Tanizaki Junichiro to Ikoku no Gengo (Tanizaki Junichiro and Foreign Languages)

This book is the paperback version of a monograph of the same name published from Jimbun Shoin in 2003, which to the delight of the author, was released in the memorial year marking 50 years since the death of Tanizaki and 130 years since his birth. The book’s jacket contains the following introduction: “Dreaming of foreign lands, infatuated with beautiful women and delicious food . . . Travels in China, interest in India, film, translation, and his move to Kansai . . . Rediscover the literary inception that led to Naomi and Quicksand through a collection of works that venture beyond exoticism.” As the author, my intention for this book, written beyond the subject of “exoticism,” which since Said’s Orientalism has lost favor and come to be treated almost as an embarrassment, was to develop the argument that although exoticism was indeed the cause of frequent misunderstandings, it is also an important element for literature and art. At the same time, the original impetus for writing the book was my desire to present the peculiar appeal of Tanizaki’s Taisho period works, which are not reexamined in detail. These points were aptly raised and appraised in a preface of the paperback version by Shohei Chujo (professor at Gakushuin University and critic): “(...) For Tanizaki, the Taisho era was sandwiched between two creative peaks—the magnificent decadent esthetics of the late Meiji era and the return to the Japanese classics of the early Showa era—and came to be regarded as a period of stagnation. (...) This book, Tanizaki Junichiro and Foreign Languages by Kan Nozaki, is a truly thrilling critique that punctures the established theories of literary history from an unexpected angle, illuminating the unique richness of Tanizaki’s Taisho period literature with great finesse. (...) To achieve this ambitious endeavor, author Kan Nozaki uses exoticism as the central concept in his argument. The term “exoticism” generally refers to a vague longing for the mysterious objects, matters, and customs of distant foreign lands; however, Nozaki draws on the origins of the term to redefine it as the “power to betray conventional images and entice us to the outside (exo-).” Tanizaki’s Taisho period works are brimming with desire for such power and express a humorous yet sincere direction for that passion without it threatening to walk the fine line of absurdity.” I would also like to quote the conclusion of the review: “Tanizaki’s novels always have a certain joyous, mischievous side, which entertains the reader. Then, upon realizing this, the reader slaps a thigh, knowing that the purpose of Tanizaki Junichiro and Foreign Languages is in fact to transform the current view of Tanizaki’s literature and send the reader on a journey into unchartered territory, bored and impatient with the same hackneyed narratives of Tanizaki and diabolism or his ‘return to Japan.’ It is precisely for this reason that the literary critic, never verging on pompous erudition, smiles mischievously throughout, guiding us toward a feeling of happiness.” I sincerely hope that the book lives up to Professor Chujo’s critique in some small way.
 

(Written by Kan Nozaki, Professor, Graduate School of Humanities and Sociology / 2017)