In “The Tattooer” by Tanizaki Jun’ichiro, we see several instances of conflict and characterization. It is a story about a young and talented tattooer called Seikichi. Seikichi is mostly famous because of the physical charm and unrivaled boldness expressed in his art. However, this tattooer drew immeasurable pleasure in …show more content…
In “The Tattooer,” Seikichi experiences a person-to-nature sort of conflict when he starts getting attracted to his female client. In the Japanese culture, men were expected to be the stronger beings and to avoid any temptation or eroticism that comes from the members of the opposite sex. However, Seikichi is unable to uphold this, and he ends up inscribing a spider, which is a symbol of evil on the flesh of the beautiful, young women. This action immediately converted the beauty of this woman into a compelling, demonic spirit to which Seikichi gives in, prostrating himself before the woman. Masochism, the confusing mingling of a lurking evil and female beauty, and the artist’s erotic yearnings are the key elements that resulted in the conflicts between self and nature, and the artist ends up surrendering to the