The applause went on for a long time.
It only began to fade once Professor Ogasawara circled back around the other side of the podium, retook the microphone, and offered a few closing pleasantries.
The atmosphere in Yasuda Auditorium had completely changed.
If, before the symposium began, the professors had seen it as just another routine affair — praise a promising newcomer, then enjoy a few days of expense-account dining —
then now, their eyes held only one thing: hunger.
The hunger to leave their names in history.
Even the professors from linguistics, photography, theater, and history who'd come just to watch the spectacle out of idle curiosity had started scheming.
Hadn't they heard him say this was a massive, systematic undertaking? Beyond literature and the arts, plenty of adjacent disciplines could get a slice of the pie.
The three officials from the Ministry of Education rose from their seats slightly right of center. After a brief murmured exchange, the eldest of them, his hair streaked with gray, sat back down.
He pulled a thick folder from his briefcase, opened it to the first page, and wrote in neat, careful strokes: 'Mono no Aware Compilation Committee (Provisional).'
The two colleagues beside him exchanged a glance. Neither spoke, but they understood each other perfectly.
This was something they had to seize control of before the Agency for Cultural Affairs did.
The middle-aged representative from the Imperial Household Agency still sat in the far right corner of the front row.
But anyone watching closely would have noticed the faintest upward curl at the corner of his otherwise expressionless mouth.
He drew a black phone from his suit's inner pocket, the screen's faint glow washing over his face.
His thumb tapped a few quick keys before he slid the phone back into his pocket.
The whole thing took less than thirty seconds, and no one noticed.
At that moment, Professor Ogasawara made his way over to Tsushima Kagami.
"Kagami, what a brilliant argument that was."
The moment he sat down, Professor Ogasawara clapped Tsushima Kagami on the shoulder, hard enough to rock him sideways.
"That concept of yours — mono no aware — could you elaborate a bit more?"
"Like the painting and music you mentioned — how exactly does it manifest there?"
Professor Kosaka, unable to watch any longer, reached over and pried Professor Matsushita's hand off Tsushima Kagami's shoulder.
"Take it easy — this boy isn't one of your Waseda baseball players."
"I couldn't help it, I got excited!"
Professor Ogasawara shot Kosaka a glare, but he did pull his hand back.
His tone softened a little too.
"Kagami, that idea of yours — that simplicity is blank space, and blank space carries lingering resonance — that's fascinating.
"But I've been wondering, could we push it a step further?"
"Tea ceremony, flower arranging, even Noh theater — could mono no aware explain those too?"
Tsushima Kagami turned his head and studied Professor Matsushita seriously.
This chubby old man really did have sharp instincts.
"Professor Matsushita is right."
Tsushima Kagami nodded.
"At its core, mono no aware is the unity of heart and object — an intuitive emotional resonance."
"The 'harmony, reverence, purity, tranquility' of the tea ceremony, the beauty of ikebana in flower arranging, the charm of yūgen in Noh — all of them, at their core, use simplified form to stir something deep in the viewer: loneliness, emotion, or awe."
"All of these can be brought under the umbrella of mono no aware."
Professor Matsushita's eyes lit up.
"Then the masks in Noh theater…"
He leaned in.
"That half-smiling, half-weeping expression on a Noh mask — is that also an expression of mono no aware?"
"It doesn't convey a single emotion. It lets the viewer see something different depending on their own state of mind."
"Isn't that exactly the 'lingering resonance' you mentioned earlier?"
"Exactly."
Before Tsushima Kagami could answer, Professor Matsushita's voice cut in from the side.
At some point the old man had moved up and sat down from the back row.
He stood beside Tsushima Kagami's seat, arms crossed, chin lifted slightly, wearing an expression that said 'I thought of this ages ago.'
But a closer look would have revealed a hint of pride he couldn't quite hide at the corner of his eye.
It wasn't because his own theory had been confirmed — it was because he'd realized he'd chosen the right direction all along.
"Ogasawara, you've finally hit the nail on the head."
"I've studied Noh for twenty years. I always felt that 'a thousand expressions within no expression' on those masks was the essence of Japanese aesthetics, but I could never find the right concept to capture it."
"Today, Kagami's mono no aware fills that gap perfectly."
"Professor Ogasawara studies Noh theater?"
Tsushima Kagami looked at him, a little surprised.
"Ha, just a hobby from my younger days."
Professor Ogasawara seemed to drift into nostalgia.
"Every Saturday I'd go watch performances in Kanazawa, rain or shine.
"My wife and kids always said nobody watches that stuff anymore, but once you've seen Noh, you can never let it go."
As he said it, his eyes held a light only genuine love could produce.
Watching him, Tsushima Kagami suddenly found the old man rather endearing.
"Then has Professor Ogasawara ever considered—"
Tsushima Kagami paused, his tone turning more serious.
"—systematically compiling the elements of mono no aware within Noh theater?"
"The masks, the chants, the dance forms — every part of it carries that 'thousand expressions within no expression' you just described."
"If you turned it into a dedicated monograph, it would be an important addition to completing the mono no aware literary framework."
Professor Ogasawara froze.
He opened his mouth, then closed it again.
His throat bobbed, as if he were swallowing something scalding hot.
"That's... actually a very good direction."
"But — is this really all right?"
Professor Ogasawara looked at Tsushima Kagami, then over at Professor Kosaka and the other two.
After all, the idea had come from Tsushima Kagami. Even if he didn't write it himself, by the logic of 'keeping the fat within the family,' it should go to some other professor in the University of Tokyo's Faculty of Letters.
But Professor Kosaka and the other two said nothing.
"Of course."
Tsushima Kagami smiled.
"In this particular field, I doubt anyone here has more authority to speak than you do.
"That said, you'll still need to keep up with your regular duties too."
A figure of Professor Ogasawara's standing would, without question, be invited straight into the committee's core.
He'd opened the topic himself, and it wasn't exactly a heavyweight subject anyway — just a favor granted along the way.
As for everyone else, they'd have to compete for their positions depending on their specialty.
Professor Ogasawara drew a deep breath, then slowly let it out.
He nodded solemnly.
"Then, thank you again, Kagami."
"I'll remember this favor."
Professor Takeuchi had been sitting quietly to Tsushima Kagami's left the whole time.
Listening to the exchange, her pen had been moving and pausing over a small notebook.
Now she finally looked up and glanced at Tsushima Kagami.
In that glance was relief, pride, and a touch of indescribable emotion.
She remembered two years ago, when Professor Kosaka had dragged her and Professor Matsushita to Kobayashi Tomoaki's office, where they'd first read Tsushima Kagami's The Setting Sun and been stunned by its brilliance.
She'd thought this young man might rise quickly and become the new literary giant to carry Japanese literature forward.
But she hadn't expected that path to a literary giant would take him only a year.
And even more unimaginable—
—was that this freshman, barely a month into the University of Tokyo's Faculty of Letters, now stood in Yasuda Auditorium delivering a lecture to the nation's top professors.
More than that, through his efforts alone, he was driving forward a national cultural project significant enough to be recorded in history and academic literature.
It was something none of the professors present, nor even the literary giants of the field, could have accomplished.
And she had stood beside this young man from the very beginning, watching it all unfold.
"Professor Takeuchi."
Tsushima Kagami's voice pulled her back from her thoughts.
"Mm?"
She blinked, coming back to herself.
"Earlier on stage, I mentioned your research along with Professor Kosaka's and Professor Matsushita's."
"That draft on the mono no aware literary framework still needs your polish."
"My writing is still too rough, and my grounding in the relevant scholarship isn't solid enough. I'll need you to keep helping me refine it."
"My graduation thesis will depend entirely on you, Professor Takeuchi."
Professor Takeuchi blinked in surprise, then laughed.
"Kagami, once you graduate, would you be interested in coming to grad school for a master's under me?"
In Japan, a daigakuin is a graduate school, and a shūshi is a master's student.
Watching nearby, Professor Kosaka couldn't keep the smile off his face.
Until he heard that this Takeuchi woman was poaching right under his nose — how could he stand for that!
If Kagami were to pursue a master's, it should obviously be under him.
But he'd already asked Tsushima Kagami about his intentions before.
And it was clear Tsushima Kagami had no interest in continuing his studies.
So Professor Kosaka spoke up on his behalf.
"Kagami's youth is precious, you know."
"He needs it for more meaningful pursuits."
"I suspect there's not much left that us old fossils could teach him anyway."
"Let's not waste his years keeping him stuck in grad school."
The University of Tokyo students nearby all heard Professor Kosaka's words.
Instantly, envy twisted their faces beyond recognition.
They themselves would have begged for a chance at a master's slot under one of these professors and still not gotten it.
And here was Tsushima Kagami, a junior barely a month into his studies, not only invited by Professor Takeuchi but told outright by Professor Kosaka that grad school would be a waste of his time.
Was that even a reasonable thing to say?
"How would that be a waste of time?"
"Just put your name under mine."
"It doesn't matter whether you actually show up — just focus on your own affairs.
"I'll handle everything about your graduation myself."
Professor Takeuchi's words drew another round of murmured astonishment from the students nearby.
Even the professors from other schools understood exactly what was happening.
This wasn't inviting Tsushima Kagami to grad school — it was using him to burnish her own credentials.
Wow, not even bothering to keep up appearances anymore! Has academic integrity at the University of Tokyo really fallen this far?
"Then once Kagami finishes his master's under Takeuchi, he can come do his doctorate with me."
"Just do your own thing — I'll handle the graduation requirements!"
Professor Matsushita's eyes lit up, and he cut in quickly before Professor Kosaka could speak.
The Waseda professors behind him nodded in unison, all eyes on Tsushima Kagami.
Right, why should someone this exceptional be stuck at Tokyo forever?
He'd only come here for undergrad as a favor to old man Kosaka — that debt was settled now.
Time for him to come enjoy himself at Waseda next.
At that, Professor Ogasawara's mind opened up too.
He jumped right in.
"Then for his postdoc, Kagami can come to Kyoto University."
"We have the best postdoctoral research stations anywhere."
"Whether it's the academic environment or the facilities."
"You could just drop by for tea whenever you like."
The other Kyoto University professors nearby nodded in firm agreement.
That was how it should be — everyone getting a fair share.
You're happy, I'm happy, everybody's happy, right?
The professors from other universities started scheming too.
Though the undergraduate, master's, doctoral, and postdoc slots all seemed to be spoken for already.
They could still offer positions like visiting professor, adjunct professor, or honorary professor.
Even a full professorship wasn't out of the question!
Surely no university president would be foolish enough to refuse trading a title like that for a Tsushima Kagami!
With Professor Kosaka fighting a losing battle alone, unable to stop the growing crowd of professors from other schools swooping in to poach Kagami,
everyone's stomachs finally won out, and the crowd began to disperse.
Row after row of seats gradually emptied.
The professors rose in twos and threes, and before leaving, each stopped by Tsushima Kagami to hand over a business card, shake hands, and exchange pleasantries.
They offered words like 'congratulations,' 'this was truly enlightening,' and 'looking forward to working together.'
Professor Kosaka, Professor Takeuchi, Professor Matsushita, and Professor Ogasawara all took turns making introductions.
Tsushima Kagami answered each one in turn, neither servile nor arrogant, his pace measured, leaving every person their due dignity.
About half an hour later, Yasuda Auditorium had finally emptied out.
The students in the back rows had left first — most had come just to catch a glimpse of the literary prodigy, and once the symposium ended, they didn't linger.
The reporters left next; the NHK cameraman, hauling his camera, was the last to go, but not before swinging by the front row to shoot a ten-odd-second close-up of Tsushima Kagami.
In the frame, Tsushima Kagami had his head turned, speaking with Professor Kosaka, his profile clean and sharp,
and behind him, the whiteboard still bore the words 'Mono no Aware Literature.'
The three Ministry of Education officials left rather late.
Before leaving, the gray-haired senior official made a point of walking up to Tsushima Kagami and handing over a business card with both hands.
"Mr. Tsushima, I'm Yoshida, from the Ministry of Education."
"Today's lecture was outstanding."
"Regarding the Mono no Aware Compilation Committee, the Ministry of Education will lend its full support."
"I'll send someone to the University of Tokyo next week to work out the details."
Tsushima Kagami took the card and glanced down at it: Yoshida Shoichi, Director of the Ministry of Education's Cultural Affairs Bureau.
"Thank you for your trouble, Director Yoshida."
Tsushima Kagami gave a slight bow, his tone carrying just the right measure of respect.
Yoshida Shoichi nodded, said nothing more, and turned to leave with his two colleagues.
The middle-aged representative from the Imperial Household Agency was the last to leave.
He rose from the far right corner of the front row, straightened the hem of his suit jacket, and walked straight toward Tsushima Kagami.
Reaching him, he gave a small but properly formed bow.
"Mr. Tsushima, I'm Akiyama, of the Imperial Household Agency's Chamberlain's Office.
His voice was low and even, devoid of any emotion.
"His Majesty has taken great interest in today's proceedings and specifically sent me to attend as an observer.
"His Majesty's wish is that, should the concept of mono no aware truly come to represent Japanese culture, the Imperial Household Agency would be willing to provide all necessary assistance.
"Please convey my gratitude to His Majesty."
Tsushima Kagami bowed slightly, his tone measured and dignified.
"If the Mono no Aware Compilation Committee's work could have the Imperial Household Agency's participation and support, it would be the highest honor."
Akiyama nodded, his expression still unreadable, but anyone watching closely might have noticed his eyes had softened slightly.
"I'll pass that along."
With that, Akiyama turned and left.
The auditorium finally fell quiet.
Only Tsushima Kagami, Professor Kosaka, Professor Takeuchi, Professor Matsushita, and Professor Ogasawara remained.
"Tired?" Professor Kosaka broke the silence, his voice far gentler than usual.
Tsushima Kagami shook his head.
"I'm fine."
"'Fine,' he says."
Professor Kosaka reached over and gave his shoulder a light pat.
Professor Matsushita rose from his seat and stretched with a big yawn, his joints cracking in a series of pops.
He rolled his neck, then turned to look at Tsushima Kagami, his tone suddenly turning serious.
"I've spent decades knocking around Waseda. I don't have much talent, but I do know how to read people.
Professor Matsushita paused, his gaze settling on Tsushima Kagami.
"This treasure trove — mono no aware — you could have dug it up all by yourself, written it all yourself, and published it alone after graduation.
"I've lived long enough to have met plenty of smart people, and plenty of good ones too.
"But someone this smart and this generous at the same time — you're the first I've met."
Tsushima Kagami looked at Professor Matsushita and laughed too.
"Professor Matsushita, you flatter me."
"Flatter, my ass."
Professor Matsushita waved a big hand, his cheerful grin returning.
"I know exactly what I'm saying. No flattery involved."
He stood, brushed the wrinkles from his trousers, and headed for the auditorium door.
"Anyway, I'm off to eat."
Only three people remained in the hall.
Professor Kosaka leaned back in his chair, gazing up at the ceiling of Yasuda Auditorium.
High overhead, Western-style decorative patterns adorned the ceiling, looking solemn and stately in the light filtering through the stained-glass windows.
"Kagami."
Professor Kosaka spoke suddenly.
"Mm?"
"When you first came to me and said you wanted to define the core of Japanese literature, I thought you'd lost your mind."
Tsushima Kagami turned to look at Professor Kosaka's profile.
Sunlight fell across the old man's face, making his white hair gleam like strands of silver.
"And now?"
Tsushima Kagami asked, smiling.
Professor Kosaka didn't answer right away.
He was quiet for a moment, then laughed too.
"Now, huh…"
He turned to look at Tsushima Kagami.
"Now I think I'm the one going mad."
"You made me feel like, even at my age, I could still do something more.
Professor Kosaka's voice carried an unmistakable note of emotion.
Tsushima Kagami said nothing.
"Let's go."
Tsushima Kagami stood and straightened his suit jacket.
"Professor Takeuchi, if you could refine that draft over the next couple of days, I'd appreciate it."
Just as the group was about to walk out of Yasuda Auditorium together, a group of girls came through the entrance.
"Kagami, you looked so cool up there giving your speech!"
Sayuri sprinted straight into Tsushima Kagami's arms.
Only then did Tsushima Kagami notice that Yukinoshita Shizuku and Seika had come too, along with the others.
"Grandpa, I brought you a bento."
"How enviable, having a granddaughter deliver lunch in person."
Professor Ogasawara remarked from the side.
"Looks to me like it was just an afterthought."
Professor Kosaka said as much, but he happily accepted the bento all the same.
"Professor Takeuchi, Professor Ogasawara, I brought some for you two as well."
"You brought some for us too?"
Takeuchi and Ogasawara accepted the bento boxes, both looking pleasantly surprised.
Then they looked at Kosaka Akane standing before them, glanced over the other girls, and finally settled on Sayuri.
"Ah-ha, hello, Professors. Hello, Professor Takeuchi."
Only then did Sayuri notice that Professor Takeuchi, who had interviewed her before, was also there.
Embarrassed, she let go of Tsushima Kagami
and greeted everyone properly.
"Well, since we've got bentos, let's all go eat in my office."
Professor Kosaka said with a smile, gesturing for Takeuchi and Ogasawara to follow.
"Then I won't stand on ceremony.
"Honestly, too bad that old fool Matsushita missed out.
"Serves him right for running off so fast."
Talking among themselves, the three professors walked out of the hall.
Professor Ogasawara suddenly said, with a knowing smile,
"Kagami probably has plenty of troubles of his own these days."
Professor Kosaka laughed too.
"Ha ha ha, what kind of young man isn't a bit of a romantic?"
"Especially a young man like Kagami."
"Then poor Akane's in for some trouble.
"Not that you're helping her much.
"You didn't even stop her from applying to Tokyo in the first place."
Professor Takeuchi chuckled beside them.
"That was her own choice."
"Us old fossils shouldn't meddle in young people's affairs."
"Worst case, I'll just raise the grandkid myself.
"I refuse to believe that three generations running couldn't produce one descendant with an interest in literature!"
There was a trace of regret in Professor Kosaka's voice.
"That's quite the calculation you're running there."
Professor Ogasawara said with a laugh.
"Ha ha ha—"
The three of them burst out laughing together.
Inside Yasuda Auditorium,
Tsushima Kagami watched them all, laughing too.
"What are you all doing here?"
____
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