教祖の作りかた

by Yukiko Mari, 真梨 幸子

あなたの”教祖（推し）”は誰ですか？
恋も不倫もアイドルも宗教もお酒も子育ても……沼に入ったら地獄へズブズブ！
沼落ちミステリ



「同窓会で不倫しちゃっただけなのに」
郊外のペンシルハウスに暮らす普通の主婦、奥寺色葉は夫と息子との３人暮らし。ある日引きこもりでゲーム実況YouTuberの息子に１千万の税金の督促状が届きーー。家のローンもあり、夫は詐欺にあっている。そんなお金、払えるわけがない。そんな時、高校の同窓会で久しぶりにあった同級生とついつい不倫をしてしまいーー。弁護士の彼に「節税のために、宗教法人をやれば？と持ちかけられるが。
まさかこんなことになるなんて！
あなたの平凡ないつものある日、天使のラッパが鳴り響き、汚れた世界の終焉が訪れる。
「日本人ほど神を信じたがる国民はいません」

308 pages, Hardcover

Published May 22, 2024

Reviews

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Making of a Savior (or a Messiah, or a God, or a religious cult leader)
“Love, infidelity, idols, family. Become a follower on your way to hell. Who is your god?”

I LOVE the language used on the obi, or strip of extra paper wrapping a book, so I tried putting it into English.

Have you ever tried googling your hometown?Disillusioned housewife Okudera Iroha did and she came across an unsolved murder case that she recalled happening when she was in high school. A person was found in a very graphic manner, all chopped up. Yet somehow, he was still alive before dying on route to the hospital. I remember the shocking murder cases that shook the foundations of the suburb I grew up in, so I felt a certain affinity for this scenario that sets the stage for the book.

It was maybe not the author’s intended message, but whew, I am nowhere near tempted to go to a class reunion now. I had a morbid curiosity at one point, but not anymore. I don’t want to get wrapped up in some classmate’s fraudulent scheme or MLM-type “business” opportunity. Turns out those reunions are the perfect opportunity for roping people in, be it for a business scam or a religious one.

Once you get past the somewhat corny opening erotica scene, the book takes off. Iroha’s family is in a financial pinch where they have to come up with 10 million yen (about $65,000) in a week to pay off their 19-year-old son’s taxes he accrued from making YouTube videos. A lawyer conveniently appears who says her family can try to get out of paying the taxes by claiming to be a religious organization. Since you can’t create one from scratch in that short of time, he suggests taking over an inactive one that he knows of.

What follows is a mystery/suspense occult story where my one small nope successively turned into bigger and bigger NOPEs. This book put me right in my un-comfort zone when showing tactics religious organizations use to lure people in. The aforementioned inactive cult is called 妙蓮光の会（みょうれんひかりの会）which sounds Buddhist but is more related to Christianity.

The front cover has two girls holding goblets with pepto-bismol looking liquid inside. The characters in this novel aren’t drinking the kool-aid, nor the blood of Christ, but there are sinister workings at play surrounding the “drink that takes you to heaven.”

There are still plenty of sketchy religious groups in Japan and one seems to get in the national news every 5-10 years. I met someone from one just last month when she started talking to me in an onsen. Due to the circumstance, she couldn’t exactly hand me a pamphlet then and there, but I made it clear that was not interested in anything 宣教師 related. There’s a moment in this book where a young girl agrees to fill out a survey but is suddenly surrounded by a group of three 妙連光の会 people who seem to gang up on her. This is called 勧誘 (solicitation), but I first misread it as 誘拐(kidnapping), which honestly kind of fits for the situation. I appreciate the 誘 character's meaning that connects the two words.

Then later on, Mon-chan recalls a classmate who she ran into that acted like a completely different person and tried to give her religious pamphlets. The following quote gave perfect words to describe the eyes of someone who has tossed out all reason in favor of an unquestioning, fervent belief in proselytizing their religion: crystal clear, like a transparent, bottomless swamp.

高校時代はまったく目立たなかった、Hさん。一度も喋ったことはなく、そんな人がいたということ忘れていたというのに、数年ぶりに再会したHさんはひどく積極的で、ぐいぐいと追ってきた。そして、一冊のパンフレットを押し付けてきたのだった。それは、後にあるスキャンダルで日本中を騒がせた新興宗教団体のパンフレットで、それを手にしたHさんの瞳は、恐ろしいほどに澄み切っていた。まるで、透明な底なし沼のようだった。p.157

[Erika · Rating 4 out of 5]

うわぁ
もっと文芸書的な話かと思ったら、予想外に面白くてあっという間に読んでしまった(ただいま0:18)
好きな登場人物は一人もいないけれど、嫌悪感を感じるキャラもいない。
叙述トリックと絡み合う伏線が気持ちいい！
表紙のデザインも素敵だし、⭐︎4つ。
（...これって「イヤミス」に入るのか？
湊かなえレベルのイヤミスじゃないので、他の作品も読んでみようと思う。）

以下、読書中メモ：
246: どの章も「今」が舞台だと思ってたが違うな？！「ナオミ」も「みっちょん」も右頬に黒子がある！
....ん？でも、この記事をモンちゃんに読ませてるのもみっちょん...？

309: 村下孝蔵「初恋」を大声で歌いながら「教祖ごっこ」で久斗が監禁されてた家のそばを通ってたのは、モンちゃん！
でも久斗は知らずに、みっちょん一家殺人の罪を着せて、色葉を愛でる....