Chapter 5 fourth quarter

"It was really unexpected. I didn't expect to see Kofu-senpai in such a place." After the funeral, Tsuda went to a cafe near Koanji Temple and talked with Kofu Yosuke with a nostalgic smile. Guofu looked at Tsuda with emotion, and said, "That's right, I am the same." At five o'clock in the afternoon, it was getting dark outside.There are almost no customers in the store. The Guofu secretly calculated and asked, "Have we not seen each other for two years?" "Yes, since the teacher's—" Tsuda consciously made a slip of the tongue, and couldn't help secretly looking at Guofu's expression.The government once quarreled with Yoshimura at the publication commemoration banquet of the two mentors Nishijima Toshisaku.Yoshimura is Tsuda's senior, and the government beat him up in public, which made Nishijima very unhappy.The Guofu, which is equivalent to being expelled from the division, has since disappeared. This is the first reunion of the two since then.Tongfu's face remained unchanged, and Tsuda happily continued the topic.

"I figured, it's been more than two years since that banquet." "It's so fast... It's been a few years in a flash." Guofu smiled and lit a cigarette.Kofu is ten years older than Tsuda, and is a senior in the Edo art history research class taught by Nishijima.The two were studying at the same university, but they never met each other on campus. Instead, they met while attending an alumni gathering of the West Island Research Class.Such gatherings are held several times a year. Most of the members attending the Alumni Association of the West Island Seminar have some relationship with Ukiyo-e.

Nishijima taught Ukiyo-e courses at the private Musashino University near Kichijoji, and his research on Toshusai Sara is the first in the world.His debut work "Writing Music Theory" published 20 years ago is not only known as a masterpiece, but also continues to be reprinted.Musashino University invited him as a lecturer because of the great success of "Shuyuelun". Universities often hold unpopular lectures of a special nature.Of course, the school has a purpose in opening its arms to Xidao. It is nothing more than wanting to use the name of Xidao to make a name for the newly established university.

Having said that, Musashino is a university of Japanese literature after all, and there are strong voices for not supporting the establishment of special lectures such as "Ukiyo-e".The school had no choice but to expand the concept and let him give lectures under the title of "History of Edo Art".Compared with West Island's social popularity, there are not many students who come to the class. Tsuda is the tenth student of the Nishijima Research Class.However, the total number of seniors who have attended the alumni association does not exceed sixty.On average, only six people attend lectures each year.This greatly stimulated Nishijima, who made him resolutely abandon the ambiguous teaching policy of "Edo Art History", completely changed the course content into Ukiyo-e lecture notes, and only kept the original lecture title; at the same time, he actively carried out research activities and wrote a large number of papers Contribute to art magazines and newspapers.Since Xi Dao was so active, his status in the school naturally rose all the way, and he became a professor in less than five years.

It is a special case for a lecturer to be promoted to professor when the number of attendees is very small.Nishijima's ukiyo-e research is indeed extraordinary.The knowledge of ukiyo-e has not yet been established. Throughout the country, there are very few universities that give relevant lectures, and there is no one who has devoted himself to the study of ukiyo-e and won the title of university professor, except Nishijima.The name of West Island has thus become very important.As his influence on the ukiyo-e world grows day by day, the proportion of graduates of the research class who go to work in art museums and magazines is also rising.Publishing houses or art museums involved in ukiyo-e can't refuse Nishijima's recommendation at all, because his ability is so great.Nishijima's authority continued to grow as his disciples took office.Kentaro Yoshimura was able to work in a private art museum as an artist student, which is naturally a blessing to Tosi Island.

Four years ago, when Tsuda graduated, Nishijima had the power to call the wind and the rain.The high employment rate of its students in the media industry has recently attracted the attention of the school. Even students who have no interest in ukiyo-e plan to take a seat in the research class.For Tsuda, who rejected the employment recommendation of the Fine Arts Publishing House and chose to stay in the research institute as an assistant, this is certainly not a pleasant rumor. Tsuda is twenty-six years old, and his four-year assistant career seems to be passing by. (Mr. Guofu is thirty-six years old...)

Guofu is the first class of students in Nishijima to teach at the school. After graduation, he went to a trading company that was insulated from Ukiyo-e. He clearly drew a line with Ukiyo-e, but he always appeared every time the alumni meeting was held. In front of Guofu, the alumni headed by Yoshimura all call him a senior brother. In fact, most of them regard Guofu, who is far away from the ukiyo-e world, as an alien, secretly ignoring him and alienating him. Somehow, only Tsuda was inexplicably cooperating with Guofu.