I am a literary giant in Japan

Chapter 346: The courage to try is above all else

There was no heartfelt expression of true emotion in this phone call, nor any disturbing and hurtful words.

All there was was a short three-minute apology and Ishida Taijun's general plan for his future life.

He supports Tomoyo Kobayashi in continuing to take the doctoral exam and does not think that their choice will become an opportunity for a breakup in the future.

Just like Komako's undying love for Shimamura in "Snow Country".

As long as love is enough, everything else is secondary.

If this was a call bringing a breakup message, Tomoyo Kobayashi might never want to let it go.

But it brings good news.

So three minutes later, the two of them hung up at the same time in tacit understanding, and then went about their own business and lives.

This is the power brought by "Snow Country".

This is also due to Mr. Kitagawa's novel.

From this moment on, Tomoyo Kobayashi also made up her mind to go all the way on the path of literary creation and towards becoming Mr. Kitagawa!
1998 3 Month 25 Day.

A week after the March issue of "Wenyi" was released, the subsequent chapters of "Snow Country" caused a series of terrifying waves across Japan.

"Norwegian Wood" brings readers the ultimate enjoyment of "Japanese love triangle", especially young people similar to "Watanabe, Midori, and Naoko", who are trapped in that sad mood and find it difficult to get out of it.

Just when everyone thought there would be no more Japanese pure literature novel in the world than "Norwegian Wood", "Snow Country" came.

When the first issue was serialized, readers had not yet fully appreciated the love triangle between Shimamura and the other two in "Snow Country", and most of them focused on Kitagawa Hide's beautiful description of the snow scene.

After the second season was serialized, everyone felt the complicated love and entanglement between Shimamura, Komako and Yoko.

The plot is deliberately interrupted at the point where Shimamura asks Ye Zi whether she is willing to go to Tokyo with him.

Teacher Kitagawa is so abominable!

[Snow country?]
Where exactly is the Snow Country?
Is it really a small mountain village in Niigata Prefecture as described in the book?
For Shimamura, from then on, everywhere became a snow country?
So where is our "snow country"? 】

Posts on the Internet asking where exactly the Snow Country is have received over 1 million hits.

Hundreds of thousands of netizens gathered in the "Snow Country" column opened by Yahoo Japan, sharing their own "Snow Country" one after another and analyzing how the subsequent plot will probably develop.

As the real person involved, Shimamura's originally cynical attitude completely changed after watching the first episode.

He began to face the problems he had been avoiding.

At that time, was he in love with Juzi or Ye Zi?
Faced with Komako's deep affection, why did I choose to escape?

But why am I so angry and unwilling when faced with Ye Zi's decision?
After reading the second issue of the series, Shimamura couldn't calm down for a long time.

He is probably the person in this world, besides Mr. Kitagawa, who knows best how the subsequent plot will develop.

But even so, his doubts were still deeply rooted in his heart.

How would Mr. Kitagawa write the ending of "Snow Country"?
He doesn't know, he wants to know, but he doesn't dare to know.

Under the influence of such tangled emotions, Shimamura began to lock himself in the house, refusing to eat or drink, and then suddenly fainted.

When he woke up again, the person he saw was Keiko Koyama, whom he had been thinking about for a long time.

The beautiful mature woman exudes a sweet scent like peach all over her body.

Keiko Oyama was like the grown-up Ye Zi and Komako, and he was fascinated by her for a time.

"It's great that you finally woke up. I heard that you went into a coma after starving and drinking water because of watching Snow Country. Mr. Kitagawa blamed himself for several days."

While pressing the nurse's bell next to the bed, Keiko Oyama took out the freshly made chicken soup and prepared to feed him.

Shimamura struggled to get up, but his first reaction was to wonder what day it was and whether he had missed the third episode of "Snow Country".

"Oh, what are you talking about? The next issue of Wen Yi will be released on April 4th, and it's still the end of March."

Keiko Koyama thought that he might be unconscious and had lost his sense of time, and she couldn't help but chuckle.

She also reads novels herself, and especially after working in Teacher Beichuan's house, she became even more obsessed with Teacher Beichuan's novels.

The story of "Snow Country" is obviously based on this 35-year-old rich second generation.

I didn't expect that this usually careless man actually had such an admirable love history.

Keiko Oyama's own days and life are also very depressing. Her current husband is a complete good-for-nothing, but she has no choice but to follow and obey him.

The quiet and beautiful Ye Zi in "Snow Country" and the daring Komako who dares to love and hate are both the objects of her ardent yearning.

"Really? That's good, that's good." Shimamura took a sip of the warm chicken soup and felt relieved.

Without the playboy aura of the past, his true character revealed was no different from that described in "Snow Country".

Such men can indeed easily attract women.

While feeding him soup, Keiko Oyama casually chatted about some trivial matters in the villa area. As the conversation went on, the topic deepened and unconsciously shifted to her own life.

“.Ah, I’ve been really troubled lately.

Qing, that kid, actually ran away from home because of Yumiko's rejection! They are all high school students, don't they know that such a thing is wrong and not allowed?
The same goes for Gongzi. She knows her younger brother is an adult, but she doesn't know how to avoid suspicion at home.

It is not a good habit for a 20-year-old girl to casually expose her body! "

Keiko Koyama kept on talking, and although it was said that she was complaining, it was actually more like she was looking for someone to talk to.

Shimamura listened very carefully and quietly, without interrupting her or giving her any advice.

But it does sound outrageous, no wonder it makes her so upset.

Kiyo is her son with her first husband, and Yumiko is the daughter of her second husband, Shunzo.

In terms of blood relationship, Qing and Yumiko are indeed not related.

But they are only "siblings" in name only.

It is quite normal for a young boy to admire someone, but if the object is his half-sister, then it is not right.

However, Jingzi, who was of a gentle nature, was unable to solve this problem and could only sigh.

"Sister Jingzi, everything will be fine." This was all Shimamura could say to comfort her.

"I hope so." Jingzi couldn't help but sigh a few more times. "I thought that if I came to Tokyo from the countryside, as long as I worked hard and struggled for a few years, I could become a real Tokyo resident like you guys. What a pity."

Unfortunately, ideals are full of hope, but reality is very skinny. It is not easy to be a Tokyo resident.

Work, social circle, money, and every aspect of life, if you either find a house to live in Tokyo, have a job in Tokyo, or have your children go to school in Tokyo, you are a so-called Tokyo person.

Shimamura was very familiar with this.

Her sighs were echoed by other patients in the ward.

Only then did Shimamura understand that for most ordinary people, just becoming a "Tokyoer" like him would require a lifetime of effort.

Everyone's sighs were also heard by Kitagawa Hide and Yumeko who happened to be visiting the patient.

Seeing that it was the famous teacher Kitagawa who often appeared on TV, several patients stood up and wanted his autograph as if a "medical miracle" had happened.

Mengzi put the fruit basket and milk aside, skillfully stopped these fanatical fans, maintained order, and then let Kitagawa Hide satisfy their needs one by one.

Keiko Oyama quickly stood up, gave up her seat, and ran to peel fruit.

Kitagawa Hide took a strange photo with a group of patients in the ward. After signing his name, he barely squeezed in front of Shimamura.

"Teacher Kitagawa, I'm sorry to trouble you." Shimamura said embarrassedly.

Beichuan Xiu waved his hand: "I'm glad you're okay."

After all, the story of "Snow Country" was adapted from him. If something happened to him because of the adapted content of the novel, Kitagawa Hide would not be able to get over it.

Fortunately, fortunately, judging from Shimamura's appearance and listening to his mental state when they were talking just now, he should be fine.

Kitagawa Hide has been busy with the work of "Massive" these days, and has not paid much attention to the impact of "Snow Country" in his hometown.

At his current level, to be honest, the sales of "Wenyi" and the response of "Snow Country" are not very important.

Its status in the Japanese literary world is obvious, and with the precedent set by "Norwegian Wood" and "The Old Man and the Sea", even if "Snow Country" is a piece of shit, there are still many people willing to pay for it.

However, seeing that "Snow Country" really made it difficult for readers to let go and the love story of Shimamura, Komako and Yoko became a classic, Kitagawa Hide was still very pleased.

His original intention in writing this book was to allow Ye Zi and Ju Zi to live forever in another way.

The two chatted casually, and the topic soon returned to "how difficult it is to be a Tokyo resident".

Japan's total population is 1.26 million. In the next decade or so, the population will soar to around 2 million and then plummet.

This tiny country has nothing, and its level of internal competition is no less than that of its neighbor.

After the bubble economy burst, most people lived worse than a dog.

Fortunately, there are no household registration restrictions in Japan, nor are there any school district housing, so anyone can come to Tokyo to work and live.

As long as you live and work in Tokyo, you are a Tokyoite, at least in name only.

But in reality.

Just like Keiko Oyama.

A reconstituted family, or an ordinary family from another city, doing ordinary jobs in Tokyo, earning ordinary salaries, and living an ordinary and difficult life.

It's very different from real Tokyo people.

Medical care, education, housing, work. Just because you can enjoy them unconditionally doesn’t mean you really have the ability to enjoy them.

It's just an education issue.

It is true that there is no school district housing, but there is a distinction between national, public and private schools.

Public schools really only care about students' basic education. It is a pipe dream to expect to get into the University of Tokyo relying on a public school education!
National schools are not much better.

More than what is lacking is more than what is lacking.

The previous juvenile delinquent Shinichiro Azuma was the scumbag from a national high school.

Don't expect too much in an environment where there are all kinds of people.

Only private schools are where the best people should go.

But the annual tuition fees of private schools are prohibitive for ordinary families.

The other questions are similar.

Even for a reconstituted family like Keiko Oyama who has some income, it is difficult to be a decent Tokyoite in Tokyo.

Oh, that’s not even counting the impact of the 97 Asian financial crisis.

The more they talked, the more depressed they became. Mengzi felt the same way. If Kitagawa Hide wasn't strong enough, their married life wouldn't be much better than that of everyone else in the ward.

"Teacher Beichuan, I must write about this matter if I have the chance in the future!"

The needs of the lower-class people who do not read books are more direct.

The romantic movies like "Norwegian Wood" and "Snow Country" are not suitable for them.

"Paradise Lost" and "No Longer Human", which interpret life through death, will only make them more anxious.

Only social critical realistic novels that can truly help them can make them empathize.

As they chatted, Kitagawa Hide recalled another less well-known novel by Yasunari Kawabata, "Tokyo Man".

The heroine in the film, like Keiko Koyama, has been displaced all her life just to survive in Tokyo.

Compared with the "aesthetics of death" in Kawabata Yasunari's other representative works, "Tokyo People" does not cast the shadow of death on the fate of the characters. The hardships of life do not overwhelm the heroine, but instead inspire her courage and will to overcome difficulties, bravely start a business, and pursue a better life in a desolate social environment.

Just like everyone else in the ward, she refused to be manipulated by fate, dared to love and fight, and faced challenges head-on. Although she was deeply condemned by morality and endured emotional torment, she was honest about her desire for love and lived a wonderful life.

The heroine of "Tokyo People" and women like Keiko Koyama are the epitome of middle-aged women in Japanese society at this stage.

In the depression era when the social economy collapsed and men could no longer earn money to support their families, they longed for love and happiness and were willing to go out of the house to earn money and support their families like men.
They struggled forward in the still barren land where life had just begun to recover, the wounds of war had not yet healed, and they worked hard for their seemingly insignificant goals.

Because Kitagawa Hide's previous books were all written with relatively utilitarian goals as the core, novels like "Tokyo People" that reflected current affairs but were not box office hits or well-received would be directly filtered out by him.

But at this moment, looking at the pairs of eyes in the ward, and seeing Keiko Koyama who was taking care of Shimamura tenderly but was living an extremely hard life herself, Kitagawa Hide suddenly felt.

Instead of rushing to finish Kawabata Yasunari's award-winning trilogy, it might be better to take advantage of the support of Kitagawa's supplement "Dazhong" and publish more meaningful popular literature novels such as "Tokyo People".

After finishing his visit to Shimamura, Kitagawa Hide discussed the matter with Yumeko on the way home.

Hearing that Kitagawa Hide wanted to write about such a subject, Mengzi was not too surprised. After thinking for a while, she nodded firmly and said, "Even if the response to the novel may not be as good as "Snow Country", I think it is indeed a very meaningful thing!
My dear, you have to believe in yourself. You can easily master even documentary-style critical literature and then tell the readers what you want to convey! "

(End of this chapter)