Some Prefer Nettles Author:Junichiro Tanizaki, Edward G. Seidensticker (Translator) Originally published in 1955 in Japanese as "Tade Kuu Mushi". — Some Prefer Nettles is a personal confession and the story of a cultural conflict. The central situation, an unhappy marriage between two people who do not interest each other sexually and who feel a tormenting uncertainty over what to do about it, seems to be autobiographical. The n... more »ovel is also biographical in that it tells of Tanizaki's growing attachment to Osaka and traditional Japan.
The real theme, however, is the clash between the new and the old, the imported and the domestic. Misako, the wife, is drawn toward the new and the foreign, while Kaname is drawn more and more strongly toward the traditional. Each is pulled by conflicting forces. The marital conflict and the cultural conflict are in a very general way coextensive.« less