| NOTA |
(★)(Translated by Edward G. Seidensticker／ Titulo original : 蓼喰う虫[Tade kuu mushi]／ The conflict between traditional and modern Japanese culture is at the heart of ´Some Prefer Nettles´. The protagonist, Kaname, epitomizes a smug, modern man living in a smug, modern marriage. Although Kaname gamely allows his wife to become another man´s mistress, there is a profound sadness at the heart of their relationship that such liberalism cannot cure. As the plot unfolds, Kaname gradually retreats into the protection of traditional rituals, attitudes and tastes. Eventually he makes love to O-Hisa, his father-in-law´s old-fashioned mistress and abandons the modern world entirely. The novel´s other characters, including his wife, his mistress, his father-in-law, and even the cities in which they live, symbolize either Japanese modernity or the ancient Japanese way of life. Although the novel is an excellent illustration of modern Japanese culture, Kaname´s struggle to understand his relationship to his community and the people closest to him is a universal theme. Tanizaki´s characteristic irony, eroticism and psychological undertones make ´Some Prefer Nettles´ an exceptionally enjoyable read.／ ◆Junichiro Tanizaki (1886-1965) is one of the major figures of 20th-century Japanese literature. Born in the heart of downtown Tokyo, he studied literature and led a bohemian existence at Tokyo Imperial University. His youthful experiences are reflected in his writings, as are the influences of such Western contemporaries as Poe, Baudelaire and Wilde. Following the Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923, Tanizaki left Tokyo for the Kyoto-Osaka region, where he wrote his finest works. As a young, cosmopolitan rake he abandoned the superficial Westernization of his student days and immersed himself in Japanese tradition and history. The emotional and intellectual crisis sparked by this transition turned a fine writer into one of Japan´s greatest and most-loved novelists. Junichiro Tanizaki received the Imperial Prize in Literature in 1949.) |
BASE de DATOS, Biblioteca del Centro Cultural de la Embajada de Japon
印刷用ページ