Tokyo's bubble economy: From literary giants to great entertainers

"So it was a setup by the seniors after all..."

The elevator slowly descended. Takako Tokiwa stood in the car with her hands behind her back, her gaze fixed on the constantly changing floor numbers, and sighed softly.

She just wasn't that focused on her career because of her special family background, but that doesn't mean she's a fool.

The fact that so many senior writers were unwilling to take on this project is enough to show that it was definitely a troublesome task.

but...

"The first writer I've worked with in my editing career, I have no idea what kind of person he is."

Takako Tokiwa's eyes held a newfound curiosity and anticipation.

Soon, the elevator arrived at the first floor.

As soon as she stepped into the hall, she looked up and saw a young man in a black tracksuit standing not far away.

The other person was a bit thin, but very tall, probably over 1.8 meters. Standing there, he was more than half a head taller than the chubby security guard at the front desk.

In addition, he has handsome features, with distinct eyebrows and eyes, a straight nose, and a head of short, black, Japanese-style hair. He is the type of person who would be noticed at first glance in a crowd.

"The young man is quite handsome."

Slightly surprised, Tokiwa Takako stepped forward and asked, "Hello, are you the one here to submit your work, Kanbara Shuichi?"

"Yes, you..."

Shuichi Kanbara, who was staring at the elevator entrance on the other side, turned around when he heard the sound and was also surprised and widened his eyes, his words caught in his throat.

The woman in front of him looked exactly like Machida Kyoko, the female lead in the Japanese drama "Beautiful Life" that he had watched in his previous life!

Subconsciously, his gaze locked onto the system box on the side of the other person's head.

Name: Tokiwa Takako

Age: 24

[Life's Script: Life Is Beautiful]

[Script Progress: Completely Changed – Her deceased mother is Tamaki Awazu from "The Yakuza Wife," causing her life trajectory to be completely altered from the original script]

"I never expected to run into Takako Tokiwa here, and she even became my editor..."

It was quite unexpected, but considering that even Honami Suzuki had been her parents' boss, this scene wasn't too bizarre.

Shuichi Kambara composed himself and gave a polite, slight bow.

"Hi, you're Tokiwa, the editor?"

"Yes, I am Takako Tokiwa, the editor of Bungei Asahi. Please come with me."

Takako Tokiwa didn't notice the change in Shuichi Kanbara's expression. She smiled and returned the greeting before leading him out of the company and toward a café called [Café Luna] on the street corner.

.

Since the 1950s and 60s, the Japanese literary world has had the tradition of "kachaten mug," which refers to the meeting between editors and authors in cafes to discuss manuscripts.

This café, named "Luna (Moonlight)," happens to be located next to the Asahi Group building. Therefore, even though it's lunch break time, there are still quite a few customers, and the whispers of writers and editors discussing and the sound of coffee grinding create a warm background atmosphere.

"Ara ara~ Isn't this our renowned editor Takako from Bungei Asahi! How come you found a manuscript you like so quickly?"

Takako Tokiwa is clearly a regular here.

As soon as she pushed open the door, the wind chimes above the door jingled softly. The proprietress, who was reading a newspaper behind the bar, immediately looked up, recognized her, and greeted her with a smile, her tone familiar yet slightly teasing.

"No, I'm just a newbie, Aunt Mingmei, please don't tease me."

Takako Tokiwa gave a slightly shy, reproachful look, then turned to Shuichi Kanbara beside her, "I'd like a caramel macchiato, half sugar. Kanbara-san, what would you like to drink?"

"Milk is fine, thank you."

"You and Takako seem to be about the same age. When you're growing, you need to drink more milk. Auntie will give you a free extra-large cup as a celebration for our little Takako to finally be able to stand on her own."

"Aunt Akemi~" Tokiwa Takako drawled out the last syllable, her tone a mix of helplessness and coquettishness.

"Haha, I know, I know. You guys go up first. No one has reserved the window seats on the second floor. I'll have my drinks brought up in a bit. Oh, and I even put a pot of tulips on the windowsill today."

The proprietress was a very outgoing and friendly person. As she spoke, she patted the two of them on the shoulder, as if she wanted to tease them a little more.

But when she saw Tokiwa Takako glaring at her "fiercely," she immediately smiled and withdrew her hand, turning around and humming a song as she went back to the bar to prepare coffee and hot milk. However, her teasing did dispel much of the awkwardness and restraint that usually accompanies strangers meeting for the first time.

.

"Editor Tokiwa must come to this cafe often, she seems to know it very well."

The two sat down by the window on the second floor. Shuichi Kanbara took the tray from the waiter, pushed the caramel macchiato in front of Takako Tokiwa, and then picked up his cup of hot milk and took a small sip.

Takako Tokiwa nodded. "Yes, Aunt Akemi graduated from the University of the Arts, so she's a senior to me, many years ahead of me. Plus, I work here, so we got to know each other pretty quickly."

"Is Tokiwa, the editor, also a student at Nikkei University of the Arts?"

"Eh? Uh, could it be...?"

"I... well, I guess you could call me that, but I won't officially start school until next month, so I'm still a prospective freshman."

"What a coincidence?!" Tokiwa Takako's eyes lit up. "What's your major?"

"Film Studies, Directing Department"

"Directing major? Why did you choose to write novels if you're a directing major? Do you want to pursue screenwriting in the future?"

Takako Tokiwa's clear almond-shaped eyes held a hint of curiosity.

Shuichi Kambara shrugged with a smile, his tone relaxed but tinged with helplessness. "I've been dealing with some things lately and I'm short on money, so I thought I'd give writing a novel a try. After all, the only capital you need in this industry is time, and college freshmen have plenty of time."

"That's true, university days are truly memorable."

Takako Tokiwa chuckled lightly, then said seriously, "Alright, let me take a look at your manuscript first. We can talk about the rest later when we have a chance."

You want me to write a manuscript?

Shuichi Kambara was slightly taken aback. He thought he was incredibly lucky, and that the other party had chosen his work from among a mountain of submissions and made a special request to meet him.

But now...

Why would someone contact me directly if they haven't read my manuscript?

A question flashed through my mind, but the situation was clearly in my favor, and asking more questions might just lead to more mistakes.

Suppressing his doubts, Shuichi Kambara pulled out a thick stack of manuscripts and outlines from his backpack and handed them over with both hands.

"The White Tower, a medical novel, genre... social realism?"

After reading the introduction on the first page, Takako Tokiwa looked up and glanced at Shuichi Kanbara with surprise.

The term "social realism" has two meanings in Japanese literary circles.

One type is the narrow social school, specifically referring to social mystery novels.

It originated from Seicho Matsumoto's "Points and Lines" in 1957. This social mystery novel broke the traditional framework of orthodox mystery and attributed the motives for crimes to structural social problems such as institutional corruption, corporate corruption, and the trauma of war.

Another type of social school of thought is the broad social school of thought.

—This refers broadly to any novel that sharply exposes the dark side of society, regardless of whether it involves crime or mystery. And this type of novel is precisely the kind that interests her most right now.

However... the social realism genre is extremely difficult to handle.

Not only does it require the author to have strong plot structure and narrative skills, but it also requires the author to have deep social experience.

"He looks like he's only eighteen..."

"A young boy of this age, a complete newcomer, how could he possibly write a social realism story?"

The manuscript I have here is probably not very good.

Takako Tokiwa was a little disappointed, but more than that, she felt conflicted.

She doesn't have much ambition for performance, nor does she think that editors are superior to junior writers.

On the contrary, as it was her first time working as an editor and her first time having a face-to-face discussion with a contributing author, the thought of having to reject their manuscript and having their expectations dashed made her feel somewhat uneasy.

However, as her gaze swept across the manuscript line by line, her eyes gradually fixed on it.