Short Fiction

Short Fiction brings Tanizaki Jun’ichirō’s approach to fiction, shorts into clear focus first published in 1915. Its central concerns include human motives, relationships, conflict, and the consequences of choice, approached through the possibilities of fiction, shorts. This English edition is presented in a translation by Ijichi Sumimasa, Iwadō Z. Tamotsu, bringing the work’s original voice into a different linguistic setting. Tanizaki Jun’ichirō relies on a character-centered narrative style that rewards attention to voice, structure, and perspective, allowing mood and structure to carry as much meaning as subject matter. At roughly 33,383 words with a fairly easy reading profile, it offers a reading commitment that is easy to judge before beginning while still leaving room for close attention. Its continuing value lies in its capacity to make unfamiliar lives and difficult choices emotionally legible. It remains worth reading for the precision with which it turns human motives into a sustained literary experience.