I am a literary giant in Japan

Chapter 253 These people are crazy!

Another person who was in the same depressed mood as Momota Naoki was Takeda Tsuneyasu.

Because he was paid to write a review slandering Kitagawa Hide, he was publicly scolded by another unknown literary critic, Tetsutaro Mori.

The verbal battle between the two is still a classic battle that is talked about in the literary criticism circle, and is regarded by countless newcomers as "the first lesson to learn in the industry."

At that time, Takeda Tsuneyasu, who had the "right time, right place and right people", was overthrown by Mori Tetsutaro and became the first person in the literary criticism circle to be "overthrown by the inferior".

After "leaving his name in history", his appeal and influence were no longer as strong as before, and he could only retire behind the scenes in disgrace and make a living by helping his father manage the Tanizaki Award.

Takeda Tsuneyasu had been holding this anger in for a year, and originally thought that he could get back at ease with the help of Momota Naoki this time.

I didn’t expect it. I really didn’t expect it. Even Mr. Momota Naoki would be defeated by that guy?
On Takeda Tsuneyasu's personal account on the Yahoo Japan Forum, his article "Kitagawa Hide's Ten Crimes" is still pinned, and the comment section of this commentary has been flooded with comments from netizens.

He has less than 3000 followers, but this pinned article has over 50 replies!

What's even sadder is.

Thanks to the traffic brought by this article, the number of his fans has increased dramatically in the past few days, and his popularity in the literary criticism circle has also slowly recovered!

What do you think this is?!
Takeda Tsuneyasu wished he could drive his car over and kill Kitagawa Hide, the plague god, and kill the 50 netizens who mocked him at the same time!
It's a pity that he can only think about this kind of thing in his mind. Now, let alone killing Kitagawa Hide, given his status and position, it's difficult for him to even meet the other person.

What was even more unacceptable to Takeda Tsuneyasu was that after "The Dancing Girl of Izu" became a hit all over Japan, Tanizaki-sensei actually decided to invite Kitagawa Hiderai, who had refused the Tanizaki Prize, to attend the awards ceremony again!
Guys like Kitagawa Hide are big troublemakers that appear only once every few decades in the Japanese literary world. He comes from a humble background but is extremely powerful. He lacks basic respect for the old predecessors in the literary world and never abides by the tacit rules of the game.

He believes that such writers should be kept on the bench as a warning to other troublemakers, so that they will understand that there will be no good end if they go against literary celebrities!

The Tanizaki Prize is, after all, a major award in Japan's pure literature community, with a long history and profound heritage. Over the years, successive generations of writers who have won the award have taken root in the literary community and have begun to give back to the Tanizaki Prize.

Moreover, the Tanizaki Prize is backed by the great teacher Ichiro Tanizaki. It is impossible for it to die just because a certain person did not attend the award ceremony. How can the huge Japanese literary world be ruined without a certain person?

But Kitagawa Hide is really a big monster!
The 24-year-old "No. 1 in the World" has never failed since his debut. Even the TV series and movies with his name on them are selling like hot cakes. He is simply treated like the son of God!

"Damn it! It seems like there's no reason not to give him the award!"

Walking on the street, the cold winter wind from Tokyo blew into Takeda Tsuneyasu's windbreaker, making him shiver.

The more he thought about it, the angrier he got, so he just took out his cell phone and made a call.

"Moximoxi, I'm Takeda Tsuneyasu, yes, yes, my father is Takeda Tsunekazu, is teacher Yamada Yuriko at home?
Are you available to attend the Tanizaki Prize ceremony at the end of the year?

Ah, are you free? That's great! Don't worry, I will arrange hotel accommodation and transportation for you.

Ah, actually it's nothing big, it's just that we want to give you the Tanizaki Award.
Moshimoshi?

Hey Hey hey?
Mr. Yamada? Can you hear me? "

"."

When Yuriko Yamada, a famous female literary figure once promoted by Gunzo, heard that Tsuneyasu Takeda wanted to award the Tanizaki Prize to her, she hung up the phone without hesitation.

Are you kidding me?
Although everyone likes to share the domestic literary awards, after the publication of "The Dancing Girl of Izu", who would dare to take a chance on the Tanizaki Prize this time?

Awarded to me?

Do you have a grudge against me? Do you really want to torture me to death?

Do you remember Kazushi Hosaka who snatched the Akutagawa Prize from Kitagawa Hideo last time?
Do you know how miserable that guy is now?
More than a year has passed, and Hosaka Kazushi has not yet come out of the shadow of Mr. Kitagawa!

Even though Kitagawa Hide repeatedly called on his readers to be rational and that the person targeting him was the Akutagawa Prize selection committee and had nothing to do with Hosaka Kazushi, those insane readers still crushed Hosaka Kazushi's spirit!
Yuriko Yamada really hated Kitagawa Hide.

Without this new guy, Gunzo would not have collapsed, and Kodansha would not have fallen from the altar of the five major publishing houses.

But no matter how annoying he is, Kitagawa Hide's strength is obvious to all, and no one would go and make enemies with him at this time.

After being rejected by Yuriko Yamada, Tsuneyasu Takeda did not give up and called several well-known writers in the industry.

Without exception.

When they answered the phone, they were all very excited and happy to chat with Takeda Tsuneyasu, the future director of the Tanizaki Award.

But when they heard that they were asked to replace Kitagawa Hide to receive the Tanizaki Prize, they immediately hung up the phone at the speed of light, as if avoiding the plague, for fear of being associated with Takeda Tsuneyasu!

When Takeda Tsuneyasu was frantically trying to find someone to win the Tanizaki Prize, Takeda Tsunekazu received a call from Tanizaki Ichiro, asking him to invite Kitagawa Hide again.

Sitting in the boss chair in the office, Takeda Tsunekazu thought about it for a long time, and finally made up his mind. He said directly to the secretary: "Call that woman Saito Reina again and hint more clearly. Just say that if Mr. Kitagawa is willing to attend the award ceremony, we can give the Tanizaki Award to his "The Dancing Girl of Izu."

Previously, they had only agreed to award the Tanizaki Prize to Kitagawa Hide, but they still had to discuss which work it would be.

Don’t underestimate the process of selecting winning works.

For awards like these, which are the most well-known in the industry, there are many considerations on who wins the award, who presents the award, and what work wins.

For example, award-winning works.

If it is awarded to a debut masterpiece like "Youth Trilogy", it means "reconciliation", which means that it was not awarded to you at that time, but it will be given to you this time. Let's all make money in harmony in the future.

If it is awarded to a masterpiece like "No Longer Human", it represents "affirmation", which means that we truly believe that your ability is worthy of our award. For writers, this award is more valuable.

If the award is given to a poetry collection like Our Salad Day or a work that is not in the main research field, it means that you are asked to take the blame. The implication is "Your ability is not good enough to win the award, but we don't want another guy to win it, so you get it. You should thank us!"

And now that Takeda Tsunekazu has gritted his teeth and decided to give it to "The Dancing Girl of Izu", the chips he offers are even more.

Because it is the time when Kawaide Shobo and Shinchosha are fighting each other in sales, and Naoki Momota's "The Eternal 24" and Hide Kitagawa's "The Dancing Girl of Izu" are in the midst of a fierce battle.

If Tanizaki awards the award to "The Dancing Girl of Izu", it will inevitably offend Shinchosha and Naoki Momota and others.

Last time, Takeda Tsune and his team tricked Kitagawa Hide in the Tanizaki Prize, making him feel despised and fooled. This time, with this bargaining chip to compensate him, he should be satisfied, right? No matter how great you are, you are still a part of the Japanese literary world.

The Tanizaki Prize is one of the most coveted awards since the founding of the literary world. No one can really refuse it!
I've given you such a great honor, you won't just refuse it without knowing what's good for you, right?
The secretary was a little shocked when she heard this. After picking up the phone, she couldn't help but confirm again: "President, are you going to contact Miss Saito now?"

"Yes, the hint should be more obvious." Takeda Tsunekazu already understood what Teacher Tanizaki meant. "The award ceremony is coming soon. Ask her to give an answer as soon as possible."

After watching "The Dancing Girl of Izu", it was obvious that Mr. Tanizaki was attracted to Kitagawa Hide. After some thought, he decided to sacrifice Naoki Momota to win over Kitagawa Hide.

Takeda Tsunekazu was very reluctant to award the Tanizaki Prize to Kitagawa Hide.

The conflict between the two families was deep-rooted, and his son and Kitagawa Hide were just not on the same page.

To put it bluntly, the Tanizaki Award still belongs to them father and son, but the name of Tanizaki teacher was borrowed when it was established.

The achievements that Tanizaki Award has today and is recognized by everyone as a great award are largely due to the contributions of this father and son!

However, Mr. Tanizaki’s status in the industry is too high. No matter how hard they try, as long as Mr. Tanizaki says “I don’t approve”, all their efforts will be in vain!
Maybe we should try to win over Kitagawa Hide privately?

After all, Mr. Tanizaki is 78 years old this year.
"That's roughly the situation. Judging from what they mean, as long as you, Kitagawa, nod your head, this year's Tanizaki Prize will be yours." On the phone, Saito Rena recounted what had happened in detail.

Considering that the other party's new conditions had a huge impact on Kitagawa Hide, she added: "And he won the award for "The Dancing Girl of Izu"."

Kitagawa Hide remained unmoved.

"The Dancing Girl of Izu" is already extremely popular now, and there is no need for Tanizaki Shang to fan the flames. "Eternal 24" will never surpass it.

The icing on the cake is not as good as the timely help.

Tanizaki looked down upon this so-called "flower".

This additional condition was optional for him.

As for Tanizaki Shang's so-called "three visits to the thatched cottage", it is even more ridiculous.

If you really valued me, you should have come over for a proper interview the first time, instead of waiting until "The Dancing Girl of Izu" became a hit and then realizing that it would be difficult to back out if you didn't give me the award, and then coming over hypocritically to negotiate peace.

And Yan He’s attitude isn’t very good either.

First, he did not make a formal apology for his impolite behavior the previous two times.

Second, since it is a re-invitation, what does it mean to ask a secretary to call to notify?
Is your leg broken?
Even if your leg is broken, is it difficult for you to call me?
At the beginning, Shizuko Kawaide called personally and came to pick her up in person. That's what we call respecting others!
Thirdly, what does it mean that the award ceremony date is approaching and I hope to get an answer soon?
Whether I go or not is my business. Now you are begging me. Is your attitude still so bad?

I'm not a dog. If you hit me, I'll run away. If you throw a bone to me, I'll come over and lick it.

Kitagawa Hideki would not tolerate the condescending attitude of these old guys in the Japanese literary world.

However, the award of "The Dancing Girl of Izu" would be of great benefit to Kawade Shobo. He did not kill the conversation with a single word, but instead asked, "What do you think of this, Shizuko?"

Before Saito Reina, who was holding the landline receiver, could reply, Kawaide Shizuko, who had been listening for a long time, leaned over and said directly: "Don't worry about the company, Kitagawa. No matter what decision you make, we will support you unconditionally."

Shizuko Kawaide's tone was still as cold as usual, but what she said warmed Kitagawa Hide's heart.

They all have a good personal relationship and have achieved mutual success along the way.

But this time, if he is willing to endure the humiliation and go to receive the award, Kawaide Shobo may very likely surpass Shinchosha and become the "number one" pure literature publisher in Japan!

This is a great achievement that has not been achieved by several generations of the Kawade family!
As a female head of a family who was forced to take on the position, if Shizuko Kawaide could achieve such achievements, she would surely be able to take over the entire Kawaide family in the future, and there would no longer be any opposition.

This was a major matter involving tens of billions, or even hundreds of billions of yen. He was a little touched that Shizuko Kawaide chose to stand by Kitagawa Hide without hesitation.

"In that case, let Tanizaki Shang get lost as far away as possible!"

Kitagawa Hideya was not vague and directly rejected the Tanizaki Award.

When Takeda Tsunekazu's secretary received the reply call, he was completely stunned.

He ran to Takeda Tsunekazu's office while holding the phone, and said to Takeda Tsunekazu breathlessly: "President. He, they rejected our invitation!"

"Rejected? Was it that woman Saito Reina who rejected it, or was it Kitagawa Hide?" Takeda Tsunekazu was stunned for a moment and didn't react for a while. "He let "The Dancing Girl of Izu" win the award. We made such a great sacrifice, and he's not satisfied?"

This is offending a "world's best" and the New Trend Society in person. He didn't even meet the conditions with such sincerity. Is he dreaming of going to heaven? !

"The person who refused by replying the letter was President Kawaide of Kawaide Shobo." The secretary was already sweating profusely.

It was also the first time he met such a strange publishing house president.

"What did you say?" Takeda Tsuneyasu stood up subconsciously and looked at the secretary in disbelief.

Did Shizuko Kawaide refuse their invitation to Hide Kitagawa to attend the Tanizaki Award Ceremony?
Is this woman crazy?

Doesn't she know that having "The Dancing Girl of Izu" win the Tanizaki Prize is much better than her spending hundreds of millions of yen on publicity?
Countless presidents of publishing houses came to her with the hope of having their authors appear at the Tanizaki Prize ceremony, but she actually refused to let her writers receive the award!

This woman must be crazy!

"This is crazy, crazy. Now, right now, immediately, call Kawaide Shizuko for me!" Takeda Tsunekazu suppressed his inner rage and growled at the secretary.

The secretary was so frightened that he trembled and ran to dial the phone.

Seeing the call connected, Takeda Tsunekazu grabbed the microphone and said directly to the other end of the phone: "Quiet, I'm from Tanizaki Shang"

"toot toot"

When he heard the busy tone on the microphone, Takeda Tsunekazu, who had just started talking, was struck by lightning and was completely stunned.

(End of this chapter)