I am a literary giant in Japan

Chapter 309: Is Mr. Hide Kitagawa the number one person in Japanese literary history?
"That's amazing, Mr. Kitagawa."

Kato Shuichi's evaluation of Kitagawa Hide was extremely high. If it were put in the current Internet environment in Japan, he would definitely be criticized by netizens.

The Japanese, who consider themselves to be humble, would never express their respect for someone in such a straightforward way.

After hearing what he said, many readers who came into the store to buy books turned back to read.

But after finding out that the old man was playing the instrument by Teacher Beichuan, everyone gave him a thumbs up without exception, with an expression that said, "You old man have quite good eyesight."

Niwa Fumio, who had just felt that Kato Shuichi's words were inappropriate and might easily bring criticism to Mr. Kitagawa, silently shut up after seeing the readers' reactions.

Before anyone knew it, Kitagawa Hide's popularity in Japan had reached a level that other writers could hardly match.

He remembered that Ichiro Tanizaki, who was crowned and recognized as the "number one in the world" in Japanese literary world, did not receive unanimous praise from everyone.

It is hard to imagine that if Kitagawa Hide continues to produce novels of such high quality, will he one day be regarded as the number one in Japanese literary history?
"The second volume of Remembrance of Things Past was also released at the same time. The quality of this book is also shockingly high. I heard that the Japanese version of the first volume has sold nearly 300 million copies, making it the best-selling foreign novel imported into Japan."

Kato Shuichi and Niwa Fumio talked as they entered the bookstore.

When mentioning "Remembrance of Things Past", the admiration on his face became even stronger.

Previously, the best-selling foreign novel in the Japanese literary market was "Les Miserables" written by French literary master Victor Hugo, but it has now been replaced by "Remembrance of Things Past".

What’s amazing is that “Remembrance of Things Past” is set in France, and the French version is even considered to be the native original, but it was written by Hide Kitagawa!

No one could have imagined that one day Kitagawa Hide would be able to dominate Japan's foreign literature market!

The August 1997 issue of "Wenyi" is placed in boxes in the bookstore's warehouse. Every bookstore in the Tokyo area has at least 8 copies in stock. There will no longer be the situation of supply exceeding demand and being sold out as in the past.

Even so, the five clerks and the manager in this bookstore were almost running out of time to move and unpack the books, and hand them out to readers - there were simply too many people who came to buy the books!
Many people have only heard of the title of "One Hundred Years of Solitude" and didn't buy the last issue of "Literature and Art". They don't read pure literary novels very much. But after seeing various advertisements this time, they also ran to buy a copy and read the ending by the way.

Colleagues, friends, and relatives around me are all talking about this book and its possible ending. If you don’t know, you’re so out of date!

Kato Shuichi and his friend finally squeezed into the crowd, bought two brand new copies of "Literature and Art", and then squeezed out breathlessly.

They originally thought that buying the book to read the ending would add a sense of ritual, so they declined the offer of a sample book from Kawade Shobo.

Now they finally understood why other people in the literary world resolutely refused to come to the bookstore to buy books, and either ordered them online or asked Kawade Shobo to send samples directly.

Because the bookstore is really too crowded!
The combined age of the two people is nearly 130 years old. It feels like this squeeze has reduced their life expectancy by ten years!
After getting the book, the two of them immediately hailed a taxi and decided to go to Takeuchi Osamu's house to read it together. By the way, they also had the opportunity to discuss whether "One Hundred Years of Solitude" could be nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature next year.

“With my status, I know I shouldn’t praise Kitagawa like this, because if I say that, everyone will think I’m just bragging about my idol without thinking.

But after reading One Hundred Years of Solitude, I still want to write this:
Genius and master are not words that can be used casually.

The former means that you have extraordinary talent in a certain field, and that talent can ignore hard work and directly crush others.

The latter means that you have a recognized status and strength in a certain field, and have gained a certain degree of recognition worldwide.

But now.

Apart from these two words, I really can't think of any better descriptive words to describe Mr. Hide Kitagawa.

Looking at the history of Japanese literature, it is difficult to find a writer who can use a foreign historical background to write excellent works that drive both domestic and foreign readers crazy.

And I wrote two books at a time.

It also pioneered a new writing style called "magical realism".

And he's only twenty-five years old this year.

But he does exist and he lives right among us. His name is Kitagawa Hide.

We in the Japanese literary world are recognized as the 'best in the world'.

I am looking forward to the new 'Kitagawa Hidefu' pure literary novel that Kitagawa-sensei has promised to write.

Compared to these foreign literary works with higher reading thresholds, perhaps this new work that has not yet arrived will answer the doubts that have always been in my mind -

Is Mr. Kitagawa Hide the number one person in Japanese literary history?"

After typing the last line of words, Tetsutaro Mori let out a long sigh, looked at the computer screen, and thought about the book "Literature" on the table that he had just finished reading. It took him a long time to calm down from his excited mood.

As the No. 1 Kitagawa fuke in the literary criticism circle, Tetsutaro Mori has been closely tied to Kitagawa Hide since "Hear the Wind Sing". Relying on Kitagawa's popularity, he bought a house, a car, got a beloved girlfriend, and became a big shot in the literary criticism circle.

Nowadays, Kitagawa Hide has no shortage of people praising him, but his company Kitagawa Entertainment still often contacts Mori Tetsutaro to ask him for help in writing articles.

In the eyes of Tetsutaro Mori, this is what makes Mr. Kitagawa so touching!
Many well-known writers, after becoming famous, like to quickly cut ties with the people around them, for fear that the other party will shamelessly get back at them.

Only Mr. Kitagawa was so humble and kind when he wrote "Hear the Wind Sing", and now that he is writing "One Hundred Years of Solitude" which is famous all over the world, he is still so approachable.

Tetsutarou Mori is not the kind of person who is ungrateful. After much thought, he felt that Mr. Kitagawa needed someone in the country to speak for him and raised this question.

After all, this question will touch upon the very roots of Japanese literature.

Everyone can accept that you said that Mr. Beichuan became the best in the world at the age of 25.

If you say that Mr. Kitagawa's strength has surpassed that of the former "number one in the world" Ichiro Tanizaki, everyone can accept it.

But if you say that he has the strength that is "unprecedented and unrivaled", there will definitely be many stakeholders who will jump out to refute him.

There have been a total of thirty-four "Tenka Ichipin" in the history of Japanese literature, the earliest of which can be traced back to Murasaki Shikibu, who wrote "The Tale of Genji".

Among them are Akutagawa Mai, the founder of the Akutagawa Prize, Kume Masao, and Naoki Sanjugo, the founder of the Naoki Prize.

These people are the shining pearls in the history of Japanese literature. If they had not died early, it would not be Ichiro Tanizaki's turn to be in charge now.

There are only eight "Tenka No. 1" people in the world today, and it seems that Ichiro Tanizaki, Naoki Hyakuta and Yoriyoshi Arima will be expelled from this sequence.

Mr. Kitagawa is indeed the best in the world, but how does he compare with these famous figures in history?

Many people have the answer to this question in their minds.

At least since Mr. Kitagawa was shortlisted for the Nobel Prize in Literature and wrote "Remembrance of Things Past" and "One Hundred Years of Solitude", he is no worse than those predecessors.

But if you want to elevate a 25-year-old young writer to the highest altar, the older generation of writers who uphold "literary correctness" will definitely not agree!

"Then let me raise this question and put the issue before the public!"

Mori Tetsutarou thought so.

Once this review is published, it will definitely cause a storm in the literary circle.

If things go wrong, everything he has worked so hard for might be wiped out.

But so what!
Mr. Beichuan's reputation for success must be started by a loyal follower!
“Mr. Prime Minister, this is the impact of the Asian financial crisis on our national finances. This is the latest financial situation of the Ministry of Finance after the announcement of the increase in domestic business tax and consumption tax.

This is your impeachment by members of Congress.”

The secretary handed one report after another to the haggard-looking Ryutaro Hashimoto.

The "swordsman prime minister" who had come to power with great fanfare and declared that he would rescue Japan from the depression after the bursting of the bubble economy no longer had the ambition he had during the election.

He never expected that such a serious financial crisis would break out in 1997.

Obviously, by raising the consumption tax, the national treasury will be instantly filled and there will be a lot of money to do things.

But the trouble-making Americans seemed to have seen through his true colors. In July, they suddenly brought down the Thai baht, and then launched surprise attacks on Indonesia, the Philippines and other countries.

The storm of the financial crisis has spread to Japan and South Korea, and the chaebols in both countries are in a difficult situation.

Even giants like Mitsubishi and Mitsui are unable to hold on.

Not to mention his tiny Ministry of Finance.

"Is there no good news?" Ryutaro Hashimoto glanced at the calendar. The House of Representatives will be re-elected in July next year. If the economic problems are not alleviated, his career as prime minister will be over.

He was overwhelmed by the bad news all day long.

The secretary had also read a lot of bad news recently, but fortunately he did receive some good news today, and quickly handed several other reports to Ryutaro Hashimoto.

“This is a joint project between the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology and the Colombian Ministry of Tourism.

Since the project started, more than 100 million people have traveled to Aracataca, Colombia.

Nearly 10,000 people from the other side have visited Tokyo and other areas in the past month, and the overall revenue of the tourism industry has increased significantly. Foreign tourists have also given us high praise. "

"This "Literature" serializes the final chapter of Kitagawa's "One Hundred Years of Solitude". It is said that the total number of domestic purchases has exceeded 600 million. The Ministry of Education has clearly stated that it will jointly publish the physical version of the book with Kawaide Shobo.

It has high economic benefits and is extremely well-known worldwide. The people of China highly recognize this novel.

I heard that Mr. Kitagawa is planning to write a new novel in a purely Japanese style. Maybe we can use the name of the Ministry of Education."

"Kitagawa Hide?"

Ever since he was backstabbed by Kitagawa Hide's war literature, Hashimoto Ryutaro's attention to this new literary figure has plummeted.

The bad economic situation made him even less interested in literary affairs.

I never thought that in my most difficult moment, this young man would jump out and give me a hand.

He now finally understood why his predecessor, Tomiichi Murayama, admired this young man so much.

Previously I thought that the Socialist Party liked this young writer with a left-wing writing style, but now it seems that it is purely because of his international fame and great potential!

"Well, you can follow up on this matter with the Ministry of Education. We can meet all the other conditions except the money."

Ryutaro Hashimoto's mood improved a little, but unfortunately it was just a small seasoning.

A writer or a work cannot help Japan escape the vicious circle of the Asian financial crisis.

While people from all walks of life were shocked, Takeuchi Osamu, who was staying at home reading novels with relish, was completely attracted by the last five chapters of "One Hundred Years of Solitude".

Judging from the story concept and structure, "One Hundred Years of Solitude" is obviously more massive than "Remembrance of Things Past".

But this book has only twenty-five chapters and a total of 26.2 words.

In comparison, the first volume of "Remembrance of Things Past" is 30 words long, and Marcel leaves Swann's house at the end.

The same style and creative content, but two completely different writing techniques, made Takeuchi Osamu particularly amazed.

As early as when Kitagawa Hide founded the Rogue Sect, he realized that this young man was no ordinary person, but looking back now, it still seems a bit magical.

Just like his "magical realism" writing style.

It's like a dream!
“The book also contains a lot of folk customs, cultural features, myths and legends of Latin American countries. This knowledge reserve alone is enough to make countless university professors feel inferior.

Is he really on his honeymoon overseas instead of practicing asceticism?
This guy! "

Takeuchi Osamu laughed and scolded a few times, but he felt very happy.

Once upon a time, he was worried that the strong-willed Kitagawa Hide would be like himself, with his self-esteem trampled on by people in the literary world, bound by their rules, and ruined in the same way.

Looking back now, these were all groundless worries.

Kitagawa Hide succeeded.

He made a name for himself.

He kicked away those who tried to step on him.

Seeing how successful One Hundred Years of Solitude was, Takeuchi Osamu laughed from the bottom of his heart, as if he had also let out a gust of anger!
Just as he was about to reread One Hundred Years of Solitude in its entirety, there was a knock on the door.

Before he could say anything, the door was roughly pushed open.

Kato Shuichi and Niwa Fumio returned, looking shocked and surprised.

"Takeuchi-san! Something big has happened! Something big has happened!"

The two old guys walked towards him while talking.

Takeuchi Osamu closed the magazine and glanced at them.

The three of them are almost over two hundred years old in total, so why are they still so unstable?
What could be so serious that it's worth panicking?

Could it be that the Americans have invaded?

Even if the Americans attack, don't we still have the Self-Defense Forces and the Army?

"What's the matter?" He leisurely picked up the teacup beside him.

"Look, look online!"

"Online?"

"On the Internet, someone posted a review article discussing whether Mr. Kitagawa is the number one in Japanese literary history!"

(End of this chapter)