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Chapter 58 – Shonan Coast

In Showa Year 2, ever since the major commotion in spring, the Ootori zaibatsu had been extremely busy every day with practical mergers and consolidations with Suzuki, business restructuring, and more.

Aside from that, another Ootori-related event was the end of production of Ford’s Model T, which had been assembled under knockdown production by Ootori.
Just like in the history of my previous life, it seems they couldn’t beat GM(General Motors).

Still, all those busy affairs were for the adults of Ootori; for the children, peaceful daily life continued.

As for the rest of the world, Japan remained calm.

As I had anticipated, the Eastern Conference never took place.
That means one less talking point for those who talk about Japan after the war.

Between spring and summer, there was the tragic incident of Akutagawa Ryuunosuke’s suicide by poison, but on the other hand, Iwanami Bunko started publishing.
In sports, the Summer Koshien tournament was broadcast live for the first time, and entertainment was in full bloom with events like the National Inter-City Baseball Tournament and the All Japan Open Golf Championship.

Speaking of which, in May, Lindbergh made his solo nonstop transatlantic flight, saying, “Wings, there is the light of Paris.”

Without the Showa Financial Crisis, it’s a time of complete peace.
The economy is also relatively stable thanks to the government bonds issued by Finance Minister Korekiyo Takahashi.

However, to say the global situation is peaceful would be a stretch.

On top of that, the situation on the continent was starting to shift into a strange mode I didn’t recognize at all.
Somehow, the winds were blowing in favor of Zhang Zuolin, who, in my previous life’s history, had been completely defeated. 

It was like he was enjoying a windfall victory that turned everything upside down.

At this point, Zhang Zuolin might be in a “I can feel the wind” or “I’m not afraid of anything anymore” mode.

The fact that something I had said to prevent the Showa Financial Crisis ended up triggering this kind of historical shift really made me feel how terrifying history can be.
At the same time, I was reminded that once history starts to move in a big way, knowing a few things isn’t enough to change its course.

Even so, the part where Zhang Zuolin’s Fengtian Army attacked the Soviet embassy in Beijing—this, I’m pretty sure, was also an incident that happened in my previous life’s history.

I remembered that the Soviet Union and the Republic of China had severed diplomatic ties around this time, so I saw this incident as one of the contributing factors.

But that was the only thing that seemed to match the history I knew.
Beyond that point, I couldn’t see what was coming at all.

After all, the Kuomintang had just been harshly criticized by foreign powers, Chiang Kai-shek had stepped down, and the leftist faction was now in control.

And the great powers were deeply wary of communism and socialism.

Though they were pressuring the Kuomintang on various matters, they didn’t actually trust them.
They simply saw them as a force to be kept in line through national strength and military intimidation.

Then, making a dashing entrance, Zhang Zuolin appeared—having just clashed with the Soviet Union and, riding that momentum, gone around purging communists in Beijing.

To the other major powers—aside from Japan, which already had close ties with Zhang—this looked like, “Oh! He’s our rising star!”
Among the European powers, probably only Britain, with its detailed knowledge of continental affairs, had any real understanding of who Zhang Zuolin was.

Prime Minister Tanaka Giichi, who had already placed considerable hopes on Zhang Zuolin, became even more deeply involved now that the other great powers began supporting him.

And Zhang, eager for support—or more precisely, for money—from the foreign powers, made a public statement at the Soviet embassy in Beijing claiming he had “found evidence.”
He began spreading all sorts of claims, true and false: “Look how evil the Soviets are!” and “The March riots in Nanjing? The Soviets were behind that too!”

Of course, he also made a grand show of taking credit for having discovered and struck back against these threats himself.

And just like that, he was instantly crowned the new representative of the foreign powers in place of Chiang Kai-shek—a bulwark against communism.
Countries like the United States, which in truth knew practically nothing about the situation in China, were writing excited headlines like “A New Leader Emerges!”—as though a new guardian of democracy had arrived.

The idea that Zhang Zuolin could be a champion of democracy struck me as such a bad joke that I couldn’t help but let out a bitter laugh.

Then, in May, emboldened by his momentum, Zhang Zuolin launched the “Southern Campaign”.
With the backing and financial support of the great powers, even the surrounding warlords began to rally to Zhang’s side.

On the other hand, the Kuomintang (KMT) was under the control of the left wing, rendering the right wing unable to involve itself in central affairs.
Naturally, morale was in shambles.

The Communist Party, which had formed a “united front” (i.e., alliance) with the KMT, was basically just a group of terrorists and agitators.
So while they could conduct terrorism and guerrilla actions, at this point they still had virtually no real military capability. 

They were more of an organization only capable of looting, rioting, and arson—with a very small sphere of influence.

And from my perspective, this strange twist in history ended up producing the rapid advance of Zhang Zuolin.

From that point onward, Zhang’s army would spend roughly a year pushing south along the Yangtze River—a Southern Campaign completely opposite from actual history.

Japan, which had been supporting Zhang Zuolin, simply reacted with a carefree, “Ohh, good luck!”

And since the Japanese government and military were so laid-back about it, I decided to use summer vacation to go on a holiday myself.

“I really wanted to ride the Enoden.”

“What would you even do on such a dinky little train?”

“It’s not a train, it’s an electric railway. The company name is Enoshima Electric Railway, you know.”

“Wow, so it’s like a city tram, huh?”

“I want to ride it too!”

Gazing at Enoshima, which lies beyond the final station of the Enoden line, the children of the Ootori family spend a leisurely time at one of the villas owned by the Ootori family.
The Kugenuma Coast on the west side of Enoshima has attracted attention as a villa area since the Meiji era when the Shonan coast began to be developed as a beach resort.

Apparently, it is Japan’s first planned villa district, with villas of political and financial figures scattered throughout the town, and the Ootori villa is one of them.

That Enoden line itself opened back in 1902, before the Russo-Japanese War.
Maybe that’s why it feels somewhat retro.

Around two years later, in Showa 4 (1929), the Odakyu Enoshima Line opened, and from then on the area developed more as a residential district, but for now it’s still strongly a villa area.

However, we celebrities—or rather, the bourgeois—have little to do with railways.

Due to security and escort reasons, we have no choice but to travel by car from Tokyo to Shonan.
If we want to travel by train in a large group, we’re told we’d have to rent at least one whole car.

Well, for the small Enoden train, renting the entire car might not be impossible, but I have no intention of making such a “young lady’s whims.”

Still, despite coming all the way to Shonan, the only permission we get besides lazing around at the villa is to swim at the wealthy people’s beach with few visitors—and that’s truly disappointing.

I’ll visit Enoshima, the Great Buddha of Kamakura, and Hachimangu Shrine, but honestly, it feels like, “No, that’s not the one.”

In my previous life as an otaku, Shonan was one of my sacred places.

Of course, you could call Enoshima and the Kamakura Great Buddha sacred places too. 

But what I really want is to ride the Enoden train itself.
I want to go to that path where the sea spreads out just beyond the Enoden tracks.

Well, I went there even in my previous life.

Still, there are sights that can only be seen in this era.
I want to see from a distance the schools that served as motifs for many works. 

Actually, I wonder if schools even existed in 1927. 

I have a feeling they didn’t yet.

Anyway, it’s hard to call it a proper pilgrimage to Enoshima without seeing the Enoden.
But those feelings occupy only a small corner of my mind. 

That desire to ride the Enoden is honestly just an excuse I’m telling myself.

The reason I fussed like a proper young lady wanting to go to Enoshima in the summer was that I wanted to capture with my own eyes a scenery that might be connected to my eventual fate.

Yes, when Japan plunges into a catastrophic war with the United States, and the final stage of the decisive battle on the home islands unfolds, the American military will make a massive landing on the Shonan coast.

This villa, where I’m relaxing now, will probably be completely blown away without a trace by the fierce bombardment and shelling from the U.S. forces.

What frustrates me inwardly is that, although I’ve started intervening in Japan’s industry and production—especially since I’m involved with the zaibatsu—to try to prevent ruin, the result might only be pushing us closer to destruction.

The scene of the US military landing on Shonan that the original owner of my body showed me is almost certainly the result of the previous “Dreaming Miko” altering Japanese history by holding northern Karafuto and other things.

And I might just be accelerating Japan’s downfall even more.

It’s simple to think I should make Japan stronger than prewar Japan in my previous life, but being only somewhat strong invites more resistance.
Besides, America is a monstrous nation with the power to crush Japan no matter how strong it becomes.

No matter how skillfully I avoid ruin as the villainous noble lady in this game world, it’s meaningless if Japan itself is destroyed.

But for now, there’s nothing I can do except try to avoid my own destruction, avoid the downfall of the zaibatsu and my family, and through that, do what I can to make Japan even a little better.
Even if I can’t see far ahead, I have to keep moving forward.

Still, the nightmare left behind by the original owner of this body sometimes makes my heart want to give up.

To suppress those weak feelings even just a little, and if possible to overcome them, I decided to take in the place of ruin with my own eyes.

“Coming out in the evening was definitely the right call.”

“It’s cool, isn’t it, big brother?”

“There’s no one around either.”

“This beach is for rich people, though.”

That evening, the Ootori children were being led by servants on a stroll along Kugenuma Beach.
Unlike the 21st century, buildings were low and there was little concrete, so the beach spread out in a state close to nature.

Even Enoshima, visible a little in the distance, had no distinctive lighthouse.

And this very scene was undoubtedly the one I saw in my nightmare.

“What’s wrong, Reiko-chan?”

“Nothing. I just wanted to see this view, so I was staring.”

Apparently, I had been too emotionally drawn in by the scenery.
My angelic Youko-chan looked in with some worry.

So after speaking, I gave a smile.

“Alright, now that we’ve enjoyed the view, let’s come to the beach early tomorrow morning and go swimming!”

Well, the swimsuits of this era, both for adults and children, look pretty strange by 21st-century standards.

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This is like the end of Act One.
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The Eastern Conference

Defined by the Communist Party as the meeting that decisively determined Japan’s invasion of China.
Deliberately ignoring the common sense of the time, with intentional logical twists—so typical of the Communist Party that it almost goes beyond refreshing and borders on endearing.

Search of the Soviet Embassy in Beijing by Zhang Zuolin

This roughly follows historical facts.
However, historically, immediately after this, Chiang Kai-shek’s Shanghai coup happened, splitting the Kuomintang and the Communist Party, and the Kuomintang itself split left and right.

Chiang Kai-shek continued his “Northern Expedition” aiming for Beijing to rapidly expand his power, Zhang Zuolin was soundly defeated, and in June 1928 he was assassinated by the Kwantung Army.

Enoshima, Shonan

This series of events follows historical facts.
Since the Meiji era, it has been a tourist area, and Kugenuma was a villa district at the time.

High schools near Enoshima

Kamakura High School was founded on March 31, 1928—so close.
Shichirigahama High School was founded in 1976, so it didn’t exist at all. 

Too bad.