Junichiro Tanizaki: biography and work of the great Japanese writer

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

Junichiro Tanizaki is a famous Japanese writer whose works have become world classics. To this day, Junichiro's books are read all over the world - readers find more and more beauty in them.

Writer's biography

Born Junichiro Tanizaki on July 24, 1886 in Tokyo, Japan.

The writer's father was a serious and we althy businessman. Later, when Junichiro Tanizaki began to write his legendary works, in one of the books he admitted that he was greatly spoiled as a child. Despite the fact that Tanizaki were considered we althy people at that time, some time later the family began to get poorer. This is what influenced the career of Junichiro Tanizaki. The family moved to a poorer Tokyo area, Junichiro got a job as a school teacher. He held this position for a long time, helping students to develop more and more in the literary direction.

Tanizaki received his education at the University of Tokyo, where he studied at the Faculty of Literature. But the salary was very small, the parents could barely make ends meet, so Junichiro had to leavestudying, as he did not have the means to pay for his education.

First steps in creativity

Tanizaki began writing in 1909. The first step of the writer into creativity was a small play, which did not bring the author much fame, because it was published in a local magazine.

Speaking about the dawn of Junichiro's work, it is important to note that at first the writer rejected any manifestations of literary naturalism. The works of Junichiro Tanizaki were written in the Art Nouveau and avant-garde styles. In addition, the uniqueness of Tanizaki's works lies in the fact that they are not devoid of romanticism and philosophically deep, which at that time was rather characteristic of naturalism.

Starting to write, Junichiro tried to do the almost impossible - he decided to combine in his works the ancient Japanese traditions, sacredly kept from century to century, and Western European dynamic culture, which became a breath of fresh air for the writer.

About the works

The peculiarity of Tanizaki's works is that the writer depicted female images in a special way. In his books, you can see how unique female characters are: Junichiro often chose fatal ladies as heroines. If we compare the works of Tanizaki with the works of other Japanese writers of that time, one can see how much they differ in style, plots and characters. The emotions that Tanizaki's works evoke cannot be described, they are so strongdifferent from the usual human literature. Tanizaki's books can change the way you look at the world, broaden your horizons and help you find your life path.

Tanizaki's writing style is very different from his fellow artists. Readers perceived his works in completely different ways. Some Japanese critics condemned his desire for innovation in literature, while others admired the new that Junichiro tried to introduce into Japanese culture. The writer's innovative work not only entered the culture of Japan, but became one of the most important stages in the development of world literature.

The sunset of creativity

At the end of his creative life, Junichiro decided to abandon the synthesis of the cultures of Europe and Japan in his works. Tanizaki's latest works were increasingly filled with Japanese literary culture and traditions. He wrote books based on ancient Japanese history.

Death of a writer

Junichiro died on July 30, 1965 at the age of 79. After the death of the great writer, the Junichiro Tanizaki Literary Prize was officially established in Japan.

Memory of the writer

Traditional comics are very popular in Japan today. Having gained eternal fame and respect, the writer became the hero of the Stray Dogs comic strip. Junichiro Tanizaki in the work has a different name, but everyone knows that the author of the comic portrayed this great representative of Japanese literature and world classics.

Key

ArtworkJunichiro Tanizaki "Key" became one of the central works of Japanese literature of that time. The story is told in the form of two diaries kept by a husband and wife. Confrontation between spouses, family troubles, misunderstandings and great love for each other - this is what Junichiro Tanizaki wrote about.

Shadow Praise

In Praise of the Shadow, a Japanese writer talks about the magic of female beauty. The work is distinguished by frankness, as it contains elements of eroticism that were not inherent in Japanese literature of the twentieth century.

Small Snow

Junichiro Tanizaki's book "Small Snow" has become one of the most famous and important in the writer's work. You can also find another name for this work - "Snow Landscape".

The events Tanizaki writes about take place in the 30s of the last century in Japan. The plot revolves around a rather we althy family with four daughters. The writer tells how the life of each of the girls of a famous old family develops. In the center of the story are their experiences and emotions, which send the ongoing events into the background.

Fool's Love

In the midst of the events of the writer's work are the simplest people. However, life develops in such a way that the relationship between them is too complicated. By showing how a person is able to behave in a certain situation, Tanizaki reveals the essence of the entire human soul. In addition, the author gives many differences between a resident of Western Europe and a resident of Japan.