Nureki Chimuo Archive

“Nureki Chimuo Sensei. Akiyoshi Otaguro

Thank you very much for your kind letter and your handwritten manuscript.

I will read the five short manuscripts (scripts) you sent me carefully and at my leisure at a later date, and I will write my impressions at that time.

However, just one thing.

One of the short, sketch-style scripts, ‘The Sea and the Millet Dumplings,’ is based on the Momotaro tale but its unconventional ideas and the ending, filled with irony and pathos, truly remind me of the sketches from the early Showa period in ‘Shin Seinen.’

The remark by Momotaro's three companions, ‘We won’t work unless you feed us,’ and Momotaro’s attitude as he tries to push through a pay-later deal by saying, ‘I’ll let you do whatever you want once we’ve defeated the ogres.’ This exchange is exactly the kind of sketch you’d find in ‘Shin Seinen!’

These handwritten manuscripts you sent me, Nureki Sensei, were the most delightful welcome gift I could have received upon joining the company.

The publishing company I’ve just joined is a small business with a total of ten employees (including external staff and the president), but as you said, ‘Amid so many publishers that pursue nothing but profit, this is a company that publishes books that may be unassuming but are well worth reading.’

I’ve been hoping to join them for several years now.

Although they were only hiring one person this time, I was successfully hired, and I’m truly delighted.

I am grateful to the president for recognizing my enthusiasm, rather than just my individual skills (including my career as a publisher), and for hiring me. From now on, I will work with unwavering dedication and do my very best.

I apologize to you for causing him concern and inconvenience, but I have taken a step forward toward realizing my dream, the reevaluation of ‘Uramado’ and the reprinting of sexy detective fiction.

If I have the opportunity to meet you in person someday, I would be happy to tell you more about our company in detail.

Although this is just a brief company profile, I have enclosed an article about our company that was recently featured in the South Korean media, so please take a look at that first.

The original was in Hangul, but I used translation software to generate the text and then corrected any awkward phrasing and book titles myself.

Since we only have internal copies of our publishing brochures and catalogs, I will send those in a separate mailing.

If there are any books you would like, Nureki Sensei, please let me know. Depending on the title and quantity, I may be able to provide you with a complimentary copy.

I will send you the hardcover edition of Udao Oshita’s work mentioned in your letter to me (we only have Volume 2 in our internal inventory) and ‘Selected Detective Stories’ by Seishi Yokomizo II. My name is listed as a contributor in the ‘introduction’ to this book.

I will also include a series of classic erotic literature by an anonymous translator (a five-volume series that was discontinued). This series is a precious collection that served as the catalyst for me to meet the president.

I apologize that all of these are bulky hardcover books, but please accept them with a smile.

Along with the separately mailed list of publications, I’ve also included a copy of the ‘introduction’ to our company’s ‘Mystery Series,’ to which I contributed. I would be delighted if this gave you a sense of the connection I had with the company even before joining.

About seven volumes of Haruo Kano’s collected works, which you had encountered some thirty-odd years ago (though, of course, they were originally from a rental bookstore), were on sale at a manga-specialty used bookstore for between 1,500 and 2,000 yen each.

I’ll be getting my monthly salary next month, so I plan to buy them right away. If I manage to get my hands on them, I’d definitely like you to read them.

I’m looking forward to the day when I can meet you again at the Sex Industry Museum and ask him all sorts of questions.

I imagine writing ‘The Tengu’s Mischief: Continued’ must be quite a challenge, but please keep up the good work. I look forward to your continued support.”

The above is the latest letter we received from Akiyoshi Otaguro, but the actual content is about twice as long.

Along with this handwritten letter, heavy new books were delivered via courier and landed with a thud at the entrance to my office.

They were all new books, thick, hardcover volumes with elegant bindings.

In addition, I received a catalog of publications intended for internal use.

The newspaper ad I happened to come across the other day was a small space that featured only a limited number of new book announcements, but after reviewing the complete catalog I realized that books with content far more substantial and valuable than I had imagined are being published across a wide range of fields.

I deeply regretted having made a flippant assumption about the caliber of a single publisher based solely on that small newspaper ad. It was a publishing house with an impressive track record.

At the same time, I wrote another letter of congratulations to Mr. Otaguro, who had joined this editorial department, and expressed my gratitude for the splendid book he had sent me.

A few days later, another splendid new hardcover book was delivered by courier.

It was the main volume and sequel to “The Tale of a Sentimental Fool” by Matsutaro Kawaguchi, an author I have admired since my boyhood.

Additionally, there was Minoru Betsuyaku’s collection of short stories, “Godo Has Arrived.” All three titles were listed in the publication catalog that had been sent to me.

I have a special attachment to these three books.

In fact, my play, “Talking Theater” is sometimes based on Matsutaro Kawaguchi’s “The Tale of a Sentimental Fool.”

And when I was a boy (that is, during the Pacific War), I actually appeared in a stage production of “Captain Wakabayashi,” a play written by Matsutaro Kawaguchi.

Furthermore, after the war, I became completely captivated by the world of theater created by Matsutaro Kawaguchi and became a regular at Shinpa theater performances…

Of course, it wasn’t until several years after the war, when I had already reached middle age, that I was introduced to Minoru Betsuyaku’s body of work, but I became utterly intoxicated by the same emotional depth found in Kawaguchi’s works (yes, for me, just as with Kawaguchi’s world, Minoru Betsuyaku’s absurdist plays are also a world of sentiment and emotion).

Just the other day, I presented my short play “The Sea and Kibidango” to Akiyoshi Otaguro. To be honest, if I were to reveal the secret, it is actually based on Minoru Betsuyaku’s work.

I’d like to write about these matters in greater detail, but right now I simply must focus my attention on “The Tengu’s Mischief: Continued.”

(I still haven’t been able to write it. Oh, how pathetic!)

I’ve been neglecting so many people, but please, please, forgive me.

Ah, but even so, I’m a selfish person, no matter where I go or what I do.