SWDnovel Chapter 349 Kyoto's Answer
Chapter 349 Kyoto's Answer
On the same day, at 2:40 p.m.
Tokyo.
The main residence of Saionji Temple, the study.
Endo spread the four newspaper clippings out on the table.
Each copy was secured with a transparent clip, and the date and source were marked in red ballpoint pen in the corner.
First issue: Kansai Financial News, November 10th, page 3 – "The Hunt for Tokyo Capital"
Second document: Excerpt from the Kyoto Prefectural Chamber of Commerce and Industry's internal weekend briefing—quoting the first sentence of the main text.
The third article, published in the afternoon economics section of a local Kobe newspaper, was titled "Who Will Protect the Accounts of Kansai Manufacturing?" and was signed by a retired former Vice Minister of Economic Affairs. The content was more inflammatory than the original, directly quoting the phrase "forced to change surname."
The fourth item: a preview of the catalog of a business relations magazine called "Senba, Kitahama and Marunouchi"—the late November issue will feature a special topic: "Local Autonomy in the Credit Crisis".
"Three days," Endo said. "From the first article being published to the third follow-up, it only took three days."
Satsuki sat behind her desk. Her gaze moved slowly from the first clipping to the fourth, flipping through each one to the very end.
"What's the name of the person who signed the Kobe article?"
"Toshio Maeda. Former deputy head of the economics department of the Moho newspaper, he retired six years ago and is now a freelance writer for several local financial magazines." Endo pulled out an index card. "Whether he has direct contact with Kitashinchi is currently uncertain. But his network of contacts before retirement intersected with Yasui."
"Um."
Satsuki put down the third clipping and paused for a second on the fourth preview catalog.
"What is the relationship between the editor of this chamber of commerce magazine and Urakami?"
"I checked. The editor-in-chief is the cousin of the former secretary-general of the Baishui Association."
Satsuki smiled.
"We split into three groups," she said.
Endo waits.
"The local financial publications are about rules—the old tradition of Kansai's commercial self-governance." Satsuki's fingertips tapped on three clippings in turn. "The Chamber of Commerce's magazine is about risks—foreign capital interfering with the local credit system. Kobe's local newspaper is about feelings—the roots of Senba for hundreds of years."
She paused for a moment.
"It looks like three different people, each writing down their concerns from a different perspective."
Endo was silent for two seconds.
"They wrote very restrainedly," he said. "They didn't name names, didn't mention Ito Man, and didn't mention any specific bad debts of Sumitomo Bank. I showed it to the Ministry of Justice—at present, the wording of these articles stays within the scope of freedom of commentary, making it difficult to constitute defamation."
"Of course it's difficult." Satsuki leaned back in her chair. "Because they didn't defend the bank at all."
Endo looked up.
"Uragami is very smart."
"The bank is already corrupt, and Ito Man's hole can't be plugged. He can't suppress these facts, so he simply doesn't try to suppress them."
"Admitting that there are problems with the banks and that the financial system is flawed makes the comments seem fair."
"Then he poured the dirty water into the 'Kansai' well."
Satsuki reached out and picked up the slightly cool cup of tea, glanced at it, and then put it back.
"Let everyone think—the water is dirty, but at least it's our own dirty water. Outsiders stirring it up will only make it dirtier."
Endo nodded.
"Any news from Sumitomo Metal today?"
"Uchida didn't call," Endo said. "There was supposed to be a routine confirmation call this afternoon. The secretariat said Sumitomo Metal canceled it."
"Where's Sumitomo Electric Industries?"
"Kawaguchi hasn't submitted any documents either. He prepared a batch of Southeast Asian settlement details last week..." Endo paused, "but it's been delayed, and he hasn't given a reason yet."
"Sumitomo Light Metals?"
"It's very quiet over there in Hashimoto."
Satsuki did not show any surprise.
She picked up a pen and drew a horizontal line on the sticky note in front of her.
The word "bank" was written on the left end of the horizontal line, and "manufacturing" was written on the right end. There was an "X" in the middle.
"Kanto and Kansai." She put down her pen. "The battlefields these opponents chose were more accurate than I expected."
Endo leaned forward slightly.
"In Japan, things are often not driven by numbers and laws," Satsuki said, "especially in the Kansai region."
She stood up and walked to the bookshelf. On the third shelf was a row of old books, most of which were left behind by Xiu Yi when he was young.
She pulled out a cloth-bound booklet; the gold lettering on the cover had faded considerably, leaving only a few blurry outlines of "History of the Kansai Financial World."
"Osaka's commercial tradition is much older than Tokyo's." She flipped through a few pages, then closed them. "The wholesaler system in Senba started in the Toyotomi era. Kitahama's rice market was the earliest prototype of futures trading in Japan. Kyoto's Nishijin textiles and Shimizu ware—the rules governing those supply chains predate the Meiji Restoration by three hundred years."
"But after the Meiji Restoration, money and power flowed to Tokyo. Marunouchi rose to prominence, Nihonbashi rose to prominence. The government was in Tokyo, the central bank was in Tokyo, and the Ministry of Finance was in Tokyo."
"Osaka businessmen have been stripped of their financial influence, but they've retained one thing—"
She put the old book back.
"--The rules of doing business."
Endo listened quietly.
"Kansai people believe in 'long-term trading'—trading relationships that have lasted for decades or even centuries."
"You've done business with me for three generations, so I'll trust you for three generations. Your father drank with my father, so your credibility is even greater."
"This kind of thing can't be included in accounting statements. But in the Kansai trading market, it's more valuable than a bank's credit rating."
Satsuki returned to the table and sat down.
"That's the card Urakami is playing."
She picked up the first clipping, her finger pausing on the words "forced to change her surname".
"From a financial technology perspective, everything we did in Kansai was compliant at every step. The letters of credit were issued cleanly, the bills of lading were amended neatly, and the margin was in our own US dollars."
"But in Urakami's narrative, all of this is translated into something else—Tokyoites have come and want to change the rules of Kansai."
She put down the newspaper clipping.
"Manufacturing company presidents hate banks for cheating them out of their money. But being exposed like that by Tokyoites is something they can't stand."
Endo remained silent for a moment.
"So how do we respond?" he asked. "Should we activate the media networks we can mobilize in Tokyo?"
Satsuki shook her head.
"Argue with them?" she said. "If we start arguing, we'll really become 'Tokyo Capital.' Every time the name 'Saionji' appears in the text, Urakami's narrative wins a point."
"That……"
"Those pens we keep in Kansai," Satsuki said, "are not for exchanging insults with them from afar."
She paused for a moment.
"Let the people of Kansai say for themselves—Saionji is not an outsider."
Endo thought for a moment.
"How can we get them to talk?"
Satsuki did not answer immediately. Her gaze fell on the words "Marunouchi" on the clipping.
Those three words were highlighted in bold in the local Kobe newspaper, making them particularly eye-catching.
"They say we are Tokyo capital."
Satsuki's fingertips gently traced those three words, and she smiled softly.
"But did the surname 'Saionji' originate from Marunouchi?"
Endo was slightly taken aback.
He realized what was happening.
Saionji Temple.
As a Tsinghua University graduate, I am from a government-affiliated family.
The roots of this surname are in Kyoto.
Its origins can be traced back to the Kanin school of the Fujiwara Kita family. The Saionji family got its name from "Saionji Temple" in Kitayama, Kyoto—a Buddhist temple built by Saionji Kinkei during the Kamakura period (1185-1333).
The Saionji family's old house, temple, and land in Kyoto predate the history of Senba and are older than the Kitahama rice market.
If someone wants to play the "hundreds of years of roots" card in Kansai—
The Saionji family's roots run deeper than any of them combined.
If we're talking about seniority, there aren't many like them in the entire Kansai region, let alone in all of Japan.
Moreover, the Saionji family has more than just its own name...
Just as Endo was about to speak, there was a gentle knock on the study door.
"Please come in."
Fujita pushed open the door. His posture was as upright as usual, his back straight, his gaze level. But he stood in the doorway for a beat longer than usual—about half a second.
"Miss," Fujita said, "someone from the Kujo family in Kyoto has arrived."
Satsuki's fingers stopped on the clipping.
"The one who came was the head maidservant of Lady Kujo," Fujita paused for a moment, "whose name is Matsumuro Chizuru."
Endo turned to look at Satsuki.
The Kujo family.
One of the Five Photographers.
The Kujō family was a top-tier noble family, second only to the Konoe (Prince of the Imperial Guard) among the nobility. After the Meiji Restoration, the Kujō family was granted the title of Duke, placing them alongside the Saionji family at the very top of the nobility.
Lady Kujo—the mother of the current head of the family—is a name that everyone in the old Kyoto social circles would lower their voices when they mention her.
She doesn't care about politics, business, or money.
She's in charge of the rules.
The rules within the old aristocratic circles of Kyoto.
Whose daughter can wear a twelve-layered kimono to attend the New Year ceremony, whose eldest son can serve as the envoy in the Aoi Festival—these things all require her approval.
Satsuki looked at Fujita, her expression unchanged.
She put down the newspaper clipping in her hand and covered the line "forced to change her surname".
"Please invite her to the Japanese-style room."
"Yes." Fujita left.
Endo watched as Satsuki got up, neatly stacked the four newspaper clippings on the table, and pushed them to the corner of the table.
"You expected this all along?" he asked.
Satsuki did not give a direct answer.
She walked to the coat rack, changed out of the wool cardigan she was wearing in the study, and straightened the collar.
"Mr. Urakami moved the battlefield to Kansai."
She turned around at the door and smiled slightly.
"Then let Kyoto answer that."