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(★)(Translated by Anthony H. Chambers／ The two short novels published together in this book, both written in the early 1930s at the hight of Tanizaki´s powers, pose a strong contrast in subject matter --bizarre and sexually perverse on the one hand, reflective and lyrical on the other. Yet, despite their differences, the two novellas are distinctly and wonderfully Tanizakian --passionate, colorful, and shot through with humor. ´The Secret History of the Lord of Musashi´ takes the form of extracts from several medieval chronicles that satirize the usual Confucian histories by putting in all the scandalous detail they so scrupulously leave out. The subject is the great warrior lord Terukatsu, whose sexual fixations include an unhealthy interest in severed heads, especially those without noses. In an extraordinary blend of horror and wit, Tanizaki describes how his protagonist first develops his obsession and then pursues it with the help of the magnificent and equally unconventional Lady Kikyo.／ ´Arrowroot´ is a beautiful example of the peculiarly Japanese genre of fiction known as the ´essay-novel´. Discursive, meditative, and poetic, it describes the journey of two friends into a legend-haunted mountain region southeast of Kyoto, one of them searching for information about a lost imperial court that took refuge there in the fifteenth century, the other for understanding of his long-dead mother.／ ◆Junichiro Tanizaki (1886-1965), widely considered one of Japan´s finest modern writers, was born in Tokyo and lived there until the earthquake of 1923. In that year he moved to the Kyoto-Osaka region, the setting for his great novel The Makioka Sisters. His most important novels and stories, many reflecting his taste for sexual perversity, his eye for social comedy, and his bitter humor, were written after his move to the Kansai. Tanizaki received the Imperial Prize for Literature in 1949. He was the first Japanese to be elected an Honorary Member of the American Academy and the National Institute of Arts and Letters.／ ▼CONTENTS／ ●The Secret History of the Lord of Musashi (Titulo original : 武州公秘話 [Bushuukoo Hiwa])／ ●Arrowroot (吉野葛 [Yoshino Kuzu])／) |
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