Beauty in horror: an examination of the tale Tattoo, by Tanizaki Jun’ichirō and the film Kwaidan, directed by Kobayashi Masaki
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.11606/issn.2447-7125.ej.49.p47-74Palabras clave:
Beauty, Aesthetics, Japanese Modern Literature, Japanese CinemaResumen
This article explores the short story Tattoo (刺青shisei), written by Tanizaki Jun’ichiro (谷崎 潤一郎 1886-1965), and the film Kwaidan (怪談), directed by Kobayashi Masaki (小林正樹1916-1996), to illustrate how beauty can be intrinsically linked to dark motifs, such as cruelty, sadism and horror. The aim is to challenge a restrictive view of beauty, particularly the classical Greek ideal that foregrounds harmony, symmetry, and proportion. Beauty as an aesthetic value has long been recognized as culturally and historically constructed, and writers have explored new approaches to it, especially from the Romantic period onwards. The examination of Tattoo and Kwaidan reveals that beauty may also serve as a central aesthetic value in works characterized by somber and unsettling themes.
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Derechos de autor 2025 Waldemiro Francisco Sorte Junior
Esta obra está bajo una licencia internacional Creative Commons Atribución-NoComercial 4.0.
