In 1956 Shintaro published his novel, Season of the Sun. Apparently, it created quite a sensation in Japan, although it would hardly be greeted in such a fashion in the United States. The author of this interesting paper presents an analysis of the protagonist, whom he sees as a 'phallic character'. Although there is something a little too 'textbookish' about both the novel and the analysis of it, they serve to present a picture of the Japanese male who has to compensate for his oral dependency: marked aggression toward women follows from an intense Oedipal struggle and fear of castration. The author assumes that the popularity of Ishiwara's novels is explained by the widespread development of phallic character traits and particular Oedipal concerns among Japanese youth. He delineates a pattern of Japanese male development that stresses dependency and a long-lasting state of pregenital sexual gratification which nonetheless results in an active character.