Finals: The Tattooer (Shisei) Flashcards
Tattooer is aka
Shisei
Tattooer was written by
Junichiro Tanizaki
Who are the characters in the story?
Seikichi
The young girl
What is seikichi’s current occupation?
Tattooer
He was formerly an ukiyo-e painter. Ukiyo-e is wood block painting.
What was seikichi’s secret pleasure?
He’s a sadist
He derives pleasure from seeing his customers’ different expressions under the pain of his needles
What was seikichi’s cherished desire?
To create a masterpiece on the skin of a beautiful woman
“Such a woman had to meet various qualifications of character as well as appearance” (Tanizaki 250).
How did Seikichi meet the girl in person?
The girl was sent by seikichi’s friend on an errand to deliver a cloak
How did Seikichi awaken or reveal the girl’s true self and future?
He showed her two pictures of women who take pleasure in controlling men.
The first was a painting of a Chinese princess who watches a man being tortured as she takes a sip of her wine—”Your own feelings are resembled here” (Tanizaki 251).
The second painting portrayed a young woman who was gloating over a heap of men’s corpses—”This painting shows your future” (Tanizaki 251).
How did the girl react to the paintings?
She was afraid. She admits that they are indeed true about her but it was like she was ashamed to have it shown in broad daylight.
Describe how seikichi tattooed the girl
He worked on the tattoo day and night, worked by candlelight if he had to.
He poured his very soul into the art, the same way any artist inserts a part of them into their works.
What kind of tattoo did Seikichi give the girl?
A spider tattoo
Describe the girl’s transformation or awakening
The docile girl awoke as the very spider on her back
She becomes more dominant and assertive, saying “I can bear anything for the sake of beauty” or “I hate to have a man see me suffer like this!”
In the end of the story, Seikichi becomes her first victim
