Pathway to Japanese Literature

When I first entered university, even graduates at the very bottom could sprout wings and fly away.
Those with even moderately good grades became human kites everyone fought to reel in.
My cousin who graduated top of his class had so many offers he nearly drowned in choices.

“At any rate, we must at least conduct interviews to avoid offending our recommenders’ sensibilities.”

In those days, they found it harder to turn companies down than to secure appointments.
But from the following year onward, job openings began drying up steadily.
Though I heard rumors about graduate surpluses piling up year after year, with my own graduation still distant, I dismissed it all like a fire burning across the riverbank.

“There’s no need to worry.”
“It will recover within three years.”
“Statistically speaking, recessions don’t last this long.”

Even when we advanced to full-degree status, we kept clinging to those optimistic predictions, but reality wouldn’t play along with our script.
The economic slump only deepened year after year, until this one hit what they called absolute rock bottom.
These days, it consumed our every thought.

“Mitsubishi hiring just seven people? That’s brutal.”

If one person let out a sigh,

"And then fifty people come rushing in, so those at the bottom have absolutely no prospects."

another would voice their despair.
Even as graduation loomed next month, we remained stuck in place.
Those at risk of failing at least had that concern to occupy them, while the ones with fairly good grades wore gloomy expressions.

"Since about half of last year's graduates remain unplaced, they say this year they won't even consider anyone outside the top ten for final selection."
"You'd be better off staying another year to try again rather than graduating half-cocked."

There were even those who went so far as to say this.
To graduate into this unprecedented economic recession—and at its very rock bottom, no less—we must be truly ill-fated.

As for me alone, I had already half given up.
The reason being, I possess—if I may say so—a certain clarity in self-perception.
Through various opportunities, I had conducted self-analysis.
When it comes to sheer lack of fortune—though I don't mean to boast—I have yet to find anyone surpassing me.
Not only am I alone doomed, but I even possess the power to worsen others' luck.
Even in inter-school baseball games, whenever I went to cheer, our side would inevitably lose.
Such a person cannot hope to compete against a crowd and win.

Therefore, one day Hamaguchi was looking up at the school bulletin board,

“At any rate, why don’t we apply? In this area, there shouldn’t be anything we can’t manage somehow.”

Even when he proposed this discussion,

“Well...”
“They’ve probably already got tons of applicants.”

I was indecisive.

“Don’t give up like that. We’ll crash through or crash trying. I’ll go ahead and apply.”

Hamaguchi, being the close friend he was, had fully grasped my state of mind.

“Is Fuji Shōji a big company?”

I asked while waiting for Hamaguchi to return from the administrative office.
I was applying without even knowing the company's credibility, so I was panicking.
Admittedly, if I were being picky, I’d never land a position.

“It’s probably second-rate.”
“It’s in Osaka, you know.”

“Even Osaka would be acceptable, but how many are they hiring?”

“Five.”

“That’s promising.”

“But with Professor Takabatake gone, we couldn’t get the gist of things."
"Let’s go check again next period."

“Well now! Isn’t that Fuji Shōji over there?”

And there—as expected—Sawai-kun from our grade approached.

“Is this spot okay?”

Hamaguchi inquired for reference purposes.
“Sure thing.”
“I’ll apply.”

With that said, Sawai-kun left.

"This is hopeless."

I could only fixate on the numbers.

"It can't be helped anyway."

Hamaguchi had steeled himself.

The next period found us reporting to the administrative office.
Outside, Sawai and five classmates were all lined up.
As soon as a notice goes up, everyone rushes in—it’s impossible to compete.

Professor Takabatake began,

"This time they're relocating only the foreign affairs section to Kobe, using that opportunity to expand their workforce. Since the section chief is a Yale man I once cheered alongside, I made certain to request this favor when we met at New Year's. That's why they've directed this posting exclusively to us."

He framed this as his personal accomplishment before continuing,

"Their condition specifies middling academic performance. You understand what they want - men with modern minds? Top-ranked students become rigid from excessive exam preparation. They explicitly require candidates ranked fifteenth or lower." His lips twisted mockingly. "What do you make of that? Heh heh heh..."

Professor Takabatake delivered his most sardonic jab.
He was quite the piece of work.
We who deliberately aimed for second-rate companies were by no means outstanding, so we exchanged glances with an awkward, almost ticklish feeling.

"However, they particularly want people who are good at English. They might even administer an English exam, you know."

With that, Mr. Takabatake dropped this bombshell.

"An essay? A conversation?"

asked one of them.

“That I don’t know.”
“In other words, it comes down to needing people who are competent in English and adaptable.”
“Please submit one handwritten resume by the day after tomorrow.”
“We will post the interview location and time as soon as they are determined.”
“Understood?”

The professor nodded as if prompting our exit.
The administrative office chief during graduation season was indeed busy.

“If there were just seven applicants, we might’ve stood a chance...”

And on my way back to the classroom, I began to feel somewhat hopeful.
Hearing that if I could just manage English, I found my courage growing.

“There’s already seven people, I tell you.”
“Today alone there’ll be about seven more applying.”
“And there’s still tomorrow and the day after.”
“There’ll be forty or fifty in total.”

“It’s just like a lottery.”

“Exactly.”
“One or two bites won’t hit the mark.”
“I’ll apply to every notice I spot from now on.”

Hamaguchi had resolved to play the numbers game.

While constantly worrying about job issues, I remained equally concerned about graduation exams. Though this marked our final stretch, the professors refused to show leniency. Failing students would damage the school's reputation—that's why graduation exams proved stricter than ordinary advancement tests. A single misstep could mean securing employment only to flunk your final academic hurdle. Since job offers naturally depended on graduating, any failure would automatically nullify them. Thus I found myself balancing scholarly obligations with societal ones, forced to split my attention equally between classroom studies and bulletin board announcements.

The school bulletin board also,

"Professor Nani: Classes canceled for today and tomorrow."

Among such notices, what we truly anticipated with bated breath were different matters altogether.
The recent postings were terrifying as they determined students' fates.

"It's hopeless."

Yet even as they uttered these words, everyone who'd attended interviews harbored a touch of conceit.
When it came to themselves, people never dwelled entirely on the negative.
Especially this man who had some connections and thought things were going suspiciously well - ninety percent convinced of his assuredness,

Those who have secured positions at Yasuda-related companies are as follows.

Upon seeing only other names splendidly listed beneath this heading, his face instantly turned pale.

Those who have been officially hired by the Bank of Taiwan are as follows.

Onojima Ichirou Kun

When the notice was posted, Sugiura-kun remarked, "It's odd to write 'gentlemen' in plural when there's only one person."

he promptly went to inquire at the administrative office.
Then the staff member bustled over and corrected the term “gentlemen” to “individual.”

“I wasn’t trying to nitpick the notice or anything.”

Sugiura-kun was forcing a wry smile.
Of course, not everything was as bleak as the economic situation.

“Treat us! Treat us!”

Surrounded by everyone,

“Hold on, hold on! Wait for me—my haori cord came undone!”

There were also those who smugly delighted in such antics.

After about a week had passed,

Those wishing to join Fuji Shōji Company shall appear for interviews at Toyo Kogyo Corporation on the fourth floor of Sukiyabashi Building by 9:00 AM on February 21st.

A notice stating [the following] was posted.

That day, upon returning to the lodging house, I immediately resolved to confess everything to Kiyoko.
Even though it’s called a lodging house, it’s not a commercial establishment.
Yet calling it an amateur residence also felt disrespectful.
At the house where my cousin had once been taken care of, he had graduated from the same university alongside that cousin and was now working for Mantetsu.
Since it was a household of three women—the mother, her sister Kiyoko, and a maid—with no men around, I had rather been requested to take on the role of caretaker there.

From this point onward, the story grows somewhat sentimental, but I beg your patience.
Truth be told, I'd only consulted Hamaguchi about it and hadn't yet informed my family back home, but I wanted to marry Kiyoko.
Kiyoko wanted to come to me too.
Her mother raised no objections.
When I'd laid matters out this far, Hamaguchi gave me a proper scolding.
But facts remained facts - there was no helping it.
Kiyoko had graduated from girls' school last year and was now nineteen, while I was twenty-five; according to her mother's theory, we both stood in our unlucky years.

“Please be mindful of propriety.”

When she occasionally spoke to us like this, it likely meant to ensure we avoided impropriety.

“We haven’t crossed any lines yet.
Though we’re deeply in love, we’re being cautious about that.”

When I gave this assurance, Hamaguchi—

“Enough already!”

—shoved me bodily.

Now, I—

“Kiyoko, the day after tomorrow—I’m off to my interview!” I said jokingly.

“Oh! So you’ve finally decided?” she immediately recognized it meant the employment interview.
She really was sharp.

“But it’s in Kobe,” I forced out painfully.

“Kobe? You mean you’d actually go to Kobe?”

“I don’t want to at all, but I can’t just follow my whims.”

“Isn’t there one in Tokyo?”

“There might be one, but…”
“I’ve been quite a bother to your studies, you know.”
Kiyoko immediately grasped this related to my academic standing.
If she were this quick-witted, I thought there’d be plenty of troublesome moments once we married.
“I don’t think my grades are that bad, but I can’t stand this cutthroat competition.
I’ve just got cursed luck, you see.”
“There you go again with your unlucky routine.”
“That’s exactly why we can’t rely on Kobe either.”

“What company in Kobe?”

“It’s called Fuji Shōji.”
“A place that isn’t too large is actually more convenient for learning the ropes, you see.”
“Though I did tell them it’s top-tier among second-rate companies.”
“I hear their selection process is rather strict.”

I recognized the need to burnish my prospects a little, whether I succeeded or failed.

“Kobe would be fine.”
“After all, I can’t stay with Mother forever.”

“Why not bring her along then?”

“If we did that, I wouldn’t be able to hold my head up, you know.”
“I’d rather not have you go to such lengths for me, you see.”
“But I feel too self-conscious to act willfully, you know.”
“Thinking of acting willfully?”
“Oh ho ho ho...”

Kiyoko added charcoal to the brazier,

“Am I in your way?”

She cast a coquettish glance.

“No, not at all.”

I had turned as limp as a jellyfish, having completely forgotten about the mountain of written work that had piled up.
This is exactly why my grades are poor.

On the morning of the interview, I resorted to the single suit I had prepared.

“It suits you well.”

Kiyoko praised me.

“At least your appearance passes muster, I suppose.”

“Make sure you hold fast to what’s true.”

“This is my first battle. Would you kindly assist me with my armor?”
“I beg your pardon, but might I trouble you for that surcoat?”

Seizing this opportunity, I had Kiyoko help me into my overcoat for the first time.
Even those who usually arrived late were serious today, as their fates were at stake.
By the time I arrived, most had already gathered.
They say that abroad, the more grandiose a company's name, the higher they're driven up in buildings—and Toyo Kogyo was no exception, renting a corner on the fourth floor.
Today, Fuji Shōji borrowed part of that space to conduct their interviews.
As we waited in the anteroom,

“Kubo, let’s go to the restroom.”

Hamaguchi suggested.
Understanding this was to steady my nerves, I accompanied him.
Midway down the corridor, I encountered a middle-aged gentleman.
When I shifted right, the gentleman also moved right.
When I hastily tried veering left, he too inclined leftward.
Such awkward dances occasionally occur even in broad passageways.
When I finally surrendered and halted, my counterpart likewise relented and stopped.

"Oh!"

And in that instant, I recognized his face and bobbed a bow.

"Ah."

The gentleman also nodded in acknowledgment and passed by.

“Do you know him?”

Hamaguchi asked.

“That’s my English teacher from middle school.”
“What a strange person to run into.”

“Why?”

“Why? Because we’re the ones who organized a strike and drove him out.”

“Was he incompetent?”

“No, he was perfectly competent.
“But he didn’t get along with the principal, you see.
“Then we stirred up trouble, so he got dismissed.”

“So he wound up at this company?”

“Well...
“I haven’t heard a thing about what became of him since then, but he might be here.”

I didn't pay it any mind.

The interview room was across from the waiting room.
Right on time, the attendant appeared,

“Mr. Tsuchiya Shigeru!”

he called out.
Everyone suddenly tensed up.
I counted them and found there were twenty-three people.
Tsuchiya-kun was from a different class, so I didn’t know his academic standing, but he emerged from the interview room in less than five minutes.
The second candidate was called in.
The Class C students crowded around Tsuchiya-kun,

“How’d it go?”

they inquired about how it had gone.

“I got hit hard.”
“They do it in English!”
“I was caught off guard!”

Tsuchiya-kun sighed.

“What did they ask?”

“If I knew that, I wouldn’t have come out this fast!”

“Ha ha ha! Ha ha ha ha!”

And they all burst out laughing before they knew it.

"They told me, 'That's enough, go home already,' I tell ya."
"Once I got that much, I said 'Goodbye' and bowed—and they just laughed, I tell ya."
"Utterly hopeless, I tell ya."

And Tsuchiya-kun ran off with his tail between his legs.

The second one took considerably more time.

"I was asked about the relationship between trade deficits and the trade balance."

Seeing how spirited he looked, he must have handled it well.
We pieced together what was happening inside from his account.

“Do we answer in English?”

“That’s right.”

“Hmm, what’s ‘trade balance’ in English again?”

Shimizu-kun, who had been deep in thought, was then called in as the fourth.
The third candidate returned early and,

“Oh no, oh no...”
“It’s exactly like a conversation test.”
he muttered.

“It starts with a conversation.”

said the second man.

“Did they have you make a phone call?”

“No.”

“They thrust a desk phone at me and told me to call Koishikawa 1234.”
“When I went ‘Hello? Hello?’ they told me to do it in English.”
“I was stuck.”
“I didn’t know how to say ‘hello’.”
“In desperation, I blurted out ‘if, if, if’ over and over, and even the attendants started laughing at me!”

The third candidate grumbled resentfully.

The twelfth or thirteenth candidate was Hamaguchi.
I prayed for his success, hoping it would take as long as possible.
It lasted a favorable ten minutes or more.

"You."

As soon as Hamaguchi returned, he summoned me.

“How’d it go?”

“The examiner’s your teacher.”
“Huh?”
“That’s the person we met in the hallway earlier.”

“Hmm.”
“In that case, I’m done for.”

With that, I completely steeled myself.

"Since it's your former teacher, this might actually work in your favor."

“No, since I was the class president back then, I’m considered the ringleader of the strike.”
“That complicates things.”
Hamaguchi tilted his head.

By the time the noon cannon sounded, only two or three people remained.
"Am I going to be the grand finale, I wonder?"

I grew increasingly anxious.

"He’s probably just planning to reminisce about old times."

Hamaguchi, who was waiting with our promise to have lunch together, gave me strength. However, even after everyone had finished, I still wasn't called,

“This is really and truly hopeless. Let’s just go home.” I resolved.

“That’s truly strange. I’ll go inquire about it.”

Hamaguchi rapped on the interview room door and went in, but immediately turned back,

“This is suspicious.
“They said they already knew and retreated inside.”

Hamaguchi reported.

“He’s going to settle an old score here.”

“But it could also be taken as goodwill. That might mean they already know the person and can dispense with an interview.”

“They know I’m the type to start strikes. After all, I’m just unlucky, aren’t I? I can’t even get into the competition.”

“But this is an exception.”

“Why must things always twist around like this?”

With that, I became utterly crestfallen.

Then I went to Ginza and ducked into Fujiya.

“First Fuji Shōji, now Fujiya.”
“You’re definitely in good shape, I tell ya.”

During the meal, I made an effort to speak cheerfully.
I didn't want to dampen my friend's spirits for my own sake.

"I have to buy chocolate here before going back, or I'll get scolded."

And so, deliberately putting on a scolded act, I headed home.
Hamaguchi was a blunt sort; whenever I brought up Kiyoko, he had no other way but to resort to physical force.

"How did it go?"

Kiyoko came out to greet me.

“I’ve returned after a splendid failure.”

“You must be joking? Oh, you look pale!”

“It might not be good. Truly, an unlucky person is a different case altogether. I went and played the fool, washing my own neck to deliver it to my enemy.”

And I recounted the entire story from beginning to end.

The next morning when I went to school and approached the bulletin board, a clerk was standing on a step stool about to post something.
As I waited thinking I'd apply if it was Shinkou, the characters for Fuji Shōji caught my eye.

The following candidates have been confirmed for Fuji Shōji:

And there it was—I, Hamaguchi, and three others were hired.

“Oh!”

The cry escaped me before I could stop it.
Before long, Hamaguchi also came over,
“That’s great!”
he exclaimed cheerfully.

“Mine was completely unexpected.”

I felt like I’d been bewitched by a fox.

“I knew it all along.”
“There’s plenty to talk about.”
“I really did think that’s how it’d be.”

“Especially having both of us together is a blessing.”

“This calls for a celebratory toast.”

“But I’m going back now.”

“Going back?”
“Taking the day off starting this morning?”

"But..."

"What do you mean?"

"I really made you go through hell yesterday."

"You bastard! The chocolate fiasco!"

Hamaguchi gave my back a vigorous pounding.

I suddenly found myself swamped with tasks.
First and foremost, I had to convey this good news to Kiyoko without a moment's delay.
Secondly—though that phrase doesn't quite cover it—I needed to write a letter to my parents back home.
As for Kiyoko matters I had intended to address once my own situation was settled—while remaining concerned about them—they had kept getting postponed.
Thirdly came the need to dispatch word to my cousin.
This was of course meant to have my parents recommend Kiyoko.
Fourthly required composing a letter of thanks to my mentor.
No matter what came next, I absolutely had to take a day off from school.

(April 1926 [Taishō 15], Present Day)