Discovering the Joy of Literature at Shiki High School: A Novel Debut Inspired by Student Life at Keio

- Were you an avid reader as a child?

Not at all. When I was in elementary school, I read nothing but manga, mainly Weekly Shonen Sunday and Weekly Shonen Jump. I can't recall reading many novels at all. The only ones I remember are works by Kaoru Hayamine from Kodansha's children's series Aoitori Bunko, which were quite popular with my classmates. Coincidentally, Kodansha is also the publisher that's releasing my book now. I liked bugs, so I recall reading Fabre's Book of Insects. I loved video games, too, so most of my conversations with friends were about manga or games. When I got to junior high, friends recommended authors like Keigo Higashino and Kotaro Isaka, and I started enjoying their mystery novels. But, if anything, I felt I struggled with the Japanese language as a subject. I always believed I was hopeless at writing and essays, so I never imagined I'd one day write novels myself.

- You attended a different affiliated elementary school and junior high, so why did you decide to change schools and go to Keio Shiki Senior High School?

The simple answer is, I didn't want to take university entrance exams. When I entered junior high, the school's curriculum became all about university entrance exams. I didn't dislike studying itself, but I stopped enjoying my classes. I didn't want to have to keep studying for university entrance exams in high school, so I decided to aim for a high school that would allow me to move straight onto university. I thought that would make my high school life more enjoyable. So in my second year of junior high, I started going to a cram school to prepare for the high school entrance exams. At the same time, I attended information sessions, mainly for high schools affiliated with Keio and Waseda, and I found myself especially drawn to Keio Shiki Senior High School. Since it was originally an agricultural high school, there was plenty of space on campus, and it was full of nature. I had a strong sense that I'd be able to grow at my own pace over my three years there. At the fall open house, I noticed the persimmon trees in the schoolyard were full of fruit. The principal at the time told us we could take home any fallen persimmons we found. That really stuck with me, and I decided to make Shiki High my top choice. After enrolling, I realized many of my classmates had also come from other junior highs. The campus was so green and full of nature that my image of Keio as a typical urban school completely changed (laughs)!

- Was it through your Japanese classes at Shiki High that you first encountered literature?

Yes, it was in Japanese class during my second year of high school that I became captivated by Osamu Dazai. Perhaps because the previous year had been the 100th anniversary of Dazai's birth, my Japanese teacher, Mr. Jun Ozawa, who had a deep knowledge of modern literature, devoted the entire year to examining each story in The Final Years, Dazai's first short story collection. Alongside that, he also included Doraemon by Fujiko F. Fujio, making for a truly unique and groundbreaking class. It was really fun. The teachers at Shiki High all drew on their own areas of expertise to create unique and engaging lessons. Once I was there, I felt genuinely glad that I had chosen to study there.

Before taking Mr. Ozawa's class, my only knowledge of Dazai came from textbook works like Run, Melos! But through his lessons, I discovered just how experimental and avant-garde Dazai truly was, and I found myself constantly in awe of him. The short story "Leaves," one of the first stories in The Final Years, is made up of 36 vignettes. To me, it felt a lot like modern-day social media. His other works also brimmed with inventive storytelling, shifts in narrative perspective, and meta-fictional structures, techniques that still feel fresh today. Every time I read one, I was struck by how original they felt. As a result, the value of novels rose dramatically in my mind, and before long, I found myself wanting to try writing one myself.

- So you just started writing novels, even though you'd never written anything before?

I was writing one before I knew it. I admired experimental and avant-garde works, but first I tried to master the basics of novel writing, borrowing flavors from my favorite writers and manga artists to create my own stories. I was also passionate about music, and at Shiki High, I sang in the Wagner Society Men's Choir. I take some pride in the fact that we were the only choir in Shiki High's history to have reached the national finals while I was there (laughs). I poured myself into choir activities, but over time, writing began to take priority. I started turning out stories between ten and fifty pages every two or three months. By the time I graduated, I'd written seven or eight short stories and three longer novels, which were anywhere from 100 to 250 pages long. I entered all of them in various literary competitions, but not a single one made it past the first round. When it came time to go to university, I figured making a living as a novelist wasn't realistic, so I set my sights on becoming a certified public accountant.

- Why did you decide to become an accountant?

My father worked as a CPA at a tax firm, so I figured if I had the certification, I could avoid the whole job-hunting process. Our generation lived through the so-called "employment ice age," so as someone who's not good at selling myself in interviews, I didn't think I could compete in that job market. But I figured I could always get a qualification as long as I studied hard. I pictured myself leading a stable life as a CPA, writing novels on the side.

- So you continued writing novels at university, even as you took classes at the Faculty of Business and Commerce and prepared for the CPA exam?

Yes. Sometimes, I would sit in on classes in the Faculty of Letters and continue my creative work with the Mita Bungaku Student Group, Keio's official student group for literature and part of the Federation of Cultural Clubs, all while studying for the CPA exam. Those of us who came from integrated schools didn't have to take university entrance exams, so we had a bit of extra time and energy. When I passed the CPA exam in my third year at Keio, I felt a great sense of relief.

- Did you keep submitting your work for literary prizes as well?

I sure did. But I kept getting knocked out in the preliminary rounds of local literary awards and magazine newcomer prizes, so I started to wonder if literature would remain just a hobby for me. Still, I was determined not to have any regrets, so I poured everything into my work and submitted it to the Gunzo Award for New Writers for pure literature in my first year of university. For the first time, I made it past the first and second rounds, reaching the semi-finals. In the end, I didn't win, but it was around then that I started connecting with more literary friends through social media. They told me my work was interesting, and when I was on the verge of giving up on becoming a novelist, they encouraged me to keep writing. Actually, one of my friends I met in a class at the Faculty of Letters once said to me that they were convinced I'd become a novelist. But after that, even if I occasionally passed the first round for newcomer magazine prizes, I never actually won any.

- So after graduating, did you continue to write while you worked at an auditing firm?

Yes. Yes. I kept submitting my work to some of Japan's most renowned literary magazines, including Bungei, Shincho, and Subaru, but I never won any awards, and after a while, I felt completely defeated. It was soul crushing. A few of my literary friends I met on social media had already debuted as writers, and they'd tell me that they couldn't wait for me to make my debut as an author. But at that point, at the height of my disappointment, I messaged back: "I'm done." Then one of them suggested, "Why not try switching from 'pure literature' to something with mass appeal?" The first time I made it through a preliminary round was for a "pure literature" magazine's newcomer prize, so I assumed that was where I belonged, but my friends didn't necessarily agree. So I decided to make a clean break and try my hand at popular fiction. And if that didn't work, I figured I could finally call it quits. I went back to studying mystery-writing techniques, and, inspired by my memories of Shiki High, I wrote Dead Yamada and His Classroom, which won the Mephisto Prize in 2023.


- The setting, Class 2-E, was where you studied during your time at Shiki High, is that right?

Yes. I modeled the protagonist, "Yamada," after myself, and the other characters also embody traits that I and my classmates shared back then. Writing novels comes with its share of struggles and doubts, but it's the absolute thrill I get from writing that's kept me going. And this was the first time my efforts were truly rewarded. I really don't think I would have been able to write it without those three years at Shiki High, where I met so many friends and discovered the joy of literature.


- I hear you're already working on your next book for publication?

In the first half of 2025, I plan to release a series of interconnected love stories, a short story anthology with a style distinct from my Dead trilogy. I'm also toying with the idea of writing a "desert island" mystery inspired by Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None, though that's still in a conceptual phase. I'm already thinking about future projects, and there's no shortage of topics I want to explore. I hope to keep writing all kinds of fiction, without confining myself to any single genre.

- What kind of aspirations do you have for yourself as a writer?

I left my day job at the audit firm and am now writing full-time, but my enjoyment of the craft hasn't changed at all. So I want to stay true to the pursuit of freedom and enjoyment in my writing—in writing about what interests me—not simply as a way to make a living. If I ever find that I can't support myself as a writer, I can always return to being a CPA. As for my ideals as a writer, Osamu Dazai has remained a towering presence since I first discovered him in high school. I've read and been influenced by many contemporary authors, but whenever I reread Dazai, I'm struck by how innovative his storytelling and novel structures still feel today. Dazai will always remain my greatest inspiration.

- Could you say a few final words to current students?

If I could say one thing, it's this: enjoy the process of learning. My university years were a difficult time for me as I struggled with repeated rejection from literary awards, but I always enjoyed the act of learning itself. It was Keio Shiki Senior High School and the environment at Keio University that taught me how enjoyable learning could be. Whether you devote yourself to academics, the arts, sports, or something else, whatever path you choose, I hope you will always ask yourself what it takes to truly enjoy what you love. Forget external recognition or outcomes and pour your whole self into it. I wish for all of you to find joy in learning and to follow your dreams to the fullest.

- Thank you for your time.

Reisuke Kaneko
Writer

Kaneko graduated from the Faculty of Business and Commerce in 2016. He passed the certified public accountant examination during university and joined an auditing firm after graduation. He began writing novels while attending Keio Shiki Senior High School and continued submitting his work to numerous literary awards after entering the workforce. In 2023, he debuted as a professional writer by winning the 65th Mephisto Prize for Dead Yamada and His Classroom, set at the fictional "Keiei" University-affiliated "Hogi" High School, modeled after his own alma mater. The novel was revised and published as a standalone book by Kodansha the following year. That same year, he also published A Group of Dead Ishii, featuring a "death game," and The Dead Kimura Staged, inspired by the Keio University Drama Society, quickly establishing himself as one of Japan's most promising new writers.

*This article originally appeared as a special feature in the 2025 Spring edition (No. 326) of Juku.