Nureki Chimuo Archive

Mr. Akiyoshi Otaguro.

I am very sorry for the delay in replying to thank you for sending me yet another package containing so many valuable materials.

Thank you very much. I have indeed received it.

Everyone is busy these days, and while saying I was busy is hardly an excuse at this point, I have simply had one thing after another to attend over the past few weeks.

(As a result, I’ve fallen significantly behind on writing “The Story of Minomura Ko” (working title) for the publisher who commissioned it last year. After receiving a reminder, I’ve only just started writing a few days ago.)

Unusually for me, I’ve also had many requests from public institutions (I accepted these because they happened to align with my art), and they were all tasks that required me to appear in front of large crowds. It was for one of these events that I invited you, Mr. Otaguro.

It was a gathering themed “Tachi-e Theater and My Experiences in Theater.” Thank you for coming from so far away. Thanks to you, it was a great success.

I think he must have been surprised to see me working so hard at something so unlike my usual self.

But that, in its own way, is firmly connected to the way I live my life.

Anyway, I must respond to what you proposed this time. I apologize once again for the delay in my reply.

To create the kind of lively, engaging gathering you envision, I recommend starting by producing a newsletter, or even a simple magazine, that reflects the event’s theme to help promote it.

In doing so, I must honestly convey all of your passion and everything you want to do. This may be difficult, but I believe that unless we go through this process, we cannot create a truly enjoyable event.

First, unless I am honest and open about myself, no matter how impressive the bylaws may be or how much we mention my name or that of Nakahara Rutsu, we won’t attract genuinely good people.

First, create something like a fanzine or a personal magazine. Publish a sincere essay expressing your feelings at the beginning of the issue, list the bylaws that reflect your ideals, and recruit members. I believe that if you do this, serious, good people will surely join.

I have received quite a variety of materials from you so far, but in the end, I still don’t understand a single concrete thing about what you truly like.

(Though part of it may be because I’m not very bright.)

The only thing I can barely grasp is that you like old printed materials with a somewhat unconventional flavor, but “old printed materials” covers such a broad range that, to be honest, I have no idea where to start.

Even saying “a somewhat unconventional flavor” is still rather vague. I can’t quite pinpoint what you’re getting at.

Is there really anyone who can derive pleasure simply from having the names of old writers and famous people laid out before them?

(I do have a slight feeling that there might be. After all, human nature is unfathomable.)

Due to the nature of my work, I have interacted with many people who are referred to as enthusiasts.

I have exchanged countless letters with such people.

There are also countless others whom I have actually met and spoken with.

Everyone wrote and spoke to me honestly, detailing their interests in great, specific detail. A sense of trust naturally develops.

Among the women who have worked with me (that is, models), there were also true enthusiasts who confided in me about shameful desires they couldn’t tell others, or unusual sexual preferences.

I’ve written about them in detail in my book, “Real Accounts: Bondage and Punishment,” published by Kawade Bunko. If you haven’t read it yet, I’d be happy to give you a copy. Please don't hesitate to ask.

In the bylaws of the association you’re advocating for, my name appears as “Lifetime Honorary President.” I’m not sure whether to feel flattered or amused. The word “lifetime” made me laugh involuntarily. After all, I’m approaching the age where “lifetime” might actually apply.

If I don’t fully understand the mindset and preference of the representative (that is, you) of the proposed association, I simply cannot accept this role.

Just as I had finished writing this much, I received a call from Director Nakahara of the Sex Industry Museum.

“I’ve managed to get my hands on three old issues of ‘Kitan Club.’ They’re issues we don’t have in our collection, and they’re even older than the ones we do have. For now, I’ll send you just the covers.”

And sure enough, the covers of those three issues were faxed over immediately. “Kitan Club” Special Issue: A Collection of Competing Masterpieces. Published January 5, 1949 (Issue No. 10) “Kitan Club” Collection of Rare Tales and Curiosities. Published February 25, 1949 “Kitan Club” A Journey to the Seventh Heaven. Published April 10, 1949.13

These three volumes. And believe it or not, Minomura Ko drew the cover art for all three of them when he was just 27 years old. Amazing!

As mentioned earlier, I am currently writing “The Story of Minomura Ko” (working title) at the request of Kawade Shobo Shinsha, and this is a co-authored work with Nakahara Rutsu.

13

These do not appear in the Nawa-Art archive.

I cannot even count how many times Director Nakahara and I have discussed the vast scope of Minomura Ko’s work and its true nature during his lifetime. In total, we have spent over 100 hours just talking about Minomura Ko.

Of course, the fax I received contained only the covers of all three books.

“Come over here right away and take a look inside. There are all sorts of interesting discoveries. Even from this era of 1949, the pages are already brimming with the essence of Minomura Sensei,” said Director Nakahara, his voice full of excitement.

“I’d love to go, but I’m currently writing the monthly serialized manuscript for Web Sniper. Today is the deadline. I’ll go as soon as I finish this,” I replied, my voice just as excited as Director Nakahara’s.

However, Director Nakahara’s determination is incredible. I can’t help but be in awe.

She managed to track down three copies of the early “Kitan Club,” a flimsy little magazine of just over fifty pages published sixty years ago.

At that time, “Kitan Club” was a regional magazine sold only in Osaka and its immediate vicinity. It was a publication that people in Tokyo had never even seen.

The sharpness and certainty of Director Nakahara’s intuition, as he unfolds this thin, cheap paper magazine, born from the ashes of a town scorched by the U.S. Air Force’s indiscriminate bombing, and detects the scent of Minomura Ko.

Mr. Otaguro, you have been enthusiastically collecting many old magazines dating back to before the war. Which writers or artists, and what specific aspects of their work, do you focus on?

What are you seeking from these old printed materials?

I can clearly see that you are striving to discover something, and I find that very admirable, but your focus seems far too blurred, and that makes me feel uneasy.

As I was looking once again at the cover of “Kitan Club,” published in 1949, which Director Nakahara just sent me via fax, I made a startling discovery. I found an error so significant that I will have to make major revisions to a section of “The Story of Minomura Ko,” which I had already written and submitted to the publisher. Director Nakahara, as always, thank you. Thanks to you, I was spared from making a major mistake while writing “The Story of Minomura Ko.”