literary world.
However, this is the advantage of famous Japanese writers. Even if they are criticized for their character, no one will deny your past achievements. On the contrary, over time, it becomes a buff.
Takahashi Mutsuro only expressed one idea throughout the whole article: "The ability of the haiku master is far beyond my own. He is the contemporary haiku master. Compared with him, others are just fireflies. How dare they compete with the bright moon?"
This old guy's methods are much more sophisticated than "Ichiro's".
To elevate the historical status of the Haiku Master of the University of Tokyo, and thus to attack Kitagawa Hide at a lower level.
"Tanka of the Thunder God" has become a masterpiece, which is the best disparagement of Kitagawa Hide!
"Mrs. Kaneda, oh no, Managing Director Noma must be really anxious." Kitagawa Hide really wanted to say to her, I know you are anxious, but don't be anxious, the interesting things are still to come.
If it were before, Rena Saito would probably lose sleep and become swollen again because of Mutsuro Takahashi's fate and the targeting of the industry.
But this time she just wanted to laugh along with Kitagawa Hide, and wished that the haiku master would be praised to the sky.
By then, when "The Akutagawa Prize Serial Murder Case" is released, "I Am a Cat" ends, and the identity of the haiku master is revealed at the same time, I wonder what the judges of "Gunzo" and the Akutagawa Prize will think?
What is murder and heart-breaking?
This is murder and heartbreak.
It not only achieves both sales and criticism, but also lets them dig their own holes and jump into them.
"It's a pity that we can't publish "The Akumizu Literary Award Serial Murder Case." Shizuko Kawaide sighed.
She had just finished reading the outline of the novel and had to say that Kitagawa Hide was an absolute genius.
The novel is funny and humorous, full of satire, and you will know it is enjoyable enough just by looking at the outline!
How dare someone write like this? How did it come about like this?
And I want to make a movie myself!
Shizuko Kawaide couldn't explain why this novel made her feel so comfortable, because like most readers of this era, she had no concept of "feeling good".
"It's enough that President Kawade is willing to lend me resources." Kitagawa Hide rolled up the Yomiuri Shimbun into a paper airplane and said with a smile, "If you feel regretful, why not make a cameo appearance?"
(End of this chapter)