The latest addition to my website is Jun’ichiro Tanizaki‘s 友田と松永の話 [The Story of Tomoda and Matsunaga]. The narrator, a well-known novelist, receives a letter from Shige Matsunaga, asking him to help locate her husband. They have been happily married, living in the country. However, after a few years of marriage, when she was pregnant, he announced that he was leaving for a while and only returned after around four years. She had received no communication from him during his absence and he returned unannounced, though not looking in very good health. He stays for a few years before doing the same thing again. He has now done it for the third time and she needs help. During his last return, she had found a bag containing a postcard addressed to a man called Tomoda and a seal with the same name. She has no idea who Tomoda is but wonders if it could be her husband. It turns out that the narrator knows Tomoda – an old drinking companion – and his investigations lead him to suspect that Tomoda may well be Shige’s husband, except for one thing. The photo of Shige’s husband bears no resemblance to Tomoda. When he confronts Tomoda, he denies everything and recalls that his bag had been stolen, which explains why Shige’s husband had the postcard and the seal. Shige’s husband again returns and, later, when the narrator is in the area, he meets the husband and confirms that he bears no resemblance to Tomoda. So what is the explanation? Tanizaki, as always, tells a good story so it is sad that this book is not available in English (or French or German).