← Junichiro Tanizaki

The Key

by Junichiro Tanizaki

Erotic psychological novel depicting obsessive desire within a failing marriage

About the author

Junichiro Tanizaki

One of Japan's greatest novelists whose work obsessively explored feminine beauty, fetishism, and the erotic tensions between tradition and modernity. In Praise of Shadows is his celebrated aesthetic essay.

More by Junichiro Tanizaki

The Makioka SistersEpic novel chronicling a merchant family's social decline during interwar Japan
Some Prefer NettlesNovel examining marriage, tradition, and modernity through a man's marital crisis
In Praise of ShadowsEssay celebrating Japanese aesthetics of shadow, transience, and subtle beauty
NaomiPsychological novel of obsession as a man becomes corrupted by desire