Chapter 1216 Transformation of Interests
Businessmen all over the world have a common experience - there is no life without business, and instability without power.
It has been like this throughout the ages.
This is true even for regions or countries such as Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan, Japan, Europe and the United States that like to flaunt their good business environment with sound laws.
The only difference lies in the method and degree.
As the saying goes, "The tricks are all the same, but the variations are different."
So Ning Weimin’s prediction is completely correct.
The efforts of the Kaga couple to hold a celebration for the opening of the beauty salon were not in vain. After the opening ceremony, the operation of Isako's beauty salon was far smoother than anyone expected, and the harvest was more generous.
Even Isako had no business experience at all before this and was not very familiar with business management.
Even the souvenirs the couple gave to the guests to cheer them up plus the banquet meal would cost 50,000 yen per person.
It doesn't matter, Isako's beauty salon is still doing a prosperous business and making a lot of money.
It’s the same truth, there is no such thing as a free lunch.
Although the Kaga couple spent a total of fifteen million yen, or almost 150,000 US dollars, on the celebration, the money comes from the sheep, and the money will be recovered.
Except for those politicians who are like Pixiu, almost everyone invited to the banquet must register as a member and open an account in Isako's beauty salon.
Especially those artists who rely on TV stations for their livelihood, whether they are agencies or production companies, whether they are singers, actors or hosts, they must be more positive.
It can range from hundreds of thousands of yen to millions of yen. Just like a certificate of declaration, you have to rely on this kind of real gold and silver support to show your loyalty.
Matsumoto Keiko and Teresa Teng are no exception. Regardless of whether they go or not, each of them has to top up one million yen. Meaning.
This also represents their level and cannot fall down.
There are also those in the financial sector who buy more.
Of course, it is not for their personal use, but for gift giving.
For example, Director Yoshimo of Sumitomo Bank used 15 million yen of public funds to purchase 50 gift cards worth 300,000 yen as a way to support Kaga, an old friend.
Correspondingly, the Kaga couple would use their beauty salon as collateral to borrow 100 million from Yoshimo's own son as a return gift.
To put it bluntly, this kind of nepotistic related-party transactions are ubiquitous regardless of country.
In this way, in just one week, Isako’s beauty salon had more than 200 high-profile members in a very short period of time, and the total cash received was 180 million yen. .
If you add in the 100 million yen loan that will be available in the near future, not to mention the liquidity is not a problem, even if they open a branch elsewhere in Tokyo soon, the funds will be enough.
In addition, it was a wise move for Isako to choose Jiyugaoka as the location for her store. This place was chosen so well.
The so-called Jiyugaoka is actually a high-end residential area located in Meguro District, Tokyo.
The undulating hills here, the winding rivers and the chic and small bungalows make the scenery here different from the Tokyo metropolis with many high-rise buildings. It is very quiet and peaceful.
At the same time, this is also the most popular petty bourgeoisie neighborhood on the Tokyu Toyoko Line.
It is known as Tokyo’s Little Venice, Dessert Forest, and Grocery Store Kingdom.
Because there are about a thousand unique small shops lined up along the streets here, with a wide range of products, enough to spend a day wandering around.
Nearly every year, Jiyugaoka is voted the most ideal place for Japanese women to live, and Jiyugaoka is always on the list.
So the people who can gather here, in addition to the ladies and ladies in the nearby high-end residential areas, are the artistic young people who pay attention to life style, and the middle class with decent jobs.
Those blue-collar workers who rely on physical strength to make a living and are cash-strapped will not appear here.
In other words, the quality of the customers is impeccable and the customer base is very good.
And don’t forget that since the Plaza Accord, the living standards of the Japanese have also improved rapidly due to the huge changes in the exchange rate.
According to relevant data, from 1985 to this year, in just one and a half years, Japanese household assets have tripled on average.
So, although upper class consciousness and class distinction are still common in Japanese people's minds today.
But in terms of consumption power, the disparity as before no longer exists.
Consuming high-end clothing and accessories has become a common trend among Japanese people today, and ordinary people can also participate.
Almost every girl on the street has one or two pieces of world-class luxury brand clothing or bags, such as LV and Hermès, which can be seen everywhere here just like street stalls.
There is also a Chanel bag that was worth 600,000 to 800,000 yen a few decades later, but at this time it was only 200,000 yen.
Even Japanese high school students can afford such luxury goods with their income from part-time jobs.
In fact, in recent years, almost all the big-name products from all over the world have come to Japan, and they feel very cheap.
In this environment, it seems that there are no poor people in Japan. Even ordinary people who look like ordinary people often have watches like Patek Philippe or Rolex on their wrists.
Although many of them were bought by working-class lickers with small loans!
But as long as you can get the money to afford it, it itself shows the public’s spending power.
Once Isako's beauty salon opens, there will definitely be no shortage of customers even if the charges are higher.
On the contrary, because of the correct location selection, it quickly gained a reputation and attracted the attention of a large number of customers.
The next step is how to satisfy those who are pretentious.
However, this cannot be achieved simply by relying on good technology. The key trick lies in how to satisfy the vanity of customers.
Not to mention, in this regard, Isako's beauty salon has a very special advantage.
First, in addition to the foreign technicians and first-class facilities that Isako publicly announced at the opening ceremony.
In order to receive noble guests, her beauty room also has a first-class service department.
Isako, who is a rich wife herself, actually understands the psychology of special people very well.
She made such an arrangement that is different from most stores, which not only protects the privacy of customers, but also allows them to feel considerate and humanized service.
The second is the membership group of many celebrities and artists, who will come over from time to time because of Isako's invitation.
Even if they are not doing hair or beauty treatments here, as long as they show up in public and drink a cup of tea, the general public can easily get spiritual satisfaction when visiting Isako's beauty salon.
Precisely because any customer has a very high probability of meeting his idol here, many tabloid reporters also regard this place as a place to hang out.
So much so that even though many people know that this is the business method of the store, they can't resist the charm of celebrities. They come here one after another to spend and give money to chase stars.
In this way, it is inevitable that Isako's beauty salon will be prosperous, and it is impossible not to be popular.
And this joy and relief of having a piece of Futian Yuji in their pocket will naturally be transformed into gratitude to Ning Weimin in the minds of the couple. Finally, through the hands of Director Kaga, it became the resource support of TBS.
Take the TV series "Dream of Red Mansions" as an example. According to category classification, it should be included in Dahe dramas.
This audience group is generally older middle-aged and elderly people, with an average age of over forty-five.
So Ning Weimin took this into consideration and discussed with Shinichiro Kaga how to get better broadcast results.
In the end, Shinichiro Kaga made the decision and got the morning drama slot every Monday from April to December.
Yes, TV stations also broadcast programs in time periods.
For example, morning drama theaters specialize in housewives and the elderly, usually from seven to nine o'clock in the morning.
At this time, housewives have just sent their husbands and children out and have relatively free time.
The elderly sleep much less and are accustomed to going to bed early and getting up early. They also like to watch TV at this time.
You also need to know that Japanese dramas are generally divided into four seasons: spring, summer, autumn and winter, with a season lasting three months and a season of about twelve episodes.
That is, one episode a week, filmed and broadcast at the same time.
Because "Dream of Red Mansions" sold by Ning Weimin to TBS has thirty-six episodes, it will be released at the end of the year.
As for why it is Monday morning instead of other times, there are also unique considerations.
The explanation given by Shinichiro Kaga is that NHK TV station will broadcast Taiga drama every Sunday at 9 p.m., and what is currently being broadcast is the "Spring Wave" that Keiko Matsumoto missed.
Then these viewers may not get out of the historical atmosphere so quickly the next morning. If they watch a historical drama at this time, because of the time connection, they may have more patience and tolerance.
Ning Weimin also deeply agrees with this.
It should be said that for a TV drama from China, it is very interesting that Shinichiro Kaga can arrange this time for him.
If the ratings of "Dream of Red Mansions" are too poor, he will have to take certain risks.
Fortunately, Ning Weimin is very wealthy and doesn't care about money at all.
So Kaga Shinichiro not only received 30 million yen in advertising fees from Ning Weimin, but also specially inserted "A Dream of Red Mansions" after the morning dramas that are now broadcast every day, as well as after the prime-time Japanese dramas on Tuesday nights. A thirty-second teaser commercial.
In this way, we will preview the upcoming broadcast time of this big river drama from China in order to attract more viewers.
And after receiving Ning Weimin’s assurance that if any advertiser withdraws, he will make up for the morning drama’s advertising losses with his own money.
Kaga Shinichiro even fought for ten minutes for Ning Weimin so that he could record a brief explanation of the TV series "Dream of Red Mansions" on the day when "Dream of Red Mansions" was officially broadcast. broadcast before.
It can be said that Kaga Shinichiro did his best and gave Ning Weimin the greatest care within his own capabilities.
Although their friendship is based on naked interests, to be honest, even if the final result is really unsatisfactory, Ning Weimin cannot blame Director Kaga and can only find reasons from other aspects.
But then again, Ning Weimin is not an idiot.
Through the text translation and dubbing production of the TV series "Dream of Red Mansions", he also had many exchanges with Japan's "famous fan" Professor Sohei Ito of the University of Tokyo.
And we learned from it that the spread of "Dream of Red Mansions" in Japan can be described as "ice and fire" - it has received both "favor" and "cold reception".
The so-called "favorable treatment" refers to the prosperity of translation.
Japanese translation of "Dream of Red Mansions" began with the first chapter of Mori Huainan's excerpt in 1892.
In the following 125 years, as far as Sohei Ito knows, a total of 12 excerpted versions, 12 compiled versions, 3 abridged versions, 1 transliterated version, and 10 complete translations were produced, for a total of 38 kinds of translations.
And because of the strong support of large publishing houses such as Iwanami Shoten and Pingheshasha, a group of loyal "red fans" were born among many Japanese intellectuals who like Chinese culture. Although they are small in number, they are extremely obsessed with it. .
The so-called "cold reception" refers to the fact that "A Dream of Red Mansions" is less well-known, has fewer readers, and has a narrower readership than the other three of the Four Great Classics.
Most ordinary readers in Japan know "Water Margin", "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" (called "Three Kingdoms" in Japan), and "Journey to the West", but very few know about "A Dream of Red Mansions". Most of those who know it have Chinese learning or research experience. intellectual class.
There are even fewer people who continue to study this book.
The ups and downs of the other three masterpieces can easily attract ordinary readers, but "A Dream of Red Mansions" does not win with plot.
In addition, "A Dream of Red Mansions" takes the beauty of Chinese language and characters to the extreme, with a large number of superb uses of the sounds, shapes, and meanings of Chinese characters such as homophones, puns, and word splits, and even various literary styles and styles. Rhymes, etc., even the best translation, even a Japanese "red chamber master" like Ito Shuhei, would be hard-pressed to restore the effect.
The readers’ aesthetic enjoyment will be greatly reduced.
But the most important thing is that there is a Japanese classic work "The Tale of Genji" that is very similar to "A Dream of Red Mansions".
This novel describes the aristocratic life of the Heian period, and also alludes to the imperial power and political struggles in Japan at that time. It was written earlier than The Red Chamber.
So just like the Chinese people watch "A Dream of Red Mansions" in large numbers, they don't have much interest in "The Tale of Genji" which is of a similar type.
In Japan, there are many people who read "The Tale of Genji" but don't know "A Dream of Red Mansions".
For this reason, although Ito Shuhei is responsible for the Japanese translation of Dream of Red Mansions, he also welcomes this TV series to be broadcast on Japan's national television stations.
But from his point of view, he also objectively realized that it was not easy to promote this TV series, and he vaccinated Ning Weimin in advance.
As for what he believes is most easily accepted by Japanese people in "Dream of Red Mansions", it is that the idea of impermanence in "Dream of Red Mansions" is consistent with the aesthetic consciousness deeply rooted in Japanese traditional concepts - the concept of impermanence.
Not only was Ning Weimin very grateful for the scholar's advice, but he also finally had time to make some adjustments before the TV station promoted it.
First of all, the advertisement for the "Dream of Red Mansions" trailer had to be changed. It could not use "Four Masterpieces" as a gimmick to promote the Chinese aesthetics in this TV series as he originally planned.
But we have to pull up "The Tale of Genji" and tell the Japanese that this is China's "The Tale of Genji", a love story of a love triangle.
Try to make it easier for Japanese people to accept it through the similarities between the two works.
Secondly, in the same way, the ten-minute introductory video that Director Kaga fought for had to be changed in this way. Ning Weimin decided to invite Ito Shuhei as a translator to "The Tale of Genji" and The similarities and differences of "Dream of Red Mansions" are recorded in a popular science program.
Finally, in order to win more Japanese audiences with higher efficiency and more targetedness.
In order to have as many people say good things as possible after it is aired, write favorable reviews of the drama.
Ning Weimin also decided that from now on until the show is finished by the end of the year, in addition to organizing Japan's "Red Mansion fans" through Ito Shuhei's connections and in the name of Huibundang Bookstore, Have a sorority party in Tan Palace.
In addition, he also plans to visit Japanese national universities that offer Chinese courses and related history majors to hold cultural exchange activities with the theme of "Dream of Red Mansions".
At that time, in addition to bringing the video tape of "A Dream of Red Mansions" to the university and showing it to interested students, he will also invite professional Japanese "red fans" to comment.
He will also take people from Tan Palace to make sugar paintings, make dough figures, perform folk music performances, and even give cake gift boxes and cook a few dishes from "A Dream of Red Mansions".
He didn’t believe it.
After taking it, these people still dare to say that "Dream of Red Mansions" is not good-looking!
(End of this chapter)