Shisei (The Tattooer)
A compact introduction to Tanizaki's early erotic and aesthetic fiction.
Author guide
Jun'ichirō Tanizaki Books in Order
Jun'ichirō Tanizaki (1886–1965) was a major Japanese writer whose career spanned the late Meiji, Taishō, and Shōwa periods. His early fiction drew on Western modernism, eroticism, and decadent aesthetics; after the 1923 Kantō earthquake, his work increasingly engaged with Kansai culture, classical Japanese literature, and traditional aesthetics. His major works include Naomi, Some Prefer Nettles, Quicksand, A Portrait of Shunkin, In Praise of Shadows, The Makioka Sisters, Captain Shigemoto's Mother, The Key, and Diary of a Mad Old Man. He also wrote plays, essays, memoirs, screenplays, and a celebrated modern-Japanese translation of The Tale of Genji.
novelsnovellasshort storiesessaysmemoirplaysscreenplaysliterary criticism
Catalog record updated .
Not sure where to begin?
Start with one of these
Tade kuu mushi (Some Prefer Nettles)
A central novel representing his transition toward Kansai settings and traditional Japanese culture.
Sasameyuki (The Makioka Sisters)
His major mature family novel and one of the defining works of twentieth-century Japanese literature.
Outside the series
Bibliography by category
Novels (26)
- Konjiki no shi (The Golden Death)
novella · 1914
- Otsuya koroshi (The Murder of Otsuya)
novella · 1915
- Hakuchū kigo (Devils in Daylight)
novella · 1918
- Bishoku kurabu (The Gourmet Club)
novella · 1919
- Fumiko's Feet
novella · 1919
- Aoi hana (Aguri)
novella · 1922
- Chijin no ai (Naomi)
novel · 1925
- Aozukashi no hanashi (Mr. Bluemound)
novella · 1926
- Kokubyaku (In Black and White)
novel · 1928
- Manji (Quicksand)
novel · 1928
- Tade kuu mushi (Some Prefer Nettles)
novel · 1929
- Yoshino kuzu (Arrowroot)
novella · 1931
- Mōmoku monogatari (A Blind Man's Tale)
novel · 1931
- Ashikari (The Reed Cutter)
novella · 1932
- Shunkinshō (A Portrait of Shunkin)
novella · 1933
- Bunshō tokuhon (A Reader on Style)
nonfiction · 1934
- Bushukō hiwa (The Secret History of the Lord of Musashi)
novella · 1935
- Kamigami to ningen no aida (Between Men and Gods)
novel · 1936
- Sasameyuki (The Makioka Sisters)
novel · 1943
- Yume no ukihashi (The Bridge of Dreams)
novel · 1959
- Kagi (The Key)
novel · 1956
- Fūten rōjin nikki (Diary of a Mad Old Man)
novel · 1961
- Daidokoro taiheiki (The Maids)
novel · 1962
Nonfiction (3)
- Seishun monogatari (A Tale of Youth)
memoir · 1934
- Miyakowasure no ki (Memoir of Forgetting the Capital)
memoir · 1950
- Yōshō jidai (Childhood Years)
memoir · 1957
Short fiction (4)
- Shisei (The Tattooer)
short-story-collection · 1911
- Shōnen (Children)
short-story-collection · 1912
- Watakushi (The Thief)
short-story-collection · 1921
- Samui kuni yori (From a Cold Country)
short-story-collection · 1938
Essays and speeches (2)
- In'ei raisan (In Praise of Shadows)
essay · 1933
- Setsugōan yawa (Snow-after Retreat Conversations)
essay-collection · 1965
Other (1)
- Ningyo no nageki (The Mermaid's Lament)
illustrated-book · 1918
Frequently asked questions about Jun'ichirō Tanizaki
Who was Jun'ichirō Tanizaki?
Jun'ichirō Tanizaki (1886–1965) was a Japanese novelist, playwright, essayist, and literary figure born in Tokyo. He became one of the major writers of modern Japanese literature.
Sources: ndl.go.jp (opens in a new tab)rem.routledge.com (opens in a new tab)
What shaped Tanizaki's literary career?
He began writing while studying at Tokyo Imperial University and entered literary circles with the aesthetic story “The Tattooer” in 1910. After the 1923 Great Kantō Earthquake, he moved to the Kansai region, where his work increasingly turned toward classical Japanese culture and traditional aesthetics.
Sources: ndl.go.jp (opens in a new tab)rem.routledge.com (opens in a new tab)
Which writers and traditions influenced Jun'ichirō Tanizaki?
Tanizaki drew on classical Japanese literature and the Japanese artistic past, while also engaging with Western writers such as Edgar Allan Poe, Charles Baudelaire, and Oscar Wilde. The tension between Japanese tradition and Western modernity became a recurring concern in his writing.
Sources: encyclopedia.com (opens in a new tab)rem.routledge.com (opens in a new tab)
What awards and honors did Tanizaki receive?
He received Japan's Order of Culture in 1949 and was elected an honorary member of the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters in 1964.
Source: ndl.go.jp (opens in a new tab)
Why is Jun'ichirō Tanizaki still important?
Tanizaki is remembered as a leading modern Japanese novelist who combined elaborate storytelling with eroticism, aestheticism, and questions of cultural identity. His work helped define literary debates about modernity, tradition, and the possibilities of fiction in twentieth-century Japan.
Sources: rem.routledge.com (opens in a new tab)encyclopedia.com (opens in a new tab)