chsdbacks Chapter 354 The Sound of Kyoto
Chapter 354 The Sound of Kyoto
Monday, November 12, 1990.
Osaka, Nishi-ku Ubimoto-cho.
The editorial office of the Kansai Finance and Economics News is located on the third floor of a gray-white office building built in the 1940s.
At 9:27 a.m., when Deputy Editor-in-Chief Masato Sakai pushed open the glass door of the editorial office, he saw two young editors from the typesetting team standing around the fax machine, both looking somewhat off.
The fax machine was quietly spitting out paper.
White thermal paper slowly slides down from the paper outlet, with lines of slightly blurred black text printed on it.
Sakai placed his briefcase on the table, frowned, and asked, "Which company is requesting a correction this time?"
The young editor looked up, his Adam's apple bobbing.
"Editor-in-chief, you're from Kyoto."
Sakai's brow furrowed even deeper.
Which one in Kyoto?
The young editor didn't answer immediately, but simply handed over the fax paper that he had just torn off.
Sakai took the paper, his gaze falling on the person looking up.
Ichipodo Tea Shop
His fingers paused slightly.
This is not a typical Google customer.
Kyoto's long-established brands like Ippodo are not known for their spending on GG magazines in the Kansai business district, and they never need to rely on financial magazines to maintain their reputation. However, the old family ties, personal relationships, and credibility of the Kyoto business district attached to these shops are far more troublesome than a page of colored GG magazines.
The fax content was extremely short.
[In your article "The Hunting of Tokyo Capital" published on November 10th, you referred to the Saionji family as "Tokyo Capital." This statement may not be entirely appropriate. Saionji, formerly known as Kitayama, inherited the family name from the Seika family and has deep historical ties with Kyoto. We hope your publication will carefully consider this when writing in the future.]
At the end of the letter, only a neat shop seal rested quietly on the paper.
Sakai stared at the seal for a few seconds, and the slight irritation that had just ignited in his heart that morning quietly subsided.
He originally thought Tokyo would be the first to call.
The Saionji family's lawyer, the public relations department of Saionji Corporation, or some arrogant young legal specialist.
According to the worst-case scenario predicted by the editorial department last night, the other party will send a proof of content on the grounds of defamation, factual inaccuracies, and malicious insinuations, and then use the Tokyo District Court's application for provisional injunction to pressure the magazine to retract the article.
They have prepared their response scripts.
The article did not name the Saionji family.
The article is only discussing industrial autonomy in the Kansai region.
The "Tokyo Capital" mentioned in the article is merely a macroeconomic and financial phenomenon.
These arguments are safe.
It's safe enough for lawyers in Tokyo, at least.
However, Kyoto did not discuss the law with them.
Kyoto only corrected one name.
The Saionji family should not be referred to as Tokyo capital.
This is more difficult to handle than any defamation lawsuit.
The telephone on my desk suddenly rang.
The female clerk at the switchboard peeked out, her voice a little strained.
"Deputy Editor-in-Chief Sakai, it's a call from Kyoto. The caller says he's from the Kuga family's magistrate's office."
Several reporters in the editorial department who were organizing manuscripts looked up almost simultaneously.
Sakai's heart skipped a beat.
My home for a long time.
Although not one of the Five Household Families, they still have deep connections within the old aristocratic circles of Kyoto. More importantly, just a few days ago, someone from the Hakusuikai hinted that Kyoto was not a monolithic entity, and that some old families were not opposed to the goodwill extended by the Osaka business community.
Sakai walked quickly to his desk and picked up the receiver.
"I am Sakai, the deputy editor-in-chief of the Kansai Finance and Economics News."
A middle-aged man's calm, almost indifferent voice came from the other end of the phone.
"Mr. Sakai, excuse me. I am Matsunaga, the head of the Kuga family."
Sakai unconsciously straightened his back and leaned forward slightly.
"Hello, Mr. Matsunaga."
"My master has already read your article from a few days ago. Regarding the issues of industrial autonomy and financial credit, financial media are naturally free to express their opinions."
"However, the text places the Saionji family in the position of foreign capital, which seems to lack basic historical research."
Matsunaga speaks slowly, with a strong Kyoto accent.
"The Saionji family's connection to Kitayama predates the accountant in Osaka's Senba area by hundreds of years. If we're talking about historical precedents in Kansai, it's probably not up to Kitahama bankers to define Kyoto's customs, is it?"
Sakai's fingers tightened slightly as she gripped the receiver.
The other person didn't utter a single curse word, but their Kyoto accent, coupled with a sarcastic tone, always made him inexplicably angry.
However, the other party maintained a polite tone without any change in attitude and did not even ask them to retract the article.
"...Mr. Matsunaga, we will re-check the wording of the article internally."
"Then I'll have to trouble your publication."
The phone call was gently disconnected.
Sakai slowly put down the receiver, his gaze sweeping across the editorial department.
The air was unusually quiet.
Several young editors pretended to look down at the manuscript, but their ears were clearly perked up.
"Listen..."
Just as Sakai was about to speak, another phone rang.
The department head from the GG department rushed out from the next office, his face already looking extremely grim.
"Editor-in-Chief Sakai, the Kyoto Chamber of Commerce and Industry has cancelled next month's full-page GG."
Sakai looked up at him.
Minister GG gritted his teeth and opened the notebook in his hand.
"The reason given for the cancellation was very polite, saying it was due to budget adjustments. But the other party added on the phone that it was inconvenient to get involved in the public opinion controversy in Osaka at the moment."
Osaka side.
These four words made the temperature in the editorial office seem to have been scalded several degrees out of thin air.
Since its inception, their magazine has been based on Kansai finance. The articles are about Osaka, Kobe and Kyoto, collectively referred to as Kansai, and readers have never felt that there is anything wrong with it.
But this morning, Kyoto took an unconventional approach and broke down this broad term again.
Kyoto is Kyoto.
Osaka is Osaka.
The bankers of Kitahama cannot represent the Kansai region.
Sakai glanced down at the newly released topic plan for the next issue on the table.
The cover story retains the original title.
[The Hunt of Tokyo Capital, Part 2: The Risk of Industrial Credit Being Hijacked by External Channels]
The words on the paper now look like a piece of red-hot iron.
At 9:54, the phone in the GG department rang again.
At 10:03 AM, a long-established textile company in Kyoto canceled its year-end interview, citing the inconvenience of associating with a newspaper with whom it had a dispute. (The Saionji family controls the Nishijin weaving technique.)
At 10:11, a university professor who was originally scheduled to publish a signed commentary in conjunction with the second issue of the special feature called to say that he was not feeling well recently and that the manuscript needed to be postponed.
At 10:19 AM, a vice president in charge of public relations at Kyoto Bank conveyed a message through a personal connection, stating that Kyoto financial institutions were not in a position to comment on "regional controversies in certain Osaka media outlets."
At 10:26, Kyoto Credit Bank also echoed this sentiment, but with more cautious wording, stating only that local finance should focus on providing sound services to real industries and would not participate in pointless labeling debates.
At 10:40, the most fatal phone call came from the printing plant.
The other party tactfully inquired whether the next issue's cover feature would still be formatted as originally planned, because several GG clients requested to see the final sample copy before deciding whether to make payment.
Sakai stood by the window, watching the traffic below, his face gradually darkening.
Tokyo did not retaliate.
The Saionji family didn't even issue a statement, let alone write any rebuttal articles to argue with them, or send lawyers to their door.
They only made a brief appearance in Kyoto.
Then the entire Kansai public opinion field, which had been mobilized by the White Water Society, began to collapse on its own, like a piece of paper softened by rain.
They didn't even have the right to meet the Saionji family.
……
Osaka, Kitashinchi.
In the 8-tatami room on the second floor of the ryotei "Chikufu", the iron kettle on the charcoal stove was making a slight boiling sound.
Urakami Masaaki knelt on the tatami mat, with a briefing that had just been delivered from the Hakusui-kai secretariat on a small table in front of him.
Yasui sat on the right, his face even more gloomy than usual.
Mei Chang kept his eyes down, his gaze fixed on his knees, and did not speak.
Kubota, who was in charge of taking notes, sat near the paper door, with the meeting minutes paper used by the Hakusui Association spread out in front of him, and the black fountain pen still beside him.
The briefing was very brief.
Only three pages.
But after reading it once, Urakami didn't turn to the next document for a long time.
The room remained silent for a long time.
Yasui finally lowered his voice and spoke.
"The response from Kyoto was faster than expected."
Urakami didn't look at him.
"It's not just about quick reactions."
He laid the three pages flat on the small table and gently pressed the edge of the pages with his index finger.
"They... are setting us up."
Mei Chang raised his head.
"The Kujo family?"
Urakami did not answer immediately.
Steam slowly escaped from the spout of the iron kettle, and white mist spread above the charcoal fire like a very thin veil.
"The old lady of the Kujo family has rejected our people four times in a row." Urakami's voice was calm and emotionless. "The manager of Ichipodo, the head of a family, and a director of the Kyoto Chamber of Commerce and Industry all spoke out on the same morning."
He slowly raised his eyes.
"That's the most troublesome part."
Yasui's fingers curled slightly on her knee.
If the old families of Kyoto openly speak up for the Saionji family, the Hakusuikai might actually have a way to handle the situation.
They could say that the old Chinese were out of touch with reality, that the elite families didn't understand industry and finance, that this was just a remnant of historical sentiment in modern commerce, or that it was an irrational act.
But Kyoto didn't give them such a target.
Kyoto simply made a minor adjustment to the terminology.
The Saionji family is an old family from Kitayama.
Osaka and Kitahama have no right to define who are outsiders in the Kansai region.
You could call them "Tokyo capital," and that's certainly true; the core of the Saionji family is indeed in Tokyo.
But can you say that the Saionji family are outsiders? From any perspective, the Saionji family cannot be defined as "outsiders".
Since they're not "outsiders," they're "one of us." So, what's wrong with our own capital engaging in some business activities in Kansai?
Look, even the Sumitomo family hasn't said anything, so why are you in such a hurry, Shirazu?
Once this statement was made, half of the public opinion framework that Bai Shuihui had carefully built over the past few days collapsed.
Urakami's original design was very clear.
What Kansai manufacturing presidents fear most is not the lawyer's letter from the Tokyo Ministry of Justice, nor the dollar letter of credit from Saionji Corporation, but the soft pressure exerted by local chambers of commerce, local banks, relatives, in-laws, and industry veterans.
One can circumvent the bank in a contract, but it's difficult to withstand the cold stares of the entire local community at banquets, funerals, council meetings, year-end greetings, and family weddings.
So he played the regional card.
Tokyo Capital.
Foreign hunting.
This undermines the long-standing trust in the Kansai region.
These words carry no legal risk, yet they are enough to make manufacturing executives like Uchida, Kawaguchi, and Hashimoto hesitate.
However, Satsuki did not enter the battlefield he had designed.
She did not send Tokyo media to engage in a war of words, nor did she have her lawyers investigate the wording of the article.
She went to Kyoto.
Then, the old Kyoto families used a higher level of order to suppress the regional narrative of Osaka's Kitahama.
Yasui whispered, "The editorial department is in chaos right now. The second feature article hasn't been withdrawn yet, but several commentators are demanding revisions, unwilling to continue using the term 'Tokyo Capital.' After Kyoto GG Commercial withdrew its order, some people in Kobe are also watching and waiting."
Mei Chang looked very grim.
"Wouldn't the risk be too great to publish a second article?"
Yasui glanced at him but did not answer.
The risks are certainly high.
Yasui opened another thin fax, his voice even lower than before.
"In Kyoto, the Kujo family hosted a tea ceremony yesterday afternoon using old calligraphy from Kitayama. The Saionji family sent someone to attend."
"Ichihodo, the head of the Omotesenke branch, the head of the Kuga family, and two senior directors of the Kyoto Chamber of Commerce and Industry all changed their tune on the same night."
He paused.
"They no longer talk about Tokyo capital. They talk about—the old ties with Kitayama."
The room fell silent for a moment.
These four words are more difficult to handle than any rebuttal article. The Hakusuikai can portray Saionji Trading Company as foreign Tokyo capital, but they cannot deny the Saionji family's roots in Kitayama in front of the people of Kyoto.
The Kujo family didn't write an article for Saionji, but they used a tea party to strip away half of the legitimacy of the entire public opinion battle.
As long as the Saionji family continues to be portrayed as Tokyo capital, Kyoto is likely to further elevate its status. At that point, the one who comes out to correct the statement will no longer be the manager of Ichipodo or the head of an old aristocratic family, but rather a sufficiently influential elder from Kyoto.
However, if the second article changes its stance, the Baishui Association's propaganda war would be tantamount to admitting that the first article was untenable.
Urakami picked up his teacup; the tea had already cooled down.
He took a sip, his brow furrowing very slightly.
"The article has been stopped."
Yasui suddenly looked up.
"Mr. Urakami?"
"Stop the media coverage." Urakami's tone wasn't harsher, but the atmosphere in the room suddenly became tense. "Have the Kansai Finance and Economics News remove the last two special issues. Make up any excuse. GG adjustments, page layout, postponement of interviews—anything goes."
Mei Chang breathed a sigh of relief, but immediately tensed up again.
"What about Saionji Trading Company...?"
Urakami put the teacup back on the small table.
"I'm shifting all my focus back to Ito Man."
Kubota's pen nib rested on the paper.
He didn't look up, but simply wrote down Urakami's words verbatim in the official minutes.
[Advisor's instructions: Suspend external communication and shift the focus to measures to stabilize Ito Man's finances.]
Urakami's gaze swept past Kubota and landed on Yasui's face.
"The Saionji family won a round in Kyoto, which shows that they know the rules and that they know where their roots are. But in the business world, it's still all about the numbers."
His voice was deep.
"As long as Ito Man's hole doesn't burst, Sumitomo Bank remains the center of the Sumitomo Group's financial chain. The manufacturing industry can temporarily circumvent one or two letters of credit, but their long-term loans, equipment mortgages, land guarantees, and year-end working capital are all still in our hands."
Mei Chang nodded.
"Currently, the audit team has only obtained internal documents from Ito Man; they do not yet have the complete credit approval documents from Sumitomo Bank."
Urakami looked at him.
"How much longer can those drafts be delayed?"
Mei hesitated for a moment.
"If we follow the departmental hierarchical filing system, plus the confidentiality clauses in the comprehensive credit agreement, it should normally take two weeks. However, Sumitomo's supplementary authorization letter has already been sent once. If they continue to grant additional authorization, our room for maneuver will shrink."
Urakami's gaze turned colder.
"Then let's prevent the space from shrinking any further."
Yasui's voice was even lower.
"Do we need to do something with our legal department?"
Urakami did not speak immediately.
The North New Town outside the window was still bustling. The streets during the day were not as brightly lit as they were at night, but the occasional sound of vehicles passing by outside the tavern could still be heard through the gap in the paper door, turning into a faint, low murmur.
After a moment, he slowly spoke.
"Those people in our legal department are young, clean-cut, and easily intimidated. Tell them that if Sumitomo Bank's credit is damaged, it won't just be the bank that suffers; the short-term financing of Sumitomo Metal, Sumitomo Chemical, and Sumitomo Electric will all be re-examined by rating agencies."
Urakami raised his hand and lightly tapped the briefing with his fingertips.
"Since they like to talk about industry credit, let them understand that once credit is broken, no one can just reap the benefits."
Kubota lowered his head and rewrote the sentence in a more formal, official style.
[It is necessary to explain the overall credit risk of the group to the company's legal department to avoid external misunderstandings caused by individual authorizations.]
After he finished writing, his fingertips paused for a moment on the edge of the paper.
Then, he quietly reached his left hand into his suit pocket and touched the hard cover of his personal B5 notebook.
He didn't take it out.
Now is not the time.