Yasunari kawabata biography channel

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On this day in 1968 came the news that a Japanese author would, for the first time ever, be receiving the Nobel Prize for Literature. That author was, of course, Yasunari Kawabata, a national treasure in this country who was known for masterpieces such as Snow Country and Thousand Cranes. One of the most revered writers of the 20th century, we’re looking back at his life and career for the latest in our Spotlight series.

A Tragic Background 

Kawabata’s early years were plagued by tragedy. Two years after he was born, on June 11, 1899, he lost his father to tuberculosis. His mother then died of the same disease a year later. He was subsequently brought up by his grandparents, but his grandmother passed away when he was just 6 and a few years after that, Kawabata became the carer for his bedridden, blind grandfather. This period of his life was the main subject of his autobiographical short story, “Diary of My Sixteenth Year.” 

It was clearly a tough time for the teenager as he had nobody else to turn to. Going to school, which he described as “paradise,” was his escape. He would then come home and do what he could for his grandfather, such as cooking for him, turning him over in bed and helping him urinate into a bottle. He would often be called upon in the middle of the night. “It’s not right,” he wrote, “to live so long in this world only moving backward.” When Kawabata was 15, his grandfather died. Despite the difficulties he had caring for him, the death hit him hard. 

The sense of despair for Kawabata, who also lost his sister when he was 10, continued during his university days as his first love, Hatsuyo Ito, broke off their engagement. An unsent letter to her was found at his Kamakura apartment. “I cannot sleep at night out of fear you may be sick,” he wrote. “I am so worried that I am starting to cry.” Ito didn’t tell him why she ended their relationship, only saying that she would “rather die” than r

Japanese novelist (1899–1972)

"Kawabata" redirects here. For the surname, see Kawabata (surname).

Yasunari Kawabata (川端 康成, Kawabata Yasunari, 11 June 1899 – 16 April 1972) was a Japanesenovelist and short story writer whose spare, lyrical, subtly-shaded prose works won him the 1968 Nobel Prize in Literature, the first Japanese author to receive the award. His works have enjoyed broad international appeal and are still widely read.

Early life

Born into a well-established family in Osaka, Japan, Kawabata was orphaned by the time he was four, after which he lived with his grandparents. He had an older sister who was taken in by an aunt, and whom he met only once thereafter, in July 1909, when he was ten. She died when Kawabata was 11. Kawabata's grandmother died in September 1906, when he was seven, and his grandfather in May 1914, when he was fifteen.

Having lost all close paternal relatives, Kawabata moved in with his mother's family, the Kurodas. However, in January 1916, he moved into a boarding house near the junior high school (comparable to a modern high school) to which he had formerly commuted by train. After graduating in March 1917, Kawabata moved to Tokyo just before his 18th birthday. He hoped to pass the exams for Dai-ichi Kōtō-gakkō (First Upper School), which was under the direction of the Tokyo Imperial University. He succeeded in the exam the same year and entered the Humanities Faculty as an English major in July 1920. The young Kawabata, by this time, was enamoured of the works of another Asian Nobel laureate, Rabindranath Tagore.

One of Kawabata's painful love episodes was with Hatsuyo Itō (伊藤初代, 1906–1951), whom he met when he was 20 years old. They were engaged to be married in 1921, but only one month later Hatsuyo broke off the engagement for unclear reasons. Kawabata never completely recovered from the blow of losing her. Hatsuyo may have been the