A spring-time case : $b (Otsuya koroshi)

"A Spring-Time Case" (Otsuya koroshi) by Jun'ichiro Tanizaki is a novel written in the early 20th century, during the Taisho era of Japan. It centers around the complex lives of its characters, particularly focusing on a young man named Shinsuké who is in love with Tsuya, the daughter of his employer. The story explores themes of passion, societal expectations, and the tensions between personal desires and societal norms in the context of the geisha culture of Japan. The opening of the novel introduces readers to Shinsuké, who is navigating the emotional turmoil of his unfulfilled love for Tsuya while managing the constraints of his societal position as a servant. As both he and Tsuya express a desire to escape their current lives, the narrative sets the stage for their relationship's complexity and the struggles they face. Shinsuké grapples with his feelings of inadequacy and conflicting desires while the details of their lives unfold in the backdrop of a shifting societal landscape. The beginning hints at the intertwining destinies of the characters, indicating a rich narrative full of cultural nuance and personal conflict. (This is an automatically generated summary.)

Jun'ichirō Tanizaki was a Japanese author who is considered to be one of the most prominent figures in modern Japanese literature. The tone and subject matter of his work ranges from shocking depictions of sexuality and destructive erotic obsessions to subtle portrayals of the dynamics of family life within the context of the rapid changes in 20th-century Japanese society. Frequently, his stories are narrated in the context of a search for cultural identity in which constructions of the West and Japanese tradition are juxtaposed.