Chapter 107: "I Am a Cat" by Mr. Kitagawa gave me the courage to judge the US military. I

Chapter 107: "I Am a Cat" by Mr. Kitagawa gave me the courage to judge the US military. I

Chapter 107: "I Am a Cat" by Mr. Kitagawa gave me the courage to judge the US military. I recommend it to everyone!

While Mutsuro Takahashi and others were busy preparing for a literary exchange meeting in late November, Hide Kitagawa was also concentrating on studying the current social situation and the reader market to lay a solid foundation for the next hit book.

The golden month of October passed in a flash, and in November Tokyo was mired in the "Okinawa American Military Girls Atrocity Incident."

Countless pairs of citizens' eyes are fixed on the Japanese government and the Tomiichi Murayama Cabinet, waiting for a verdict that is in line with the will of the people.

If this trial fails to meet the public's psychological expectations, Murayama Tomiichi's career as prime minister will probably be over.

But if the American soldiers who killed XX were really put on trial, the Socialist Party would also become the target of attacks from other parties, and the outcome would not be good.

The cabinet of Tomiichi Murayama was caught in a dilemma and was very busy. The lights in the Prime Minister's residence were on almost every night until dawn. Tomiichi Murayama, who was in his seventies, took the lead in working overtime until late at night every night, and under pressure from all sides, he was thinking about whether there was a solution to the problem that would satisfy both parties.

On the night of November 11, at the Prime Minister’s residence and the Prime Minister’s office.

After reading the new documents, the exhausted Tomiichi Murayama closed his eyes for a while, then opened them and his gaze fell on the unopened book "Literature and Art" on the desk.

As soon as the November 1995 issue of "Wenyi" was released yesterday, it triggered a buying frenzy, making people feel as if they were back to the time when "No Longer Human" was first released.

The reason why this issue of "Wenyi" can attract so many readers to buy it is thanks to those capitalists and hypocritical literati who are eager to lick the American father personally.

Their undisguised ugly faces are completely consistent with the Kaneda family and the literary groups in "I Am a Cat". After being spread by a large number of pure literature readers, this originally niche novel suddenly became a sensation across the country and became a critical masterpiece sought after by countless people!
This issue of "Wenyi" will usher in the final chapter of "I Am a Cat", so naturally a large number of readers will rush to buy it, wanting to have a quick look.

Tomiichi Murayama is now also a die-hard fan of Kitagawa Hide's books. He asked his secretary Ozawa to buy "Wenyi" as soon as possible. Unfortunately, he has been busy with official duties recently and has not had time to read it carefully.

The moonlight is bright outside the window, and the Prime Minister's residence is as quiet as a forest.

Tomiichi Murayama picked up "Wenyi" and couldn't help but flip through it.

Just think of it as a chance to relax after work!

As time passed, Tomiichi Murayama soon immersed himself in the story of "I am a Cat".

Kitagawa Hide’s portrayal of the cat’s habits and psychology is so vivid that one can’t help but wonder if he is the reincarnation of a cat demon?
Otherwise, how could the cat's perspective and movements be portrayed so realistically?

And it's not just "us" who are the protagonists, but also other cats that appear, such as the beautiful Sanhua Niangniang, the loyal Dahei to his master, and a certain cat who looks down on Kusamiya just like his owner, and so on.

Before he knew it, Tomiichi Murayama had read the last chapter.

While working last night, he heard that the ending of "I Am a Cat" had caused a great response in society, and it seemed that many people were discussing whether this ending was appropriate.

Tomiichi Murayama, who was itching to tell the story, asked people around him not to reveal the plot, so when he saw this, he still knew nothing and his curiosity was aroused.

At the end of the story, those noisy, self-important intellectuals who had always pretended to look down on the capitalists finally showed their true colors and became the bootlickers of the Kaneda family one by one.

Although Kushami didn't say it, he was extremely envious of Hanyue for becoming the son-in-law of the Jintian family. As long as he married Mrs. Jintian's daughter, he would be able to rise to fame overnight and completely leave their poor little group.

"We" drank the beer in the kitchen and died quietly.

".I am about to die. Death brings me this kind of peace. It is impossible to get this kind of peace if I don't die. Namo Amitabha, Namo Amitabha. Thank you, thank you."

Murayama Tomiichi looked at the ending with a sense of loss, whispering "we"'s last words before death.

For a moment, he felt as if he had turned into the "we" who were watching all this coldly, and then, with a look of contempt, he quietly drank the beer and walked towards death.

At first glance, it seems that Mr. Beichuan is constantly praising the benefits of money, but in fact he is expressing another meaning: disgust for profit-seeking capitalists and hypocritical literary groups!
“What an unforgettable novel.”

Tomiichi Murayama closed the magazine. He had no interest in the other novels serialized in "Bungei".

After reading "I Am a Cat", he threw "Literature and Art" aside and fell into deep thought.

If we just let the ugly capitalists and their supporters do what they want, then what is the difference between us and the American soldiers who committed brutal crimes?
Are things really going to end up like the ending of "I Am a Cat", where "we" die, the capitalists remain rampant, and the hypocritical literary groups tear off their disguises, start worshipping money, and act like loyal dogs?

Is there any hope for a society like that?

At this moment, Tomiichi Murayama seemed to be inspired by something. He made up his mind, picked up the telephone receiver beside him and dialed a number.

The call was answered quickly.

"Put me in touch with the Minister of Justice and tell him I have something to discuss with him."

On the afternoon of June 11th.

Kitagawa Hide, who successfully obtained the "Certificate of Completion" from the driving school, came to the Kokubunji City Police Station in high spirits, ready to take the last "Theoretical Test on Safe and Civilized Driving Knowledge", and then he will be able to get his first certificate in this world!

When he was thinking about buying a Mercedes-Benz with luxurious interior and sparse configuration, or a BMW with simple interior and good configuration, Kitagawa Hide was suddenly grabbed by the shoulder by a beautiful young policewoman on the field.

He was startled and quickly raised his hands to prove his innocence. Although Japanese police would not suddenly attack and empty their bullets like American police, they would never show mercy when beating people.

This is the police station, their territory. Even if you are beaten by the police, you have no place to cry.

The little policewoman Nako Hikigaya, who was a little over 1.5 meters tall, was also frightened by his reaction, and she swallowed back half of the words "Teacher Kitagawa" that were about to come out of her mouth.

"Hey, is that you?" Kitagawa Hide was pulled by the arm and vaguely recognized the little policewoman. It seemed that she was the one who helped a lot when he came to take the bodies of Yan Jing Takuya and his wife.

What made Kitagawa Hide so memorable was mainly her baby face and a pair of big white rabbits that you couldn't even see her toes when you lowered your head.

"Yes, yes, yes! Teacher Kitagawa, do you still remember me? I'm Hikigaya Nako! The one who asked you to sign here last time!" The little police girl puffed out her proud chest, pointed at her left hemisphere with her finger, and little stars appeared in her eyes.

"Oh, I remember. Hello, do you have something to talk to me about?" Beichuan Xiu breathed a sigh of relief. From her tone, it didn't sound like she would suddenly take out handcuffs and take him away. After all, he hadn't done anything wrong.

"That's it. I suddenly saw you coming. I, I..." Hikigaya Nako suddenly became shy. After a long while of hesitation, she took out a book called "Literature". "Can you write a message for me in this book?"

Kitagawa Hide looked around and found that the citizens and police officers who came to do business all had "Wenyi" on hand. He couldn't help but sigh that the final chapter of "I Am a Cat" could have such a great influence.

He smiled and nodded, took the pen, thought for a while, and then quickly wrote on the title page: "I wish Officer Hikigaya success in solving the case, punishing evil and promoting good, and prosperity in martial arts!"

"Is this okay?" Kitagawa Hide handed "Literature and Art" back to her and smiled.

"Okay, okay! That's great!" Hikigaya Nako almost jumped up with excitement, "The 'I Am a Cat' you wrote is so interesting! Especially the ending of this episode."

She wanted to continue talking, but many eyes shot at her from all directions. Realizing that this was also a spoiler, Hikigaya Nako immediately stopped talking, then raised her right hemisphere and begged, "Teacher Kitagawa, please sign this too, please!"

Kitagawa Hide has seen many women chasing after stars.

But this was the first time he had seen a female police officer chasing a writer.

The citizens and police officers around seemed to hear nothing, and the people sitting in the waiting area were staring at the TV, as if they had long been accustomed to such things.

Kitagawa Hide smiled helplessly. Perhaps only in a strange country like Japan would it not be surprising if such a thing happened in a police station.

He carefully signed his name on the right hemisphere of Hikigaya Nako.

After six months of hard practice, Kitagawa Hide's handwriting is now legible, and Hikigaya Nako is very excited to notice this. Last time, she took her signature back to show off to her classmates and friends, but because the handwriting was too bad to be seen, no one believed it. This time, they will definitely be speechless!

"By the way, Mr. Kitagawa, are you here to do something?" Hikigaya Nako was satisfied. She held "Literature" to her chest, wondering if she could help Mr. Kitagawa.

Kitagawa Hide told the truth, and Hikigaya Nako immediately took him to a vacant examination area and used her personal connections to allow Kitagawa Hide to successfully get into the group that was about to take the exam.

The exam was about to begin, so Kitagawa Hide said goodbye to her and went straight into the exam room.

Soon after taking his seat, Kitagawa Hide heard the candidates around him discussing the recently released "Literature and Art", as well as the "Gun Portrait" and "Literary World" which had been released earlier.

In the past two months, the reputation and sales of "I Am a Cat" have reached a new level due to the promotion of the US military incident.

The October issue of "Qun Xiang" finally sold 10 copies, a sharp drop of 52.1 copies from the previous issue, and the downward trend is difficult to conceal.

"Wenyi" went even further. Before Hideki Kitagawa, the monthly sales of the August issue of "Wenyi" exceeded 8 copies. The September issue doubled that to 30 copies. The previous October issue set a new record of 9 copies, winning the monthly championship in the competition among the five major pure literature magazines for the first time!

The November issue of "Wenyi" ushered in the final chapter of "I Am a Cat". With the explosive word-of-mouth, Kitagawa Hide believes that its monthly sales should be able to go further, but he doesn't know whether it can break the sales record of "Wenyi" since its founding.

The candidates around were still talking, and their words were full of disappointment with "Group Portrait" and "Literary World", but it was completely the opposite for "I Am a Cat", with all praise and admiration.

This is the first novel in the history of Japanese literature that is written from the perspective of animals. It is full of criticism and satire, and accurately depicts the current state of Japanese society and literature.

To some extent, "I Am a Cat" broke the barriers of pure literature and attracted many non-pure literature and even non-literary readers.

The more Kitagawa Xiu listened, the more satisfied he felt. He felt that all the hard work he had endured these days was not in vain.

The second battle, which moved to Kawade's study, finally ended smoothly.

Kodansha and Bungeishunju are probably in a difficult situation right now.

The haiku wave has gradually dissipated, and they have failed to benefit from the new haiku market. The former can probably only pin their hopes on the upcoming "Hear the Wind Sing", while the latter has completely lost its direction.

This month, the single volume of "The Threshold of This Person" by Kazushi Hosaka, the winner of the Akutagawa Prize in the first half of the year, was published. At the same time, Shizuko Kawaide launched the collection of "Youth Trilogy". These two sets of books can be seen in almost all bookstores across the country.

The results are self-explanatory.

"Youth Trilogy" completely blew away "The Threshold of This Man". The former was in short supply, while the latter had dismal sales, only selling tens of thousands of copies on the first day of printing. That was because everyone wanted to see what magic the work had that defeated "Hear the Wind Sing" and "Ball" and won the award.

Then I realized, it was shit.

The discussions stopped abruptly and the exam began. Kitagawa Hideya put his flying thoughts aside and focused on the test questions.

Half an hour later.

Kitagawa Hide was mixed in the crowd that was walking out one after another. There were people around him who were lamenting that they did not do well in the exam, and there were also people who were very excited and shouted about buying a certain brand of car.

In 1995, after Japan's rapid development during the bubble period, the rate of car ownership among residents was quite high, and the society as a whole was actually quite developed.

The sad thing is that it was like this in 1995, and it is still like this thirty years later.

"Hey, hey, hey, have you heard about the incident in which a girl from Yinwu Elementary School was attacked by thugs?"

"Eh? What? An elementary school girl? She's still a child, right?"

"Yes, it seems that she was severely injured by being beaten with a hammer, and the perpetrator also seems to be a minor. The girl's father went to the nearby junior high school and asked the school to provide photos of the students for his daughter to identify, but was rejected."

"What did the police say?"

"What else can I say? It must have been rejected!"

"It's really scary. In this society, it seems that after the economic downturn, people have become more impetuous."

"Yes, there is a term circulating on the Internet recently, called 'hollow heart disease'."

The voices of discussion gradually faded away, but Kitagawa Hide didn't pay much attention to them.

In Japan during the Great Depression, nothing was unusual.

Although "Youth Trilogy" and "No Longer Human" have led to a wave of redemption, they are still unable to play a real leading role in the overall depressed social environment.

At this moment, his attention was attracted by the TV program.

On TV, Tomiichi Murayama, who suddenly held a press conference, looked serious. The members of the Prime Minister's cabinet standing next to him also had their heads hung and looked listless.

A group of senior officials bowed collectively in front of the camera and publicly apologized to the people of Okinawa Prefecture for the "US military incident" a while ago.

This kind of apology is worthless. After all, the spines of Japan's high-ranking officials and upper-class people are the least valuable.

However, as the reporters asked sharp questions one after another, Kitagawa Hide gradually smelled something different.

"I hereby promise that no one can stop me from severely punishing those American soldiers who committed heinous crimes!" Tomiichi Murayama spoke righteously, and it did not seem like he was being perfunctory or joking.

Flashbulbs went off.

He really wasn't talking nonsense.

However, it is quite admirable that Tomiichi Murayama could make such a decisive decision under such pressure.

Unfortunately, this prime minister who was closest to his neighbor in Japanese history also had the shortest career among all previous prime ministers.

He is just a poor guy who was pushed out to take the blame for the bubble burst.

"Mr. Murayama, what prompted you to make this decision? This may have a huge impact on your party and your term of office, right?"

"It was Mr. Kitagawa's "I Am a Cat" that gave me the courage to judge the US military."

Tomiichi Murayama on TV made a shocking statement.

“Cats are animals that seem harmless on weekdays, but can suddenly poke you with their paws. The satire used in Mr. Kitagawa’s My Cat also has such an effect.

A few days ago, I finished reading the ending of this novel and was deeply moved. Mr. Beichuan did not fiercely criticize how bad money worship is, nor did he explicitly accuse intellectuals of being ridiculous.

But it seems plain and objective, but in fact, as you read on, you can suddenly feel his true intention from a certain word, a certain phrase, or a certain passage. "

Tomiichi Murayama suddenly looked towards the camera, as if he could see Kitagawa Hide through it.

"After reading it, I kept thinking, If I don't do anything about it, will our society go the way Mr. Kitagawa described? I was very worried and terrified, so I made this decision."

"I like this book very much. It is a satirical and critical work that has the magic of being read over and over again! I would like to personally recommend it to everyone!"

(End of this chapter)