Chapter 145 – Daruma-san

Tokyo, Akasaka Omotecho 3-chome. That’s where my destination is.

“Daruma-san,” also known as Finance Minister Takahashi Korekiyo. The ultra-famous statesman’s private residence is my goal for today.

Since it’s located near the Ootori family’s main estate, or rather, practically next door to the Prime Minister’s residence in Sanno, close to the Ootori Hotel, I had courteously invited him as an honored guest.
But since he told me to come instead, there was no way I could refuse.

Born in 1854, he’s seventy-six this year, just one year younger than my great-grandfather, yet still serving as the active Minister of Finance.

It’s said that he’s been wanting to retire from public office soon, but his exceptional skill as a financial administrator, his bold fiscal policies, and above all, his near-divine mastery of currency control make him an irreplaceable figure.
At least for as long as the Tanaka Giichi Cabinet continues, he’s expected to remain in office.

Takahashi Korekiyo’s life has been nothing short of turbulent, he studied abroad in America, only to be sold into slavery; later ventured into mining in Peru, failed, and upon returning to Japan, ended up homeless.

But since the Russo-Japanese War, he’s been recognized as one of Japan’s foremost financial minds.
Even in my previous life, he had a long career as Finance Minister, but in this world, what I might call my “current” life, he’s already held the post for over eight years in total.

I came today to visit the home of such a great man, but it turned out to be much smaller than I had imagined.

It was an impressive building, but a two-story wooden house in traditional Japanese style.
I had imagined a much larger and more luxurious mansion, so it made me realize that the Ootori family’s main estate is somewhat out of touch with ordinary standards. 

At the same time, it reminded me that the Ootori family is both a noble house and a financial conglomerate.

(If even Takahashi Korekiyo lives in something like this, no wonder the Ootori family is disliked by the public.)

That was what I thought as I stood at the entrance, which looked a bit like that of a traditional Japanese inn.

After the servant announced my arrival and guided me inside, I was shown to a reception room with a tokonoma alcove.
There, I found Takahashi Korekiyo himself, dressed in traditional Japanese clothing.

(In kimono, he really does look like Daruma-san…)

With that thought in mind, before entering the room, I sat properly in a seiza position and, though not quite with three fingers on the floor, bowed politely to offer my greeting.
Tokita, who came with me, did the same.

“Well now, no need to be so stiff. Come in and have a seat,” he said, motioning for us to sit on the cushions.

I rarely entered Japanese-style rooms except for my great-grandfather’s detached quarters, so the feeling gave me a light sense of déjà vu.

Although he was nearly the same age as my great-grandfather, his appearance left quite a different impression.
A round face, completely bald head, and a mouth full of white beard, he was truly like a Daruma doll. 

With his gentle expression and mild demeanor, dressed in kimono in his private home, he looked just like a kindly old retiree.

“Still, I really didn’t think a child would come in person. You must be Ootori Reiko, right?”

“Yes. Today, I’ve come on behalf of my great-grandfather and my grandfather, who acts as my father. As for the practical matters, my butler Tokita will handle them, so for today…”

“Ah, that’s fine, that’s fine. No need to be so formal. Watching you like that makes me feel uneasy. At least loosen up a little.”

“Y-Yes, sir. Then, I look forward to working with you today.”

“Good, that’s a reasonable compromise. Now then, shall we talk?”

He said that with a faint smile. Come to think of it, this was the first time today that Mr. Takahashi smiled.

(Just the fact that he’s trying to treat me like a normal child feels kind of refreshing… which probably means I’m the one who’s hopeless.)

“So, you said this was an important matter, but with everything that’s been going on around the Ootori family lately, I’d appreciate it if you could narrow it down for an old man like me.”

Taking a small sip from his teacup, Takahashi Korekiyo said that. His eyes had turned serious, it was now business time. I straightened my posture as well.

“Then, as the eldest daughter of the Ootori count family, I would like to make a donation to the Japanese government.”

“To the government? That’s not something I hear every day, but let’s set that aside for now. How much are we talking about?”

“Ten million dollars in gold bullion.”

“Wha, ! Cough, cough!”

Since this was the critical moment, I deliberately emphasized the short key phrase.

The plan had been to make an impact by saying it that way, but it worked too well. If it were Great-Grandfather, he’d probably just raise an eyebrow, but apparently, Ootori common sense didn’t apply here.

“Are you all right, Mr. Takahashi?!”

“Ah, I’m fine, I’m fine. You just startled me with something outrageous all of a sudden.”

He raised one hand toward his mouth and extended the other to stop us from moving any closer.

(Maybe I should’ve said half that amount…)

“Yeah. I think even if you’d said half, I still would’ve been shocked. You do know how much a million dollars is worth, right? And you’re saying in gold bullion, no less.”

“Yes. If gold is inconvenient, dollars are fine as well. We have more than we could possibly use either right now.”

“Haah… I’d love to say something like that just once in my life. So, you’re asking me to issue government bonds?”

“Yes, please. At least double, preferably triple the value of the gold.”

“What’s Ootori planning to build?”

“Eh?”

“‘Eh?’ is not an answer. I know you’re involved in all sorts of things, but I can’t say I’m very impressed by that.”

(Ah, he thinks it’s a self-serving scheme. Well, of course he does.)

Takahashi Korekiyo clearly thought I was offering the money so that the government would, in return, hand us a major construction contract. And honestly, that would be the normal assumption.

“Well, since public perception matters, we’ll take maybe ten or twenty percent of the work ourselves. If we look too virtuous, people will start glaring at us instead.”

“And the other eighty percent?”

“Countermeasures for the recession, public works investment, and measures for the upcoming bumper harvest. Also, please store the gold bullion securely in the government vaults. We went through quite a bit of trouble bringing it back from America.”

“Thanks. Mm, that must have been difficult. Still, a recession, huh…”

He thanked me out of habit, but that was simply because there wasn’t much gold circulating within Japan. I let it pass and continued speaking.

“Public works and harvest measures, you say? I can’t quite picture what you mean. Could it be that? Something to do with the so-called ‘Miko of Ootori’?”

From those words, I could tell that Takahashi Korekiyo was well aware of my reputation. Which meant it had probably reached inside the Japanese government as well.
I decided to proceed with that assumption.

“Yes. This year will see a bumper crop the likes of which we haven’t had in years.”

“Mm. Normally, that would be good news… Oh, I see, rice prices will drop.”

“Yes. And to make matters worse, there’s also a bumper harvest on the peninsula, and their rice will flood into the mainland, driving prices down even further.”

“Ahh, if that really happens, it’ll be a situation I don’t even want to imagine. Still, we’ve already passed legislation to deal with that sort of thing, so you’re suggesting expanding public works to provide relief? Building roads or something like that?”

“I’ll leave the details to you, but please make a bold supplementary budget and spread the money around generously after summer. The weather might not turn out exactly as it did in my dream. 

Oh, but this year will be a bumper harvest. Next year, however, there will be a severe crop failure in Tohoku and Hokkaido. In 1932, another poor harvest; in 1933, both a good harvest and famine; and in 1934, an unprecedented famine will strike Tohoku. 

So, with that in mind, please have the government buy up rice and oversee stockpiling. Ah, but I suppose that’s the Agriculture and Forestry Minister’s job, isn’t it?”

I spoke in rapid succession, and Takahashi Korekiyo was clearly taken aback, probably a rare sight.

“Um… are you serious?”

“I’ll be happy if it doesn’t happen, but for now, I see no reason to think it won’t. It will happen, without a doubt. Oh, but since I’ll continue making donations for a while, please use those funds for support.”

“…You know, those are words that go beyond the difference between a child and an adult. Just to be sure, you’re not bluffing, right?”

“The donations are guaranteed. If the famine doesn’t happen, use them for something else. I earned the money for that purpose.”

When I said that, Takahashi lightly smacked his forehead with his open hand.
Apparently, I had done something wrong. I almost went distant-eyed trying to figure out what, but deep down, I already knew.

So, I decided to press on and drive the point home.

“And also, this isn’t a dream or a prophecy, but the international price of raw silk cocoons will crash at the beginning of March. The effects have already started to show.”

“Ah, yes. We’ve predicted that too. The related ministries are already in a panic. …Still, ten million dollars, huh.”

“I actually wanted to make it ten times that.”

“Yeah, let’s not say that out loud. I’ve already been shocked enough to keel over.”

“I’m sorry. But at most, you can only increase spending by about sixty million yen, right? Should we just double that for this year?”

“Please don’t say things that’ll give me a heart attack right after I just told you not to. Even if we have the funds to back it, if we expand too fast, it’ll cause inflation.”

“Yes, that’s why I held back.”

“Do you really understand? At the start of the Showa era, Ootori brought back two hundred million yen to Japan, which was already reckless enough. And this time, four hundred million yen in cash and another hundred million yen in gold have already flowed in. On top of that, you’ve got more than three billion yen sitting in the U.S., right? When are you planning to bring that back? You must tell me the amount and timing beforehand.”

“There’s no need to worry about that. We’re just going to spend lavishly in America. Just give us a tax discount for when we bring things back. Also, any leftover funds will be left in the U.S. and eventually reinvested there. Unless we’re seriously short on working capital here, we won’t bring it to Japan, so please don’t worry.”

“I said that because I can’t be at ease. Is that really true? I’ve already heard a few things about these big purchases, but what exactly are you planning to do with Japan?”

Since I’ve already passed on information about our purchases and plans behind the scenes, Takahashi Korekiyo isn’t particularly surprised anymore. That’s thanks to the relatively long stability of the Tanaka Giichi administration.
However, unlike when I first arrived here, Takahashi no longer treats me like a child. It feels a little lonely, but the one to blame is me, for always bringing up absurd topics.

So, I decided to just continue talking about yet another absurd thing.