The literary era since 1979

With a loud bang, rain began to fall from the gray sky.

The raindrops were like beads that had broken off the string, and gradually they connected into needle-like rain lines. After a while, the rain became heavier and heavier. The bean-sized raindrops hit the ground, forming small puddles one after another, with ripples appearing in the puddles.

The two people in the room made very little sound. The rain outside the window gathered into curtains of water. The room was filled with smoke and was hazy.

Fang Yan heard the phone ringing in the living room, picked up his bathrobe that was scattered on the floor, put it on and walked out of the bedroom.

The caller was naturally Okuyama Rong, who excitedly shared the box office results of "The Ring"'s premiere yesterday.

1 million, 1 million, created the best first-day box office record for a Japanese horror film!
Just as they were talking and laughing, Keiko Matsuzaka came out wrapped in a quilt, bare-legged, and leaned her whole body against Fangyan.

"Okay, let's follow the marketing plan I mentioned earlier and add more fuel to the fire of "The Ring"."

Fangyan hung up the phone, curled his lips, and repeated everything that Aoshan Rong had just said.

"so much!"

Keiko Matsuzaka expected that "The Ring" would be a huge success once it was released, but she never expected it to cause such a sensation.

"Is this too much? It barely meets my expectations."

Fang Yan disagrees. The Chinese version of "The Ring" starring Gong Wei and Zhu Lin not only caused an unprecedented response in the mainland, but also earned more than 1800 million Hong Kong dollars at the box office for Shaw Brothers just by being introduced to Hong Kong by Fang Yihua, second only to Lam Ching-ying's zombie film series.

In Southeast Asian countries, wherever the film is released, it will always be ranked in the top ten of the movie box office charts of that year.

Therefore, it is not surprising that "The Ring" achieved such a successful start in Japan.

"So how much do you expect the box office to be?"

Keiko Matsuzaka raised her chin, rested it on his shoulder, and whispered into his ear.

Fang Yan smiled and said, "No matter how bad it is, it can't be less than 10 billion."

"10!?"

Keiko Matsuzaka was astonished. How dare he think of that? Not to mention that no Japanese horror film has ever grossed over 5 million. In all her years of acting career, only one movie, "Kamata March", had a box office of over 10 million. A movie that grossed over billion was even more out of reach.

"Do not believe?"

The dialect is quite interesting.

"I believe whatever you say."

Under his gaze, Keiko Matsuzaka shook her head and said, "It just feels like a dream. It's a little unrealistic and a little uncomfortable..."

Fang Yan said casually: "It doesn't matter if you are not used to it. If you can have one or two more movies with a box office of over 10 billion, you will get used to it slowly."

"It's not as easy as you say."

Matsuzaka Keiko smiled, and suddenly an idea popped into her mind, "Are you talking about "Love Letter"?"

"What do you think?" Fang Yan turned around and hugged her wrapped in a quilt.

Keiko Matsuzaka stood on tiptoe and pecked him lightly, her pretty face full of joy:
"From the moment Love Letter was published, President Okuyama and his team have been eager to make your novel into a movie!"

"It may not be Shochiku. I'm thinking about trying to find a different partner."

Fangyan narrowed his eyes into slits.

"Oh, I was wondering why the vice presidents and directors of Toho, Toei, and Nikkatsu were so enthusiastic. It turns out it was all because of Love Letter."

When Keiko Matsuzaka thought of the business cards that fell out of her pocket, she immediately realized what was going on.

"There is a saying in China that those who pay the highest price get it, and those who are capable will occupy it."

Fang Yan said, "Anyway, according to the agreement among the five agencies, no matter which one of them shoots the film, the leading actress will still be yours."

Keiko Matsuzaka smiled and considered things from his perspective. With the impact of TV dramas and variety shows, the situation in which Japan was divided into five parts has changed. Daiei went bankrupt and restructured, Nikkatsu reduced production to survive, and Shochiku, which insisted on holding on to stage plays such as Kabuki, was about to follow in Nikkatsu's footsteps, but it got back on track by introducing Chinese-language films such as "That Mountain, That Man, That Dog", "A Bite of China" and "The Ring".

Only Toho and Toei firmly hold the first and second spots in the Japanese film industry.

"What about Kadokawa Pictures?"

Fangyan mentioned it seemingly casually.

"Kadokawa Pictures is also good. They are best at making idol movies that are beautiful, romantic, and a bit taboo."

Keiko Matsuzaka changed the subject and said that Kadokawa Pictures has been suppressed by the joint efforts of film giants such as Toho, Toei, and Shochiku, and that the "Kadokawa Three Girls" who were regarded as the top brands also had big problems. Hiroko Yakushimaru announced her temporary retirement after filming her farewell work "The Tragedy of W".

Tomoyo Harada also switched from acting to music, leaving Noriko Watanabe alone to maintain the business.

However, Kadokawa Pictures has never been able to discover another girl idol like Yakushimaru Hiroko, and has fallen into a situation of a lack of successors. In addition, other companies have also entered the idol movie market in a big way, and Kadokawa Pictures' business has begun to crumble. If it were not for the support of Kadokawa Shoten, which provided a steady stream of financial transfusions, Kadokawa Pictures would either have to go bankrupt and restructure like Daiei, or reduce production and shut down operations like Nikkatsu and shrink its business.

"So, Kadokawa Pictures is facing a crisis?"

Fangyan raised his eyebrows.

Keiko Matsuzaka said: "It's not just Kadokawa Pictures, it's also Kadokawa Bookstore."

After asking Fangyan, I found out that Kadokawa Bookstore mainly relies on youth, romance and orthodox mystery novels, but now the new orthodox school has emerged, idol movies have failed one after another, and the previous method of relying on movie adaptations to boost sales of novels of the same name has also failed. Kadokawa Bookstore has been on a downward slope.

"Why do you suddenly care so much about Kadokawa Pictures?"

Keiko Matsuzaka was very curious.

Fangyan explained that the book signing sessions for Love Letter were mainly held at various branches of Kadokawa Shoten, with the rest held at Tokuma Shoten.

"I thought you were going to let Kadokawa Pictures film Love Letter."

Keiko Matsuzaka breathed a sigh of relief. According to the Five-Company Agreement, she could move between Shochiku, Toho, Toei and other companies. No matter which one finally decided to shoot "Love Letter", she could get the contract. However, the same could not be done by Kadokawa Pictures unless she could obtain special permission from Shochiku executives.

"Well..."

Fangyan did not give an answer, but pulled away the quilt that wrapped her.

As the quilt fell to the ground, Keiko Matsuzaka was carried to the table, and a big hand touched her neck one vertebra at a time down to her coccyx.

Fangyan was like a doctor who gave her a comprehensive physical examination and implanted a mutation containing him into her genes.

It was pouring rain outside and the wind was blowing strongly. After several days, the clouds cleared and the rain stopped, and the sun reappeared in the blue sky.

Rays of sunlight penetrate the spireas blooming on the roadside, and clusters of small flowers flutter in the wind, like a sea of ​​flowers.

Fangyan took the car arranged by Yuhikaku and arrived at the Kadokawa Bookstore branch in Chiyoda District. There was a billboard with a poster at the door, and a round table in front was filled with circles of "Love Letters".

"Mr. Fangyan, welcome!"

Kadokawa Toshihiko invited the employees to line up to welcome him.

Fangyan looked around calmly. The signing event was arranged quite grandly, which showed how much importance Kadokawa Shoten attached to it.

What surprised him even more was that Kadokawa Leyuhiko's elder brother, who is also the president of Kadokawa Shoten, Kadokawa Haruki, was also there.

"Mr. Fangyan, let me take you to see him."

Kadokawa Lehiko took him to the rest room and knocked on the door gently.

"Please come in."

Kadokawa Haruki called out, then took the initiative to extend his hand and greeted with a smile.

Seeing this, Fang Yan knew that this was definitely not just for a book signing event, and he vaguely guessed their purpose.

Kadokawa Haruki laughed: "Fangyan-kun, I have always wanted to find an opportunity to get to know you, and today I finally got my wish."

"I have also heard of President Kadokawa's name."

Fang Yan said: "He led Kadokawa Bookstore to cross the publishing and film industries, and Kadokawa Pictures was also the first to create idol movies, driving the entire industry to rise up the idol movie trend. So far, he has 50 of the top 12 Japanese movie box office in history. Am I right?"

Haruki Kadokawa and Koji Kadokawa were greatly surprised. They did not expect Fangyan to do such a detailed background check on them and Kadokawa Company.

Fangyan smiled knowingly and explained that he had heard these by accident from Suzuki Shunjiro, Okuyama Jun and others.

"So that's how it is. I'm sorry to have made you laugh, Fangyan-kun. In fact, Kadokawa Shoten's involvement in the film industry is also in line with the development of the situation."

"Let movies and literature complement each other and achieve mutual success. Isn't there an old Chinese saying that goes, 'He who knows the current affairs is a hero!'"

Haruki Kadokawa saw through it but didn't say anything. He just raised his hand and made a "please sit down" gesture.

As soon as the three of them sat down, Kadokawa Koyomi poured tea and said:

"I saw the news about The Ring these days. Congratulations, Fangyan, for breaking through 3 million at the box office so quickly!"

"Yes, I read the newspaper, too."

Haruki Kadokawa said: "Unfortunately, I had something important to do on the day of the premiere and could not make it, so I had to ask my brother to attend on my behalf. After he came back, he praised the film's horror techniques and still couldn't believe that someone in Japan could make such a unique horror film."

Fangyan smiled. Compared with Gong Xing's version, Keiko Matsuzaka's version of "The Ring" is different in terms of lines, scenes, actors, etc., but the plot, camera movement, colors, pictures, etc. are basically copied from Gong Xing's version. It cannot be said to be exactly the same, but it can be said to be almost the same.

Although he thought so in his heart, he mainly attributed the credit to Shochiku Company and the main creative crew.

"With the current momentum of The Ring, I think it will be no problem for the box office to double."

Haruki Kadokawa said, "And with the performance of the movie, the novel of the same name will definitely win this year's Nebula Award."

"I hope so."

Fangyan held the teacup in his hand.

Kadokawa Lehiko said that his elder brother liked the dialect-speaking "That Mountain, That Man, That Dog" and "Love Letter" very much, especially the haiku in them, which were truly unique and, in terms of quality alone, were definitely worthy of the Shehu Award.

Fangyan asked: "Snake Hu Award?"

Kadokawa Leyihiko said that this award was established by Kadokawa Shoten to commemorate the famous haiku poet Iida Jūwata. It was the work of the previous generation of the Kadokawa family, their father Kadokawa Minayoshi, who was himself a writer and haiku poet.

Fang Yan took a sip of tea and said, "I see."

“If Fangyan-kun could write a collection of essays of the quality of the haiku in Love Letters, he would most likely win the Shehu Prize.”

Haruki Kadokawa said: "Of course, based on the quality of Love Letter itself, I think it is well deserved even if it wins the Naoki Prize."

"Thank you for the compliment, but I don't think it will be shortlisted for the Naoki Prize."

Fangyan raised his hand. The rules for Japanese literary awards are numerous and complicated. For example, a work can only win one of the awards of the same level. "That Mountain, That Man, That Dog" won the Akutagawa Ryunosuke Prize, but for no reason was not selected for the final list of the Naoki Prize.

However, the more important reason is that the Akutagawa Prize is an authoritative award in the field of pure literature, while the Naoki Prize has an important position in the field of popular literature.

The judges usually appreciate popular literature with strong stories, and pay more attention to new and unknown writers.

Once a writer wins the award, it is like wearing a yellow robe. He can use this title to easily exchange for commissions from top publishing houses and extremely high remuneration and royalties. Therefore, like the Akutagawa Ryunosuke Prize, it is regarded as a stepping stone for young literary people to advance. Generally, the winner can only win the award once in his lifetime.

But the great writer Haruki Murakami has never won the Naoki Prize, which has become a joke in the Japanese literary world.

The reason is actually very simple. The Naoki Prize rarely selects famous artists. After all, does a carp that has already transformed into a dragon still need to jump over the dragon gate?
"Don't think like that, Fangyan-kun."

Kadokawa Koyomi said in a serious tone.

Haruki Kadokawa nodded in agreement, saying that Love Letter not only created a new literary category, the pure love novel, but also contained an aesthetic, fresh and clean style that swept away the years of lethargy in the Japanese literary world, like a dazzling meteor that streaked across the entire Japanese literary world.

Just because "Love Letter" combines the three aesthetics of wabi-sabi, yugen, and mono no aware, it is worthy of at least being shortlisted for the Yasunari Kawabata Literature Award.

"Oh?"

After asking Fangyan, I found out that these literary awards named after famous Japanese writers are all established by large conglomerates.

It is often awarded to works that conform to the literary spirit and have literary value.

For example, Yasunari Kawabata, the pinnacle representative of the "beauty of mono no aware", must embody the aesthetics of mono no aware to win the award.

For example, the Izumi Kyoka Literature Award requires works to be romantic and fantastical in style, and there is also the Tanizaki Junichiro Literature Award...

"So, Mr. Fangyan, we have an unreasonable request, and we hope you can seriously consider it."

Kadokawa Haruki spoke solemnly.

Seeing him and Kadokawa Koyomi slightly bent down, Fang Yan restrained his smile and said seriously: "You can say it as you like."

"In the past two years, Kadokawa Bookstore has launched a 'bunko strategy' of reprinting best-selling books in small-format, exquisitely packaged editions."

Haruki Kadokawa asked Fangyan to give the opportunity to reprint "Love Letter" to Kadokawa Shoten, and promised to offer conditions that would satisfy him.

Fangyan's heart skipped a beat. Could it be Dengeki Bunko? No, Kadokawa Shoten couldn't have been founded at this time! (End of this chapter)