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Diary of a Mad Old Man: The Aesthetic Blending of Eros and Thanatos
Diary of a Mad Old Man: The Aesthetic Blending of Eros and Thanatos
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When desire and death stand side by side.
The aesthetic of female worship, sadism, and masochism merge into one.
His obsession with the femme fatale makes him feel as if he is bathed in hope once more...
★ The classic work where Tanizaki's aesthetics once again elevate Japanese literature to its peak, receiving the [Daily Art Award]! ★
"Jun'ichirō Tanizaki personally opened up an artistic realm in modern literature that no one had ever explored before." — Nagai Kafū
"The pain grew more intense, and so did the pleasure...
Though painful, it was immensely pleasurable, far more so than being alive,
Step on me harder, step on me a few more times...
Anyway, I don't believe in gods or Buddha, I have no religious faith,
If there is a deity in my heart, it can only be the goddess Satsuko."
Simply being with Satsuko, the indirect pleasure was enough to deeply captivate the old man. The old man could not resist satisfying all the requests of the woman before him, even offending his wife and splurging three million yen on luxurious jewelry, just to win a smile from her, and perhaps to kiss her enchanting calves once more... In the end, he only had one last wish to fulfill.
"Diary of a Mad Old Man" is Jun'ichirō Tanizaki's most mature masterpiece in his later years as a master of Japanese aestheticism, and also the pinnacle of Japanese foot fetish aesthetics. From the perspective of an old man in his twilight years, the diary describes his mad infatuation with his beautiful and wicked daughter-in-law. That absurd yet pure desire, the painful and torturous excitement and pleasure, led him to repeatedly hover between death and ecstasy, filling his withered old age with joy once more.
"I have no attachment to living, but as long as I live, it's impossible not to be attracted to the opposite sex." — Jun'ichirō Tanizaki
In his literary creations, Jun'ichirō Tanizaki pursued aestheticism, the brutal, acute pleasure of the flesh, and perverse sensual desires. His works often feature themes of "sadism," "masochism," "female body worship," and "fetishism." Tanizaki, who dedicated his life to pursuing desire and sensory beauty, pioneered the field of elderly literature in his later years, adding explorations of "life" and "death" to his sensual worship.
When "Diary of a Mad Old Man" was completed, Tanizaki was seventy-seven years old, the same age as the old man in the book. In real life, he also faced the torment of illness and the fear of death, so the author likely projected much of his personal state of mind into the old man's diary. Upon its release, the novel's innovative creative form and theme caused an uproar in the Japanese literary world, with everyone admiring the unattainable peak of Tanizaki's aesthetics. This work, arguably his final masterpiece, allows the world to more thoroughly understand Jun'ichirō Tanizaki's most sacred lifelong belief — "female body worship and eternal beauty."
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The aesthetic of female worship, sadism, and masochism merge into one.
His obsession with the femme fatale makes him feel as if he is bathed in hope once more...
★ The classic work where Tanizaki's aesthetics once again elevate Japanese literature to its peak, receiving the [Daily Art Award]! ★
"Jun'ichirō Tanizaki personally opened up an artistic realm in modern literature that no one had ever explored before." — Nagai Kafū
"The pain grew more intense, and so did the pleasure...
Though painful, it was immensely pleasurable, far more so than being alive,
Step on me harder, step on me a few more times...
Anyway, I don't believe in gods or Buddha, I have no religious faith,
If there is a deity in my heart, it can only be the goddess Satsuko."
Simply being with Satsuko, the indirect pleasure was enough to deeply captivate the old man. The old man could not resist satisfying all the requests of the woman before him, even offending his wife and splurging three million yen on luxurious jewelry, just to win a smile from her, and perhaps to kiss her enchanting calves once more... In the end, he only had one last wish to fulfill.
"Diary of a Mad Old Man" is Jun'ichirō Tanizaki's most mature masterpiece in his later years as a master of Japanese aestheticism, and also the pinnacle of Japanese foot fetish aesthetics. From the perspective of an old man in his twilight years, the diary describes his mad infatuation with his beautiful and wicked daughter-in-law. That absurd yet pure desire, the painful and torturous excitement and pleasure, led him to repeatedly hover between death and ecstasy, filling his withered old age with joy once more.
"I have no attachment to living, but as long as I live, it's impossible not to be attracted to the opposite sex." — Jun'ichirō Tanizaki
In his literary creations, Jun'ichirō Tanizaki pursued aestheticism, the brutal, acute pleasure of the flesh, and perverse sensual desires. His works often feature themes of "sadism," "masochism," "female body worship," and "fetishism." Tanizaki, who dedicated his life to pursuing desire and sensory beauty, pioneered the field of elderly literature in his later years, adding explorations of "life" and "death" to his sensual worship.
When "Diary of a Mad Old Man" was completed, Tanizaki was seventy-seven years old, the same age as the old man in the book. In real life, he also faced the torment of illness and the fear of death, so the author likely projected much of his personal state of mind into the old man's diary. Upon its release, the novel's innovative creative form and theme caused an uproar in the Japanese literary world, with everyone admiring the unattainable peak of Tanizaki's aesthetics. This work, arguably his final masterpiece, allows the world to more thoroughly understand Jun'ichirō Tanizaki's most sacred lifelong belief — "female body worship and eternal beauty."
