Novel
The Makioka Sisters
細雪
Jun'ichirō Tanizaki · 1948
Synopsis
Ōsaka, from autumn 1936 to spring 1941. The four Makioka sisters, Tsuruko, Sachiko, Yukiko and Taeko, come from an old merchant house of the Senba district whose fortune is declining, according to Kotobank. The family's concern is to marry off the third, Yukiko, through a series of arranged meetings that come to nothing. The youngest, Taeko, makes dolls, learns dance and sewing, and leads a love life that strains the family's relations. War approaches in the background.
Context
The book began to appear in 1943 in the journal Chūō kōron, but military censorship stopped its publication, judging the subject out of place in wartime. A first volume was privately printed in 1944; the continuation appeared after the defeat, and the whole was complete in 1948. The Japanese title evokes a light snow, an image of cherry petals, and shares its “yuki” with the name of Yukiko. The book has been brought to the screen three times, in 1950, 1959 and 1983.
Who it is for
A long novel with no central plot, which follows over five years the seasons and the marriage interviews of a family.
Prizes and reception
Its first two volumes received the first Mainichi Publishing Prize, and the English translation appeared in 1957.
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