Chapter 254: Traditional Literature

Regarding the traditional literature of Japan, the modern and ancient eras present two completely different faces.

During the Heian, Kamakura, and Muromachi periods, Japanese literature was held in the hands of monks and samurai.

By the Edo period, Japanese literature had come under the domination of Confucian thought.

During these periods, Japanese literature was, at best, second or third-rate; the only works that could be considered decent were "The Tale of Genji" and a few others.

But even these works were heavily influenced by Tang Dynasty literature.

The true transformation of Japanese literature did not begin until after the movement to overthrow the shogunate.

During this period, Japan began the Meiji Restoration and accepted a large amount of Western thought and literature. Through the combination of Eastern and Western schools of thought, it finally began to walk an independent path.

Then, at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, Japanese literary talent exploded.

Writers like Akutagawa, Kawabata, Mishima, and Xia Mushushi emerged one after another, writing numerous convincing masterpieces and gaining recognition from the international community.

However, as time passed, pure literature works representing traditional aesthetics eventually began to bow before the mystery genre, which could better stimulate people's senses due to their own limitations.

And with the aging population and the collapse of the publishing industry, the status of mystery will, in the future, be increasingly replaced by romance novels for women and light novels for otaku.

As a graduate of East Asian literature, Akiwara Yuto knew this history very well, so after careful consideration, he temporarily abandoned the idea of using a pseudonym.

After all, looking at the biographies of some writers from his past life, many wrote both mystery and traditional literature; the gap between the two was not that large.

So even if he crossed genres to write such works, he would at most be called an "alternative in the literary world."

And even if he were suspected of being schizophrenic, it wouldn't actually be a big problem.

After all, in the eyes of many Japanese citizens, few of those writers in the literary world have normal brains; every now and then, there is one who wants to commit suicide.

Akiwara Yuto made his decision, took out paper and pen, and began to ponder what his next literary work should be and which journal to submit it to.

After all, the filming of the movie "Memories of Murder" would take at least half a year by the most conservative estimate.

As a layman, he couldn't keep an eye on the filming the whole time, so he just needed to send a finance person to watch over Utsumi Takuto and the other person.

Most of the remaining work could be handled by Asano Aiko and Satake.

Just then, the doorbell rang. Akiwara Yuto opened the door and found it was Satake Maki who had come to visit.

Satake Maki was not wearing her professional attire today, but had changed into a black and white striped dress. After seeing Akiwara Yuto, she said, "Akiwara, the 'Chiji Shimbun' is urging you for the subsequent manuscripts."

Hearing this reminder, Akiwara Yuto opened a drawer, took out a stack of manuscripts, and handed them to her.

Most of the works in here were short stories by Edogawa Ranpo, including "The Human Chair," "The Psychological Test," "The Two-Sen Copper Coin," and "The Island of Treasure."

"The Human Chair" wrote about a famous female writer who received a heavy envelope and, upon opening it, saw a very thick letter.

The content was a confession from a chair craftsman who had once hidden inside a luxury chair he had made himself, initially being sent to a hotel to observe and come into contact with all sorts of people.

A few months later, the chair changed owners and became the seat of a wealthy diplomat, whose wife was a famous writer. In the process, the craftsman fell in love with the female writer...

This work was extremely perverse, and was even later adapted into an episode of the Junji Ito series, which extremely highlighted the perverse behavior of the male protagonist.

However, it was also because of this perversion that many readers were deeply shocked after reading it.

As for "The Psychological Test," it told the story between two mystery writers and the beautiful Mrs. Shizuko.

These two writers were named Samukawa and Oe Shun-dei, belonging to the orthodox school and the variant school, respectively. Samukawa and Shizuko met in a museum and had been exchanging letters.

A few months later, Shizuko was threatened by Shun-dei and asked Samukawa for help; shortly after, Shizuko's husband, Rokuro, was killed.

In order to find the murderer, a separate duel unfolded between the two mystery writers.

This work combined eroticism, strangeness, absurdity, and mystery, and was a masterpiece of orthodox mystery.

Satake Maki carefully flipped through the pages and then put away the manuscripts. Akiwara Yuto looked at her back and added, "Satake, please do me a favor."

After a pause, he added, "Help me collect information on traditional literary journals on the market."

Hearing this request, Satake Maki became puzzled, "Why traditional literature?"

She was a bit confused; after all, Akiwara Yuto was doing just fine in the mystery field and had already gained a large number of loyal readers.

To go and write traditional literature, which was on the decline at this time, did not seem like the right decision no matter how she looked at it.

After thinking for a while, she became worried; would Akiwara not write mystery anymore in the future?

Akiwara Yuto saw her thoughts and explained, "Don't worry, I will continue to write mystery. I just want to try my hand at traditional literature."

Although it is difficult for traditional literature books to sell well and the profits may be quite limited, the most important point is that it can help the writer win the favor of the cultural circle.

If possible, related works could even be published in middle school textbooks, which has great benefits.

For example, Akutagawa Ryunosuke's "Rashomon" did not cause much impact when it was first published. It was only when it was published in textbooks that it was recognized as a masterpiece by the entire Japanese nation.

Later on, this work was even adapted into various versions of film and television works and spread to overseas markets.

The influence from overseas spread back to Japan, making the Japanese public even more worshipful of Akutagawa Ryunosuke.

In addition, some international literary awards often value traditional literature more.

For example, the Japanese writers who have won the Nobel Prize in Literature are all in the field of traditional literature.

He was no longer worried about money, but he still needed to further his fame.

Seeing that Akiwara Yuto's attitude was firm, Satake Maki nodded seriously, indicating she understood.

Watching her leave, Akiwara Yuto lowered his head and pondered again. Since Satake was responsible for the channels, he only needed to write the articles now.

The question was, whose work should he write?

Kawabata Yasunari—"Snow Country," "The Dancing Girl of Izu," "Thousand Cranes," and other works were all good, but his works had a sense of desolation.

The reason was that his parents died when he was young, and his sister and grandparents died of illness one after another, so he frequently attended funerals.

If he were to write his works, he would have to find a reason for the creation of the related works, otherwise, he didn't know how the critics would interpret it.

Dazai Osamu, the representative of the Buraiha school, his representative work "No Longer Human."

This book was simply a representative of his own life. Everything the protagonist experienced was closely related to his life trajectory, including not knowing why he was alive, his obsession with the female body, and maintaining himself with alcohol and illegal drugs.

And the phrase "Born as a human, I am sorry" also came from this book.

Now that the economy is in a downturn and many people's lives are decadent, this book would likely resonate with many people.

However, if he wrote this book, would it be interpreted as him wanting to commit suicide?

Watanabe Junichi, a master of love, his works were too explicit and described the love between men and women, which didn't seem very appropriate either.

Akiwara Yuto pondered for a long time and finally chose a work.

He spread out the manuscript paper and wrote the first paragraph—"At dusk. Under the Rashomon. A servant was waiting for the rain to pass..."