Tokyo Tycoon, Start as a Writer

Chapter 112 A miracle is born, with sales exceeding one million in the first month!

December 12th, a day with rain and snow.

As he walked into the school with difficulty, holding a transparent umbrella, Songzhi Luming discovered that the promotional posters on both sides of the school road had changed.

The original poster was a photo of Mishima and the cover of "The Temple of the Golden Pavilion", with some recommendations from industry insiders. It looked good, but it felt a bit stereotyped, and I'm afraid it wouldn't be attractive enough to students.

This new batch of posters was made by Tokugawa Rinko herself and has been changed to a comic style.

The first poster you see when you enter the door shows a father talking to his son, and an illusion of the Golden Pavilion appears above them.

[I was born in a remote countryside in Japan. My family was extremely poor. Because I was born weak and ugly, I was often teased and laughed at by my friends. My father told me that it would be great to go to the Golden Pavilion. There is nothing more beautiful than the Golden Pavilion in the world.]

The second poster shows two boys and one girl in school uniforms bullying a plain-looking and slightly chubby little boy. They are standing in front of the Golden Pavilion.

[I saw the Golden Pavilion with my own eyes, and my beautiful fantasy was shattered...]

The pictures are accompanied by text explanations, which are very easy to understand.

Changing to modern school uniforms and using first-person narration also makes it easier for students to empathize.

The third poster shows the fat Mizoguchi imagining himself sitting on a throne with his feet on the heads of the three people who bullied him.

[I used to indulge in my own fantasies, imagining myself as a tyrant with absolute power, and mentally punishing the classmates who looked down on me one by one.]

In the fourth poster, Mizoguchi confesses his love to the girl he loves but is rejected.

[I have tried to communicate with the outside world, but I often get into trouble. For example, when I confessed my love to a girl I liked, I was mercilessly ridiculed and rejected because of my stuttering! ]

The first four posters can greatly arouse students’ empathy.

After all, beauty and handsomeness only favor a few people. Most people are just ordinary people with many shortcomings.

Being laughed at because of a slight flaw in appearance, or because of being too tall, too short, too fat, or too thin is something most people have experienced.

Who hasn’t fantasized in his heart that he could become the supreme king and take revenge on those who have bullied him?
In the fifth picture, the abbot in monk's robes is chatting and laughing with the people who bullied Mizoguchi.

[Faced with my tragic experience, the abbot asked me to keep silent and advised me not to reveal anything to outsiders.]

The sixth poster is the promotional poster for "The Temple of the Golden Pavilion", and it features Mishima's handsome face.

Songzhi Luming held an umbrella and looked at the new posters one by one, with a happy smile on his face.

Although she didn't say it these days and was as cold as before when she saw Kiyoaki Matsueda, she was actually paying attention to his movements all the time. After seeing the news that the sales of "The Temple of the Golden Pavilion" surpassed that of "The Tower and the Sun", she was so excited that she almost dropped her phone.

The story has reached its climax at this point, and all it needs is a happy ending.

...won the Akutagawa Prize!

But how can we ensure that we win the prize?
Thinking about this huge problem, Songzhi Luming looked a little worried and absent-minded. Just as he turned around and walked towards the classroom, he accidentally stepped on someone's shoe.

"Oh, sorry." Songeda Luming took a step back and bowed slightly.

The person who was stepped on was a thin and dark boy. When he saw her, he became so nervous that he couldn't speak.

"If there's nothing else, I'll go back to the classroom first." Matsueda Luming looked at his face.

“Ah, um, um…” The boy was too embarrassed to speak and could only nod his head desperately.

After the goddess-like girl left, he patted his chest and took a long breath, feeling as if he almost died here.

Then, he looked at the posters.

For many people, the pain and ridicule they suffer because of their appearance and body are lifelong pains that are difficult to heal.

If you happen to be like Mizoguchi, whose family is poor or comes from a single-parent family, it would be even worse.

The boy's name is Honda Kazuma. He was born in the countryside, was thin and dark, and grew up in a single-parent family.

With excellent grades, he was given the opportunity to attend this aristocratic school for free, but this was not necessarily a good thing for him...

"Hey, Honda~"

"Boy, did you bring the things you asked me to bring yesterday..."

"Come with us..."

Several senior students came over, put their arms around his shoulders, and took him to the nearest toilet.

More than ten minutes later, he came out with a few bruises and smell of cigarettes. All his money had been taken away, but he had a box of cigarettes that those people had forced him to finish smoking today...

Higashimaizuru is an aristocratic school, and most of the students are not short of money.

These rich kids did this together not for money, but simply for the pleasure of pleasure and to corrupt these students who came from poor backgrounds but were excellent students.

In the eyes of these people, this kind of behavior is very cool, and challenging school rules is as majestic as being a hero.

Before leaving, the rich kid who led the group patted him on the face and said, "Remember to bring 5000 yen tomorrow. This is money for you to buy cigarettes, we are not blackmailing you..."

"Damn it, I won't let you go... I'm going to strip you naked and hang you on the flagpole to be exposed to the sun..."

The more a child lacks recognition and respect in reality, the more likely he or she is to become addicted to his or her own fantasy world.

Every time they were bullied by these people, Honda and Ma would imagine various possibilities of revenge in their minds.

They may have an unexpected event;
Or a disaster suddenly breaks out in the world, breaking all the uncomfortable rules;
When he becomes prime minister someday in the future, he will play them hard...

Carrying new and old injuries, Honda Hema walked back to the classroom in frustration.

When the students in the classroom saw him, they all looked away.

The Japanese have a deep-rooted sense of collectivism, and everyone wants to be consistent with others so as not to stand out, attract dislike, or be talked about or looked at sideways.

Therefore, in school, Japanese students like to find a group and become a member of it.

Those who cannot find a small group are basically isolated by everyone...

What’s even more terrifying is that this kind of isolation is not divided by class. Even someone as noble as a royal princess will suffer physical problems due to isolation... If this is the case for the royal family, ordinary people are even more unbearable.

In Honda Hema's class, almost no one talks to him, he always has no teammates in group assignments, and no one wants to play with him in physical education class. Being isolated and excluded for years, he can only spend his time building a fantasy world.

In his fantasy world, he is a cruel tyrant.

All the classmates and teachers who bullied and despised him in reality had to live in fear in the fantasy world, and were punished most severely by him one by one.

Yeah, being bullied is nothing.

They are all idiots!
Despite his apparent poverty, Honda and Ma feel they are richer than anyone else.

The inferiority complex that was difficult to eliminate turned into a belief that he was a child who was quietly selected. At the end of this world, there was a mission waiting for him that he was not aware of yet. The torture before him was just a test for him.

The last class in the morning is physical education.

Because no one would play with him and he was very weak, Honda and Ma took sick leave.

When he was sitting alone in the classroom, he saw a copy of "The Temple of the Golden Pavilion" on the desk next to him. Resonating with the promotional poster he had just seen, he quietly took it and opened it to read.

He was completely hooked before he even finished the first chapter.

The Mizoguchi in the book is him...

The kind of state where one has been bullied since childhood because of poverty and one's own defects, the kind of weak character where one can only fantasize about how to retaliate in one's mind after being bullied but dare not actually act!

Too similar, too immersive, it's like watching myself.

When reading Mizoguchi's dark and intense emotional struggles, Honda and Ma could fully understand Mizoguchi's extreme yearning for the Golden Pavilion. It was so painful and desperate...

For a person who lives in inferiority, anxiety, and pain, unable to grasp anything worth loving and longing for in life, only complete destruction can bring salvation...

Honda and Ma sat alone in the classroom.

Coming from outside the window were energetic shouts. Their radiant youth made him look so cowardly and humble hiding alone in the classroom, making him feel even more that there was no place for him here.

He finally made it to the end of the day, grabbed his schoolbag, and headed straight for the convenience store where he worked.

He comes from the countryside. His mother is a worker in a small handicraft workshop with meager income. His odd jobs in a convenience store are an important source of living expenses for him.

Working hours are from Monday to Friday, 6:8 p.m. to 1100: p.m., and the hourly wage is yen.

He worked absent-mindedly until 1:, and asked the store manager for an advance of yen on his salary, saying that his mother was sick and needed to buy medicine.

I picked up the discounted bento that had passed its best-before date and walked out of the store, with rain and light snow hitting my face.

His mother called and asked about his well-being. He forced a smile on his face and kept telling lies about his wonderful student life in Tokyo.

After hanging up the phone, the boy buried his head in the thick scarf, feeling very uncomfortable.

There was some snow and water on the street.

Raindrops fell on the transparent umbrella, splashing water.

The night wind was a bit cold, icy cold, and my water-soaked shoes became heavy and uncomfortable.

Walking with difficulty on the street, Honda Kazuma passed by a bookstore that was about to close. He looked at the poster of "The Temple of the Golden Pavilion" in front of the door and walked into the store.

"A copy of The Temple of the Golden Pavilion!" He raised his hand to signal to the clerk.

The clerk quickly handed him a brand new book, looked at his frustrated expression, and smiled: "The road is slippery in the snow, please be careful."

"Thank you~"

Honda Kazuma nodded politely.

I turned around and went out, returning to the old rented apartment. It was already past ten o'clock in the evening.

This apartment is very old and has only one room, which is rented out specifically to young people who come to Tokyo to pursue their dreams.

Honda Kazuma put the lunch box in the microwave to heat it up, set the timer for five minutes, then went to take a shower in the narrow bathroom, changed his clothes, came out, poured a glass of water, finished the lunch box in a few minutes, and fell on the bed to read "The Temple of the Golden Pavilion".

I came to Tokyo from my hometown in March this year.

It has been almost ten months, and he still has no friends. He even feels that he can no longer communicate with others and feels timid and fearful whenever he is in social situations.

The lights of Tokyo outside the window are beautiful.

The rain and snow in this season wash the city lights, making them colorful.

But in his eyes, Tokyo was always gray, a cold and dull gray.

I have never done anything bad, nor have I ever bullied anyone...

Why do I have to endure all this bullying?

Before I knew it, tears started to flow from the corners of my eyes.

In the dead of night, the kingdom built in the spiritual world could no longer be maintained, the king revealed his cowardly nature, and his tears wet the pages of the book...

How could the Kinkakuji Temple, which embodies all of Mizoguchi's meaning and love, be just an ordinary temple?

Behind the obsession that cannot be let go is the pain that is unwilling to be told...

The Kinkakuji Temple in Honda and Ma's eyes can be the bustling Tokyo, or it can be the Higashi Maizuru Academy where he thought he would no longer be bullied after entering high school... Tokyo or Higashi Maizuru, with its gorgeous, splendid, dreamy dark atmosphere, is very much like the Kinkakuji Temple in Mizoguchi's mind.

I understand. I totally understand.

Why is the Golden Pavilion so twisted, dark, yet extremely beautiful, as beautiful as a dream?

The cowardly boy hugged the Golden Pavilion and fell asleep. The next morning, he got up early, took his school bag and the Golden Pavilion to the school gate, and waited with an umbrella.

In the rainy and snowy weather near Christmas, the girl slowly walked into the school holding a transparent umbrella.

Ordinary school uniform looks especially good on her.

There was no expression on her cold and charming face, and the fingertips holding the umbrella were almost transparent, reminiscent of the snow monster in the mountains.

"It's so beautiful..."

Honda and Ma watched her from a distance.

Several people surrounded him in front, behind, and around him with joking expressions on their faces.

"Hey, are you looking at her?"

"Don't let your wishful thinking stop, you little brat..."

"Come here. If I don't teach you a lesson, you won't know what you are..."

Amidst the pushing and pulling, Honda Hema was pushed into the toilet, but unlike his previous panic, this time there was no expression on his face.

Then, screams of terror were heard and several students fled in panic.

Students from near and far all looked over... Only to see the short, dark-skinned boy, with a utility knife in one hand and "The Temple of the Golden Pavilion" in the other, walking out with blood all over his body.

Looking at the people in front of me with terrified eyes...

Honda Kazuma, who was about to commit suicide, threw away his knife, took a cigarette from his pocket and lit it, thinking like Mizoguchi: "I want to continue living!"

■

One dead and three injured!
On December 12, Japanese public opinion exploded because of this news.

When Kiyoaki Matsueda first browsed the news report on the web, he felt as if his heart was hit hard by something.

In that rainy and snowy weather, the boy stumbled and ran away with a cigarette in his mouth...

At that moment, life became a journey of exile filled with surging passions and sins...

Pain and pleasure...

Japanese society as a whole is repressive.

Most people are used to submission, facing their elders, superiors, and powerful people...

When being oppressed, choosing to give in has almost become everyone's instinct.

When they encounter suffering, they will only say: You can laugh at my sorrow, I am a complete wretched creature.

Bravely taking up a spear to resist is not something most people have the courage to do...otherwise, books like "No Longer Human" wouldn't be such hot sellers.

Today, what Honda Kazuma has done has undoubtedly greatly shocked the entire Japanese society and torn the entire Japanese society apart.

Some old-school people think that what Honda and Ma did was too radical, and that even if they were oppressed, they should be more tolerant...

Some radicals thought that this was not enough and the entire school should be burned down.

Some centrists believe that it is time to push for anti-bullying legislation.

Bullying in Japanese schools has always been a difficult and acute problem to solve.

Since the concept of "school bullying" was first mentioned in the revision of the "Basic Education Law" in 1993, relevant departments in Japan have formulated a series of specific policies and guidelines to control and restrain the problem of school bullying.

However, the Basic Law is only a guideline and has no legal force.

Laws without legal effect are no different from waste paper.

After bullying occurs, the school basically adopts a passive approach of "ignoring if not reported, and giving the cold shoulder if reported", which not only aggravates the victim's pain, but also encourages the arrogance of the bully.

Since the beginning of the new century, the problem of bullying has become more serious.

However, relevant government departments such as the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology and legislative branches such as the Senate have not taken any relevant measures.

The Honda Kazuma incident is by no means accidental, but a tragedy caused by the dual factors of Japanese politicians' long-term inaction and the overall distorted social atmosphere.

The public outcry caused by this case is growing more and more intense.

Ordinary people gradually all turned to Honda Kazuma, hoping that the police would find out the truth of the matter and denounce the inaction of politicians and powerful forces that bully the weak.

However, when public opinion exploded, the chaebols who controlled the media came to an end.

Their purpose is, firstly, to divert people's dissatisfaction with the government and relieve the pressure on the government; secondly, they have some ulterior motives.

Because at the crime scene, Honda Kazuma was holding the book "The Temple of the Golden Pavilion" in his hand, with the manipulation of some people, public opinion turned to criticize Mishima, saying that he instigated young people to commit crimes and was not worthy of being a writer.

After the capital left, right-wing intellectuals and literary critics followed suit, seemingly intending to take this opportunity to directly ban Mishima.

As a result, all the promotional posters for "The Temple of the Golden Pavilion" were removed in the afternoon.

In order to avoid getting into trouble, many bookstores have chosen to temporarily remove "The Temple of the Golden Pavilion" from their shelves and wait and see how the situation develops.

In response, Shinchosha responded quickly.

The next day, a press conference was held. Mishima, who had not slept all night, sat on the stage and accepted interviews from reporters.

Reporter: "Mr. Mishima, when you were writing The Temple of the Golden Pavilion, did you think of the tragedy that would lead to today?"

Facing this question, Kiyoaki Matsueda replied: "I wrote The Temple of the Golden Pavilion to focus on the group of people who committed crimes after being excluded and bullied, and to explore the motives behind their crimes. In the book, Mizoguchi's motive for setting fire to national treasures was simply the shallow and ignorant concept of 'beauty'. From this we can see that it is entirely possible for a person to live on a shallow and ignorant concept, and we must prevent this possibility from happening..."

The latter sentence made the reporters stunned.

Without waiting for the reporter to ask more questions, he continued, "I want to use this incident to express a point of view: survival is not a battle that is bound to be lost! Although we all live like ants, ants tortured by life, we are all working hard to do one thing, that is, to try our best to fight for the qualification to become a human being..."

"We should not discuss how bad this incident is, but reflect on the reasons why this case happened... It is precisely because I have also experienced this despair and pain that I wrote those words..."

"The Japanese are used to forbearance and like to use gentleness and restraint to cover up their cowardice. They lack hysterical shouting, and even less the courage to uncover their scars with their own hands..."

“Sometimes, what we need is not self-criticism, but the courage to say ‘no’ to injustice…”

"I am a writer. What I like to do is to invent a protagonist, write a story, and tell the world that there is such a problem. But don't expect me to solve this problem. A writer is just a profession, just like an official. The ones who need to solve these problems are the officials who have been hiding in the back and have not spoken out so far. The greatest role I can play here is to use my words to tell all those who have the same experience as Mizoguchi - please stand up, please shout, and use practical actions to promote the rule of law reform!"

A press conference that was equivalent to an interrogation was turned into an educational lecture by Kiyoaki Matsueda, which made his image as a scholar even more deeply rooted in people's hearts.

Looking back at history, whenever a major disaster occurs, there will always be someone who stands up and uses words to form a torch to dispel the darkness, leading a nation, a country, and a civilization to break through the shackles.

"This is why we respect scholars..."

Watching the young writers on TV, countless people expressed such feelings.

At the same time, a large number of left-wing authors collectively expressed their support for Mishima and firmly defended the freedom of creation...

Among these people, the Kyoto faction had the loudest voice. Those who had once been at odds with Mishima were completely conquered by his literary talent and personal charm.

The right-wing voices were quickly suppressed.

After the press conference, the target of public criticism completely shifted to the National Police Agency and the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, which have not spoken out so far.

The angry storm of public opinion almost overwhelmed the two departments.

On the morning of the 19th, a spokesman for the Prime Minister's Office held a press conference, saying that they were paying close attention to the matter. He also expressed his gratitude to Mishima for urging the government to do so. He announced that he would thoroughly investigate the matter and give an explanation to the whole society as soon as possible.

On the afternoon of the 19th, the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology held a press conference. The Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, who had been scolded by the Prime Minister in the morning, bowed degrees in front of the camera to apologize.

A senior official bowed in front of the camera and apologized to the entire public.

This apology is worthless. After all, the Japanese spine is one of the least valuable things in the world.

However, the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology subsequently issued the 2012 White Paper on Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology in advance.

There is a paragraph that was added urgently in the white paper, which for the first time in history singles out the issue of school bullying in a long article, and emphasizes that "it is necessary to make the whole of Japan aware that school bullying must not be tolerated."

On the morning of the 20th, the first version of the "Law on Promoting Anti-Bullying Measures" was released, which for the first time included the issue of bullying into the legal scope. After being improved, the bill will enter the review process of the Senate plenary session and will be officially implemented after being voted through.

The bill stipulates that when students are seriously injured or absent from school for a long time due to bullying, the school is obliged to investigate the relevant facts and inform the student's guardian. It also stipulates that when bullying is deemed to be a criminal act that may cause serious harm to the student's body or property, the school is obliged to call the police. For bullying that occurs on the Internet, it is stipulated that the national and local governments must take measures to deal with it...

On the morning of the 21st, after an investigation by the police and prosecutors, and an examination of the various sizes of the scars on the suspect's body, it was finally confirmed that Honda Kazuma's actions constituted legitimate defense and he was acquitted.

So far, the dust has settled.

Flocks of crows were flying around, disturbing the sky of Tokyo, and the original sleet turned into heavy snow.

The fame of "The Temple of the Golden Pavilion" spread thoroughly among the student community, and sales soared.

More and more people heard the news and slowly moved towards the bookstore.

They may have had the same experience as Honda Kazuma, or they may have just followed the trend, silently forming long white queues in front of bookstores.

During this period, words related to "The Temple of the Golden Pavilion" became a common catchphrase among students.

When everyone chats, they will pretend to say a few words in a deep voice.

"Beautiful things are like my old enemy..."

"I can't get it, and I can't let it go. My obsession is just like Mizoguchi and the Golden Pavilion..."

"I always feel that at the end of this world, there is a mission waiting for me that I am not aware of yet..."

Word of mouth spread among the student group, which was equivalent to completely activating the largest audience of literature. The sales of "The Temple of the Golden Pavilion" continued to rise in the last ten days of December.

On the 15th, it was 30 copies.

On the 18th, before the Honda Kazuma incident, 32 copies.

From the 18th to the 20th, influenced by public opinion, most bookstores removed "The Temple of the Golden Pavilion" from their shelves, and sales barely increased.

From the 20th to the 31st, during these eleven days, an average of more than 6 copies were sold every day.

On the evening of the 31st, all bookstores closed.

The sales data was sorted out immediately, and a miracle was born - "The Temple of the Golden Pavilion" was on sale for 26 days and sales exceeded one million.

Sales volume exceeded one million in one month, which can basically be concluded as a miracle that is impossible to break.

After this battle, everything was settled.

Nothing can stop Mishima from becoming a god.

If there is any more, it will be nailed as the villain and be forever cursed - I'm talking about you, Akutagawa Prize.

January 23st has arrived in the rd year of Heisei.

Early in the morning, the women of the Matsueda family sat in front of the TV to watch the news report of the announcement of the Akutagawa Prize.

Kiyoaki Matsueda was not interested in this, as he had already lost interest in the Akutagawa Prize. However, the three women were very persistent and seemed to think that winning the Akutagawa Prize would be a milestone in their career as a writer, so they sat in front of the TV early.

"The winner of the 72nd Akutagawa Prize and his work..."

The look in Takaki Ikezawa's eyes on TV is very complicated, an expression of endless frustration and regret.

At this moment, countless eyes were staring at him. In order to prevent the value of the Akutagawa Prize from falling into oblivion overnight, he could only endure the shame and reluctantly read out the name.

　In the middle of the month, please give me a monthly ticket

　　
　
(End of this chapter)