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The year 1928 was a remarkable one for Tanizaki. He wrote three exquisite novels, but while two of them - Some Prefer Nettles and Quicksand - became famous, In Black and White disappeared from view. All three were serialized in Osaka and Tokyo newspapers and magazines, but In Black and White was never published as an independent volume. This translation restores it to its rightful place among Tanizaki´s works and offers a window into the author´s life at a crucial point in his career. A critical afterword explains the novel´s context and importance for Tanizaki and Japan´s literary and cultural scene in the 1920s, connecting autobiographical elements with the novel´s key concerns, including Tanizaki´s critique of Japanese literary culture and fiction itself.

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In Black and White is a playful, parodic whodunit and a welcome addition to the extensive body of English translations of works by Jun´ichir Tanizaki. Dennis Washburn, Jane and Raphael Bernstein Professor in Asian Studies, Dartmouth College

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Jun´ichir Tanizaki (1886 - 1965) was one of the major Japanese writers of the twentieth century. Among his classic novels are Naomi, The Makioka Sisters, and The Key. Phyllis I. Lyons is professor emeritus of Japanese language and literature at Northwestern University. She is the author of The Saga of Dazai Osamu: A Critical Study with Translations (1985).

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