Junichiro Tanizaki

Jun'ichirō Tanizaki was a Japanese author considered one of the most prominent figures in modern Japanese literature, whose work moves from bold portrayals of sexuality to quiet studies of family life. Tanizaki's books include The Key, a psychological novel, Some Prefer Nettles, a coming-of-age story, and In Praise of Shadows, an essay on how shade and age shape Japanese taste. Tanizaki was one of six writers shortlisted for the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1964, a year before dying in 1965.