This is basically a maiden work by Junichiro Tanizaki. This is a story about a tattooist named Seikichi who draws a silk spider tattoo on a beautiful young girl. The artistic expressions Tanizaki used in this short story are amazingly and convey intricate Japanese history of people in the Edo era. This book is a must for people interested in reading Tanizaki's novels. Tanizaki was said to be nominated for Noble Prize for Literature nine times and became a finalist five times. This wonderful short story has never been translated into English. I'm a great lover of Tanizaki novels and decided to translate this and more short stories in the near future too. Please enjoy reading it and appreciate Tanizaki's gifted skill in storytelling. I put English version and Japanese version alternately so that readers interested in both languages can compare and learn two languages.

Publication Year: 2018