Tokyo Mystery Writers

January 2, 1980 (Showa 55), night.

Inside a café in Otowa-cho, Bunkyo Ward, Tokyo.

Wearing an ill-fitting suit, Maijo Kyosuke arrived half an hour early to wait.

Although there were crowds of people outside the window, many men and women were wearing kimonos and holding fireworks to celebrate the New Year in the streets.

But despite the beautiful scenery, Maijo Kyosuke couldn't be happy at all.

The view outside the window was gradually blurred by the frost formed from the water vapor.

At this moment, Maijo Kyosuke finally understood that human joys and sorrows are not shared, and that he only understood the true meaning of the phrase "they are making a fuss".

A month ago, I was a mystery novelist living at the end of 2023.

What her original name was is no longer important.

The key point is that at the time, I was writing a book about the history of European, American, and Japanese detective novels.

But unfortunately, something bad happened.

Because he needed to search for a large amount of historical data, Maijo Kyosuke had been working day and night for a whole month, his schedule was completely disrupted. Under these circumstances, he suddenly felt a pain in his chest and his vision went black.

When I woke up again, I was in Tokyo, Japan at the end of 1979!

Incredibly, this Tokyo is a parallel world.

However, the historical process and cultural customs of this world are not much different from those of the original world.

Famous mystery writers from the previous life, such as Edogawa Ranpo, Yokomizo Seishi, and Matsumoto Seichō, also left behind brilliant works in this parallel world.

Maishiro Kyosuke, who had just transmigrated, was not surprised at all by this situation.

As a transmigrator, the first problem I need to solve is how to survive in this world!

The original owner of this body, like myself, was also a mystery novel enthusiast and could be considered a part-time mystery writer.

But perhaps his talent was too poor, or perhaps his writing was not popular with the market. In any case, he buried himself in writing for two whole years, but still couldn't win any awards and make his debut.

Ultimately, under immense pressure, he chose to hang himself, ending his impoverished and destitute life.

This also gave Maijo Kyosuke the opportunity to travel here.

At first, Maijo Kyosuke thought that his predecessor would leave him some savings to make a living.

Unfortunately, this guy was already so poor that he couldn't even afford to eat, and the little money he had left was only enough to pay a month's rent.

As a 21st-century mystery novelist, Kyosuke Maijo deeply sympathizes with the original owner's plight.

But after reading the works written by the original owner and learning about her past...

Maijo Kyosuke, however, felt that the guy's death was not unjust at all.

Because everything this guy writes is just pointless, sentimental "social realism mystery," it wouldn't be an exaggeration to call it a pile of worthless paper.

At this time, Tokyo was on the eve of the bubble economy, a crucial period of rapid economic development.

This era has not yet experienced the impact of a technological explosion.

Brick-shaped portable mobile phones are still rare items for ordinary people, and even the best TVs only have a 480P resolution.

Therefore, books, newspapers, and comics are the most popular forms of entertainment in this era.

He didn't read many comics or newspapers in his previous life, so he didn't know much about this area.

However, as a later mystery novelist and a loyal fan of Japanese mystery novels, with tens of thousands of books read, Kyosuke Maijo knew that in Japan in 1979, the most popular reading material was mystery novels!

This was the time when Seicho Matsumoto, one of the three great masters of Japanese mystery fiction, was dominating the genre.

In his work "Points and Lines," Seicho Matsumoto uses keen observation and calm reasoning to depict the collusion and fraud between the political and financial worlds in contemporary times, exposing the deep-seated problems of society and the era.

It was precisely because of the publication of "Points and Lines" that Seicho Matsumoto, single-handedly, swept away the "unconventional mystery" represented by Edogawa Ranpo and the "orthodox mystery" represented by Yokomizo Seishi.

This shifted the entire trend in the mystery literature world towards "social mystery"!

Seicho Matsumoto has also been dubbed the "father of social mystery novels"!

This crucial transformation, spanning a full thirty years and unparalleled by anyone else, led later generations to refer to this momentous period of history as the "Qing-Zhang Curse"!

The mystery novels written by the original owner were "social mystery" novels.

For Maijo Kyosuke, who was originally a mystery novelist, this guy's writing had no tricks, no logic, and nothing that could resonate with him. Simply put, it was devoid of any substance or value.

Let alone in the Showa era, when mystery novels were at their peak and had the most masters, even in later generations, writing a mystery novel of this caliber would only lead to starvation.

However, this was a wonderful opportunity for Maijo Kyosuke, who was originally a mystery novelist.

As a mystery novelist myself, and a huge fan of Japanese mystery novels, I have read at least tens of thousands of mystery novels.

So whether it's classic mystery, unconventional mystery, logic-based mystery, trick mystery, monster mystery, slice-of-life mystery, setting-based mystery, multiple solutions mystery, BAKA mystery, or even anti-mystery... I can recite any mystery-related novel by heart!

Even though this era still has five male mystery writers and three literary giants, it doesn't diminish the appeal of Maishiro Kyosuke.

Because he could use his powerful memory and classic detective works from later generations to carve out a completely new path in the era of "Qing Zhang Curse"!

Thus, he became a true god of deduction!

Full of confidence, Maijo Kyosuke spent over twenty days handwriting his most beloved and greatest work from his previous life, "The Tokyo Zodiac Murders," a book capable of changing the world of mystery.

But to his complete surprise, those few lines of history contained so much blood and tears!

He possessed a masterpiece that could change the landscape of the mystery genre and break the "Qing Zhang curse" that had plagued the genre for thirty years, yet he had no way to publish it!

The fantasy of being appreciated by editors, quickly published as an author, reprinted 10 times a month, printed a total of 40 times, and selling 100 million copies was soon shattered by reality.

Because at this time, Tokyo already had its own unique mystery-solving community.

As a newcomer with no fame or background, I had almost no way to get my book exposed.

After much inquiry, Maijo Kyosuke finally discovered that there were only three paths to present his book to readers in this era.

The first path is to join the Kyoto University Mystery Novel Research Club and debut using the club's publication, "Raven Castle."

Unfortunately, the original owner of the Maishiro Kyosuke was just a student at a third-rate university and had no connections whatsoever with the Kyoto University journal "Raven Castle." Getting his novel published there was virtually impossible.

The second path was to debut in the magazine "Phantom City," founded by mystery novel critic Hiroshi Shimazaki.

But misfortune never comes singly. Before Maijo Kyosuke could even send out the manuscript, he heard that Mr. Shimazaki Hiroshi had left Japan to return to Taiwan for cultural promotion, and the magazine "Phantom City" was subsequently discontinued.

Finally, only the most difficult and only remaining path is to win Japan's mystery novel award!

Because in Japan at that time, apart from the two special cases mentioned above, there were no other ways to become a mystery writer.

Only by winning major awards and fighting your way out from a crowd of mystery writers can one debut as a writer and get the opportunity to be published!

At that time, Japan did not have as many of the various awards that would become commonplace in later generations.

There are only two awards specifically for mystery novels: the Mystery Writers of Japan Award and the Edogawa Ranpo Award.

Both of these important mystery novel awards are associated with Mr. Edogawa Ranpo.

The predecessor of the Japan Mystery Writers Association Award was the "Detective Writers Club," founded in 1947 with Edogawa Ranpo as its core. It was officially renamed the "Japan Mystery Writers Association" in 1963, and the selection process was handled by Kobunsha.

The Edogawa Ranpo Award was established to commemorate Edogawa Ranpo's 60th birthday, and the selection process is handled by Kodansha.

Although it sounds like a very detailed division, both Kobunsha and Kodansha are actually publishing houses under the Otowa Group.

On New Year's Day, Maijo Kyosuke came to Otowa-cho, Bunkyo Ward, Tokyo, to meet with the editor in charge of Kobunsha.

I'm not that greedy. I don't want to become a double champion. I just want to win one of the awards so that I can make a good start in Tokyo!

While this sounds easy, in reality...

Prior to this, Maijo Kyosuke had already met with a total of seven editors.

Seeing that Maijo Kyosuke was young, had no recommender, and wrote books that leaned towards "orthodox mystery," the editors mostly glanced at a few pages symbolically before closing the manuscript.

The reason for the rejection was simple and straightforward: the manuscript was not in line with the market environment and was not qualified to participate in the selection of mystery awards.

Maishiro Kyosuke recalled the editors who had previously rejected him.

I understand their predicament. The world of novels is cruel; if a story doesn't fit the market, it won't sell. This is an obvious truth.

Of course, Maijo Kyosuke could also use his powerful memory to write a "social mystery" and impress the editor.

But whether it's love or work, the order of life is crucial.

The same principle applies to a writer's debut work.

If, at this critical juncture when "social realism mystery" is rampant, one debuts with "social realism mystery," then no matter what one writes in the future, one will be labeled a social realism mystery writer.

In that case, wouldn't I be trapped in Matsumoto Seichō's shadow for the rest of my life?

No matter how brilliant your achievements may be in the future.

Whenever his name is mentioned, he is always mentioned together with Seicho Matsumoto, the "father of social mystery".

If other mystery writers knew about Maijo Kyosuke's idea, they would probably call him an arrogant person!

After all, being compared to Seicho Matsumoto is something many people wouldn't even dare to dream of.

However, as a time traveler, Maijo Kyosuke has the support of all the famous mystery novels of later generations.

On this basis, he should also be compared with Seicho Matsumoto.

This was something that Maijo Kyosuke simply couldn't accept!