hooklinebooks Chapter 178 The Struggle for the Standard in the New Era!
Chapter 178 The Struggle for the Standard in the New Era!
Chapter 178 The Struggle for the Standard in the New Era!
"Splash—"
""
An elderly man with medium-length hair, wearing a kimono and black-rimmed glasses walked onto the stage of the "Japan Mystery Critics Association".
The literary writers and critics in the audience immediately clapped and applauded, and thunderous applause instantly filled the room!
The person that Kasai Kiyoshi dreamed of meeting, the personal disciple of Edogawa Ranpo, and the "guardian of the Japanese mystery commentary world," Nakajima Kazutaro, has finally appeared!
Although Kazutaro Nakajima is a writer, his status is far inferior to that of Ryotaro Shiba, Seicho Matsumoto, Kenzaburo Oe, and even Seiichi Morimura in the audience.
But in the world of mystery commentary, it is a supreme existence!
After all, the title of being a direct disciple of Edogawa Ranpo alone is more than enough to say a thousand words.
Because Edogawa Ranpo was not only the "founder of Japanese mystery literature," but also the spiritual leader and mainstay of the mystery literature world.
Without Edogawa Ranpo, the mystery novel genre would never have flourished in Japan.
Japanese mystery literature would never have achieved its current flourishing of diverse genres!
Because whether it's "orthodox mystery," "unorthodox mystery," "SF-style mystery," or the "social mystery" popularized by Seicho Matsumoto, they all originated from Edogawa Ranpo. Whether it's Seishi Yokomizo, Seicho Matsumoto, or Kyotaro Nishimura, Akimitsu Takagi, or Tetsuya Namikawa, they all learned from Edogawa Ranpo!
Not to mention that the "Edogawa Ranpo Award", the "Japan Mystery Writers Association", and the "Japan Mystery Critics Association" all originated from Edogawa Ranpo.
Therefore, Edogawa Ranpo received the "Medal of Honor with Purple Ribbon" during his lifetime.
Furthermore, after his death, he was posthumously awarded the rank of Third Class Lord and the Order of the Sacred Treasure, Third Class.
Futaro Yamada, the "master of fantasy" who coined the terms "ninjutsu" and "ninpa" and wrote the immortal masterpiece "Kouga Ninpa Scrolls", is also known as Edogawa Ranpo, who is the only author to date to have published four complete works during his lifetime.
A special term was created for Edogawa Ranpo, "Dairanpo," to commemorate the great achievements of this world-class "literary giant."
Kazutaro Nakajima, a direct disciple of Edogawa Ranpo, assisted him in compiling "The Phantom Lord of the Castle."
This collection of essays and commentaries delves into Edogawa Ranpo's views on life, his understanding of mystery novels, and his love for them.
He then helped Edogawa Ranpo compile "The Mystery of Detective Novels" (also known as "The Collection of Tricks"), which deeply explored the trick settings in nearly 10,000 mystery novels and listed more than 800 tricks in terms of usage and presentation.
Just by participating in the compilation of this book, Kazutaro Nakajima is enough to establish himself as the supreme figure in the entire mystery commentary world!
After all, while some of the people present may not have read Osamu Dazai's "No Longer Human," ninety-nine percent of them have certainly read "The Phantom Lord" and "The Mystery of the Detective Novel."
Kiyoshi Kasai firmly believed this.
Because if you haven't read the essay collections "The Phantom Lord" and "The Mystery of Detective Novels," it's impossible to pass the questions given by the "Japan Mystery Critics Association"!
It is also impossible for him to join the "Japan Mystery Critics Association".
Perhaps—only someone like Otsuka Hirakawa, who spent ten million yen to sponsor the "Japan Mystery Critics Association" and buy his membership, would not have read the two collections of essays and reviews, "The Phantom Lord" and "The Mystery of Detective Novels"?
While clapping his hands, Kasai Kiyoshi turned his head to look at Otsuka Hirakawa, who was sitting in the middle of the conference room and whom he had just greeted.
He then turned to Gonda Manji beside him and asked, "Mr. Gonda? After all, President Otsuka is a sponsor and spent such a large sum of money. Isn't it a bit inappropriate to have him sitting in the middle?"
While clapping, Gonda Manji smiled at Kasai Kiyoshi and said, "Kiyoshi, you've attended quite a few small meetings this year, but have you noticed?"
"Are there any people you've met before among those attending this meeting?"
Kasai Kiyoshi glanced around at everyone, then replied with some surprise, "Indeed, no. What about the critics from before? Mr. Gonda, didn't you notify them?"
Gonda Manji shook his head: "It's not that we weren't notified, but that we weren't invited at all. People who can attend this level of meeting are all well-known writers or critics in Japan. As you can see, people who haven't won prestigious awards at home and abroad are simply not qualified to attend this meeting."
"As for President Hirakawa, whom you just asked about, with the money he donated, it's already quite good that he can sit in the middle position."
"After all, our Japan Mystery Criticism Association wants to maintain fairness and impartiality, and wins through debate. Only those sitting in the front row can speak. Putting him in the middle also prevents him from saying anything strange."
Upon hearing Manji Gonda's words, Kiyoshi Kasai first nodded, then his eyes widened in alarm: "Mr. Gonda? Then why—?"
Gonda Manji looked Kasai Kiyoshi up and down, then grinned and said, "Kiyoshi, to be honest, you weren't really qualified to attend this meeting, but I found your recent 'critic battle' with a bunch of critics and writers smearing Maijo Kyosuke quite interesting."
"Secondly, the author we're discussing this time is Mr. Maishiro Kyosuke. Although I'd love to invite Mr. Maishiro himself, as well as Editor-in-Chief Eri or Editor-in-Chief Uyama Hideomi, there are certain requirements here, so—I can only ask you, as Mr. Maishiro's number one fan, to lend your support!"
When Kasai Kiyoshi heard Gonda Manji's words, his mind didn't immediately process them.
By the time they realized what was happening, they heard Gonda Manji add, "Now it's up to you to see how you perform."
"Xiao Jie, if everyone starts arguing about Teacher Wu Cheng later, you can't let me down."
The applause in the meeting room of the Japan Mystery Critics Association lasted for a full minute.
When Nakajima Kazutaro smiled and extended his hands, the applause from the audience stopped instantly.
If it weren't for Kiyoshi Kasai's familiarity with all the seniors present, one might have thought that some strange religious ceremony was taking place here.
Kazutaro Nakajima gripped the microphone, his smile fading as he looked solemnly at the audience and said, "I am very happy that everyone could come and support us."
"But before we get to the main topic, please allow me to apologize for my negligence."
"My mentor, Edogawa Ranpo, asked me to establish the Japan Mystery Critics Association. There are two main reasons for this. First, to mentor and analyze the works of new writers, discover their talents early on, and prevent them from being 'hidden in the dust' and unable to shine."
"The second point is to cultivate more reasoning critics."
"Although mystery critics seem to be able to offer their opinions on mystery writers' works with just a few words and a few strokes of the pen, they appear to be useless people in the eyes of some mystery writers and readers."
"But Edogawa Ranpo's mentor, through forty years of continuous study of mystery novels, finally came to a profound conclusion—"
Even if mystery writers and mystery critics are irreconcilable enemies, they are also complementary!
"Because once a mystery novel is created, there needs to be mystery critics to provide detailed evaluations of the work."
""
"This not only helps readers select the most valuable works, but also helps mystery writers point out the shortcomings of their works, allowing them to correct their mistakes and achieve better results."
"The same applies to mystery writers. If mystery writers don't produce works, then there's no need for the profession of mystery critic."
"This relationship is like the chicken and the egg; neither is more important than the other, but neither can live without the other."
"Unfortunately, for the past five years I have been writing 'The Mystery Handbook,' and have handed over all the affairs of the Japan Mystery Critics Association to Vice President Manji Gonda."
"My dereliction of duty has not only let down my mentor Edogawa Ranpo, but also the expectations of all the members."
"Here, I would like to offer my sincerest apologies to all the members of the Japan Mystery Critics Association present here."
Kazutaro Nakajima placed the microphone he was holding on the floor.
He then knelt down with his knees together, assumed a seated posture, placed his hands inwards and placed them on the ground, leaned forward, and touched the ground with his forehead, performing the "dogeza" ritual to apologize to everyone on the stage.
After Nakajima Kazutaro finished doing all this, he stood up and continued in a slightly relaxed manner: "I am not blaming my beloved disciple Gonda Manji for what I just said, but everyone should know that when Gonda Manji was promoted to acting vice president five years ago, he was only thirty-nine years old."
"Therefore, please do not complain about Gonda Manji's appointment as the acting manager."
After finishing his speech, Nakajima Kazutaro bowed deeply again and then winked at Gonda Manji in the audience.
After all, Manji Gonda was Kazutaro Nakajima's beloved disciple, and he immediately understood Kazutaro Nakajima's meaning with just a glance.
He immediately pulled Kiyoshi Kasai towards the stage.
Kasai Kiyoshi was clearly not aware of what was going on when Gonda Manji pulled him onto the stage.
"Mr. Gonda? I—"
Kiyoshi Kasai pointed to his nose with a puzzled look on his face.
Gonda Manji didn't waste any words with Kasai Kiyoshi. He took out "The Tokyo Zodiac Murder Mystery," "Summer of the Ubume," and the first five issues of "Top Hat" magazine from the table on the stage and placed them in Kasai Kiyoshi's hands.
"Go and give the book to Mr. Nakajima. Give him whatever book he mentions later."
While Kasai Kiyoshi was still in a daze, Gonda Manji pushed him next to Nakajima Kazutaro.
Kazutaro Nakajima turned to look at Kiyoshi Kasai, a faint smile on his face: "Your name is Kiyoshi Kasai, right?"
"I just joined the Japan Mystery Critics Association last year."
"I really enjoyed your book from last year, 'Goodbye, Angel.' Whether it's the 'phenomenological' approach to solving cases or the 'philosopher detective' persona, it's all fantastic!"
"That line, 'The detective doesn't need logical reasoning or experimental verification; he knew who the murderer was from the very beginning,' is very powerful!"
"The only problem is that the personal critiques, philosophical sections, and some odd popular science content are rather lengthy and tedious. If given time, this part can be revised—"
"I believe you'll be an excellent mystery writer someday!"
Kazutaro Nakajima patted Kiyoshi Kasai on the shoulder, then snatched the book "The Tokyo Zodiac Murders" by Kyosuke Maijo from Kasai's hand. He addressed the audience, saying, "I believe everyone here knows that I'm going to comment on the famous author who has recently gained widespread fame and is being heavily promoted by Kodansha," affectionately known by fans as the "mysterious author" Kyosuke Maijo.
Kazutaro Nakajima waved "The Tokyo Zodiac Murders" in his hand at everyone: "To be honest, I can't really find a precise adjective to describe Mr. Kyosuke Maijo's debut work, 'The Tokyo Zodiac Murders'."
"However, the brilliantly crafted riddles, coupled with the unprecedentedly insane solutions, are something that has never been seen before in the history of detective fiction worldwide!"
"No amount of praise can adequately describe the perfection of this divine work."
"I can only say that *The Tokyo Zodiac Murder Case* is the best-packaged and most perfectly resolved mystery I've ever seen, a masterpiece without equal!"
"If I were to rank Japanese mystery novels, 'The Tokyo Zodiac Murders' would at least be in the top five!"
As soon as Nakajima Kazutaro finished speaking, whispers arose from the audience.
Clearly, some people disagree with the assessment of Nakajima Koutarou.
Seeing this, Kiyoshi Kasai, who is Maishiro Kyosuke's "number one fan", stood on the stage and secretly worried for Maishiro Kyosuke.
While the Japan Mystery Critics Association does not allow filming or recording, it does not prevent its members from writing about the events and publishing them in newspapers.
On the contrary, many mystery critics are themselves journalists or professional writers.
Therefore, if a heavyweight master were to raise objections at this moment, it would surely be reported in the newspapers tomorrow!
Just as Kasai Kiyoshi was worrying about Maishiro Kyosuke, Nishimura Kyotaro, the "Master of Travel Mystery," who had been sitting next to him, stood up and laughed, "Mr. Nakajima is joking. The story 'The Tokyo Zodiac Murders' is not only in the top five of Japanese mystery history, but it's also in the top three of world mystery history!"
"Considering only the level of deception, what other trick in this world can achieve such magnificence and grandeur?"
Seiichi Morimura, the "master of social mystery" sitting next to Kyotaro Nishimura, chuckled and picked up the conversation: "If we're just talking about the trick aspect?"
"Then I guess no one present can comment on it, because in my personal opinion, the tricks in 'The Tokyo Zodiac Murders' have reached the level of Dixon Carr's 'The Three Coffins'."
"It wouldn't be too much of a problem to say that it's on par with 'The Three Coffins' as the world's number one trick."
Although Seiichi Morimura is not a high-ranking author, he is second only to Seicho Matsumoto and Hiroshi Sano in the category of "social mystery novels".
The single phrase, "The trick that ranks alongside 'The Three Coffins' as the world's number one," silenced all the other whispers.
Seeing that no one had any objections, Nakajima Kazutaro continued to comment on Maijo Kyosuke's other works.
Because "A Bellflower" received joint reviews from people including Tetsu Miyoshi, Chen Shunchen, Takao Tsuchiya, Hiroyuki Itsuki, and Manji Gonda.
It achieved a top-notch level of repackaging old tricks, surpassing even Keikichi Osaka's "Funeral Locomotive".
"Conclusion" received comments from Manji Gonda and Kiyoshi Kasai.
He created the image of Japan's first evil and chaotic detective, Mercator, and used many elements such as Schrödinger's cat, quantum entanglement, and the ship planks of Cañedes to write the first detective novel in history with an unknown murderer.
"The Death Row Inmates" pays homage to "the King of Logic" Ellery Queen, and even surpasses Ellery Queen's work with two logical feasts!
"The Third Statute of Limitations" successfully brought "police detective novels" to a new peak by using superb misleading tricks.
"Summer of the Ubume" not only received comments from Seishi Yokomizo and Takao Tsuchiya, but also had a cover illustrated by the master Shigeru Mizuki.
Even with the comments and illustrations of three masters, nothing could conceal the terrifying imagination of Maijo Kyosuke!
And his talent is about to overflow!
Despite the existence of more than a dozen schools of mystery fiction in the world, Kyosuke Maijo still managed to create a completely new school of mystery fiction with his book "Summer of the Ubume"—"Yokai Mystery"!
This left all the critics and writers present completely unable to refute Kyosuke Maijo's achievements, and powerless to find any fault with him under such circumstances!
Seicho Matsumoto, sitting in the audience, was not surprised at all by Kazutaro Nakajima's praise of Kyosuke Maijo.
Since I met Kyosuke Maijo at the "Edogawa Ranpo Ryusho" and read Kyosuke Maijo's "The Tokyo Zodiac Murders" and "A Bellflower".
Matsumoto Seicho knew that Maijo Kyosuke, this new generation of mystery writer, would one day rise to prominence!
After all, he saw the shadow of Edogawa Ranpo in Maijo Kyosuke!
That sense of déjà vu, as if it were born to bring new hope to the Japanese mystery genre.
This is the first time I've seen Matsumoto Seichō, aside from seeing it on Edogawa Ranpo!
However, what Matsumoto Seicho never expected was...
Maijo Kyosuke's rise to fame was far too fast, completely exceeding his expectations.
After reviewing "The Tokyo Zodiac Murders," "A Bellflower," "Convergence," "The Mystery of the Death Row Inmate," "The Third Statute," and "Summer of the Ubume" on stage, Kazutaro Nakajima took a deep breath.
He then took the fifth issue of "Top Hat" magazine from Kiyoshi Kasai and addressed the audience, saying, "The works of Mr. Kyosuke Maijo that I just commented on have all been recognized by the market."
"After all, with just five short mystery stories, Mr. Maijo Kyosuke was able to raise the circulation of Kodansha's 'Top Hat' magazine, which had only been published for five issues, to a staggering 900,000 copies."
"As for the personal sales of author Kyosuke Maijo, there's no need to elaborate. He achieved total sales of over a million copies in just over twenty days after his debut, directly transitioning from a 'new author' to a 'well-known author'."
"This is simply a genius who has redefined the history of detective fiction!"
"In my personal opinion, it's no exaggeration to call Mr. Maijo Kyosuke a standard-bearer of the new era!"
Kazutaro Nakajima's previous assessment of Kyosuke Maijo was largely accepted by the audience.
Even if some people don't like Kyosuke Maishiro, they can't refute it, after all, Kyosuke Maishiro received an award from Seicho Matsumoto and a comment from Seishi Yokomizo.
This kind of honor is not something everyone can obtain!
but----
When the phrase "the standard-bearer of the new era" came out of Kazutaro Nakajima's mouth.
There was whispering among the audience, and many people even wore unpleasant expressions.
Kasai Kiyoshi stood next to Nakajima Kazutaro, and could even feel the piercing gazes from below the stage shooting towards him and Nakajima Kazutaro!
Clearly, the title of "standard-bearer of the new era" is extremely prestigious!
Because as long as you can get this evaluation.
He's practically been declared by the mystery critics as the strongest mystery writer of the last decade!
This evaluation is the only way to become a "master of mystery," and it's the evaluation that every mystery writer dreams of getting!
However, in the past, only mystery writers who received this evaluation were at the level of "mystery master" or "mystery guru".
It was quite unexpected that someone would give such a high evaluation to a "famous writer" like Maijo Kyosuke!
From 1920 to 1930, the title of "standard-bearer of the new era" belonged to Edogawa Ranpo, the "father of Japanese mystery fiction."
From 1930 to 1940, the title of "standard-bearer of the new era" was bestowed upon Mushitaro Oguri, who was hailed as a "superhuman writer" and wrote the "strange book" "The Black Death Mansion Murder Case".
By 1940-1950, the "standard-bearer of the new era" had become the author of works such as "Gokumon Island" and "The Honjin Murders."
Yokomizo Seishi.
From 1950 to 1960, the title of "standard-bearer of the new era" was given to Matsumoto Seichō, who created the "Seichō curse".
From 1960 to 1970, this assessment was transferred to Kyotaro Nishimura.
From 1970 to the early 1980s, the "flag bearer of the new era" was Seiichi Morimura.
Throughout the history of Japanese mystery fiction, being recognized as a "flag bearer of the new era" is tantamount to embarking on the path to becoming a "master of mystery fiction."
However, the same thing happened: he was praised as the "standard-bearer of the new era," which made him the enemy of all writers of the same period!
After all, a writer's peak creative period is only about ten to thirty years.
We missed a decade; who knows if an even more talented person will emerge in the future?
Amid this dispute, a middle-aged man, somewhat overweight with small eyes and wearing a suit, stood up angrily!
"I disagree! Mr. Nakajima! What makes you say that Kyosuke Maijo will be the standard-bearer of the new era?"
"Do you really think that his two novels and five short stories are enough to surpass other writers of his time?"
"You should know that the standard-bearer of the new era in the 70s was none other than Seiichi Morimura, a giant of social realism mystery!"
"Mr. Nakajima, do you really believe that Kyosuke Maijo will reach the level of Seiichi Morimura within the next ten years?"
The middle-aged fat man spoke in an unusually fierce tone, as if he were about to pull out a knife and stab Nakajima Kazutaro to death at the slightest provocation!
Kasai Kiyoshi looked at the middle-aged fat man, and his expression turned somewhat unpleasant.
Because what you fear most is exactly what happens—
That middle-aged fat man was none other than Haruhiko Oyagi, the "master of hard-boiled mystery" in Japan!
In order to understand his idol, Kyosuke Maijo, Kiyoshi Kasai visited him privately several times and discovered that Maijo was the chief editor of Kodansha's publishing department, Hideomi Uyama.
After getting to know Hideomi Uyama better, he naturally learned about the "hard-boiled mystery competition" between Kyosuke Maishiro and Hisayuki Nishimura!
Although Haruhiko Oyabu is five years younger than Toshiyuki Nishimura, he debuted much earlier, only one year later than Seicho Matsumoto!
Because of his early debut, he received high praise from Edogawa Ranpo for his book "The Beast Must Die".
So he quickly became the number one in the "Japanese hard-boiled mystery" camp at the age of forty-five!
Because of its extremely ruthless writing style, even more ruthless than Hard and Cold, it has been hailed by many readers as the "ruthless school of mystery"!
It's understandable why Haruhiko Ōyabu is so resistant to receiving the title of "New Era Flag Bearer" from Kyosuke Maijo.
He certainly didn't want this assessment to be confirmed by Kazutaro Nakajima!
Because once this kind of thing is publicized, it will inevitably cause huge interference to the "hard-boiled mystery competition" between Maijo Kyosuke and Nishimura Hisayuki!
It's even possible that a single sentence from Kazutaro Nakajima could cause Toshiyuki Nishimura to lose the competition completely and be forced to retire from the world of mystery novels!