Nanjō Masahito immediately nodded. "Understood, Father. I'll take care of the arrangements."
In truth, he had already anticipated Nanjō Hiroshi would respond this way and had made preparations in advance.
He had scheduled the meeting with Representative Asakura and his son for five days from now.
Ideally, Nanjō Masahito would have locked it in sooner. After all, the Asakura side wasn't absolutely set on marrying into the Nanjō family. If they dragged things out, another conglomerate could swoop in and steal the opportunity.
But arranging an earlier date wasn't possible. High-ranking politicians were notoriously busy. Masahito had initially tried to set the meeting for this Sunday, just two days away—but on that day, Representative Asakura would be golfing with the Minister of Finance.
Naturally, Masahito wouldn't dare disrupt a golf outing between a representative and a cabinet minister—unless his own father, Nanjō Hiroshi, were also part of the match. In that case, it could become a friendly game.
Unfortunately, Nanjō Hiroshi disliked golf. He far preferred playing shogi with retired shogi masters or attending performances at the Takarazuka Revue.
His lifelong dream was to become a true kazoku—a member of the aristocracy. The kazoku, after all, were the samurai class transformed during the Meiji Restoration into a thoroughly Westernized elite.
Thus, Hiroshi was devoted to all things traditional and held deep prejudices against anything that arose after the war.
In short, Masahito had no choice but to schedule the meeting five days out. Even that had required considerable effort. If he'd simply notified Representative Asakura's office and left the arrangement to Asakura's secretary, the meeting might have been delayed even further.
After bidding his father good night, Masahito left the washitsu and happened to run into his daughter, Nanjō Honami, who had come to say good night to her grandfather.
Seeing her brought a smile to Masahito's face.
His eldest son, Nanjō Mamoru, had been a disappointment—bringing home a mere TV announcer instead of securing a marriage alliance with a powerful political family.
When Masahito himself had married, it had been to his childhood sweetheart. But back then, the Nanjō family had been nothing more than a modest local industrialist running a small processing factory. Even if he'd wanted to abandon his first wife, there had been no better prospects available.
Now, with the family's wealth and status greatly expanded, it was time to sink their roots deeper into the soil of this island nation.
And the simplest way to do that was through marriage.
Masahito had once pinned great hopes on his son Mamoru—hoping he would court and marry the daughter of a prominent family.
In Japan, many political families groom their sons-in-law as rightful heirs. After all, producing a son of high caliber was a gamble—a game of random draws, with no guaranteed results and a "cooldown" period of at least ten months between tries.
A son-in-law, by contrast, could be carefully selected and vetted—taking as long as needed.
If Mamoru had been chosen by the daughter of a powerful family, the Nanjō clan's position would have been secure for generations.
But alas, Mamoru was of middling ability and insisted on a love match, bringing home a TV announcer instead.
Masahito had opposed the marriage. Yet, to his surprise, his father, Nanjō Hiroshi, had met the young woman and approved.
Though Masahito was now the head of the family, in a traditional Japanese house like theirs, the elders' wishes were rarely opposed openly.
Not even he could go against his father.
Fortunately, the announcer's connections in the entertainment industry had allowed the Nanjō conglomerate to break into that field, founding their own talent agency—so it wasn't a total loss.
Now, Masahito was pursuing an even greater ambition: using the conglomerate's wealth to help a consortium of smaller Tokyo television stations unite and form Japan's sixth nationwide network—alongside NHK and the four major commercial broadcasters.
But to achieve that goal, the Nanjō clan couldn't remain "rootless" as they were now.
At the very least, they needed ties to a family capable of consistently producing Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly members.
Japan was different from the U.S. or Korea. In those countries, corporate power reigned supreme. But in Japan, it was the old political families—descendants of the kazoku—who still held true power.
Granted, many of those political families were also major financial players, which blurred the lines and made things appear similar to the American model.
As a rising force, the Nanjō conglomerate—like upstarts such as Sony—was eager to extend its reach into the nation's upper echelons.
There was, of course, another path: nurturing a new political family from scratch. Many postwar corporations had done just that—backing promising young candidates who rose from local assemblies to the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly.
But that approach was far less efficient than securing an immediate alliance through marriage.
And that was precisely why Masahito couldn't help but smile when he saw his daughter.
Nanjō Honami, the jewel of the family. Beautiful, poised, and accomplished. A student at one of Japan's most prestigious private girls' schools. A former student council vice president.
She danced ballet, played piano, and was an accomplished violinist. Following her grandfather's wishes, she had also trained diligently in kendo.
Thanks to years of careful cultivation, Honami had become well known in elite social circles.
Of course, marriage alliances required families of matching stature. But when the daughter was of exceptional quality, those standards could be adjusted.
Families that once might have looked down on the Nanjōs were now extending olive branches because of Honami.
Representative Asakura was one such figure.
And not just a Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly member—a full-fledged national Diet member. A man who played golf with the Minister of Finance!
If Honami could marry Asakura's second son, the Nanjō clan's future would be secure.
Originally, Masahito had considered marrying her to a man of lesser background.
Just as Honami's accomplishments elevated the family's standing, if the prospective groom had personal flaws or shortcomings, his family's standing would be lowered—making it possible for the Nanjōs to marry into even more powerful circles, perhaps even into families of former ministers or prime ministers.
But Nanjō Hiroshi doted on his granddaughter, so Masahito couldn't pursue that strategy.
He needed to find an upright, talented young man—one who also met Hiroshi's expectations for appearance.
At present, Asakura's second son was the ideal candidate.
Seeing his father still smiling, Honami asked curiously, "What is it, Father?"
"Oh, just something. There's some good news I'll be telling you in a few days," Masahito replied, reaching out to neaten the collar of her kimono.
All Nanjō women were expected to change into kimono at home—one of Hiroshi's house rules.
"Look forward to next Wednesday."
Honami seemed to guess what he meant. She pressed her lips together and bowed her head. "Yes, Father. I'll go say good night to Grandfather now."
"Very good—off you go." Masahito stepped aside to let her pass.
(End of Chapter)