The San Francisco Cookie Mystery (Part 1) | Contents | The San Francisco Cookie Mystery (Part 3)
It was a gray painting.
The top of the painting is painted gray, probably depicting heavy, overcast clouds. The bottom is painted gray as well, likely representing a dark earth. At the boundary between the sky and the earth, something resembling a white box occupies the space. I have no knowledge of art. I’m so unfamiliar with painting that I can’t even remember if Takahashi Yuichi1 painted <Salmon> or <Shark>. But I understood that this painting was extremely gloomy and lonely. At first glance, it felt desolate, and as I stared at it…… it became even lonelier.
“It’s a bit scary.”
I said, and Kengo nodded silently.
The painting was in a preparatory room near the art room. The desks were moved to create space, and an easel was set up in the middle, with the horizontally long painting leaning against it. The painting was framed, and its surface was covered with a transparent sheet. This sheet is probably some kind of vinyl to protect the painting, but due to the passage of thirty years, it had yellowed overall, giving the entire painting an aged color.
“Scary, huh. I see.”
I heard a voice from the corner of the classroom. Since we entered this classroom, a tall adult with distinctive round glasses had been watching us. He was thin, with curly hair that reached his shoulders, and he wore a long jacket. He was probably a teacher, but I didn’t know him. He continued speaking without introducing himself, though I’ve never seen a teacher who introduces themselves to students.
“Scary is a very straightforward and honest impression. That’s great.”
What he meant was probably that it was a simple impression. I just nodded to him and didn’t respond, then turned to Kengo.
“It does look amazing, but it doesn’t seem to have any problems. This is a painting by Shima Taiga, right?”
“That’s right. There’s a name on the back.”
Kengo said that with a serious face, then slowly took out a book from his school bag. It was large and looked heavy. A sticker with a barcode was stuck on the cover, indicating that it was a collection from the prefectural library. Kengo opened it to the page where a bookmark was inserted.
“Now, look at this.”
Large letters read “Nicolas de Staël,” with a photo of the painting occupying most of the page. I glanced at it and understood what Kengo meant by “problem.”
“I see.”
I compared the framed painting with the one by Nicolas de Staël. “They’re the same.”
“That’s right. No matter how you look at it.”
On the book, the title of the painting is written as “The Square Fort in Antibes.” I wonder how to read it…….
“An-ti-bes?”
The man standing in the corner of the classroom smiled and said.
“That’s pronounced ‘An-teeb.’”
“Vegetable?”
Then Kengo, still frowning, said,
“That’s ‘Andive.’”
Thank you, I was waiting for that word. By the way, let me ask one more thing. Who is that person? I looked at Kengo with my eyes. Doujima Kengo, who was hopelessly slow to catch on in middle school, now immediately understood that request.
“Mr. Koumura. Where is Antibes?”
Thanks to him, I learned that person’s name. He was Mr. Koumura, the art teacher that Mr. Hirata mentioned. Now that I think about it, he does look like an art teacher, perhaps even excessively so. Mr. Koumura glanced away a bit and said,
“In France.”
I intuitively thought that this person probably didn’t know where Antibes was in France or what kind of place it was, but I wasn’t so far gone from a Petit Bourgeois oath to say it out loud.
Then I saw the painting that Kengo wanted to show me. But still, it didn’t seem like there was anything particularly serious about it.
“But what’s wrong with this? A high school student Shima Taiga copied a painting by the artist Nicolas. Isn’t that a normal thing?”
There’s nothing wrong ethically or legally with copying for study purposes. The person might be embarrassed that the copy remained at school, but I couldn’t see any problem beyond that.
Kengo glanced at Mr. Koumura, but the teacher said nothing. Eventually, Kengo let out a small sigh.
“I guess it was a half-hearted story that wouldn’t be understood. Sorry. Let me explain properly. Actually, we’ve received an interview request from a TV station.”
“Hoh.”
“They asked the school for an interview for a program about art, specifically a feature on Shima Taiga. They wanted to know if there was anything that could show what Shima Taiga was like as a high school student. So I looked into it, and here it is, just as you see. When I told the TV station, they were overjoyed and asked if they could film it.”
I raised a hand to stop Kengo.
“Wait a second. You’re pretty detailed, but it wasn’t you who was asked by the TV station if there were any items related to Shima Taiga.”
“No, actually, it was me.”
Kengo scratched his cheek.
“To be precise, the TV station asked the school and me. The fact that the club wrote an article about Shima Taiga reached the TV station, and I was interviewed as a reporter. During that time, they casually asked if there was anything related to Shima Taiga. If such a thing really exists, we can’t overlook it as a club. So I looked into it and found this painting.”
“Oh, that article was written by Kengo.”
“…… The name of the person who wrote it is at the end of the article.”
Oh. I got caught not reading it properly. Kengo didn’t seem to mind much and glanced at the painting.
“At first glance, I thought it was amazing. I don’t understand what these abstract paintings are about, but I thought it was great. But at the same time, I felt like I had seen it somewhere before. So I traced my memory and reread a book I had picked up before……”
Kengo placed his hand on the library book.
“I found this.”
I was quite surprised.
“Then, you were the one who noticed that the paintings were the same?”
“……Uh-huh.”
“I thought you were going to the bookstore’s manga corner to study because you didn’t understand art when you first entered school?”
Kengo’s eyebrows raised.
“Hey. There’s something called a samurai’s mercy. Don’t dig up such old stories.”
“We’re not samurai…….”
“Certainly, in the spring incident, I was of no help at all. So I studied a bit to be able to do at least some work for the newspaper club.”
To be honest, I was impressed. I never thought that Doujima Kengo had been honing his skills like that in the past nine months. I didn’t expect it at all. I’ll apologize in my heart.
Although that aside…… Kengo’s story is still confusing.
“From what I’ve heard so far, it seems that after informing the TV station about this painting, you realized it was a copy. So, if you just say it was a copy, wouldn’t that be enough? Whether they want to film it or not is up to the TV station.”
Mr. Koumura, who had been listening to the conversation, interjected from the side.
“Well, it doesn’t work that way.”
“What do you mean?”
“You could ask Doujima-kun.”
He didn’t answer. I wonder why this teacher is here…… When I looked at Kengo, he said,
“Jougorou.”
The conversation continued.
“If this is just a copy, don’t you think it’s strange that it was kept for thirty years?”
“Well, that’s true.”
“This isn’t a copy. Well, it is a copy, but.”
…… Ah. I might have understood it somehow.
When I was about to voice that thought, Kengo lowered his voice and said exactly what I was thinking.
“This painting is exhibited.”
Right.
That’s indeed a bit serious, just as Kengo said.
That Shima Taiga won the Black Bear Award at the San Francisco Biennale was a nationwide news story, albeit a small one. I don’t know if it was on terrestrial or BS TV, or how long it would take, but it seems to be valuable enough for a TV interview. Of course, it’s a rare piece of good news for both this city and this high school—even though the city and the school didn’t do anything for Mr. Shima.
It’s unsettling that Mr. Shima Taiga submitted a copy as his own work to the exhibition. That’s plagiarism. Even if it’s a thirty-year-old story, his reputation could be ruined, and if the TV station has already been informed about the painting’s existence, it can’t be undone now.
“Good, let’s burn it.”
“You idiot.”
Good comeback.
If this painting is made public, it could indeed become a problem for Shima Taiga. But,
“I know it sounds cold, but I don’t think it’s something you should worry about, Kengo. If Shima Taiga committed plagiarism during his time as a student, it’s up to him to take responsibility.”
“It’s indeed cold. Well, I thought you’d say that. But actually…….”
Rarely hesitating, Kengo slightly lowered his gaze.
“It was me who informed the TV station about the painting.”
…… I see.
“I found out later, but the school told the TV station that there were no items related to Shima Taiga, and even if there were, they couldn’t hand them over without the person’s permission. That’s reasonable. But I, on the other hand, was happy to find the painting that when they asked me if I found anything during the second call, I ended up telling them about this. I realized it was the same as de Staël afterward. …… I was an idiot.”
Mr. Koumura said.
“Doujima-kun. As your friend said, even if you informed the TV station about the painting, this is not your problem but Shima’s. Shima is an adult who can take responsibility for himself. You don’t need to worry about it.”
“You might be right, but, teacher.”
Kengo turned to him.
“I’m suspicious about whether this painting is just a copy or not. If it were a copy, wouldn’t he try to retrieve it? I think it’s strange to leave it in the school for decades.”
“That’s not strange.”
Mr. Koumura seemed indifferent.
“A school is something you cut ties with after graduation. Even if Shima cared about this painting, he might not have had a way to retrieve it.”
Indeed, I don’t even think about going back to my middle school. But Mr. Koumura’s argument seems a bit strange.
“Um, Mr. Koumura was in the same grade as Shima Taiga at this school, right?”
I didn’t miss the slight frown on Mr. Koumura’s face when I asked that.
Mr. Koumura quickly regained his composure and said,
“You know well.”
“Mr. Hirata from Japanese history mentioned it.”
“Ah, I see.”
“If Shima Taiga wanted to retrieve the painting in these thirty years, he might have contacted you.”
But Mr. Koumura smiled wryly and shook his head.
“I haven’t been in touch with him. He probably doesn’t even know that I’m working at this school.”
It was a plausible situation. At least, there was no evidence to say that it couldn’t be the case.
Kengo turned his back to Mr. Koumura and said to me.
“In other words, what I want to ask Osanai is about this painting. If it stays like this, I’ll end up exposing Shima Taiga’s scandal. But if this painting isn’t a copy and was created with some intention, then the story changes. I believe there’s a hidden meaning in this painting. I want Osanai to see it and at least give me her thoughts.”
Kengo seems to misunderstand Osanai-san. Besides, there are other things that should be done first.
“Wouldn’t it be better to contact Shima Taiga first?”
“Of course, I understand. But Shima Taiga is overseas, and I can only contact him through his Japanese agent. The TV station people were also having trouble because they couldn’t reach him directly. Even if I ask the agent to contact him, I can’t say that I want to consult with Shima Taiga because there’s a suspicion of plagiarism. I’m at a dead end.”
“Then that’s unavoidable, but Osanai-san isn’t an art appraiser. This is different from the spring incident. I don’t mean to be rude, but I don’t think Osanai-san can do anything about it.”
“I’m being honest too, but I don’t completely trust that Osanai can do anything. I’m drowning. I want to grab onto a reed. Please, Jougorou. Can you at least talk to her?”
Hmm.
I can’t just say to Kengo that I have no intention of passing the message to Osanai-san. It would be unnatural, and even if I refused, Kengo would probably find another way to contact her. Unreasonably, it seems I have no choice but to accept this request.
I looked again at the painting that Shima Taiga had drawn in his youth. It still seemed like an unsettling painting. Suddenly, one thing caught my attention.
“By the way, does this painting have a title?”
Kengo looked up at the ceiling with regret.
“Damn it. Right, I didn’t mention that. The title is one of the reasons I suspect this painting isn’t just a copy. There’s a piece of paper with it written on the back of the frame.”
I went around to the back of the painting. Similar to the sheet covering the painting, there was a yellowed paper with letters written in what seemed to be a sign pen. At the bottom of the paper, in small letters, it said “Shima Taiga,” and in contrast, the title written in large letters was:
<The Sight and the Outer, or fortune-cookie>2
Fortune cookie?
Well, I don’t really understand.
What I can understand now is that at least what is depicted is not a cookie.
The San Francisco Cookie Mystery (Part 1) | Contents | The San Francisco Cookie Mystery (Part 3)