Most Popular Books by Yasunari Kawabata

This masterpiece from the Nobel Prize-winning author and acclaimed writer of Thousand Cranes is a powerful tale of wasted love set amid the desolate beauty of western Japan. • “Kawabata’s novels are among the most affecting and original works of our time.” —The New York Times Book Review At an isolated mountain hot spring, with snow blanketing every surface, Shimamura, a wealthy dilettante meets Komako, a lowly geisha. She gives herself to him fully and without remorse, despite knowing that their passion cannot last and that the affair can have only one outcome. In chronicling the course of this doomed romance, Kawabata has created a story for the ages—a stunning novel dense in implication and exalting in its sadness.

A luminous story of desire, regret, and the almost sensual nostalgia that binds the living to the dead—from the acclaimed Nobel Prize winner and author of Snow Country. "A stunning economy, delicacy of feeling, and a painter’s sensitivity to the visible world.” —The Atlantic While attending a traditional tea ceremony in the aftermath of his parents’ deaths, Kikuji encounters his father’s former mistress, Mrs. Ota. At first Kikuji is appalled by her indelicate nature, but it is not long before he succumbs to passion—a passion with tragic and unforeseen consequences, not just for the two lovers, but also for Mrs. Ota’s daughter, to whom Kikuji’s attachments soon extend. Death, jealousy, and attraction convene around the delicate art of the tea ceremony, where every gesture is imbued with profound meaning.

From the Nobel Prize-winning writer and acclaimed author of Snow Country comes a beautiful rendering of the predicament of old age—about an elderly Tokyo businessman who must face the failures of his memory and the sudden upsurges of passion that illuminate the end of a life. “A rich, complicated novel.... Of all modern Japanese fiction, Kawabata’s is the closest to poetry.” —The New York Times Book Review By day Ogata Shingo, an elderly Tokyo businessman, is troubled by small failures of memory. At night he associates the distant rumble he hears from the nearby mountain with the sounds of death. In between are the complex relationships that were once the foundations of Shingo’s life: his trying wife; his philandering son; and his beautiful daughter-in-law, who inspires in him both pity and the stirrings of desire. Out of this translucent web of attachments, Kawabata has crafted a novel that is a powerful, serenely observed meditation on the relentless march of time. Translated from the Japanese by Edward G. Seidensticker

NOBEL PRIZE WINNER • The successful writer Oki has reached middle age and is filled with regrets. He returns to Kyoto to find Otoko, a young woman with whom he had a terrible affair many years before. "Endlessly provocative and original." —The New York Times Otoko is now a painter, living with a younger woman as her lover. Otoko has continued to love Oki and has never forgotten him, but his return unsettles not only her but also her young lover. This is a work of strange beauty, with a tender touch of nostalgia and a heartbreaking sensitivity to those things lost forever.

From the Nobel Prize-winning author and acclaimed writer of Thousand Cranes comes the luminous chronicle of a match of the Japanese game Go played between a master and a younger, more modern challenger that serves as a suspenseful elegy for an entire society. Go is a game of strategy in which two players attempt to surround each other’s black or white stones. Simple in its fundamentals, infinitely complex in its execution, Go is an essential expression of the Japanese spirit. And in his fictional chronicle of a match played between a revered and heretofore invincible Master and a younger, more modern challenger, Yasunari Kawabata captured the moment in which the immutable traditions of imperial Japan met the onslaught of the twentieth century. The competition between the Master of Go and his opponent, Otaké, is waged over several months and layered in ceremony. But beneath the game’s decorum lie tensions that consume not only the players themselves but their families and retainers—tensions that turn this particular contest into a duel that can only end in death. Luminous in its detail, both suspenseful and serene, The Master of Go is written with the poetic economy and psychological acumen that brought Kawabata the Nobel Prize for Literature. Translated from the Japanese by Edward G. Seidensticker

The stories of Yasunari Kawabata evoke an unmistakably Japanese atmosphere in their delicacy, understatement, and lyrical description. Like his later works, First Snow on Fuji is concerned with forms of presence and absence, with being, with memory and loss of memory, with not–knowing. Kawabata lets us slide into the lives of people who have been shattered by war, loss, and longing. These stories are beautiful and melancholy, filled with Kawabata''s unerring vision of human psychology. First Snow on Fuji was originally published in Japan in 1958, ten years before Kawabata received the Nobel Prize. Kawabata selected the stories for this collection himself, and the result is a stunning assembly of disparate moods and genres. This new edition is the first to be published in English.

A young woman in historic Kyoto grapples with secrets from her past in this lyrical work of Japanese literature from a Nobel Prize–winning author. Set in the traditional Japanese city of Kyoto, The Old Capital tells the story of Chieko, the adopted daughter of a kimono designer, Takichiro, and his wife, Shige. As Chieko discovers the true facets of her past, she becomes bewildered and troubled by longing, the start of a poignant journey that captures the beauty of old Japan. With the ethereal tone and aesthetic styling characteristic of Kawabata’s prose, The Old Capital is one of the three novels cited specifically by the Nobel Committee when they awarded Yasunari Kawabata the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1968.

Collection of short stories written over the entire span of Kawabata''s career. These stories, he felt, represented the essence of his art and reflect his abiding interest in the miniature, the wisp of plot reduced to the essential. --Adapted from publisher description.

A new translation of the only work not currently available in English by a Nobel-Prize winning author and the best known Japanese writer outside of Japan.

A fascinating discovery, Kawabata’s unfinished final novel Dandelions is a great master’s last word A fascinating discovery, Dandelions is Kawabata''s final novel, left incomplete when he committed suicide in 1972. Beautifully spare and deeply strange, Dandelions explores love and madness and consists almost entirely conversations between a woman identified only as Ineko''s mother, and Kuno, a young man who loves Ineko and wants to marry her. The two have left Ineko at the Ikuta Clinic, a mental hospital, which she has entered for treatment of somagnosia, a condition that might be called “seizures of body blindness.” Although her vision as a whole is unaffected, she periodically becomes unable to see her lover Kuno. Whether this condition actually constitutes madness is a topic of heated discussion between Kuno and Ineko’s mother: Kuno believes Ineko''s blindness is actually an expression of her love for him, as it is only he, the beloved, she cannot see. In this tantalizing book, Kawabata explores the incommunicability of desire and carries the art of the novel, where he always suggested more than he stated, into mysterious and strange new realms. Dandelions is the final word of a truly great master, the first Japanese winner of the Nobel Prize.

Three surreal, erotically charged stories from Nobel Prize winner Yasunari Kawabata. In the three long tales in this collection, Yasunari Kawabata examines the boundaries between fantasy and reality in the minds of three lonely men. Piercing examinations of sexuality and human psychology—and works of remarkable subtlety and beauty—these stories showcase one of the twentieth century’s great writers—in any language—at his very best.

A collection of twenty-three stories from one of the most influential figures in modern Japanese literature. Yasunari Kawabata is widely known for his innovative short stories, some called "palm-of-the-hand" stories short enough to fit into ones palm. This collection reflects Kawabata''s keen perception, deceptive simplicity, and the deep melancholy that characterizes much of his work. The stories were written between 1923 and 1929, and many feature autobiographical events and themes that reflect the painful losses he experienced early in his life.

Available in English for the very first time, a powerful, poignant novel about three half sisters in post-war Japan, from the Nobel Prize-winning author of Snow Country. With the Second World War only a few years in the past, and Japan still reeling from its effects, two sisters—born to the same father but different mothers—struggle to make sense of the new world in which they are coming of age. Asako, the younger, has become obsessed with locating a third sibling, while also experiencing love for the first time. While Momoko, their father’s first child—haunted by the loss of her kamikaze boyfriend and their final, disturbing days together—seeks comfort in a series of unhealthy romances. And both sisters find themselves unable to outrun the legacies of their late mothers. A thoughtful, probing novel about the enduring traumas of war, the unbreakable bonds of family, and the inescapability of the past, The Rainbow is a searing, melancholy work from one of Japan’s greatest writers. A VINTAGE ORIGINAL.

This Japanese literature collection contains four translated stories from two of Japan''s most beloved and acclaimed fiction writers. The Izu Dancer, Yasunari Kawabata''s first work to bring him recognition as a writer, is a novella about six Izu Peninsula travelers. As the six travelers journey together, intimacy develops and friendship overcomes class differences. Capturing the shy eroticism of adolescence, The Izu Dancer is a charming picture of the times. Yasushi Inoue''s The Counterfeiter, although set in modern times, poses universal questions that transcend culture an era. Abasute and The Full Moon both explore themes of separation, loneliness, and isolation. Through the gloomy tales, Inoue''s compassion shines, revealing yet another aspect of an author known for his vivid precision and economy of words. Inoue''s stories are at least partially autobiographical, and Inoue''s attitudes toward human destiny and fatalism are strongly influenced by his separation from his parents at an early age—yet all of his stories reveal his great compassion for his fellow human being.

"A Thousand Cranes" is by Yasunari Kawabata (1899-1972), who was made the first Japanese Nobel laureate for literature in 1968.

El anciano Ogata Shingo no consigue ganarse ni el amor ni el respeto de sus hijos, pero sin embargo puede oír el rumor de la montaña. Como cabeza de familia, le preocupa la decadencia moral de sus descendientes: Shuichi, a quien la guerra ha helado el corazón, está casado con la maravillosa Kikuko pero le es infiel y tiene un hijo con otra mujer; por otro lado, Fusako vuelve a la casa paterna con sus dos hijos tras haberse divorciado de un marido drogadicto. Tanto Shuichi como Fusako creen que su padre es demasiado viejo e interpretan sus silencios como senilidad. Pero, en realidad, el pensamiento de Ogata Shingo sigue activo, repleto de hermosas imágenes, de sonidos de la naturaleza, de aromas, de escenas. Bajo la fina capa de la vida familiar, cada uno de sus miembros vive, en solitario, su drama, luchando en unas ocasiones contra el amor y en otras, contra la muerte. El ganador del Premio Nobel de Literatura en 1968 nos deleita con una obra que gira en torno a la soledad, la muerte y la búsqueda obsesiva de la belleza.

Texte intégral révisé suivi d''une biographie de Yasunari Kawabata. Eguchi, 67 ans, découvre la "Maison des Belles Endormies", où de jeunes filles vierges, endormies sous l''effet de narcotiques, livrent la nudité de leur corps à la voluptueuse contemplation d''hommes âgés. Pendant cinq nuits passées dans cette maison close très particulière, le vieil homme se remémore sa vie, méditant sur la vieillesse, l''amour, la solitude et la mort qui vient. "L''affreuse décrépitude des lamentables vieillards qui fréquentaient cette maison menaçait de l''atteindre lui-même dans peu d''années. L''immense étendue des désirs, leur insondable profondeur, jusqu''à quel point les avait-il finalement mesurées au cours des soixante-sept années de son passé ? Et puis, autour des vieillards naissent innombrables les filles jolies, à la peau neuve, à la peau jeune. Les désirs rêvés à perte de vue par de misérables vieillards, les regrets des jours perdus à jamais, ne trouvaient-ils pas leur aboutissement dans les forfaits de cette maison mystérieuse ?" Frémissante de beauté, toute de trouble perversité et de subtilité, expression d''un érotisme d''une gratuité absolue, "Les Belles Endormies" représente l''aboutissement des épreuves que Kawabata s''était imposées à travers sa quête esthétique. Logique avec lui-même, l''auteur va ici délibérément jusqu''au fond de son propre enfer mental avec une maîtrise d''écriture surprenante. Certains ont recherché un lien direct entre cet enfer et son suicide solitaire et lugubre, le 16 avril 1972, dans un petit appartement loué à Zushi, au bord de la mer. Sans doute serait-il plus juste d''écouter les propos tenus par l''écrivain lui-même, lors de l''attribution du prix Nobel de littérature en 1968: "Il est facile d''entrer dans le monde des bouddhas, il est difficile d''entrer dans le monde des démons. Tout artiste aspirant au vrai, au bien et au beau comme objet ultime de sa quête est fatalement hanté par le désir de forcer cet accès difficile du monde des démons, et cette pensée, apparente ou secrète, hésite entre la peur et la prière."

Kawabata is een van de meest geprezen en geliefde Japanse auteurs van de twintigste eeuw en winnaar van de Nobelprijs voor de Literatuur In een ingetogen, poëtische stijl onderzoekt Yasunari Kawabata in De schone slaapsters de grens tussen fantasie en realiteit in de gedachten van de oude heer Eguchi. Met een belofte om de regels van het huis te volgen begint Eguchi zijn leven als lid van een geheime club van oudere mannen. In een herberg in de buurt van Tokyo geven ze toe aan een laatste pleziertje: de nacht doorbrengen naast een prachtig, jong, slapend meisje. Eguchi raakt verslaafd aan deze bezoekjes en fantaseert erover de regels te verbreken. Naarmate het verhaal vordert blijkt steeds duidelijker dat de erotische spanning, die zorgvuldig wordt opgebouwd, in het teken staat van de naderende dood. Slaap en dood, ouderdom en eenzaamheid zijn de belangrijkste thema’s van deze indrukwekkende roman. In de pers ‘Een intrigerend verhaal.’ de Volkskrant ‘Yasunari Kawabata schrijft met de verfijning van een miniatuur.’ Monika van Paemel ‘De schone slaapsters is een schitterend boek.’ NRC Handelsblad

El vibrante corazón de un Japón en transformación, capturado por Kawabata. En 1920, el barrio de Asakusa era un lugar que permitía el anonimato, la libertad, la deriva; un lugar en el que la vida fluía por todas partes, lleno de placeres sexuales y sociales. Testimonio del choque de las tradiciones milenarias de Japón con el florecimiento de la ciudad moderna, esta novela retrata la energía desbordante de Asakusa mediante la crónica, el relato popular, las escenas callejeras y un rit-mo cinematográfico. Kawabata nos muestra Asakusa en su apogeo de preguerra. La pandilla de Asakusa captura la zona de una manera muy cercana a lo que era: cien millones de personas por año, una ola humana, el dinero derrochado en los espectáculos, restaurantes, casas de geishas, un mundo frívolo, frenético, repleto de cuerpos humanos. "Las historias de la pandilla escarlata se engarzan en el fluir sin descanso de Asakusa, de sus puentes, de sus ríos, de sus calles, de su gente, en esa efervescencia de luces y sombras en la que nos introduce Kawabata, tan distinta de la imagen que solemos tener desde Occidente de un Japón contenido y severo." —Ana María Shua

Un viaje íntimo a través de narrativas breves que capturan la esencia de la vida y las emociones humanas. Como soñadas, intensamente atmosféricas, por momentos autobiográficas y otras veces fantásticas, estas historias reflejan el interés del autor por la miniatura y el fragmento. En Historias en la palma de la mano conviven la soledad, el amor, el paso del tiempo, los rituales y la muerte. Este conjunto de relatos captura el rango inigualable y la complejidad de uno de los más grandes talentos literarios del siglo XX. Premio Nobel de Literatura en 1968, Yasunari Kawabata es ampliamente conocido por sus novelas incisivas, líricas y profundas. Pero según él mismo, la esencia de su arte debe buscarse en esta serie de historias cortas, escritas a lo largo de toda su vida. "En este libro hay de todo: leyendas japonesas (como la de Momotaro y los ogros en el cuento ''La ladrona de bayas''), bizarro (como en ''El marido atado'') y fantasmas (como en el hermosísimo ''Inmortalidad''), pero también delicadas epifanías o súbitas revelaciones de una sensibilidad sutil frente a la vida, las miserias y las alegrías cotidianas." —Ramiro Sanchiz

Kyôto, qui fut écrit en 1962, est sans doute l''œuvre de Kawabata qui explique le mieux son suicide, dix ans plus tard - comme d''ailleurs le suicide de tant d''écrivains et de grands intellectuels japonais postérieurs à la révolution (autrement dit l''européanisation forcenée) de l''ère Meiji. Kyôto raconte l''histoire de deux jumelles, très tôt orphelines, qui ont été élevées séparément. Elles ne se retrouvent qu''une fois devenues jeunes filles. Mais elles ont été formées par des milieux à ce point différents que, d''elles-mêmes, elles décident de ne plus se revoir. Au-delà de ce thème très simple, c''est tout le drame du Japon moderne qui est le sujet de Kyôto : l''européanisation puis, après Hiroshima, l''américanisation accélérée d''une société qui avait jusqu''alors vécu sur des bases sociales, culturelles et morales entièrement autres. C''est la décadence, la mercantilisation et l''enlaidissement irrémédiables de l''ancienne capitale de l''Empire du Soleil levant que ce grand roman sobre et pur nous permet de comprendre. Dès lors, la dimension universelle du Kyôto de Kawabata n''échappera à personne.