# Short Fiction — Chapters explained

> Chapter companions for Short Fiction by Tanizaki Jun’ichirō.

- [Short Fiction](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_52_se/chapters/short-fiction.md): A collection of short fiction pieces exploring themes of beauty, obsession, transformation, and the supernatural through various characters and their intertwined fates.
- [Tattooing](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_52_se/chapters/tattooing.md): The chapter introduces the art of tattooing in Edo-period Japan, focusing on the skilled tattooer Seikichi. It describes his artistic philosophy, his sadistic pleasure in causing pain, and his long-cherished desire to fi
- [A Springtime Case](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_52_se/chapters/a-springtime-case.md): Tsuya and Shinsuké plot revenge against Seiji for Shinsuké's apparent murder, while Tsuya's past as a geisha and her manipulation of Seiji are revealed. The chapter culminates in a violent confrontation where Shinsuké be
- [The White Fox](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_52_se/chapters/the-white-fox.md): A one-act play exploring themes of enchantment, transformation, and the supernatural through the story of a white fox spirit.
- [Persons in the Play](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_52_se/chapters/persons-in-the-play.md): This chapter introduces the characters of the play, including Kakutaro, a young man enchanted by a fox; his lover Osayo; Osayo's mother; the fox and its children; a foreign woman and her attendant; a foreign man; and a p
- [Scene](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_52_se/chapters/scene.md): Kakutaro tries to convince Osayo that the mysterious woman bathing in the cottage is not a fox but a foreign woman named Miss Rosa, whom he knew in Kobe. Despite Osayo's fears and the villagers' beliefs, Kakutaro insists
- [Endnotes](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_52_se/chapters/endnotes.md): This chapter provides explanatory notes on Japanese cultural terms, customs, and historical context referenced throughout the book, including honorifics, currency, holidays, social hierarchies, theater practices, family 

HTML index: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_52_se/chapters