The Key is a novel written by Jun'ichirō Tanizaki in 1956. The story was translated into English by Howard Hibbett

Howard Hibbett

Howard Hibbett （b. 1920）is a translator and professor emeritus of Japanese literature at Harvard University. He held the Victor S. Thomas Professorship in Japanese Literature....

 and published by Vintage International Books.

Synopsis

The entire story is written in diary form, alternating between the entries of an elderly man who decides to spice up his ailing marriage with a series of intrigues and that of his much younger wife, who complies with her husband's desires without letting him know she is aware of his schemes.

Film Adaptations

• The story was made into the 1960 film, Odd Obsession
  Odd Obsession
  is a 1959 Japanese drama film directed by Kon Ichikawa. It was entered into the 1960 Cannes Film Festival, where it won the Jury Prize. It was based on the novel The Key, by Japanese novelist Junichiro Tanizaki.-Plot:...
  
  , directed by Kon Ichikawa
  Kon Ichikawa
  was a Japanese film director.-Early life and career:Ichikawa was born in Ise, Mie Prefecture. In the 1930s Ichikawa attended a technical school in Osaka. Upon graduation, in 1933, he found a job with a local rental film studio, J.O. Studio, in their animation department...
  
  .
• This novel was also the basis for the 1983 movie of the same name by Italian director Tinto Brass
  Tinto Brass
  Giovanni Brass , better known as Tinto Brass, is an Italian filmmaker. He is noted especially for his work in the erotic genre, with films such as Così fan tutte , Paprika, Monella and Trasgredire...
  
  , with the story relocated to Fascist Italy
  National Fascist Party
  The National Fascist Party was an Italian political party, created by Benito Mussolini as the political expression of fascism...
  
  .

Characters

• The Husband
• Ikuko, his wife
• Toshiko, their daughter
• Mr. Kimura, the daughter's fiance.