What determines the quality of work?
First, let me start with my story.
When I changed jobs two years ago, I started to reevaluate my previous meeting style, which involved pushing through with power plays of enthusiasm and affability.
It's a fundamental reform that's like overhauling your pitching form from scratch, from how you speak to customers to how you create your agenda.
As you search for a style that suits you, you will soon discover something that resembles truth.
Apparently , the important thing lies in this ``preparation and arrangements.''
Readers of this website who work hard every day may be surprised and say, "Why now?", but we all agree that the essence of a meeting is an impromptu exchange with the person in front of you.
However, I believe that the key to improving quality and satisfaction lies in this preparation and planning.
Furthermore, I believe that the quality of any "work" depends on how well we can predict in advance the "unforeseen circumstances" that may occur at the time .
Now, there's a reason I'm telling you this.
What we would like to introduce this time is the live-action film adaptation of "Dot and Line," a masterpiece novel that has made its mark in the history of Japanese mystery novels.
Why did this perfect crime, which was supposed to have been the height of preparation and organisation making it impossible to break an alibi, fail ?
I'll try to find out through the movie.
A film version of the unprecedented masterpiece mystery novel "Dot and Line."
"Dots and Lines"
1958 / 85 min.
Director: Tsuneo Kobayashi
Original story by Seicho Matsumoto
Cast: Hiroshi Minami, Isao Yamagata, Mieko Takamine, Yoshi Kato, Takashi Shimura, Yuji Hori
The bodies of a man and a woman who committed a love crime were discovered on the beach in Kashii, Fukuoka City.
Two detectives have doubts about this case, which appears to be an ordinary double suicide between a government official and a woman working at a traditional restaurant.
As the investigation continues relentlessly, a complex background involving corruption gradually emerges, along with an ironclad alibi that the suspect was in Hokkaido at the time of the crime.
The film is based on a novel of the same name by Akutagawa Prize-winning author Seicho Matsumoto, who has deep ties to Fukuoka. It was Serials in a travel magazine from 1957 and became a huge hit.
Not only was it highly acclaimed as a masterpiece of "alibi mystery novels" that will remain in the history of Japanese literature , but it also breathed fresh air into the world of socially conscious mystery novels that expose political corruption, sparking a huge mystery novel boom in Japan at the time .
The 1958 film version was released shortly after the publication of the original novel.
The director is Tsuneo Kobayashi. At first glance, it may seem like a modest film, but in reality, it is a very skilled and entertaining film that shows off his skilled directorial skills .
First of all, the film manages to fit this complex story into a fairly short running time of just 85 minutes, and is impressive in its skill and composition, managing to simultaneously deliver human drama and the pleasure of solving a mystery.
In addition, the visuals use subtle motifs such as railroad signals and crabs to graphically weave a sense of unease and tension into the screen.
Not only am I overwhelmed by the high level of directing literacy shared by the film industry at that time , but I am also filled with emotion at the fact that works of this standard were being mass-produced at a high pace of more than 500 films a year.
Perfect preparation and planning. But unforeseen circumstances can get in the way.
DVD on sale now 2,800 yen + tax Sold by: Toei Released by: Toei Video
The highlight of this film is undoubtedly the destruction of the suspect's alibi.
Eyewitness testimony from a variety of people is scattered throughout the four minutes it took for the trains to pass each other at Tokyo Station, and the six minutes or so it took to walk between the two Kashii stations of the Japanese National Railways and Nishitetsu Railway.
In these short few minutes, the perpetrator demonstrates overwhelming planning skills, skillfully directing the attention of everyone and how .
He was so thoughtful that he even took advantage of the train arrival times and the assumptions of witnesses. In addition, he planned a spectacular time trick using the transportation network of the entire country of Japan to prove his absence . I can't go into details for those of you who will be watching from now on, but it's clear that this criminal's planning skills are quite impressive.
Inside JR Kashii Station. After viewing the artwork, just seeing the name "Kashii" makes my heart flutter.
That being said, crimes are bound to come to light, and the detectives' dogged investigation brings them closer to the truth, step by step.
And then, when the time finally came, the final blow that caused the plan to fail was an "unforeseen event" that occurred because people are human .
No matter how much "preparation and arrangements" you make, you should not become immersed in a sense of omnipotence that makes you feel like you can completely control the "person" in front of you.
I hope you will all see the whole story for yourself through the film.
The Kashii district of Fukuoka Prefecture appears as a crucial location in the film.
The bodies of the two lovers were discovered at Kashiihama, and the scenes of their ironclad alibis were Kashii Station on the JR lines and Kashii Station on the Nishitetsu lines.
"This town, what a lonely place," murmured a woman as she got off the train, has now become a bustling entertainment district and is changing its appearance .
The perpetrator's plan to take the victim straight to Kashiihama and kill him might have been thwarted by an unexpected change of heart, like "I'd like to stop by that shop" in today's Kashii town.
Former JNR, now JR Kashii Station. Its appearance has changed considerably.
This is Nishitetsu Kashii Station. It is also elevated, and has changed quite a bit.
On the wall at the east exit of Nishitetsu Kashii Station, the text introducing Kashii from the original story is posted.
At the west exit of Nishitetsu Kashii Station, there is a cherry tree known as "Seicho Sakura" and a monument.
Finally, one more thing.
The reason for planning to introduce this work at this time was to encourage people to watch it on December 21st, the 111th anniversary of the birth of the original author, Seicho Matsumoto. However, as a final check before submitting the manuscript, I looked up Seicho's birthday again and found that it is "said to be December 21st, 1909, but is also said to be February 12th." It is said that Seicho's parents failed to register their birth in Hiroshima, where he was born, and may have filed it about a year late in Kokura, where they moved, and the truth is still unknown.
Here again, there is the ``unforeseen circumstances'' and mystery that arise because humans are human.
It seems that I too am still far from completing a perfect job.
