Books from Japan

Set in Osaka and its surrounding areas during the years leading up to the Second World War, The Makioka Sisters follows four women from a once-prosperous merchant family struggling to preserve their social standing as Japanese society undergoes profound change. The story centers on the sisters’ efforts to arrange a suitable marriage for Yukiko, the quiet and reserved third daughter, whose future is complicated by family expectations, social conventions, and a series of unsuccessful matchmaking attempts. Meanwhile, the youngest sister, Taeko, pursues a more independent life, challenging the traditional values that govern her family’s decisions. Through the sisters’ daily routines, seasonal celebrations, family gatherings, and romantic entanglements, Tanizaki captures the tensions between tradition and modernity in prewar Japan. Beneath the novel’s elegant descriptions of clothing, festivals, and landscapes lies a poignant portrait of a family confronting the gradual erosion of its privilege and influence. The novel explores the bonds between sisters, the pressures of social conformity, and the difficulty of adapting to a changing world. Rich in cultural detail and psychological insight, it is both an intimate family saga and an elegy for a disappearing way of life.