The Face of Another

This article is about the novel. For the film, see The Face of Another (film).

The Face of Another (他人の顔 Tanin no kao) is a 1964 novel by Kōbō Abe. In 1966, It was adapted into a film directed by Hiroshi Teshigahara.

Synopsis

A plastics scientist loses his face in an accident and proceeds to obtain a new face for himself. With a new 'mask', the protagonist sees the world in a new way and even goes so far as to have a clandestine affair with his estranged wife. There is also a subplot following a hibakusha woman who has suffered burns to the right side of her face. In the novel, the protagonist sees this character in a film; in the film version, this is deliberately obscured.

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