Tattoo

岩井圭也 / 李彦桦China Friendship Publishing Company · ChinaMay 2024

Word count

138K words

Chapters

8

ISBN

9787505758148

Tags

Summary

After suppressing her hatred for her father and completing the funeral, Asumi unexpectedly receives a handwritten manuscript signed by her father, titled *Irezumi* (Tattoo), which at first glance appears to be a memoir. In his youth, because he had a prodigy younger brother, Yōichi was treated as if he were invisible at home. Strangely, the relationship between the two brothers did not develop into resentment but grew ever deeper. To escape an oppressive situation, the younger brother proposes a startling plan.

Editor's review

The value of this book lies in its many layers. On the surface it is a tightly plotted, logically rigorous manhunt that satisfies the puzzle-solving pleasure of mystery fans. Beneath that, it is a substantial social record: the tattoo, as a symbol running through the entire book, is both a branding of personal history and a visible trace of the era's violence. The characters' complex feelings toward tattoos—fascination, fear, or the urge to erase them—mirror a society's collective unconscious attempt to process the wounds left by war. The author offers no simple moral verdict; through the characters' struggles, readers are led to consider the complicated relationships among violence, memory, and personal responsibility.

From an editorial perspective, the work displays the signature appeal of social school mystery: the investigation serves the expression of theme, and the answers to the puzzle tend to point toward deeper social and human predicaments. It may not be a "relaxing" read, but the lingering reflections it provokes go far beyond ordinary entertainment mystery. For readers who appreciate the tradition of Seicho Matsumoto and Miyuki Miyabe, The Tattoo is a literary mystery not to be missed.

Who it's for

A good fit for

• Readers who love social school mystery and seek the deeper social meaning behind a case
• Researchers and enthusiasts interested in postwar Japanese social history and cultural trauma
• Readers who appreciate a cool, restrained style and value literary quality and intellectual substance in fiction
• Readers who want to glimpse, through a suspense story, how marginalized people lived in a particular era

Not a good fit for

• Readers of pure entertainment mystery seeking fast pacing, strong thrills, or the pleasure of a classic whodunit puzzle
• Readers looking for a light story to relax with

Reading tips

1. While reading, pay attention to the different symbolic meanings the central image of the "tattoo" carries for each character
2. Some basic knowledge of postwar Japanese society is recommended for a fuller appreciation of the book's deeper context
3. The atmosphere is somber and the narrative dense; it is best read patiently in a quiet setting conducive to focused reflection

About the publisher

China Friendship Publishing Company is a comprehensive publisher known for its literary titles, covering classical Chinese literature, foreign literature, folk literature and cultural appreciation. According to the books in the database, its classical list includes celebrated dramas and novels such as The Peony Pavilion, The Romance of the Western Chamber and Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio, as well as note-style classics like Hong Mai's Rongzhai Suibi. In foreign literature it offers translations of Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment, Kawabata Yasunari's Snow Country and Anne Frank's The Diary of a Young Girl, involving translators such as Zeng Siyi. It also publishes The Complete Literary Works of Lu Xun and titles associated with the "Xue'er Shuguan" editorial group, balancing the collation and popularization of classic texts. Public information on its publishing features and plans is limited; the above is summarized only from the books in the database.

Contents

1. 版权信息
2. 序章
3. 第一章 彩虹的骨头
4. 第二章 最北端
5. 第三章 来自消声室
6. 第四章 深海之巢
7. 第五章 巡礼
8. 终章

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About the author

Kyohei Iwai is one of the foreign-literature authors included on this Chinese book site. At present the database holds only one work by this author, Wenshen (Tattoo), and public information such as nationality, dates of birth and death, and English name is limited, not enough to sketch a full biography. Judging from the available work, Wenshen is classified under foreign literature, and its subject carries a clear emphasis on the body and on marks of identity; the title itself points toward writing that inscribes memory on skin and lets patterns carry narrative. Such works tend not to rely on grand plots but on the repeated unfolding of images and the close depiction of characters' inner lives, creating tension through a calm, restrained pace and letting readers sense situation and feeling through detail. Because verifiable material is scarce, this entry does not cover the author's career, honors, or literary lineage; it offers only a basic introduction based on the work, to be supplemented and revised should more reliable public information become available.

Li Yanhua is an author about whom relatively limited public information is currently available; existing sources are not sufficient to confirm nationality, dates of birth and death, or an English name. Two works by this author are included in the collection, namely Pepper's Ghost and Tattoo, both categorized under foreign literature. Judging from the titles and the category of these two works, the writing broadly falls within the related context of foreign literature, with themes that carry a certain imaginative and imagistic quality; the titles themselves also suggest an interest in symbolic motifs such as visual illusion and bodily marks. Because very little verifiable biographical information and few statements by the author about their own writing can be found, it is currently difficult to make a definite judgment about the full range of their style, their creative phases, or their literary influence. Readers may therefore take the works themselves as an entry point for appreciating the author's approach to narrative and imagery.