The Face of Another
Synopsis. An industrial accident has severely burned the face of Mr. Okuyama, a plastics scientist. His wife is repulsed by his disfigurement and refuses to have sexual contact with him. In an effort to regain the affection of his wife, he attempts to create a prosthetic mask in a rented apartment. With this new "face," the protagonist sees the world in a new way and begins a clandestine affair with his estranged wife. Although the mask gives Okuyama newfound freedom, at the end of the story, it becomes difficult to determine if the mask has taken  ownership of the man or the man has taken ownership of the face. 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.