I am a literary giant in Japan

Today is already November 11th.

Kitagawa Hide and Yumeko's flight to Athens, Greece was on November 11th.

I definitely won’t be able to catch up with the issue of “Wenyi” that goes on sale on November 11, so I can only try to publish “18Q1” in the last issue of “Wenyi” this year.

Anyway, with the endorsement of the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, and the support of Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi and his cabinet, Kitagawa Hide no longer worried that "1Q84" would cause any harm to him or his family after causing dissatisfaction among potential cult members in Japan.

Although Japanese police are often criticized for being weak, when they are asked to protect important people, they are often extremely brave.

The current Superintendent General of Police, Hara Bunbei, is both a die-hard upper-class fan of Kitagawa Hide and the cousin-in-law of Machimura Nobutaka.

Machimura Nobutaka had previously promised over the phone that after the publication of "1Q84", the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department would do its utmost to protect the safety of Kitagawa Hide and his family, and would even build a mobile police station near his mansion.

Without any worries, Kitagawa Hide is confident that he can write a "1Q84" that is more in line with Japan!
Of course, this is all a story for next month.

After hanging up the phone, Kitagawa Hide discussed the matter of the Kitagawa Hide school authors outside with Kawaide Shizuko and Saito Rena.

Among these newly emerging authors, about half of them can be confirmed to have played a role in the confrontation with "New Literary Image".

The writing ability of the remaining half is not very stable, just like Keigo Higashino in his later years, sometimes superb and sometimes super bad, which gives Rena Saito a headache.

After some discussion, the three decided to let Saito Rena and her editing team be responsible for the half of the less stable authors, while Kitagawa Hide would focus on the three most capable disciples to ensure that they would win a great victory in the wrestling with the old-school literati.

After discussing the deployment, Kawaide Shizuko and Saito Rena immediately left the study and called the elite editors from the "Wenyi" editorial department to have one-on-one communication with the authors.

The living room on the first floor of the Kitagawa family's house has been completely occupied by the children, and now the second floor has become the temporary editorial office of "Wenyi". Mengzi was at a loss whether to laugh or cry, so she had to let Aso Mayumi and the other two follow her to the empty room on the third floor, and then let Kitagawa Hide give them individual guidance on novel writing.

The last time the four masters and apprentices had face-to-face discussions on writing a book was at the end of 1996.

At that time, his three apprentices had just climbed out of the pit of second-rate authors through unremitting efforts and officially became "low-level" writers in the Japanese literary world.

Under the guidance of Kitagawa Hide, Mayumi Aso and the other two wrote "Night Boat on the White River", "White Night Walk" and "Under the Blooming Cherry Trees" respectively, and then quickly promoted themselves from "low-stream" writers to "middle-stream" writers.

It can be said that in terms of "upgrading", Kitagawa Hide's three disciples are not much behind him at the beginning. Every step they take is like riding a rocket, fast and fierce.

But after 1998, the "upgrade" speed of the three and later the fourth disciple Iwai Shunji slowed down significantly.

Keigo Higashino, who made a name for himself through mystery literature and later laid the foundation for two tracks with "The Convenience Store of Sorrow", was finally recognized by the industry as a top "upper-class" writer.

However, with his output decreasing and his frequent unorthodox writings, it is unclear what he is writing about, Dangui Shirou has been stuck on the border between the "middle stream" and the "upper stream", and his situation is very embarrassing.

This time everyone gathered at the Kitagawa family. Mayumi Aso and Shirou Dango also wanted to regroup, hoping to have a second spring with the help of Teacher Kitagawa.

Therefore, their writing attitude this time was better than Keigo Higashino's. At this moment, they sat upright with very serious expressions.

Ever since he wrote the critically acclaimed but commercially unsuccessful "Childhood Friends", Kitagawa Hide changed the positioning of Mayumi Aso from Higuchi Ichiyo to the "healing queen" Yoshimoto Banana.

The final result was just as he expected. With "First Love" and "Shirakawa Night Boat", Mayumi Aso successfully secured her place among the top ten contemporary Japanese female writers and earned the reputation of "Healing Queen".

So this time when he commissioned a new book for her, it was natural for Kitagawa Hide to continue to take advantage of Yoshimoto Banana, the top female writer.

The novel that Kitagawa Hide chose for Mayumi Aso this time is actually related to her creative thoughts and her understanding of life.

Mayumi Aso, who has experienced ups and downs and divorced as a single mother, has more delicate emotions than other women of the same age and is closer to the feelings of adolescent girls.

What is most commendable is that Mayumi Aso's delicate emotions seem to be mixed with many expectations of love and romance, but in fact they more reflect her views and feelings on family ethics.

She has realized that love has become an emotion of a higher level, rather than just the vague love that bound her girlhood.

When Mayumi Aso was willing to show Kitagawa Hide the softest and most delicate emotions in her heart and communicated with him with a blushing face, Kitagawa Hide immediately thought of the masterpiece written by Yoshimoto Banana in 1988——

"A Premonition of Sorrow".

The title of this novel comes from a line in the song "Summer Dusk" released by Isaki Michiyoshi in 1998. It tells the story of Yayoi, a 19-year-old girl with special abilities who is born with the ability to sense the death of people around her, and who lives with her aunt (actually her sister) who lives alone in an old house in early summer.

The name of the protagonist, Yayoi, refers to the Yayoi period, a pottery era that was more than 2,200 years ago, which was a successor to the Jomon period and the predecessor to the Kofun period.

Superpowers, fantasy, girls, ethics, and love. These are the elements that Yoshimoto Banana is most familiar with, and are also the most typical style of novels written by Mayumi Aso.

In the Japanese literary world, she is the only one who writes this type of pure literary novel.

It can be said that this is a blue ocean in the Japanese literary market.

After listening to Kitagawa Hide's brief introduction, Mayumi Aso was deeply immersed in this interesting and healing story.

Unlike in the past, Kitagawa Hide did not mention the content of the original work too much this time, nor did she use a set outline to disrupt her writing ideas.

He simply used the most concise words to tell Mayumi Aso what she should pay attention to and what she should do to write this book well.

With Mayumi Aso's current ability being very close to that of an "upper-class" writer, she can quickly absorb what he says.

"The core of the novel is 'brother becomes lover'. This core that challenges secular values ​​is easy to be strongly resisted by readers. But if handled properly, it will be like my "Paradise Lost", which will stimulate the strange emotions hidden deep in the hearts of readers."

Beichuan Xiu looked at her and smiled softly.

"Sister-brother love, like teacher-student love and elder-young love, is the core of future 'alienated' love. This is also something that will inevitably emerge after the social relationship of love undergoes a transformation.

If you grasp this point well, you may become the founder of this school."

"Sister-brother love."

Mayumi Aso's cheeks flushed. As she looked at Kitagawa Hide's handsome profile, she remembered something and even her voice became smaller and she began to stutter.

"Yes, a relationship between an older woman and a younger man. Is there any problem, Mayumi?" Kitagawa Hide looked at her in confusion.

He felt that a young woman of Mayumi Aso's age should be more accepting of this kind of thing.

After all, Yoshimoto Banana’s core audience is a group of housewives and mature young women who have just been married for a few years.

Deep down in their hearts, they yearn for forbidden love.

"Oh, no problem! I'll start writing right away! Thank you, Mr. Bei. Beichuan!"

Mayumi Aso felt like her head was about to be burned like a kettle.

Damn!

I thought of this impossible thing again!

She bit her lip lightly, put aside unnecessary thoughts, returned to her seat, picked up a pen and paper, and quickly started writing.

Shirou Dangui standing by is no longer surprised by the senior sister's state. Every time she interacts with the teacher, she tends to become a little girl. It can only be said that the personal charm of teacher Kitagawa is too great!
"Tuan Gui, come here." Beichuan Xiu shouted.

Hearing the teacher's voice sounding a little unpleasant, the teasing look on Dangui Shirou's face disappeared immediately. Like a child who had made a mistake, he followed closely and slowly moved to the side of Kitagawa Hide amid the smiles of his senior brothers and sisters.

He is almost thirty years old this year and is known as a romantic writer and one of the most prodigal sons in the Japanese literary world.

But in Kitagawa Hide's house, he immediately became the most well-behaved and obedient third disciple.

I wonder what the paparazzi who have been following him for years and making a living by exposing his private life would think if they saw such a huge contrast.

"Old, teacher" Tuan Gui Shirou lowered his head, waiting for Kitagawa Hide's storm.

".In the past two years, you seem to have stagnated in your writing career."

Kitagawa Hide is very busy, but that doesn't mean he doesn't pay attention to the situations of people close to him.

Ever since Saito Reina carefully told him about the "stars surrounding the sun" remarks, he would often stop and look around to see if he was taking too big a step and making it difficult for the people around him to keep up.

In the past two years, the slack Danki Shirou has been a headache for him.

He knew the guy's character and that he preferred to enjoy and have fun in life.

But Dangi Shiro is one of the few writers in the Japanese literary world who can take an unconventional approach and use the unique and strange methods.

There are vast literary works of this kind in the original history, but they have never appeared in this world.

If possible, Kitagawa Hide hopes that they can be gradually released to the public to bring the ultimate audio-visual enjoyment to the readers here.

The problem is that normal writers would definitely not want to touch that kind of work, and it is difficult to write.

Dangoshiro is the best standard-bearer of this type of literary works.

Hearing Kitagawa Hide's words of disappointment, Tuan Gui Shirou lowered his head even more.

He has indeed slacked off in the past two years.

But Keigo Higashino and Mr. Kitagawa didn't seem to care much, so he didn't care.

Being scolded in person, he felt like a thorn in his back and finally felt guilty for wasting his time.

Especially when I think about the time in 1995 when I was still huddled in a rented house with Keigo Higashino, leading a life with no food to eat.

In order to continue pursuing his literary dream, he is even still writing disgusting erotic novels.

But now.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Kitagawa, I, I have failed to live up to your expectations of me!" Dangui Shirou said loudly.

Kitagawa Hide nodded softly.

He didn't say anything like "It's okay if you let me down, but it's not okay to let down the readers who love your novels."

Instead, he directly accepted Dangui Shirou's apology and regret.

Because only in this way can he feel better, and only in this way can he completely overcome this hurdle and start writing again.

It is irresponsible to say words that seem to comfort him but actually have a hint of "PUA" in them.

"I'm glad you understand. You are also our main force in this battle with the authors of New Bunsei. Don't let Shizuko and Reina down."

Kitagawa Hide patted him on the shoulder and handed him the outline of the prepared work with a smile.

Danki Shirou is different from Aso Mayumi. He is the kind of spinning top that won't move unless you pull it. You have to force him to move forward, otherwise you will be uncomfortable if he breaks down at any time.

"Yes! I won't let you down again, teachers!"

After regaining his spirits, Dangui Shirou took the work outline handed over by Kitagawa Hide with both hands and said to him solemnly.

"Well, go back and study this new book carefully. I believe that with your ability, you should be able to master this style easily."

Kitagawa Hide encouraged him again, and then walked towards Keigo Higashino who was looking expectant.

The novel he prepared for Dangoshiro was "Slit Tongue", a very niche, but very well-known pure literary novel of a bizarre style in Japan after the millennium.

The original author of the novel is Japan's contemporary "rebellious beautiful girl writer" Hitomi Kanehara.

Hitomi Kanehara's father is a professor at Hosei University in Japan and a famous Japanese children's literature writer and translator, Rui Kanehara.

In a sense, Hitomi Kanehara can also be considered a "second-generation literary man".

But unlike those "second-generation writers" next door who just use their father's name to hold a position but do nothing, Hitomi Kanehara has shown extraordinary literary talent since she was a child.

She has been familiar with the works of literary masters such as Ryu Murakami and Eimi Yamada since she was young. At the age of 20, she won the Morningstar Literature Award of that year with her first novel "Snake Ring" and made her official debut.

"Slit Tongue" is her famous work that won the Akutagawa Prize in her previous life.

The novel tells the story of the painful relationship between a girl who becomes obsessed with body modification and eventually cuts her tongue in two, and two alternative young men.

The content of the novel was "shocking" and caused widespread controversy in Japan at the time. Its single-volume edition sold over 500,000 copies and was called Japan's "The Sorrows of Young Werther". The emergence of "The Split Tongue" even became a social phenomenon in Japan.

This is a rare pure literary work in Japanese literature that touches on "body modification" and the "subculture" popular among young people.

This type of subculture is similar to the non-mainstream culture in the previous life and was once a symbol of an era.

Today's Japanese teenagers are also moving in that confused direction. This kind of thought-provoking literary work can indeed guide them in a more correct direction to a certain extent.

After taking a quick look at the outline, Dangui Shirou had the idea that he must try to write it.

As expected, the one who understands me the best is Teacher Beichuan!

His literary creation has stagnated in recent years, and the reason is that he has run out of inspiration and doesn't know what to write.

As Kitagawa Hide said, he is the kind of author who is purely inspired, completely different from the pragmatic Keigo Higashino and the Buddhist Mayumi Aso.

But once he had the passion to create, his talent was in no way inferior to that of his other brothers.

After seeing Dangi Shirou's reaction out of the corner of his eye, Kitagawa Hide felt relieved and continued to discuss his new book with Higashino Keigo.

The situation of Higashino Keigo is much more complicated than that of the other two disciples. (End of this chapter)