Tokyo: The life of a literary giant begins with home self-defense!

Chapter 388: The Incomplete "Ancient Capital"
A while ago, some major news from Europe reached Japan.

The Frank Prize for Fiction pre-selection scandal led to Tatsukawa Tetsu facing discrimination abroad.

When the information reached China, opinions were divided.

One side says the Irish are shameful, while the other side claims to be fair but then a private placement was rigged.

The other side said that Tatsuki Tatsu deserved it, as Westerners would not easily award prizes to Eastern creators, and Tatsuki Tatsu was just asking for trouble.

The two opposing views were arguing back and forth, and some even extended the discussion to whether Easterners should go to the West to participate in literary awards.

The West is the birthplace of modern thought.

Critical literature, realism.

In recent years, practical literary forms have influenced East Asian countries, including Japan.

"Have the Frank Fiction Prize results been announced?"

Mingzhi Jin was somewhat surprised, as the Frank O'Connor International Short Story Award is renowned worldwide.

It is considered one of the world’s most comprehensive collections of short stories, and its inclusion in the Trinity Old Library is an irreplaceable honor.

The Old Library is almost a complete encyclopedia of European history, and only works of sufficient importance are included.

"Yes,"

The editor-in-chief actually brought two pieces of news, but at this moment everyone's attention was focused on the first one.

"Although there is no clear news in China yet, Ireland went crazy trying to invite him to the Frank Fiction Prize ceremony a while ago."

Those who were eliminated don't need to go to the awards ceremony; the fact that they've been trying so hard to contact others already speaks volumes.

“Giving him the award because of public opinion is not a glorious thing.”

Mishima Tsukasa, who had met Tatsukawa Tetsu twice, stood next to Hirohei with a hint of sarcasm.

Ireland was recently embroiled in a scandal, resulting in immense public pressure.

Some people had already guessed that Tatsukawa Tetsu would win this award.

"It's not due to public opinion."

Surrounded by several literary giants, the editor-in-chief of the Yomiuri Shimbun spoke cautiously.

Unlike other countries, in Japan, the nationalistic sense of identity among writers and authors is significantly higher than that of ordinary people.

“Renowned Irish authors John Banville and Jane Joyce personally endorsed Tatsukawa Tetsu.”

John Banville was also a contender for this year's Frank Fiction Prize, and the Joyce family is a renowned literary family in Ireland.

Writers cherish their reputations, and the fact that these two were willing to publicly endorse a novel award that could potentially tarnish their image shows they weren't afraid of being investigated.

"Is the work really that good?"

As Hirohei leisurely flipped through the line drawings, Mishima Tsukasa said with a hint of sourness.

He and Tatsuki Ryukawa had a falling out at the Oriental Culture Research Center.

However, now they can't even get on the list of winners for the Jun'ichirō Tanizaki Prize, while one of them is already a top contender for an international award.

Editor-in-Chief Shinomiya didn't say anything, but simply gave a thumbs-up, indicating the level of recognition those short stories were receiving abroad.

"I've read the book 'The Ghost of Lexington'."

Monk Hongping turned the book to
-
Mount Myoken in Nishimoga is shaped like a boat; Mount Kamishaga is called a torii gate.
-
Together we have a bonfire at five mountains.
-
The mountain scenery and the night sky evoked the feeling of autumn.

"It's hard to imagine that a writer whose writing follows the aesthetic principles of Japan would win a Western award," said the monk Hongping.

"It borrows from Joyce's circular structure in Finnegans Wake, Pynchon's encyclopedic narrative in Gravitational Rainbow, and even a bit of Borges's labyrinth theory."

Hongping sneered. "Instead of writing proper classical stories, you've gone off to study Western techniques."

There are some fundamental differences between Eastern novels and Western works.

Western works emphasize form and favor certain literary techniques.

For example, the beginning of Gabriel García Márquez's "One Hundred Years of Solitude".
-
Years later, as he faces the firing squad, Colonel Aureliano Ndia will recall that distant afternoon when his father took him to discover ice.

This classic sentence structure approaches the topic from three points in time: describing the present situation from the perspective of the future and recalling the distant past.

This classic phrase is still quoted by many Western creators, but the East doesn't use it.

Eastern art places greater emphasis on artistic conception, leaning towards the reader's personal feelings and the use of blank spaces.

The Taoists say that an empty room gives rise to light, and the Buddhists say that words should not be established.

These two theories demonstrate the Eastern people's pursuit of imagery expression.

"Yes, yes, yes, instead of writing perfectly good Eastern stories, they go and study Western writing techniques."

Hirohei's words seemed to give Mishima Tsukasa a bit of confidence. The man maintained his previous cold and scornful expression, seemingly unconcerned about Tatsukawa Toru winning the Frank Award for Fiction.

"What's the story behind you saying the Irish Writers' Association invited Tatsukawa Tetsuya?"

Hirohei didn't care about Tsukasa Mishima's sour face; instead, he focused on another point.

The Irish Writers' Association invited Tatsukawa Toru.

Normally, writers who are able to publish in newspapers will register with the local writers' association.

This registration is done in one copy, and once it's registered with the Japan Writers' Association, it's almost impossible to register it in other countries.

Registration for the prize and the organization of the event.

Being a writer is useful in many situations.

"Oh, this."

Compared to the previous information, Editor-in-Chief Shinomiya felt that this information could be discussed more casually.

"Irish writer Banville spearheaded the introduction of him to the Irish Writers' Association, reportedly because the playwright particularly admired his work, 'Irish Culture, a Flower Born of Suffering.'"

Some people are living a comfortable life outside, and they've even managed to poach members from the Japan Writers Association.

"That's not good."

Mingzhi Jin glanced at his friend.

"Anyway, I'm not very popular as a student in China, so I'm doing quite well living in a different place."

There's a saying: "Oranges from the south become trifoliate oranges when grown in the north."

This means that the same orange tree planted in the south produces sweet oranges, while planted in the Huaihe River basin, it produces bitter trifoliate oranges.

When Mingzhi Jin heard about this, he was delighted and relaxed, but Monk Hongping frowned slightly as he looked at the book in front of him.
-
Emptiness and stillness: the convergence of different paths in the realms of Taoism and Zen.
-
The Song Dynasty painter Guo Xi wrote in "Linquan Gaozhi" (The Lofty Ambitions of Forests and Springs): "Mountains and waters can be walked on, can be viewed, can be visited, and can be lived in."

In a traditional Chinese ink painting, the blank spaces left by clouds and mist are not empty spaces, but rather use the "emptiness" to lead to the "fullness," allowing the viewer to fill in the vastness of the universe themselves. Wang Wei planted bamboo and listened to the rain at his villa in Wangchuan, and his poem "After the rain in the empty mountains, the weather turns autumnal in the evening" uses an ethereal realm to contain the life of all things, just as Zhuangzi said: "Emptiness leads to stillness, stillness leads to clarity."
-
The "sabi" in wabi-sabi aesthetics originates from the Zen Buddhist concept of "originally there is nothing."

Sen no Rikyu lowered the doorway of the tea room to three feet, forcing the samurai to lay down his sword and bow as he entered. This not only broke down the distinction between social statuses but also served as a metaphor for the "emptiness" of the physical body. Ryoan-ji's dry landscape garden uses fifteen stones arranged in a grid pattern with white sand forming a sea. No matter the angle from which it is viewed, one stone is always hidden from view—this missing piece is like the Zen koan of "not relying on words," using imperfection to question the viewer: what in this world can be considered eternal?

The two annotations are Tatsukawa Toru's interpretation of Japanese wabi-sabi aesthetics, while the book in my hand, "The Old Capital," which should have been a comprehensive work on the wabi-sabi style, is missing half of its contents.

"It's not finished yet."

The incomplete "Ancient Capital" is exactly the same as "Golden Pavilion" from half a year ago.

Kohei, who had stirred up the Japanese literary world for half a century, wiped the dust off the ancient capital.

(End of this chapter)