Nureki Chimuo Archive

I received a letter from Mr. Akiyoshi Otaguro.

I am reprinting that letter here.

Mr. Otaguro’s letters are always handwritten, in his own hand, in meticulous regular script, with not a single stroke out of place.

Naturally, I find myself sitting up straight as I read them.

It was placed in an envelope with a properly affixed postage stamp, passed from Mr. Otaguro’s hands through the hands of several strangers, and finally delivered to my mailbox by the mail carrier.

It has, without a doubt, been on a little journey.

It is different from the characters that appear on the recipient’s screen the moment you tap a key with your fingertips.

Of course, I have obtained the author’s permission to present this letter here, and I have taken great care to omit any passages that might be even slightly offensive.

For example, although the author stated that it would be fine to publish their real name, I have used a pseudonym out of concern for any potential inconvenience.

Nureki Chimuo Sensei.

I am writing to inform you that, through a fortunate turn of events, I have been offered a position at a certain publishing company in Chiyoda Ward.

Once I have settled into my new position, I plan to resume my research on “Uramado” (I continued my research on a small scale even while job hunting, and in March of this year I

presented my findings at the regular meeting of the Shin Seinen Research Society), so I would appreciate your continued guidance.

Through recent research, I have confirmed that Mr. Akira Iwasaki also contributed to “Masterpiece Club,” and I have determined that Mr. Hikaru Iwahori, was was active in “Uramado” from Showa 31 to Showa 32, is the same person as Mr. Taizo Iwahori, who was active in “Liberal” and other publications (though the true identity of the crucial figure, Hikaru Iwahori, remains unknown…).

I also found “Yomikiri Zasshi,” the magazine that featured a short story by Nureki Sensei published under a pseudonym (I believe it was Toba Juro), in an antiquarian book catalog, so the research yielded some decent results.

I’ve placed an order for it, so if I can get my hands on a physical copy (since the catalog is a bit old, I can only hope it hasn’t sold out yet), I’ll send you a copy.

Better late than never, I finally read the historical novel “The Tengu’s Mischief” by Rokuroku Tabata11, who won the “Yasuo Uchida Mystery Literature Award.”

It hooks the reader from the very beginning with an enigmatic mystery, carefully depicts deduction scenes centered on interviews, and resolves the case with a clever twist so that no one gets hurt.

As always, the structure was superb and the writing was solid, so I read it in one sitting.

It was a true display of professional craftsmanship.

The truth revealed in Section 8 was full of surprises (I was taken aback by Yokichi’s confession on page 251, lines 13-17), and the final chapter, which concludes the case as a prank by a tengu, left a satisfying aftertaste characteristic of your works.

Reading this work made me want to reread your detective stories from the “Uramado” serialization (even though I just reread your historical novel collection the other day…).

First of all, I’d like to announce that I’ve secured a job at a publishing company.

If you have the chance, please tell me more about those days (your time at Kubo Shoten). I look forward to your continued guidance in the future.

Akiyoshi Otaguro

The above is the first letter from Mr. Akiyoshi Otaguro, with whom I have recently been exchanging correspondence. 11

Tabata Rokuroku is a pen name of Nureki Chimuo.

When I received this letter, I happened to be in the middle of writing a sequel to “The Tengu’s Mischief” and was struggling to come up with a plot twist leading up to the climax.

To be honest, I was at my wits’ end.

I was trying to create a situation that no one had ever written about before, one that would be even more unexpected than the previous work. I agonized over every detail. This won’t work, that won’t work, and in the end, I was on the verge of despair over the poverty of my own talent.

That state of mind had continued for over a week.

(Even a foolish person like me, arrogant, boastful, and always brimming with confidence, has moments like this from time to time.)

It was at a time like this that I received a well-meaning review of my previous work, “The Tengu’s Mischief,” from Mr. Otaguro.

(There were even more complimentary words than what I’ve included here, but I omitted them because, frankly, they made me feel a bit embarrassed.)

I was truly grateful for this.

It gave me courage.

I wrote a thank you note to Mr. Otaguro and returned to my manuscript.

(Of course, all my manuscripts are handwritten. I still don’t own a computer, a word processor, or even a cell phone.)

I’ve written mostly about “The Tengu’s Mischief” but I’m also grateful for Mr. Otaguro’s research on “Uramado” (these days, there’s no one else who cares so passionately about “Uramado”), and for the fact that he mentions “Masterpiece Club” and “Yomikiri Zasshi” published by Futabasha, as well as Mr. Akira Iwasaki and Juro Toba.

I’m truly grateful.

(Even someone like me has done work that will remain in people’s memories, at least a little!)

When I moved to my current address, I actually threw away about 150 issues of “Masterpiece Club,” Yomikiri Zasshi,” and several other popular entertainment magazines of that era, the ones known as “club magazines” at the time!

(My work had been published in those very issues. I hadn’t recognized any value whatsoever in the work I’d done!)

Ah. But I’ll stop throwing things away now.

Mr. Otaguro, I’ll give you my draft notebook for “The Tengu’s Mischief.”

Also, I found a photo from a trip during my time at Kubo Shoten featuring Haruo Shimamoto, Minomura Ko, and myself, so I’ll give that to you as well. (I’ll make a copy for you.)

As for Mr. Hikaru Iwahori, it would take too long to write about him here, so I’ll tell you about it the next time we meet.