A large crowd had gathered outside the Mitsui Building today!
Anyone spotted wearing an Atlas employee badge was immediately swarmed and confronted.
"Who gave you permission to make a GG like that?! Do you have any idea how hard our beloved Sanada Hiroyuki-oniisan has to work?!"
Hideo Kojima struggled to reach the Atlas office, nearly dragged out by crazed fans who threatened to beat him into a pulp.
"This is terrifying!"
Kojima's eyes welled with tears. "They're telling me to get out of the entertainment industry! I haven't even entered the entertainment industry yet!"
Naka Yuji started to offer some comforting words, but Kojima muttered under his breath, "And I didn't even direct that GG."
Naka Yuji's sentence died in his throat. His eyes widened in shock.
"Kojima-kun, watch your tongue! Do you know what you're saying? At Atlas, the President is the sun—and the sun is never wrong."
Kojima instantly fell silent.
I almost forgot! How could I have said something like that?
Even though he wasn't the one who directed it, he still couldn't complain!
Seeing Kobayashi Tetsu casually stroll into the office, Hideo Kojima obediently shut his mouth, pretending he hadn't said a word.
"Oh, everyone's here. Kojima-kun, Nakahiro-kun."
Kobayashi Tetsu casually handed them the envelope in his hand. "This letter is quite interesting. You both should read it carefully."
"A fan letter?"
Hideo Kojima took the letter and skimmed through it, his eyes widening in shock.
The letter was from Akira Kurosawa, one of Japan's top directors.
In it, Kurosawa vehemently condemned Atlas for the sheer audacity of filming such a degrading GG, wasting Nakadai Tatsuya's talent. He declared that forcing a powerhouse actor like Nakadai Tatsuya to film such a low-brow GG was an absolute disgrace to the Japanese arts and literature scene. He also lambasted Hideo Kojima for his abysmal directing skills, suggesting he go back to basics and stop directing GGs altogether.
After reading the letter, Hideo Kojima burst into tears.
The worst part was, he wasn't even the one who directed this GG!
Still, receiving a letter from Akira Kurosawa was an unexpected surprise.
Seven Samurai, Rashomon, Kagemusha—
It was fair to say that Akira Kurosawa had been famous for thirty years already. In the post-war Japan of the 1950s, Kurosawa's status was unquestionable.
Placed in the context of today—even in the Japan of the 1990s—the name Akira Kurosawa had become more of a cultural symbol, a historical icon. Many people no longer even knew who he was.
But even so, Hideo Kojima was still deeply shaken.
"It's really Akira Kurosawa?!"
"Who else would it be?" Kobayashi Tetsu said. "Pack your things and come with me on a business trip. We're going far."
Kojima hurriedly asked, "Where to?"
Kobayashi Tetsu replied, "To find Akira Kurosawa. I want to see if he's willing to film a CG for me as Sima Yi."
Hideo Kojima gasped a Snake.
He started to feel that Kobayashi Tetsu might really be crazy!
He actually planned to have an old man like Akira Kurosawa, who was nearly eighty years old, film this kind of CG!
Hideo Kojima couldn't even imagine it!
Akira Kurosawa was about to turn eighty.
A person of that age could have completely retired to enjoy his later years.
Kurosawa was also basically at retirement age. After Kagemusha, his films had been on a downward trend. Although they won awards overseas, they performed poorly in terms of both awards and box office in Japan.
Although several Japanese awards were willing to honor Akira Kurosawa, their influence and prestige were insufficient. It was less a case of them choosing to give him an award, and more a case of them having to.
If you won't even give an award to Akira Kurosawa, how can your award have any authority?
In 1990, Akira Kurosawa would receive the Academy Honorary Award, becoming the first Asian filmmaker to do so.
But for now, at the end of 1988, Kurosawa was just a grumpy old man living out his days in the suburbs of Tokyo.
His wife had passed away four years ago. Now, aside from the maid who attended to his daily needs, only his children visited occasionally.
Not long ago, Kurosawa had seen a GG commercial on television, and it had infuriated him.
Throughout his career, he had filmed many sword-and-spear epics, always favoring actors with a unique aura and a rugged look—men like Mifune Toshiro and Nakadai Tatsuya, actors who radiated strong masculine energy.
And yet...
Nakadai Tatsuya had actually agreed to film a GG commercial just for the money!
Kurosawa was furious!
He first wrote a letter denouncing Nakadai Tatsuya for selling his integrity for a handful of rice. Then, he asked a friend to find Atlus Company's address and sent another letter to the company, lambasting Hideo Kojima for his poor quality as a director.
In the afternoon, in a small house in Tokyo's Shinagawa Ward, Akira Kurosawa lay in the courtyard under a blanket, sunbathing. His gaze was somewhat vacant as he stared absentmindedly at the withered branches in the courtyard, his thoughts lost in a haze.
After all, he was nearly eighty. It was already a rare feat to maintain a clear mind and continue producing work.
Just as his mind was wandering, he heard a brief commotion at the front gate.
He raised his eyes to the veranda. For a moment, his vision blurred, but then it cleared.
Two uninvited guests entered his residence, while his daughter, Kurosawa Kazuko, hurried after them. She was a step too late and could only offer him an apologetic expression.
Akira Kurosawa studied the two intruders. Both were young, in their twenties, but their faces clearly betrayed a difference in status.
One of them was trembling even at his fingertips, while the other scrutinized him as if examining a rare species in a zoo.
"Mr. Akira Kurosawa, I've heard a great deal about you. Allow me to introduce ourselves. This is Hideo Kojima, Kojima-kun. And I am Kobayashi Tetsu, President of Atlas."
Akira Kurosawa didn't spare Kojima a single glance, his gaze fixed directly on Kobayashi Tetsu.
"Get out. You are not welcome here."
If he had been a few years younger, he would have drawn his sword and slashed them both. But now, he could only sit in his rocking chair and glare at Kobayashi Tetsu and his companion.
"Ah, so the old age really does make you grumpy, huh?" Kobayashi Tetsu shook his head. Instead of continuing his conversation with Akira Kurosawa, he turned his attention to the director's daughter, Kurosawa Kazuko.
"Rather than glaring at me like that, you might want to consider how I found my way here. After all, Mr. Akira Kurosawa doesn't seem to have only one child."
Kazuko's expression shifted. She hurriedly apologized to her father and turned to leave.
Most likely, Akira Kurosawa's eldest son, Kurosawa Hisao, had leaked this secret.
Perhaps all children of geniuses share the same anxiety. Compared to Akira Kurosawa's monumental achievements, the accomplishments of his two children, Hisao and Kazuko, were rather unremarkable. Their greatest achievement was simply being Akira Kurosawa's children.
Precisely because they had achieved so little on their own, both of them held their father in extremely high regard.
After all, without Akira Kurosawa, what would "celebrity kids" like them even do?
After casually dismissing Kurosawa Kazuko, Kobayashi Tetsu finally turned his gaze to Akira Kurosawa.
"Actually, you don't need to be in such a hurry to send me away. Even if you won't do it for your own sake, you should at least consider your children. You surely don't believe they can build a career of their own, do you? I've always been blunt, so forgive my plain speaking: one day, when you pass away, your children will likely come to blows over who gets to keep the name 'Akira Kurosawa.' You might be a traditionalist who favors his son, but is that really how you want things to end?"
Kobayashi Tetsu's persuasive words struck Akira Kurosawa like a hammer blow.
Kobayashi Tetsu had hit his greatest fear on the head.
The eighty-year-old Akira Kurosawa was still making movies precisely because he had to ensure his children's future. Without his reputation as the "Emperor of Cinema," his children would be absolutely nothing.
Kurosawa Hisao's greatest claim to fame was serving as a producer on Akira Kurosawa's films, and Kurosawa Kazuko's greatest achievement was working as a costume designer on them.
Like every veteran in the entertainment industry with children, he was already worried sick about them.
Seeing Akira Kurosawa's eyelids tremble as he remained silent for a long time, Kobayashi Tetsu finally gestured for him to be seated. "Now, can we talk properly?"
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