Great book, beautiful writing, deceptive in its simplicity. Quite inspiring. Read for my 2016 reading challenge: #6. A book translated to English (or from English into your first language)Thank you Steelwhisper for the rec.

I purchased this book in a bookstore off Piccadilly Circus waiting to meet someone. After hours of conversation, we separated, taking our respective tunnels to catch our trains. Every time I see this book, I remember that goodbye. Funny, the things that serve as fluttering markers to our memories.I'm reading these out of order to the book layout because I wanted to see the chronological progression in themes and style relating it back to history. These notes are likely not particularly useful fo [...]

Part of the reason why Japanese literature so fascinates me is its individualistic sensibilities. The simplicity of their prose is a known trait now, but what works for me are the themes and literary concerns. If Murakami penetrates the psyche and turns the survey of dreams into a tiny little adventure, Tanizaki on the other hand takes dreams and the buried pathology of daily life at face value. In these stories he comes across as a very direct and clear voice. No trace of Kawabatian subtlety ar [...]

Tanizaki is a fascinating writer with respect how he sees himself in Japanese culture. He was part of the 1920's Tokyo gang that was obsessed with the West that was very fashionable among the literary and young set at the time. But when the big earthquake hit Tokyo in the early 20's, he became torn between the bright lights of the West and hardcore Japanese tradition. And basically all his books deal with this unusual relationship between the West and the East. And we're not really talking about [...]

You fuckers ever stayed up late watching weird Japanese horror movies you found at Blockbuster as a teenager? Can you remember the first time you saw really intense Japanese porn, not necessarily the kind with tentacles but where there's something just wrong? If Tanizaki is any indicator, turns out shit has been weird for a long time. Incest, bondage, fetishism, they've all been there, it's just that now we have the Internet. And it's not that Tanizaki's stories are just weird or kinky or whatev [...]

It was really good, the stories were haunting and somewhat tragic, and some of the stories depressed me. The Blind Man's Tale, in my opinion is very beautiful, and very sad. While the Bridge of Dreams disturbed me deeply (the story was twisted and worried me to no end). There is also quite a variance in the settings to, half appearing to be set somewhere in the 1920 period and others set in the Meiji, or sometime in the Feudal eras. It was very culturally enlightening too, it's kind of hard to e [...]

مقطع من قصة الواشم أو الوشم ):[في صباح مشرق من بداية فصل الربيع، كانت القوارب تجري في النهر صعودًا وهبوطًا، وتحدث مجاديفها صخباً في ذلك الصباح الهادئ، بينما كانت أسطح القرميد تلمع في الشمس والضباب بدأ ينخفض رقيقًا فوق الأشرعة البيضاء، في لحظات النسيم الباكر. وأخيرًا، وضع سيك� [...]

Japanese culture, when compared to what's generally passed off as Western culture, seems to be a little off. That's not a value judgement, but an observation that compared to what Western Canon readers are used to, there's more dissonance, and a willingness to examine topics which (at least in the time Tanizaki was writing) were either not covered in polite society, or were swept under the rug in bowdlerised editions. It's not the case here. Incest and fetishes, and the annihilation of the self [...]

Certainly a nice variation of stories to get a grasp on whether or not you're a fan of Tanizaki, as each story has very different things on offer. His appreciation of the West at the time really shines through in a couple of his works, which may make it a more familiar read for those unacquainted with Japanese works in general.Tanizaki seems to be thoroughly renown for the prominence of sexual perversion in his works. Don't let this put you off because of your predisposed beliefs and the whatnot [...]

I love this collection even though I didn't give it five stars. Some of the stories are stronger than others, which holds it back from reaching the kind of perfection other stories hint at.It's a collection about what it means to be Japanese, which may be a turn off for many. It's very accessible, I thought. Stories about creation and destruction, about art and life, about love and Death. These are stories about life, told with great seriousness but also great humor. This was my first look into [...]

Bez ikakvih metaforičnih značenja, bez i malo kitnjastosti i ulepšavanja svojstvene ogromnoj većini pisaca, konkretne, gotovo bezobrazno jednostavne i razumljive rečenice, grade svaku od sedam prelepih priča ove zbirke. Staloženost ritma pisanja jednako prisutna bilo da pripoveda najobičnije dane u životu svojih junaka, bilo da se bavi različitim osetljivim temama. Savršena mirnoća u pisanju me očaralazimenaknjizevnazadruga.word

I'm a huge fan of these short stories. You can go back and re-think about them over and over. The alarming fixations of his characters - some neuorotic, some manipulative - keep you riveted, even while you're appalled. Excruciating studies of the dark and confusing sides of humanity.If you've not read Tanizaki before, I'd suggest not beginning with the novella that is included in this volume. Take on the masterful, shorter stories first, like "The Tatooer." Once you've got the hang of Tanizaki, [...]

1. A Portrait of Shunkin: 4 starsMy thoughts:- Complexity of people and relationships- Who are we to contemplate whether a relationship is healthy- Boundary of consensual and obsession blurred- Yet the 2 members involved are ok so is it right or not?- Questions where obsession crosses the boundary- Yet is it wrong??????- Also, is Sasuke insane, obsessed, devoted, in love, or a saint?- Is Shunkin cruel, sadistic, cold, harsh, misunderstood, narcissistic, or angry?- Maybe these are questions that [...]

Quote:“The cold winter rains and the snowOnly fall now and then—But because of you, my tearsAre falling constantly.”“Even though you love,Do not let your love be known.But do not forgetWhile you pretend you do not love.”Review:Ever since I read Tanizaki’s beautiful novel, “Naomi,” a novel he wrote when he was 39, I’ve been hooked to his bizarre brand of Japanese beauty. Tanizaki is considered by many as one of Japan’s most popular novelists, winning Japan’s Imperial Prize i [...]

Tanizaki wrote about controversial and taboo subject matters (sadism, masochism, incest) like a boss. The characters here - mostly are crazy, losing their friggin' mind but you can totally relate to them. At some points the story get sick and creepy but the prose itself is marble-like perfection and really haunting.My personal favourite are A Portrait of Shunkin and The Tattooer. Strange but believable and powerful. Anyway, the name Sasuke seems to mean "emo" in Japanese. Just kidding.

At first I was struck by the firm nobility-fetishizing bend to these stories, but upon finishing the book and reading more I'm realizing that some stories may have been using that voice ironically to call out the tragedy of rigid social order. Still not sure about that, but the writing is great and the sexual pathology is arrestingly incestuous and footy.

A great book. Tales that all tell of an aspect of human nature. I like the way Tanizaki writes, the flow of the words, the pattern of speech.I had higher hopes for The Tattooer but The Blind Man's Tale was better than I hoped.A sad story of a womans fate by the unseeing eyes of her servant. In the era of wars womenwere little more than beautiful prizes.

one of my 15 choices for literary masterpieces for sff lovers; the essence of the author

LOVE Tanizaki. For the American reader: this will be a different style of storytelling for you. Beautiful and a bit bizarre.

Favorite stories; A Portrait of Shunkin, The Bridge of Dreams and A Blind Man's Tale.

Bottom Line FirstJunichirô Tanizaki’s Seven Japanese Tales are a collection of works from 1910 to 1953. They range in length from a few pages to near novella length. A common theme is the friction and conflicts between older Japanese traditions and the influence of modern sensibilities. His writing ranges from the matter of fact to the evocative. Tanizaki has a taste for the erotic. Where it appears in this collection is in a horrific story the Tattooer. In only ten pages we are exposed to th [...]

I read three of the stories in "Seven Japanese Tales" and three other stories written by Tanizaki published in anthologies. What I'm going to write here is about those six stories, so this is more of a general review of Tanizaki's stories and style rather than of just this book "Seven Japanese Tales." Junichiro Tanizaki is considered a classic in Japanese literature, but I'm not sure what the fuss is about, to be frank. "The Thief" is a story about a university student who is a thief and is bein [...]

This is my second book by Junichiro Tanizaki. I think I mostly liked the previous novel Some Prefer Nettles better because of the more cohesive story. I think that short story collections are already a push for me and story collections that are retrospective rather than connected by time or theme especially. That said, I did enjoy the stories in this collection. The long stories (which range from 60 to 95 pages) play upon more historical themes and more historical narratives adopting the voice o [...]

I must confess that I'm not too familiar with a bit older Japanese literature. I have mainly read modern Murakami and all of his novels I have liked a lot. This was a completely different reading experience.Tanizaki is a recognized and valued author so most likely my evaluation is not literally valid. But I didn't like these short stories too much. Better knowledge on Japanese culture would perhaps have helped a little bit. Perhaps not.These stories were somehow "slow" in a manner I didn't find [...]

Cuando compre el libro me imaginé que su contenido era muy diferente a lo que encontré. Al leer los diferentes cuentos, uno a uno, entendí el contexto y la época en el que fue escrito. Es simple y sencillo, pero siento que las diferencias culturales no me dejaron entenderlo en su totalidad. No es de mi favoritos. No lo recomendaría, pero hay que leer de todo un poco para saber que te gusta y que no!

I'm not a big fan of this book. It was a little bit boring and repetitive, anyways, I can recognize its value. Tanizaki's approach to aesthetics, the feminine figure and the Japanese culture is very rich and interesting.

Dark and realistic. Tanizaki is East's Kafka. This was the first of Tanizaki's several works I've read. If you like this, do grab a copy of Naomi. He has hints of Kafka, Nabokov and Marquez sprinkled in his writings.

3.5. Enjoyable writing, but this selection of stories, taken from various points in Tanizaki's career, is uneven, making the collection as a whole difficult to rate. Worth reading, but not necessarily the best introduction to the author's work.

the stories and characters were so good. the characters were strange, and sometimes disturbing, and it was exactly what the writer intended.i only wish i could have read it in its original Japanese, because the writing itself much have been so good as well.

Charming and mystical.