However, I feel that Tanizaki has more to offer his readers than to give us a tale of erotic sadomasochistic pleasure. I believe that the author wants his readers to understand Seikichi’s stream of consciousness and piece together the inner workings of an artist’s mind. By doing this, Tanizaki reveals to his readers how art affects an artist and how the love of art can lead to a man’s destruction. Peering into Japanese culture with Tanizaki’s tale, I am reminded of what Bleich pointed out in his essay, as an American reader we need to have some sort of “perception” to what we are reading. In Tanizaki’s tale, we now have an understanding of the character, Seikichi, and what he may symbolize. He is an artist that clearly represents
