 | This articleneeds additional citations forverification. Please helpimprove this article byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Jun'ichirō Tanizaki" – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(January 2022) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
Tanizaki Jun'ichirō | |
|---|---|
 Tanizaki in 1951 | |
| Native name | 谷崎 潤一郎 |
| Born | (1886-07-24)24 July 1886 |
| Died | 30 July 1965(1965-07-30) (aged 79) |
| Occupation | Writer |
| Genre | Fiction, drama, essays, silent film scenarios |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 2 |
Jun'ichirō Tanizaki (谷崎 潤一郎,Tanizaki Jun'ichirō; 24 July 1886 – 30 July 1965) was a Japanese author who is considered to be one of the most prominent figures in modernJapanese literature. The tone and subject matter of his work range from shocking depictions of sexuality and destructive erotic obsessions to subtle portrayals of the dynamics of family life within the context of the rapid changes in 20th-century Japanese society. Frequently, his stories are narrated in the context of a search for cultural identity in whichthe West andJapanese tradition are juxtaposed.
He was one of six authors on the final shortlist for theNobel Prize in Literature in 1964, the year before his death.[1][2]
Tanizaki was born into a well-to-do merchant-class family inNihonbashi,Tokyo, where his uncle owned aprinting press, which had been established by his grandfather. His parents were Kuragorō and Seki Tanizaki. His older brother, Kumakichi, died three days after his birth, which made him the next eldest son of the family. Tanizaki had three younger brothers: Tokuzō, Seiji (also a writer) and Shūhei, as well three younger sisters: Sono, Ise and Sue. Tanizaki described his admittedly pampered childhood in hisYōshō Jidai(Childhood Years, 1956). His childhood home was destroyed in the1894 Meiji Tokyo earthquake, to which Tanizaki later attributed his lifelong fear of earthquakes. His family's finances declined dramatically as he grew older until he was forced to reside in another household as a tutor.
Despite these financial problems, he attended theTokyo First Middle School, where he became acquainted withIsamu Yoshii. Tanizaki attended the Literature Department ofTokyo Imperial University from 1908, but was forced to drop out in 1911 because of his inability to pay for tuition.
Tanizaki began his literary career in 1909. His first work, a one-act stage play, was published in aliterary magazine that he had helped found. Tanizaki's name first became widely known with the publication of theshort storyShisei (The Tattooer, 1910). In the story, atattoo artist inscribes a giant spider on the body of a beautiful young woman. Afterwards, the woman's beauty takes on a demonic, compelling power, in whicheroticism is combined withsado-masochism. Thefemme-fatale is a theme repeated in many of Tanizaki's early works, includingKirin (1910),Shonen (The Children, 1911),Himitsu (The Secret, 1911), andAkuma (Devil, 1912). Tanizaki's other works published in theTaishō period includeShindo (1916) andOni no men (1916), which are partly autobiographical.
Tanizaki married his first wife, Chiyo Ishikawa, in 1915, and his only child, Ayuko, was born in 1916. However, it was an unhappy marriage, and in time he encouraged a relationship between Chiyo and his friend and fellow writerHaruo Satō. The psychological stress of this situation is reflected in some of his early works, including the stage playAisureba koso (Because I Love Her, 1921) and the novelKami to hito no aida (Between Men and the Gods, 1924). Even though some of Tanizaki's writings seem to have been inspired by these and other persons and events in his life, his works are far less autobiographical than those of most of his contemporaries in Japan. Tanizaki later adopted Emiko, the daughter of his third wife, Matsuko Morita.
In 1918, Tanizaki touredChōsen, northern China, andManchuria. In his early years he became infatuated with the West and all things modern. In 1922, he relocated fromOdawara, where he had been living since 1919, toYokohama, which had a large expatriate population, living briefly in a Western-style house and leading abohemian lifestyle. This outlook is reflected in some of his early writings.
Tanizaki had a brief career insilent cinema, working as a script writer for theTaikatsu film studio. He was a supporter of thePure Film Movement and was instrumental in bringing modernist themes to Japanese film.[3] He wrote the scripts for the filmsAmateur Club (1922) andA Serpent's Lust (1923) (based on the story of the same title byUeda Akinari, which was, in part, the inspiration forMizoguchi Kenji's 1953 masterpieceUgetsu monogatari). Some have argued that Tanizaki's relation to cinema is important to understanding his overall career.[4]
Tanizaki's reputation began to take off in 1923, when he moved toKyoto after theGreat Kanto earthquake, which destroyed his house inYokohama (at the time Tanizaki was on a bus inHakone and thus escaped injury). The loss of Tokyo's historic buildings and neighborhoods in the quake triggered a change in his enthusiasms, as he redirected his youthful love for the imagined West and modernity into a renewed interest in Japanese aesthetics and culture, particularly the culture of theKansai region (around the cities ofOsaka,Kobe andKyoto). His first novel after the earthquake, and his first truly successful novel, wasChijin no ai (Naomi, 1924-25), which is a tragicomic exploration of class, sexual obsession, and cultural identity. Tanizaki made another trip to China in 1926, where he metGuo Moruo, with whom he later maintained correspondence. He relocated from Kyoto to Kobe in 1928.
Inspired by theOsaka dialect, Tanizaki wroteManji (Quicksand, 1928–1929), in which he explored lesbianism, among other themes. This was followed by the classicTade kuu mushi (Some Prefer Nettles, 1928–29), which depicts the gradual self-discovery of a Tokyo man living near Osaka, in relation to Western-influenced modernization and Japanese tradition.Yoshino kuzu (Arrowroot, 1931) alludes to Bunraku and kabuki theater and other traditional forms even as it adapts a European narrative-within-a-narrative technique. His experimentation with narrative styles continued withAshikari (The Reed Cutter, 1932),Shunkinshō (A Portrait of Shunkin, 1933), and many other works that combine traditional aesthetics with Tanizaki's particular obsessions.
His renewed interest in classical Japanese literature culminated in his multiple translations into modern Japanese of the eleventh-century classicThe Tale of Genji and in his masterpieceSasameyuki (literally "A Light Snowfall," but published in English translation asThe Makioka Sisters, 1943–1948), a detailed characterization of four daughters of a wealthy Osaka merchant family who see their way of life slipping away in the early years ofWorld War II. The sisters live a cosmopolitan life with European neighbors and friends, without suffering the cultural-identity crises common to earlier Tanizaki characters. When he began to serialize the novel, the editors of the literary magazineChūō Kōron were warned that it did not contribute to the needed war spirit and, fearful of losing supplies of paper, cut off the serialization.[5]
Tanizaki relocated to the resort town ofAtami, Shizuoka in 1942, but returned to Kyoto in 1946.
AfterWorld War II, Tanizaki again emerged into literary prominence, winning a host of awards. Until his death, he was widely regarded as Japan's greatest contemporary author. He won the prestigiousAsahi Prize in 1948, was awarded theOrder of Culture by the Japanese government in 1949, and in 1964 was elected to honorary membership in the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters, the first Japanese writer to be so honoured.
His first major post-war work wasShōshō Shigemoto no haha (Captain Shigemoto's Mother, 1949–1950), which includes a restatement of Tanizaki's frequent theme of a son's longing for his mother. The novel also introduces a new theme, of sexuality in old age, which reappears in later works such asKagi (The Key, 1956).Kagi is apsychological novel in which an aging professor arranges for his wife to commit adultery in order to boost his own sagging sexual desires.
Tanizaki returned to Atami in 1950, and was designated aPerson of Cultural Merit by the Japanese government in 1952. He suffered from paralysis of the right hand from 1958, and was hospitalized forAngina pectoris in 1960. Tanizaki's characters are often driven by obsessive erotic desires. In one of his last novels,Futen Rojin Nikki (Diary of a Mad Old Man, 1961–1962), the aged diarist is struck down by a stroke brought on by an excess of sexual excitement. He records both his past desires and his current efforts to bribe his daughter-in-law to provide sexual titillation in return for Western baubles. In 1964, Tanizaki moved toYugawara, Kanagawa, southwest of Tokyo, where he died of aheart attack on 30 July 1965, shortly after celebrating his 79th birthday. His grave is at the temple Hōnen-in, in Kyoto.
TheTanizaki Prize is one of Japan's most sought-after literary awards. Established in 1965 by the publishing company Chūō Kōronsha, it is awarded annually to a work of fiction or drama.
BeforeHaruki Murakami had achieved wide renown, Tanizaki was frequently considered one of the "Big Three" postwar Japanese writers along withYasunari Kawabata andYukio Mishima.[6]
| Year | Japanese Title | English Title | English Translator | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1910 | 刺青 Shisei | "The Tattooer" | Howard Hibbett | |
| 1913 | 恐怖 Kyōfu | "Terror" | Howard Hibbett | A short story of a young man suffering of thefear of trains |
| 1918 | 白昼鬼語 Hakuchū Kigo | Devils in Daylight | J. Keith Vincent | |
| 1918 | 金と銀 Kin to Gin | "Gold and Silver" | ||
| 1919 | 富美子の足 Fumiko no ashi | "Fumiko's Feet" | ||
| 1921 | 私 Watakushi | "The Thief" | Howard Hibbett | |
| 1922 | 青い花 Aoi hana | "Aguri" | Howard Hibbett | |
| 1925 | 痴人の愛 Chijin no ai | Naomi | Anthony Chambers | a.k.a.A Fool's Love |
| 1926 | 友田と松永の話 Tomoda to Matsunaga no hanashi | "The Strange Case of Tomoda and Matsunaga" | Paul McCarthy | |
| 1926 | 青塚氏の話 Aozukashi no hanashi | "Mr. Bluemound" | Paul McCarthy | |
| 1928 | 黒白 Kokubyaku | In Black and White | Phyllis I. Lyons | |
| 1928– 1930 | 卍 Manji | Quicksand | Howard Hibbett | Several film adaptations (1964, 1983, 1998 & 2006) |
| 1929 | 蓼喰う蟲 Tade kuu mushi | Some Prefer Nettles | Edward Seidensticker | |
| 1931 | 吉野葛 Yoshino kuzu | Arrowroot | Anthony Chambers | |
| 1932 | 蘆刈 Ashikari | The Reed Cutter | Anthony Chambers | Film adaptation |
| 1933 | 春琴抄 Shunkinshō | "A Portrait of Shunkin" | Howard Hibbett | Film adaptation Opera adaptation |
| 陰翳礼讃 In'ei raisan | In Praise of Shadows | Edward Seidensticker Thomas Harper | Essay onaesthetics | |
| 1935 | 武州公秘話 Bushukō hiwa | The Secret History of the Lord of Musashi | Anthony Chambers | |
| 1936 | 猫と庄造と二人の女 Neko to Shōzō to futari no onna | A Cat, A Man, and Two Women | Paul McCarthy | Film adaptation |
| 1943– 1948 | 細雪 Sasameyuki | The Makioka Sisters | Edward Seidensticker | Film adaptation |
| 1949 | 少将滋幹の母 Shōshō Shigemoto no haha | Captain Shigemoto's Mother | Anthony Chambers | |
| 1956 | 鍵 Kagi | The Key | Howard Hibbett | Film adaptation |
| 1957 | 幼少時代 Yōshō jidai | Childhood Years: A Memoir | Paul McCarthy | |
| 1961 | 瘋癲老人日記 Fūten rōjin nikki | Diary of a Mad Old Man | Howard Hibbett | Film adaptationArchived 2009-02-01 at theWayback Machine |
| 1962–3 | 台所太平記 Daidokoro taiheiki | The Maids | Michael P. Cronin |
Tanizaki's works have repeatedly been adapted into films, including:
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Academics | |
| Artists | |
| People | |
| Other | |
