Chapter 273: Cherry Blossoms and Traditional Literature

Jin Shang? He was actually calling him?

Akiwara Yuto was momentarily confused.

However, since the other party was an elder, Akiwara Yuto said politely, "Hello, Mr. Jin Shang. May I ask what this is about?"

A cough came from the other end of the line, though it stopped quickly.

Immediately after, Jin Shang extended an invitation: "Are you free this Saturday?"

Akiwara Yuto deliberated for a moment before agreeing.

After all, Jin Shang was a titan of the literary world, and he had played a part in whether Akiwara Yuto could be recognized by the traditional literary circle previously.

Both out of reason and sentiment, he should not decline this invitation.

After the two agreed on a time and place, Jin Shang ended the call.

Saturday afternoon arrived quickly. Akiwara Yuto, dressed in a formal suit, arrived at a high-end teahouse located in Chiyoda Ward, Tokyo.

After giving his name, he was led by a hostess to a tea room.

There, he met Jin Shang.

The man was sitting and drinking tea, with a middle-aged woman attending to him nearby.

Unlike the photos he had seen in the news, Akiwara Yuto found that Jin Shang looked much "older."

Not only were there many age spots on his face, but even the skin exposed to the air was wrinkled and looked somewhat dark.

Akiwara Yuto stood on the tatami, bowed deeply, and offered his greetings.

After all, the man was an "old senior" of the literary world, and as a young writer, he still had to fulfill his duties regarding etiquette.

"No need to be formal, sit down."

Jin Shang waved his hand, signaling Akiwara Yuto to be at ease.

However, his listless appearance made Akiwara Yuto worry about his health.

Akiwara Yuto nodded and then sat down in the formal kneeling position.

"Akiwara-sensei, I invited you here today mainly because I wanted to see what kind of person the author of *Snow Country* is."

Jin Shang smiled with his wrinkled face.

"Secondly, I want to ask you a question."

"Please, go ahead."

"What do you think Japanese traditional literature is?"

Akiwara Yuto remained silent for a long time, not knowing how to answer.

If he were to define it using academic terms, he could undoubtedly find many answers, but he could also see that the old man before him did not seem to want those canned responses.

Jin Shang smiled, signaled the woman nearby to fill their tea cups, and said, "If you don't have an answer, I hope you can slowly realize it through your writing."

"But for me personally, traditional literature is the ultimate beauty."

Akiwara Yuto was puzzled and asked with a questioning tone, "Beauty?"

Jin Shang nodded and began to explain.

"Our lives are fleeting, and many things are often impossible to grasp in the end. But traditional literature is different; it can preserve this momentary beauty and turn it into a kind of eternal beauty."

"This is the literary Dao I pursue!"

Hearing these words, Akiwara Yuto recalled the characteristics of Japanese literature he had studied as a graduate student in his past life.

In the eyes of many famous Japanese figures, life is always fleeting; therefore, one should live like a cherry blossom and die brilliantly, achieving ultimate beauty within a limited life.

The worship of this concept even reached a "pathological" level.

Taking *Quartet* as an example, it writes about a servant who loves and worships his mistress, placing her on a lotus pedestal to pay homage.

When one day the mistress is disfigured, the first thing the servant does upon hearing the news is to stab his own eyes out.

In this way, beauty is preserved in his heart forever.

Regardless of whether it was "pathological," Akiwara Yuto still held Jin Shang's persistence in high regard.

Although he had heard that the man's private life was flawed, his persistence in the literary Dao was something he could never compare to.

However, Akiwara Yuto also became confused because of this.

Would such a person really suppress him just because he refused to become his apprentice?

Jin Shang took a sip of tea and continued to ask, "Akiwara-sensei, what do you think the future of traditional literature will be?"

Akiwara Yuto hesitated upon hearing this question.

In this current era, traditional literature had long been squeezed into a niche by popular literature represented by detective fiction, and in the future, it would be further squeezed by light novels.

It could be said that the number of people who love traditional literature will only decrease until it becomes a plaything for a very small minority.

Even if a batch of popular books under the name of traditional literature is published at that time, it might have nothing to do with traditional Japanese thought, but rather lean more toward the category of popular literature.

Because Akiwara Yuto did not answer for a long time, Jin Shang stared at him with cloudy eyes.

After a long while, Akiwara Yuto spoke the truth: "I don't think traditional literature has much of a future."

Although he could make up some lies, he did not think his lies would have any meaning here.

As a titan of traditional literature, Jin Shang should be even clearer about the changes in the industry than he was.

After all, in an increasingly impetuous era, popular literature will inevitably crush traditional literature.

However, to Akiwara Yuto's surprise, after hearing his answer, Jin Shang did not appear disappointed or fly into a rage.

He just said with a calm tone and a smile, "Just like cherry blossoms."

After hearing these words, Akiwara Yuto immediately understood his intention.

The so-called cherry blossoms actually have a blooming period of only 4 to 10 days.

So the other party's meaning was that traditional literature is about to face its curtain call, just like cherry blossoms.

But how should he respond?

With comfort, with pity?

Akiwara Yuto did not know what to do for a moment and could only lower his head and take a sip of tea.

Dealing with such a writer, any superfluous nonsense he might say would likely be seen through immediately.

"Let's stop here for today."

Just then, Jin Shang stood up unsteadily, and the middle-aged woman beside him immediately supported him.

The two walked around the low table toward the direction outside the shoji door.

Seeing their actions, Akiwara Yuto was dumbfounded.

Was he called over today just to be asked these baffling questions?

This was too ridiculous, wasn't it?

Or was it that he hadn't given the answer the other party wanted?

He couldn't come up with an answer and could only stand up as well, preparing to walk out the door and bid Jin Shang farewell.

Just then, Jin Shang stopped outside the shoji door and turned around with the help of the woman beside him.

He looked at Akiwara Yuto and said in a gentle and sincere tone.

"Akiwara-sensei, could you make this cherry blossom bloom a little longer?"

Hearing this request, the confusion Akiwara Yuto had felt just moments ago immediately vanished.

He stood up, bowed respectfully, and replied, "Of course, no problem!" ===== CHAPTER 274 =====