I am a literary giant in Japan

Chapter 91: "Literature and Art" A good chance to turn things around! (2000 monthly tickets plus more chapters, 10 chapters still owed!)

"I won't bother you for too long! Just a few minutes! Please!"

Iwai Shunji, 32 years old this year, is nine years older than Kitagawa Hide. In Japan, a country that attaches great importance to seniority and seniority, scenes like this where seniors take the initiative to bow down to their juniors are even rarer than "the inferiors overthrowing their superiors".

This is the social status of famous writers in Japanese literary circles.

Even though Kitagawa Hide has only been in the industry for half a year, he has already written four novels, which is not something an entertainment industry director can take credit for.

Kitagawa Hide immediately bowed in return, "No problem, thank you for your kindness, Director Iwai, as it is our first meeting. I really like the film Love Letter you shot, it is a rare masterpiece!"

He is not very familiar with the Japanese film and television entertainment industry, but this great director is so famous. The "Love Letter" released in March this year has a good box office and reputation in Japan. It should be the enlightenment work of "Japanese dramas and Japanese movies" for many young people next door.

Because of this movie, Shunji Iwai was given the title of "Japanese Wong Kar-wai" by his fans.

"Love Letter" is Shunji Iwai's debut film. Kitagawa Hide seems to have been produced by Fuji TV. So shouldn't he be working at Fuji TV?

How did you end up at Nikkatsu Corporation?
One of these two is a giant in the news industry controlled by the Fuji Group and one of the five major television stations; the other is an erotic film factory on the decline.

No matter how good the treatment is, you shouldn't change jobs, right?
"Huh?" Iwai Shunji was embarrassed now.

He didn't know whether he should respond to what Teacher Kitagawa said.

What movie is "Love Letter"?
He was finally promoted from deputy supervisor to supervisor at the beginning of this year, and his debut work is still in the works. Could Mr. Kitagawa have recognized the wrong person?

He felt that he should not agree to it, but if he started talking about it, would Mr. Kitagawa be so embarrassed that he would end the conversation?
While he was hesitating, Kitagawa Hide realized that "Love Letter" might not have appeared at all!
《情书》原来是在1995年的3月25日上映，北川秀能记得那么清楚，多亏了3月20日奥姆真理教搞的东京地铁沙林毒气事件。

This movie was rushed into theaters not long after the tragedy.

Unexpectedly, the response after its release was very good. Even in such a harsh environment, it still earned nearly 10 billion yen at the box office, which is a miracle in the current sluggish Japanese film market.

At that time, Kitagawa Hide was busy writing "Ball" and was arguing with Kodansha about the contract treatment after winning the award, so he didn't pay attention to these trivial matters.

Come to think of it, there didn't seem to be any hot movies released in March, otherwise my wife would have asked me to go watch them together.

"Sorry, Mr. Kitagawa, you seem to have recognized the wrong person. I have never officially supervised the production of a movie." Shunji Iwai still chose to confess.

"So that's it. I recognized the wrong person. Sorry." Kitagawa Hide thought about it and suddenly understood why this happened.

Shunji Iwai's "Love Letter" was actually influenced by Murakami's "Norwegian Wood". Many of the plots and characters are very similar, and it can be said to be a tribute work.

In this world, "Norwegian Wood" is still in Hide Kitagawa's arsenal. He didn't write it, so where can Iwai Shunji learn it from?

No wonder he is still working as a minor supervisor in Nikkatsu even though he should be on the rise. The reason lies with me!
Kitagawa Hide thought of Keigo Higashino, who was equally miserable.

However, the latter was because the development of mystery literature slowed down and the hard times became longer, so that he almost chose to give up mystery literature. He hoped that his encouragement that day would be useful to him.

Every time my butterfly wings flap, it seems to affect the fate of many people.

"No, no, no, it's normal to mistake someone for someone else. You don't have to apologize to me." Iwai Shunji waved his hand quickly, then took out a business card and handed it to him respectfully, "This is my business card, please accept it! I'm sorry to bother you this time because I actually wanted to ask you for your opinion on art films."

"I have read all of your works, Mr. Beichuan. Whether it is the Youth Trilogy or No Longer Human, they all contain a strong personal touch. In my opinion, that is a top-notch emotional rendering technique that is difficult to convey through the language of the lens. I really want to know how you do this."

Perhaps thinking that this might involve Kitagawa Hide's core creative techniques, he quickly added,
"If it's inconvenient to say, please ignore my question."

In order to graduate successfully, Kitagawa Hide spent a lot of time and effort interpreting these four novels in his previous life. He thought about it for a while and quickly gave him some insights based on his understanding of Iwai Shunji's film style.

Due to time constraints, the two were unable to talk in detail, but just these few short sentences gave Iwai Shunji an epiphany, and he immediately admired Kitagawa Hide.

".I see. It seems that novel writing and filming are similar. I've learned a lot! Thank you, Mr. Kitagawa, for your guidance." Iwai Shunji wanted to pull him in to chat for a few more hours, but unfortunately, he couldn't wait to see Kitagawa Hide, and Kawaide Shizuko and the others had already returned.

Their brief conversation ended there.

Before leaving, Kitagawa Hide felt that he had to help this great writer in the future, but he didn't know when he would write "Norwegian Wood", so he had to leave him a phone number and said that they could contact each other more often in the future.

Shunji Iwai regarded the string of numbers as a treasure, but unfortunately he was not qualified to shoot Kitagawa's works. Nikkatsu and Kodansha spent so much money to buy the film and television adaptation rights of "Youth Trilogy" and would definitely not waste it on his debut work.

"Take care!" Long after Kitagawa Hide left, Iwai Shunji still maintained a 90-degree bow, feeling both admiration and curiosity for Kitagawa Hide.

The 23-year-old rising star in the literary world seems to have no airs at all and is much easier to get along with than that Shintaro Ishihara!
I will definitely look for Mr. Beichuan to work with me if I have the chance in the future!

Kitagawa Hide was also very happy to get Iwai Shunji's business card. There were still many great people in Japan in the 90s. His goal was to become the "best in the world" in the literary world, then make a lot of money, travel around the world with his beautiful wife, and it would be best if he could make many good friends everywhere.

As for your network of contacts, it’s always better to have more.

From this perspective, once your status in the literary world is elevated to that of an “upper-class” writer and your own works have been adapted many times, you can get to know more great writers in various fields.

"Teacher Kitagawa, do you know the supervisor just now?" asked Shizuko Kawaide curiously.

Kitagawa Hide shook his head and said, "I just met him today. Although he has no official works yet, I think he understands movies very well. Maybe he can become a famous director in the future."

"I see." Shizuko Kawaide secretly memorized Shunji Iwai's name in her heart. It seems that Mr. Kitagawa really has certain requirements for film adaptation. Kawaide Shobo's novel film and television adaptations in recent years have not performed very well, and there is a world of difference compared with Kodansha. No wonder he chose the other party.

Even if it is bought out, the original author does not want the work to be ruined.

"It's almost time for dinner. I know there's a good restaurant nearby. Mr. Kitagawa, Deputy Editor-in-Chief Saito, why don't we go over there and talk while we eat?"

Shizuko Kawaide smiled at the two of them, thinking about how to convince Kitagawa to stay at Wen Yi to write novels. Although No Longer Human was published by Kawaide Shobo, it was just a single work agreement. Strictly speaking, Kitagawa could choose not to cooperate with them for subsequent works and look for a new publisher.

Kitagawa Hide's sudden change today made Kawaide Shizuko inexplicably feel a sense of danger.

Since there was a free meal available, Kitagawa Hide readily agreed.

The three of them left Kodansha together and got into a luxury business car.

I heard that driver Kinoshita has been on vacation at home recently, and many people in the bodyguard team seem to have taken sick leave. He didn't recognize any of the new bodyguards, Kitagawa Hide.

Seeing that Shizuko Kawaide was always surrounded by people, and her bodyguard team was so large that it seemed like they could change every day of the week without repeating themselves, Kitagawa Hide became more and more envious of these chaebol families.

Sure enough, after eating the corpse of a country, the wealth can reach an unimaginable level.

This time, Shizuko Kawaide intended to win people's hearts, so she brought them directly to the most luxurious and popular traditional Japanese restaurant in Bunkyo Ward, Mokushundo, which was rated three stars by Michelin.

To be honest, Kitagawa Hide, who has eaten Japanese food many times, is not interested in this thing at all.

He really didn't understand why this thing was so delicious other than it looked good on the plate.

For example, the small conches and white radishes in Japanese appetizers are completely incomparable to the large plates of cold dishes in the north.

Sushi looks like a smaller version of rice balls, not to mention fried food, which is fragrant and delicious no matter where it is put. The only thing that feels a bit fresh to him is the various sashimi.

But you will get tired of eating too much, and it doesn’t seem to require any technical skills, unlike some unique snacks from the north and south that you can’t really find anywhere else.

But even though people complain, when it's time to eat, Kitagawa Hidetoo eats to his heart's content. When it comes to eating, he doesn't care about meat or vegetables. He eats whatever is available, except for puffer fish, which you either eat to your heart's content or you can't help but lie down after eating.

The three of them ate and drank. After a few glasses of sake, Kawaide Shizuko's cheeks flushed slightly. She picked up the bottle and first refilled Kitagawa Hide's glass. Kitagawa Hide was so scared that he immediately held the cup with both hands and sat down respectfully.

After all, the other party is your boss, and he is very approachable. You can't push him too far, otherwise you will die without knowing it.

Kitagawa Hide took the initiative to clink glasses with Kawaide Shizuko. He found that his boss didn't seem to be able to drink much. Saito Rena, whose glass of wine was never empty, looked normal, but the boss was a little shaky.

"Teacher Kitagawa, if I put your haiku in the September issue of "Baijutsu", would you like to take a look at it?" After drinking and eating, and with her head slightly intoxicated by alcohol, Shizuko Kawaide bravely made the request first.

Seeing that she took the initiative to bring this up, Kitagawa Hide seemed to have no grudge against Kodansha for giving the adaptation rights to the meeting just now. He breathed a sigh of relief and said with a smile: "Of course! If Literature and Art does not want to open a new section, I have other ways."

He wanted to emulate some of the "tears of the times" next door, such as "Legends of the Past and Present", a small magazine that was once extremely popular but later declined and was discontinued.

They used to like to include some lines from classic novels in the small area at the bottom of each page, which shows the page number, to enhance the reading experience and texture of the entire magazine.

Don’t underestimate this kind of design in the corners. Perhaps it is just this little trick that can keep the readers.

But the tipsy Kawaide Shizuko waved her hand fiercely and said arrogantly: "As long as Mr. Kitagawa is willing to publish the haiku in "Wenyi", I can ask the editorial department to immediately allocate the most prime area for the haiku column!"

After a pause, she looked at Saito Reina again: "The column will also be managed by Deputy Editor-in-Chief Saito. There will be no situation like Kodansha!"

At the last minute, Kodansha parachuted in Noma Kawaya to replace Muramatsu Tomosuke as the editor-in-chief, instantly sidelining Saito Rena, the newly promoted deputy editor-in-chief. This is even more disgusting than picking peaches!

Shizuko Kawaide was well aware that Kitagawa Hide and Saito Rena were conjoined twins, and immediately stated that she would not break up this golden combination.

"That's great. Thank you very much, President Kawade!" Kitagawa Hide quickly poured her a glass of wine and expressed his gratitude sincerely.

He has his own understanding of the haiku column, and actually doesn't want editors other than Rena Saito to interfere too much.

But this is someone else's "Literature and Art" after all, and there is nothing he can do if Shizuko Kawaide insists on parachuting in a few assistants.

Looking back now, Shizuko Kawaide has really been consistent and lived up to what she said when she first came to me!
There are probably very few heirs to the consortium family who are so easy to talk to. Kitagawa Hide feels that his luck is pretty good after traveling through time.

He has a gentle and lovely wife at home, a mature editor who is extremely compatible with him, and a big boss who is easy to talk to.

It seems that even if you are targeted by a bunch of rotten fish and shrimp in the literary world, you can still successfully overcome all obstacles and achieve the path of "the best in the world".

"Ah, I should be the one thanking you. Our annual sales of Kawaide Shobo have always fluctuated around 300 billion yen, and we have never been able to surpass the other four major publishing houses. The sales of No Longer Human exceeded 35.5 billion yen in less than a month after its release. I..."

After getting drunk, Shizuko Kawaide took off her icy disguise, raised the bottle with some emotion, and poured a glass for Kitagawa Hide and Saito Reina respectively, then raised her own glass.

"Anyway, thank you both very much. Whether "Wenyi" has a chance to overtake "Stars", which ranks fourth, depends on you!"

Kitagawa Hide clinked glasses with her while smiling, but in his heart he thought that the goal of just surpassing "All the Stars" was too low.

The most popular "Shincho" among the five major publishing houses now sells only about 75 copies per month. When Kitagawa Hide serialized "Hear the Wind Sing", it almost broke the sales record of one million copies.

Even if the haiku column doesn't work well, he still has a lot of things in his arsenal. If he takes them out one by one, there will always be one that can make a big splash.

The current monthly sales volume of "Wenyi" is really ugly. It seemed that there were less than 30 copies last month, and it is almost reaching the top.

Whether "Wenyi" can make a comeback depends on the next haiku column and the subsequent series "I Am a Cat"!

Your monthly votes are really awesome. I thought there wouldn't be too many at the end of the month, but this is almost 3000 votes.
Here is the extra chapter, 10 more chapters are still owed!
See you again tomorrow!

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(End of this chapter)