I am a literary giant in Japan

"Bad guy? At least I don't think that Shin, who would say such things for his friends, is a bad guy."

Kitagawa Hide reached out of the car window and gently rubbed the bad girl's head.

The girl in front of me is actually not much older than Kaoru in the car.

If it weren't for the terrible family of origin, the hard-to-describe public and national school education, and this corrupt society full of bad guys and colorful things.

Maybe she wouldn't have fallen to this point.

No one wants to be a little gangster with no future all her life.

"You, you know my name?"

Ashin, who was trying his best to imitate an adult's 90-degree bow, showed a hint of disbelief on his face when he heard the handsome older brother in the car say this to him.

If she guessed correctly, the handsome big brother in the car should be the actual controller of "Kitagawa", the teacher Hide Kitagawa who could be heard being talked about in the streets and alleys.

Such big figures usually only appear in newspapers, magazines, or on television.

Ashin once heard from the girls in his Red Falcon Group who were responsible for receiving guests that many guests who came to play liked to talk about literature and novels in front of the girls.

The Japanese's distorted mentality makes them highly respect elegant and high-end culture, and pure literature, which has a relatively niche market, is obviously the best thing to show off.

When it comes to pure literature, one name cannot be avoided in the current history of Japanese literature - Kitagawa Hide.

From the "Youth Trilogy" to the current "Tokyo People", Kitagawa Hide's works are well-known in Japan and are regarded as classics by countless people.

Ashin himself doesn't read much, but he has read "Tokyo People" along with others. He doesn't quite understand it, but as long as he puts "Wenyi" on his bedside, he can easily gain admiring looks.

Now, the legendary figure was within reach and even touched his head!

"Of course I know. Yumiko and Meggie have already told me your story."

Beichuan Xiu smiled and nodded.
"If possible, I would like to invite your Red Falcon Group to come to Beichuan Entertainment for a special interview."

"Go, go to Beichuan Entertainment? Do a special interview? Me, us?"

Ashin's brain was a little out of sorts.

She bent over, trying to keep herself in a bowing posture while looking at the man in the car.

Kitagawa Hide laughed again.

"Yes. I'm going to write a novel about the Asakusa community, and the group the protagonist belongs to will be based on your Red Falcon Group.

Don't worry, we will not infringe on your portrait rights and privacy rights without your permission. If this setting is enabled, I will pay you a certain amount of copyright fees. "

"Mr. Kitagawa! The president said your new book is the best."

The driver Kuroki in the front seat couldn't help but whisper a reminder.

He has no good feelings towards the poor people living here.

Poverty is often associated with negative words such as profiteering and harming others for personal gain.

With Kitagawa Hide's current status in the literary world, just the news of a new book is enough to sell tens of millions of yen in the industry!

He couldn't guarantee that this spirited little girl would not turn around and sell the information about Mr. Beichuan's new book at a high price.

"I believe in Ashin's character. And novels are supposed to be promoted in advance."

Kitagawa Hide waved his hand casually, interrupting driver Kuroki's words.

Ashin outside the car window was completely stunned.

What new book, what privacy, what copyright fees, she felt that these words were so far away from her.

I just ran away and brought humiliation upon myself for the sake of Gongzi and the others.

Why did things suddenly become like this?
"Okay. Anyway, I'll have someone contact you when things officially start."

Beichuan Xiu made a phone gesture to her, then rolled up the car window.

"I have something else to do, so I'll take my leave now. Please give my regards to Yumiko and the others, and my sincerest condolences to Kawaya's family."

"Yes! All right! I'll definitely pass on your message!"

Ashin stood up straight instantly, and what responded to her was the taillights of a speeding car.

Kitagawa Hide’s smile seemed to still be frozen in her mind.

So handsome, so harmonious.

It's completely different from what you see on TV.

In the departing luxury car.

"How about it, after visiting Asakusa, do you have any new ideas?"

Kitagawa Hide rubbed the little head of Kaoru beside him.

This little girl who followed him out of Izu and started a new life with a handful of little dancers is about to graduate from high school without realizing it.

When they left Izu, many girls from the Imasaku Circus were resentful towards Kitagawa Hide, believing that he had ruined their "dreams of becoming a star".

Only Kaoru and others, after realizing the situation, resolutely followed him and Yumeko to leave Izu and come to Tokyo, heading towards a completely different life.

In the past few years, Kaoru was still in intermittent contact with her friends in Izu through letters, but as time went by, the lives on both sides became completely different, and the girls only felt envy and jealousy towards Kaoru.

From that moment on, Xunzi decisively cut off contact with them.

Perhaps in their eyes, this was a "ruthless act" of being completely assimilated into the big city, and Kaoru became an irredeemable "Tokyoer".

But in Kitagawa Hide's eyes, this was a sign that Kaoru had truly grown up.

The younger sister he raised has grown up, and this makes Kitagawa Hide feel a sense of emptiness like an old father at the end of his life.

"I feel like they are like us who were once in Izu."

Kaoru lowered her head slightly, replaying everything she had seen in Asakusa today in her mind.
“I feel helpless, confused, and ignorant, and I don’t know how my future life will go.

Looking at them, I would wonder, if I had chosen to stay in Izu, to work in another circus, or to be a dancer for the rest of my life, would I end up like that river?"

"But didn't you make the right choice?" Kitagawa Hide gently held her hand and comforted her.

It has been almost three years, but the painful memories of Izu have not completely disappeared from Kaoru's mind.

"The Dancing Girl of Izu" is very successful both as a novel and as a TV series.

She only participated in the role once, and Kaoru, who played herself, almost became the top child star of Ganli Agency.

But only Kitagawa Hide knows that the memories of Izu are just a burden to Kaoru.

She likes and enjoys her new life more.

"Ok!"

Kaoru raised her head slightly, looked at Kitagawa Hide with clear eyes, and said with a smile,

“So I don’t regret leaving Izu at all!

I like my current life, and I also like Ruri-chan, Kyoko-chan, Yumeko-sister, Reina-sister, and Shizuko-sister!
After seeing Asakusa, I actually want to help them!"

"Are you talking about Yumiko and the others?" Kitagawa Hide asked with a smile.

"Yeah!" Kaoru nodded. She couldn't tell what she really thought, but the only thing she was sure of was that she hoped Yumiko, Shin and the others could also get out of the repetitive, meaningless vicious circle like herself!

Teacher Kitagawa saved herself in Izu, and now she felt that she came to Asakusa to save them.

This sounds a bit arrogant, but at a certain moment, when she saw the various people in Asakusa, she really felt that God arranged for her to come here to solve this problem!
"That's great. In that case, I will officially appoint you as my editor-in-chief for the "Asakusa Red Group" that I plan to serialize in "Kitagawa"."

Kitagawa Xiu rubbed her little head again.

But this time, there was no smile in his voice, only seriousness and earnestness.

"Eh? I, I'll be Mr. Kitagawa's editor?"

Kaoru's eyes widened.

She has interned many times in bookstores, publishing houses, etc., but internships are internships only. The more she understands this industry, the more she respects her predecessors who make a living in this industry.

The Japanese workplace is extremely competitive.

In the literary publishing industry where the number of practitioners has reached saturation and the market size is already very well-established, it is now very difficult to start as an editor from scratch.

Most university literature graduates have to start out in an unknown small publishing house. Those with the ability and resources can work as a reporter or proofreader in a newspaper.

If you want to get everything right after graduation, you must at least be like Ishida Yasujun, who graduated from the Faculty of Literature of a prestigious university such as the University of Tokyo, Osaka University, or Kyoto University.

Even so, such fresh graduates still have to go through long necessary steps such as internship, regularization, and employment.

When he finally became an independent editor, he also started out as an ordinary author at the bottom.

In order to get in touch with or even collaborate with top writers like Kitagawa Hide, such low-level editors must work in the company for at least ten years.

After interning at Beichuan for more than half a year, Xunzi understood the operating procedures better than anyone else.

There is also an unspoken rule in the Japanese workplace.

That is, most people must follow the "rules of the game" that everyone abides by.

If you insist on being the "Hanzawa Naoki" in the workplace, then you must be prepared for death.

Mr. Beichuan actually appointed me as his editor-in-chief
Is this considered a backdoor?
But this seems to be a once-in-a-millennium opportunity.

Seeing that Kaoru was hesitant, Kitagawa Hide smiled and said, "Yes. You and I have seen the current Asakusa together, and you have a certain understanding of Yumiko and the others.

At that time, I will give you the task of interviewing the Red Falcon Group, and you will help me collect the necessary information and materials.

I heard from Mengzi that your dream is to become a novelist like me, so why not start by being my editor? "

“Should we start by being an editor?”

Kaoru looked up at Kitagawa Hide, and without further hesitation, she responded to him with a firm look.

"Yes! I understand! I will work hard to help Mr. Kitagawa write "Asakusa Red Group"!"

"Well. Then keep up the good work, Editor Kaoru." Kitagawa Hide nodded and smiled.

1998 7 Month 30 Day.

The 84th Prime Minister of Japan, Keizo Obuchi, who was elected through election, officially made his debut at the Prime Minister's Office!
During the Hashimoto Cabinet, Obuchi Keizo served as Foreign Minister.

As we all know, Japan's diplomatic situation was pretty good in the 90s, and it maintained decent diplomatic relations with various countries.

Therefore, the position of foreign minister is simply a retirement position and plays an insignificant role in the Prime Minister’s cabinet circle.

This is consistent with the image of Keizo Obuchi and his family among political celebrities.

Even in the voting, many politicians believe that the more active Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, Machimura Nobutaka, has a higher chance of being elected than Obuchi Keizo.

Even though Machimura Nobutaka did not run for election at all.

However, the final result surprised countless people.

Previously, "Hanzawa Naoki" was popular all over Japan, and the banking industry and the Hashimoto cabinet were severely impacted.

Among a group of senior officials, Machimura Nobutaka remained neutral, while Foreign Minister Obuchi Keizo, contrary to his usual behavior, openly supported Kitagawa Hidekazu's "Hanzawa Naoki" and vigorously advocated the idea of ​​"the lower ranks overthrowing the higher ranks".

At first everyone thought he was just bored and wanted to do something to attract media attention.

Unexpectedly, Obuchi Keizo was "the mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind". In this game of chess, he actually successfully defeated other candidates for prime minister and became the new prime minister with a considerable lead!
After Obuchi Keizo officially moved into the Prime Minister's residence, everyone realized that this silent and introverted guy was the real old villain and the big winner!
Shortly after Obuchi Keizo came to power, he announced the members of the Obuchi cabinet in the name of prime minister.

As expected by all parties, he replaced almost all of the original Hashimoto cabinet, and all important positions were filled with people from the Obuchi faction.

These people were once party activists who had close ties with Takeshita Noboru and were at odds with the Hashimoto faction.

The only person who had not been replaced in the former Hashimoto Cabinet was actually the Minister of Education, Nobutaka Machimura, who had always regarded himself as Hashimoto Ryutaro's number one henchman!

This wave of reversal made the people very happy.

They don't know why Obuchi Keizo and Machimura Nobutaka would join forces, but this kind of drama is much more interesting than boring party struggles and elections.

On the evening of July 7, Kitagawa Hide asked Yumeko to call Machimura Nobutaka's wife, using "wife's socializing" to euphemistically express his congratulations.

The Japanese literary world previously had too close official ties with the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, and the older generation of writers headed by Ichiro Tanizaki and others had a bad reputation among the people.

After Kitagawa Hide, Niwa Fumio and others reorganized the Japan Literary Society, they have been trying their best to avoid similar reputations and have also been working to separate literature and politics on the surface.

Therefore, Kitagawa Hide no longer associates with politicians.

This kind of social interaction is often done by ladies.

"Ladies' meetings" are one of the major features of social interactions in Japanese society.

Machimura Nobutaka's wife did not say anything explicitly, but her words revealed her husband's willingness to continue supporting Mr. Kitagawa.

In addition, it is almost common knowledge in the political circles that the newly appointed Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi is a real fan of Kitagawa's books.

He previously strongly supported "Hanzawa Naoki", and everyone initially thought it was political speculation, but now it seems that he really likes Mr. Kitagawa's novels.

However, big shots like this are fans of Mr. Kitagawa's books, and people are used to seeing this kind of thing.

After all, the Emperor was eager to ask Mr. Kitagawa for his autograph and take a photo with him!

After a round of congratulations, Kitagawa Hide turned his attention back to "The Little Prince" and "Asakusa Red Balloon".

The two little ones are growing up, and he hopes to fill their childhood with a few interesting novels.

Their father is a great writer, but there are no novels written for them. When they grow up, they will probably regret this.

Therefore, Kitagawa Hide plans to write a few more children's literature books to let his children have a happy childhood!

that's it.

Time flies and it is the second month of the second half of 1998.

On December 8th.

Bookstores across the country are unusually packed.

However, this time, it was not young readers who crowded the bookstores, but groups of older "moms and dads"!

Mr. Kitagawa’s new book "The Little Prince" was preheated at the beginning of last month, and the online pre-sale of "MOE" exceeded 10 copies.

Of course, whether "The Little Prince" can really become the most successful children's literature work in Japanese literary history depends on the sales of physical magazines today.

Feeling anxious, Iwaya Koba brought his wife to Maruzen Marunouchi Bookstore early to check the sales of MOE. (End of this chapter)