THE EARLY WORKS OF KAWABATA YASUNARI

by

GARY JAMES MATSON

B.A., The U n i v e r s i t y o f B r i t i s h Columbia, 1972

A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF

THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF

MASTER OF ARTS

ih

THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIES

(Department of Asian Studies)

We a c c e p t this t h e s i s 'as c o n f o r m i n g

to the required standard

THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA

S e p t e m b e r 1982

(c) G a r y James Matson, 1982

 In p r e s e n t i n g this thesis in partial f u l f i l m e n t of the
r e q u i r e m e n t s f o r an advanced degree a t the University
of British Columbia, I agree that the Library s h a l l make
it freely available for reference and study. I further
agree t h a t permission f o r extensive copying of this thesis
f o r s c h o l a r l y p u r p o s e s may be g r a n t e d by the head o f my
department o r by h i s or her representatives. It is
understood that copying or p u b l i c a t i o n of this thesis
for f i n a n c i a l gain shall not be a l l o w e d w i t h o u t my written
permission.

Department o f ASIANI S TUQ\£ S

The U n i v e r s i t y o f B r i t i s h Columbia
1956 Main Mall
V a n c o u v e r , Canada
V6T 1Y3

Date OJL. 1 + IW*-

DE-6 (3/81 >

,
 ABSTRACT

A c a r e f u l study o f t h e l i t e r a r y c a r e e r o f Kawabata Y a s u n a r i

y i e l d s an i n t e r e s t i n g s u p p o s i t i o n on t h e c r e a t i v e rhythm o f t h e

author. In a c y c l i c a l f a s h i o n of f a s c i n a t i n g r e g u l a r i t y ,

Kawabata wrote., and had p u b l i s h e d . most o f h i s b e s t works i n

approximate f i v e - y e a r p e r i o d s b e g i n n i n g e i t h e r w i t h t h e f i r s t

y e a r o f a new decade o r t h e y e a r p r e c e d i n g t h e new decade. The

o n l y e x c e p t i o n comes w i t h t h e y e a r s from 1939 t o 1945 i n which

l i t t l e was w r i t t e n o r p u b l i s h e d ; t h i s i s h a r d l y s u r p r i s i n g

s i n c e they were t h e y e a r s o f t h e Second World War.

A l l o f h i s b e s t works were p u b l i s h e d between h i s t w e n t i e s

and s i x t i e s . E l i m i n a t i n g t h e war y e a r s , we a r e l e f t w i t h f o u r

five-year periods. These f o u r f i v e - y e a r p e r i o d s a r e l i k e t h e

f o u r seasons o f t h e n a t u r a l c y c l e . They c o i n c i d e w i t h t h e f o u r

seasons o f t h e man's c r e a t i v e l i f e , and t h e tone o f t h e works

matches these s e a s o n a l changes: i n s p r i n g , t h e y o u t h f u l t r a v e l e r

of " I z u no o d o r i k o " ("The I z u Dancer," 1926); i n summer, t h e

ghosts o f " J o j o k a " ( " L y r i c Poem," 1932); i n autumn, t h e a g i n g

man s e t t i n g o u t t o view t h e maples o f f a l l o f Yama no o t o (The

Sound o f t h e Mountain, 1949-54); i n w i n t e r , t h e f a n t a s i e s o f t h e

old man o f Nemureru b i l o (House o f t h e S l e e p i n g B e a u t i e s , 1960-

61) .

The purpose o f t h i s t h e s i s i s t o study t h e s p r i n g t i m e

of Kawabata s w r i t i n g s .
1
The e a r l y works l e a d i n g up t o Kawabata's
f i r s t masterpiece, " I z u no o d o r i k o , " have h i t h e r t o been l a r g e l y

n e g l e c t e d by c r i t i c s and s c h o l a r s o f Japanese l i t e r a t u r e . Among

the few s t u d i e s a l r e a d y done on t h e s e e a r l y works, most have

-i-
been b i o g r a p h i c a l l y oriented. This thesis departs from t h i s trend

to take a c r i t i c a l approach t o the analysis o f the works.

The thesis f o c u s e s on t h e a r e a s of style, themes, m o t i f s a n d

images i n K a w a b a t a s e a r l y w o r k s .
1
To g i v e b r o a d e r m e a n i n g t o t h e

analysis o f t h e works, aspects of t r a d i t i o n a l Japanese culture,

particularly the Japanese l y r i c a l tradition and B u d d h i s t and

S h i n t o t h i n k i n g and symbolism, h a v e been i n t r o d u c e d i n t o t h e

thesis. A l s o , comparisons a r e made w i t h W e s t e r n literature i n the

areas of style, imagery, and s y m b o l i s m .

A number o f g e n e r a l c o n c l u s i o n s a r e r e a c h e d on t h e s e early

works. One c a n t r a c e the o r i g i n s o f Kawabata's l y r i c a l style

back t o Japan's e a r l i e s t poetry. The s t y l e c a n be f u r t h e r identi-

f i e d with that of the haiku poet and w r i t e r o f t r a v e l diaries

M a t s u o Basho. On a u n i v e r s a l level, the style corresponds t o

that found i n t h e Western lyrical novel. Buddhist and S h i n t o

thinking and s y m b o l i s m c a n be s e e n as h a v i n g p r o v i d e d Kawabata

with thematic and s y m b o l i c m a t e r i a l f o r h i s works. One espec-

ially significant c o n n e c t i o n w i t h S h i n t o i s t h e u s e Kawabata

makes o f w a t e r t o s y m b o l i z e purification. One o t h e r f e a t u r e

singled out i s the r o l e of the "maternal" virgin.

 TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page

Abstract i

Introduction ". . iv

A Diary: "Jurokusai Ho N i k k i " . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Death and the V i r g i n : "Chiyo" t o " K a g a r i b i " . . . . . . . 33

Reincarnation: "Sora h i ugoku h i " t o "Aoi umi k u r o i umi". 74

A Travel Diary: " I z u no odoriko" 103

Conclusion 122

Notes 125

Bibliography. . . 134

-iii-
 INTRODUCTION

Except f o r an incomplete translation of " I z u no odoriko"

4? ("The I z u Dancer," 1926), t h e e a r l y works of

Kawabata Y a s u n a r i )l| U% }% (1899-1972) have b e e n p a s s e d o v e r by

English translators. They h a v e f a r e d a l m o s t as p o o r l y as subjects

o f a n a l y s i s f o r J a p a n e s e s c h o l a r s and critics o f modern Japanese

literature. Among t h e works w r i t t e n p r i o r to "Izu," only the

first work i n Kawabata's z e n s h u (complete works), "Jurokusai no

n i k k i " -f A js§f (7) 8 tc. ("Diary of a Sixteen-Year-Old," 1925),

has had much a n a l y s i s done on i t .

The area i n w h i c h many o f t h e works I s h a l l be examining

h a v e r e c e i v e d some a t t e n t i o n i s t h e r e l a t i o n s h i p between t h e " I "

of the stories and the author. Kawabata gave t h e scholars any

added i n c e n t i v e t h e y m i g h t h a v e n e e d e d t o draw p a r a l l e l s between

the " I " and himself by not only stating t h a t h i s e a r l y works were

relatively faithful t o the facts, but by also publishing several

o f h i s own pieces on the a u t o b i o g r a p h i c a l background of the works.

As I shall be d i s c u s s i n g i n chapter one, i t was Kawabata s 1

assur-

ances r e g a r d i n g the a u t h e n t i c i t y o f the "nikki," and subseguently

assurances r e g a r d i n g the truth o f a number o f i n c i d e n t a l items

contained in it,that e v e n t u a l l y c a u s e d an outcry from doubting

s c h o l a r s who choose t o m e t i c u l o u s l y i n v e s t i g a t e the relationship

between f a c t and fiction. This thesis rejects this biographical

approach i n f a v o r of a c r i t i c a l approach t o the study o f Kawabata's

e a r l y works s i m i l a r t o the author's own preference f o r how one

might analyze a work. A summary o f Kawabata's p o s i t i o n on three

approaches t o the study of literature i s found at the beginning of

chapter three of t h i s thesis.

-iv-
 The p a u c i t y of critical a n a l y s i s on the e a r l y works of

Kawabata ends w i t h a flood of a n a l y s i s having b e e n done on "Izu."

T h a t s u c h a t h i n g came t o p a s s i s u n d e r s t a n d a b l e . There i s no

questioning the fact that "Izu" i s the best o f h i s e a r l y works

and his first masterpiece. An i n t e r e s t i n g p a s s a g e f r o m one of

Kawabata's l a s t novels, Utsukushisa t o kanashimi to

( B e a u t y and Sadness, 1961), has t h e y o u n g woman

Keiko t a l k i n g about the literary production o f an elderly writer

who b e a r s an undeniable resemblance t o the real life figure of

Kawabata. She says t h a t the author probably never wrote anything

b e t t e r than "A Girl of Sixteen or Seventeen." This t i t l e seems

t o be the fictional equivalent of "Izu."

It i s no s u r p r i s e then t h a t t h i s beloved work o f Kawabata s 1

has been e x h a u s t i v e l y analyzed by s c h o l a r s and critics. Perhaps

in desperation f o r a new s l a n t on a n a l y s i s o f t h e work, one even

finds a scholar literally counting the number o f commas and

periods found i n a p a r t i c u l a r s e c t i o n of "Izu." I n my own

analysis o f t h e work, I u s e a l i m i t e d number o f r e f e r e n c e s to

previous s t u d i e s on "Izu." To have summarized e v e n a small

percentage of the more i m p o r t a n t earlier analyses would have

meant t h e a d d i t i o n o f s e v e r a l p a g e s t o an already long thesis.

In light of the fact t h a t s o much s c h o l a r s h i p has gone i n -

to the study of "Izu," i t ' s amazing t h a t v e r y little analysis

has b e e n done on t h e w o r k s l e a d i n g up to this masterpiece. My

analysis o f most, i f n o t all, o f Kawabata's most important

e a r l y works i s b e i n g done i n an attempt t o p r o v i d e a step by

step critical look at the literary production preceding "Izu."

In chapter one, I pay particular a t t e n t i o n t o the problem

-v-
of style i n the "nikki." I t h i n k i t i s s a f e t o say t h a t the style

is as c l o s e as one can come t o i d e n t i f y i n g a "natural" style in

the author's writings. The connection this s t y l e has with Japanese

lyric poetry and the Western lyrical n o v e l as d e f i n e d by Ralph

Freedman i s k e y t o an u n d e r s t a n d i n g of the style of "Izu."

In chapter two, I p l a c e t h e e m p h a s i s o f my analysis on recur-

r i n g thematic f e a t u r e s found i n t h e works f o l l o w i n g t h e "nikki."

I found t h e r e were i n t e r e s t i n g c o m p a r i s o n s t o be made between

n a t i v e Japanese b e l i e f s and W e s t e r n a p o c a l y p t i c s y m b o l i s m as

e x p l a i n e d by N o r t h r o p Frye. Of immense i m p o r t a n c e f o r "Izu" as

well as almost a l l o f Kawabata's l a t e r literature i s the appear-

ance o f t h e b e a u t i f u l , young v i r g i n i n h i s works. How she relates

to "time" i s of considerable importance.

In c h a p t e r t h r e e , I f o c u s on t h e most i m p o r t a n t element found

in t h e works j u s t preceding "Izu." I t i s the introduction of a

spiritual code i n t o Kawabata's l i t e r a t u r e based on E a s t e r n ideas

of metempsychosis and the oneness o f creation.

The thesis i n a sense comes f u l l circle with chapter four

on "Izu." As p a r t o f my a n a l y s i s on the style of the "nikki" in

c h a p t e r one, I l i n k Kawabata w i t h t h e h a i k u p o e t and w r i t e r o f

travel d i a r i e s M a t s u o BashS ^ £ ^1 ~S ^ (1644-1694). The format

of chapter f o u r i s a comparison o f Kawabata's "Izu" with Basho's

Oku no hosomichi yfa (The Narrow Road T h r o u g h t h e Provinces,

c.1693).

Kawabata Y a s u n a r i was born i n O s a k a i n 1899. His early life

was filled with a series of unfortunate events w h i c h were t o have

an enormous e f f e c t on h i s l i f e and h i s work. When he was an infant

of two years, h i s f a t h e r died of t u b e r c u l o s i s . H i s mother d i e d

-vi-
the following year o f t h e same i l l n e s s . This resulted i n hiSl

being sent t o l i v e with h i s grandparents while h i s older sister

by f o u r y e a r s was s e n t t o l i v e w i t h h i s a u n t . Kawabata was h i m -

self a sickly, weak c h i l d who h a d t o h a v e s p e c i a l c a r e and a t t e n -

tion from h i s grandparents. I t was a p p a r e n t l y t h e same weak

disposition that h i s parents s u f f e r e d from. To a d d t o t h e l i s t

of deaths,his g r a n d m o t h e r d i e d when he was s e v e n a n d h i s s i s t e r

when he was t e n . From t h e t i m e o f h i s grandmother's death until

his grandfather d i e d when Kawabata was f o u r t e e n , t h e y o u n g b o y

and h i s bed-ridden grandfather, who was h a r d of hearing and n e a r l y

blind, lived alone i n their country home.

" J u r o k u s a i no n i k k i " i s t h e d i a r y o f t h e f i n a l days o f h i s

grandfather's life.

-vii-
 A DIARY: "JUROKUSAI NO NIKKI"
\
CHAPTER I

Kawabata s e a r l i e s t
1
surviving piece of l i t e r a r y composition

is " J u r o k u s a i no nikki" -f /x/jjjlfc 0) 0 Cbiary of a S i x t e e n -

Year-Old"). I t was allegedly first w r i t t e n i n 1914 b u t was not

published u n t i l 1925 when he was twenty-six years old. The dated

entries i n t h e work b e g i n May 4 and end May 16, a month b e f o r e the

author's fifteenth b i r t h d a y on J u n e 11.

The "nikki" takes the form commonly a s c r i b e d t o t h i s type of

autobiography. I t i s a r e c o r d of the day-to-day events i n young

Kawabata's l i f e written apparently with little thought of i t s

future publication. When i t was p u b l i s h e d i n 1925, the author

explains t h a t he added n o t e s i n parentheses to c l a r i f y the meanings

of c e r t a i n p a s s a g e s and to give standard readings o f Osaka dialect"

terms. He has a l s o addedfto the d i a r y by giving supplementary

autobiographical information.

An analysis of the k i n d of supplementary autobiographical

information found w i t h i n the parentheses clearly r e v e a l s what was

at t h e h e a r t o f Kawabata's w r i t i n g of the d i a r y . Almost a l l the

information concerns his grandfather. I t i s the events surrounding

the final days o f h i s g r a n d f a t h e r ' s life w h i c h we read of.

The two l o n g e s t p a r e n t h e t i c a l s e c t i o n s i n the "nikki" are

found i n the e n t r i e s f o r May 7 and 8, the d i a r y ' s c h r o n o l o g i c a l

center (entries are f o r May 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10, 14, 15, 16). Both

of the sections deal with the only t h i n g s i n h i s grandfather's

life w h i c h t h e o l d man c o u l d l o o k b a c k on w i t h p r i d e : the o l d

n

man's p u b l i c a t i o n of h i s teachings on d i v i ' a t i o n titled

K o t a k u a n k i r o n tffc ^£ ^ Jc (A T r e a t i s e on S a f e t y and Danger

 2

Factors i n t h e B u i l d i n g o f Houses) and t h e r e c o r d of h i s success

with O r i e n t a l medicine i n c u r i n g an e p i d e m i c o f dysentery.

With a d d i t i o n s s u c h as t h e s e , the author has e f f e c t i v e l y

created a work w i t h t h e meaning o f h i s g r a n d f a t h e r ' s life as i t s

subject. I n many r e s p e c t s the "nikki" reads like an e p i t a p h , one

of the l i t e r a r y f o r m s Kawabata l a t e r excels i n .

Not unrelated t o young Kawabata's f o c u s i n g on h i s g r a n d f a t h e r

is t h e remarkable absence o f a p u r e l y s u b j e c t i v e account o f f e e l -

ings on t h e p a r t o f t h e " I " . E v e n when t h e y o u n g b o y d o e s give

voice to h i s feelings, uncharacteristically f o r the " I " of a

conventional d i a r y , he seems t o be p l a c i n g a v a l u e j u d g e m e n t on

these f e e l i n g s i n an o b j e c t i v e o r " n o v e l i s t i c " manner. F o r example,

he says, "School i s my p a r a d i s e - Don't t h e s e words b e s t express

my c i r c u m s t a n c e s a t home t h e s e days?"^"

It's features such as t h e s e p r e s e n t i n the " n i k k i " which

have c o n t r i b u t e d t o i t s widespread critical acclaim. The m a t u r e

Kawabata h i m s e l f praised the " n i k k i . " An i r o n i c n o t e i s t h a t i t s

favorable reception in literary circles must p a r t l y be t o blame f o r

a storm o f controversy surrounding t h e d a t i n g o f t h e work. The

fact that i t was p u b l i s h e d some t e n y e a r s after i t was originally

supposed t o have been w r i t t e n has r a i s e d doubts about t h e a c t u a l

age Kawabata was when he w r o t e i t . B i o g r a p h i c a l c r i t i c i s m h a s been

the m a i n s t r e a m o f modern l i t e r a r y criticism i n Japan, and t h e

sincerity o f t h e " I " i n an a u t o b i o g r a p h i c a l work h a s b e e n o f

particular interest to critics; consequently, the question o f what

Kawabata m i g h t have done t o h i s o r i g i n a l version of the " n i k k i "

before i t was p u b l i s h e d eventually r e c e i v e d an e x t r a o r d i n a r y amount

of a t t e n t i o n .
 3

The f o l l o w i n g are some w r i t t e n comments made by Kawabata i n

1938 on the finished version of the work; t h e y were published

thirty years before critics first began t o doubt the reliability

of the author s 1
words:

But f o r c o r r e c t i o n s i n i t s w o r d i n g , t h e work r e m a i n s
as i t was w r i t t e n i n t h e o r i g i n a l when I was fourteen.
I t wouldn't have been p o s s i b l e t o r e w r i t e i t even i f
I'd wanted t o o . . . . I t ' s my o n l y s i n c e r e a u t o b i o g r a p h y ;
i t ' s a v a l u a b l e document f o r me. A l s o , i t ' s one o f my
best compositions. My l i t e r a r y a b i l i t y was n o t i n t h e
least precocious. T h i s s i m p l e s k e t c h taken from near at
h a n d o c c u p i e s a s e c u r e p o s i t i o n i n my w o r k s . ^

Such a s s u r a n ces by the author that the d i a r y was virtually

unchanged from the f o r m i t was originally written came t o be

d i s c r e d i t e d by Japanese c r i t i c s as a r e s u l t o f a 1968 article on

the "nikki" written by Hasegawa I z u m i . In the September, 1968

i s s u e o f Kokubunqaku m a g a z i n e , Hasegawa began t h e controversy

when he e x p r e s s e d doubts about the v e r a c i t y o f a number o f inciden-

tal items i n the "nikki". Hasegawa p o i n t s t o the line in the

second appendix which reads, "The first a p p e n d i x was written be-

cause I intended to turn the d i a r y i n t o a l i t e r a r y work, and in

some p l a c e s f a c t s were a l t e r e d . " (p.35) In 1969, Kawashima Itaru

w r o t e an unsympathetic criticism i n a book t i t l e d Kawabata Yasunari

no sekai )l| t t & <D # W

(The W o r l d o f Kawabata Y a s u n a r i ) in

w h i c h he unhesitatingly concludes that the work s h o u l d be consider-

ed s o m e t h i n g Kawabata w r o t e i n 1925. He says, "Kawabata has skill-

f u l l y p r e s e n t e d us w i t h a c o m p o s i t i o n t h a t r e a d s as i f i t were t h e
d i a r y o f a s i x t e e n - y e a r - o l d , and t h e w r i t e r has s u c c e e d e d m a g n i f -
3
icently in p u l l i n g that off."

To support h i s claim, Kawashima o f f e r s a number o f specific

examples from w i t h i n the t e x t of the "nikki" which indicate

Kawabata has tampered w i t h the original. The following i s an

 4

o u t l i n e of the five points he makes:

1. In the s e c o n d a p p e n d i x , Kawabata s a y s he wrote the d i a r y on a

t s u k u e q a w a r i no setsugi (desk); but i n the t e x t of the diary

proper, the writer s a y s he used a table.

2. In the first a p p e n d i x , Kawabata s a y s he c a n ' t remember t h o s e

memories o f life at the t i m e he wrote the diary; nonetheless,

Kawabata was able to j o t things down c o n c e r n i n g t h e "motif"

of the original i n the explanatory sections of the diary.

3. Omiyo i s t h e name o f the m a i d t o y o u n g Kawabata and his grand-

father i n the diary, but in reality her name was Tanaka Mito.

4. In the first appendix, i t says the discovery of the diary

came t e n y e a r s a f t e r i t had been o r i g i n a l l y written. This

means t h a t i t took a year a f t e r the discovery b e f o r e the diary

was published; Kawabata h a d at least a y e a r t o work on turning

the material into a publishable work.

5. The composition style of the author about the t i m e he was

supposedly w r i t i n g the d i a r y was "dreadfully stereotyped,"

quite unlike the style of the diary.

I w i s h Kawashima had gone a little further in his investiga-

tion of the a c t u a l names o f t h e people mentioned i n the "nikki."

A name w h i c h q u i c k l y drew my a t t e n t i o n when I r e a d t h e "nikki" was

Okiku, Omiyo's d a u g h t e r - i n - l a w . L i k e many o t h e r w r i t e r s of

Japanese f i c t i o n , Kawabata s e l e c t e d names f o r h i s fictional

characters with s y m b o l i c meaning i n mind. The names Omiyo and

O k i k u b o t h f i t i n n i c e l y w i t h Kawabata's a e s t h e t i c sensibility.

An examination of the meaning o f the names s h o u l d p r o v e my point:

 Omiyo ( " g e n e r a t i o n s o f b e a u t y " ) : To l o c a t e t h e e t e r n a l

woman o f b e a u t y , particularly the eternal virgin, i s the

a e s t h e t i c q u e s t o f many o f Kawabata's h e r o e s . Seen f r o m a

wider perspective, one o f Kawabata's m a j o r p u r p o s e s as a w r i t e r

was t o f i n d and r e c o r d e n c o u n t e r s w i t h beauty. He was espec-

ially aware o f t h e a r t i s t ' s ability t o reproduce f o r "eternity"

one's p a r t i c u l a r v i s i o n o f beauty.

Okiku ("chrysanthemum"): "Kiku" occupies a s p e c i a l position

in t h e works o f K a w a b a t a . As Y o s h i m u r a Teiji has p o i n t e d out,

Kawabata seems t o a s s o c i a t e t h e name w i t h s p i r i t u a l i s m a n d

reincarnation.
4
F o r example, i n Kawabata's " J o j o k a " v j
& 'r* ^
i f f l ^ -

( " L y r i c Poem," 1932), t h e woman who h a s l o s t her lover forever

in death s a y s s h e w o u l d g i v e up h e r l i f e t h e n e x t day i f he were

to be r e b o r n a s a w i l d chrysanthemum. Another example i s f o u n d

in "Ireika" ^ ("Memorial Poem," 1932) where t h e a p p e a r a n c e

of t h e g h o s t Hanako i s s i g n a l l e d b y t h e s i m u l t a n e o u s appearance

of t h e m i r a c u l o u s g r o w t h o f a chrysanthemum f r o m a t e a b o w l .

One o t h e r example w h i c h Yoshimura n e g l e c t s t o mention i s

the interesting use o f k i k u i t a d a k i ("chrysanthemum crown") birds

in Kawabata's " K i n j u " ( " O f B i r d s

A
and Beasts," 1 9 3 3 ) . The p r o t a -

gonist i s remarkably unsuccessful at keeping the birds alive, but

new k i k u i t a d a k i he p u r c h a s e s a r e i n t e r c h a n g e a b l e and i n d i s t i n g -

uishable from t h e p r e v i o u s b i r d s . The d e a t h s of the birds are

saddening, b u t w i t h e a c h new " r e i n c a r n a t i o n " o f them l i f e again

becomes " f i l l e d w i t h a young f r e s h n e s s . " A more o b v i o u s h i n t o f

reincarnation o c c u r s when n e g l e c t of a particular pair of

k i k u i t a d a k i brings them t o the verge o f death; however, when they make a

 6

temporary recovery, the man i s moved t o say, " T h e y ' v e come b a c k

to life."

A c l u e as t o why Kawabata a s s i g n e d such a meaning t o the

chrysanthemum c a n be found i n the "Vox Populi, Vox Dei" column

from the Asahi E v e n i n g News o f November 17, 1979. The subject

of the column i s t h e chrysanthemum, t h e flower most l i k e d by the

Japanese. An explanation i s given for i t s particular popularity

among o l d e r p e o p l e : "Takehiko Noguchi remarked t h a t p e o p l e see

in the chrysanthemum 'the life strength that i s maintained, counter-

ing the w i n t e r decay i n l i f e . ' "

The w r i t e r of the column s i n g l e s o u t the "naive freshness"

of the wild chrysanthemum f o r s p e c i a l a t t e n t i o n . Reference to a

s t o r y by Ito Sachio t i t l e d " N o g i k u no h a k a " f f $g (7) ("Wild

Chrysanthemum G r a v e , " 1906) c o n c l u d e s t h e column:

S a c h i o I t 5 , who w r o t e "Nogiku-no-Haka" ( W i l d Chrysanthemum
G r a v e ) , d e s c r i b e d Tamiko, who was l i k e t h e w i l d c h r y s a n -
themum, as " l o v e l y , d e l i c a t e and p o s s e s s i n g d i g n i t y . "
A f t e r d i s a p p o i n t m e n t i n l o v e , Tamiko d i e s and i s b u r i e d
a m i d w i l d chrysanthemums. As a r e s u l t o f b e i n g w r a p p e d
i n w i l d chrysanthemums w h i c h a r e l o v e l y , d e l i c a t e and
f u l l o f t h e power o f l i f e , t h e g i r l , l i k e t h e w i l d
chrysanthemum, l i v e s on f o r e v e r i n a c l a s s i c .

I think there's no question that the sentiments expressed in

this 19 79 column f r o m t h e Asahi E v e n i n g News c a n be read as an

e c h o o f Kawabata's own f e e l i n g s f o r the flower.

Kawabata was s o u p s e t by Kawashima's a c c u s a t i o n s that he

wrote a r e b u t t a l i n a p i e c e called "Tobi no mau nishizora"

M> J?"> £5 -L ("A Kite Circling i n the W e s t e r n Sky") published

in the March, 1970, issue of Shincho. In l i n e w i t h what he wrote

in the s e c o n d a p p e n d i x , Kawabata a d m i t t e d t h a t by discarding the

original d i a r y at the t i m e o f p u b l i c a t i o n i n 1925, he was unable

 7

to present concrete evidence that i t was not a corrected and

r e v i s e d work; n o n e t h e l e s s , he d i d give three responses t o the

accusations:

1. He s a y s he used both a t a b l e and a d e s k when he w r o t e t h e diary.

2. E v e n t h o u g h he w r o t e , "I've f o r g o t t e n the t h i n g s I'd written

o f h e says i t ' s normal f o r one to recall f o r g o t t e n moments

o n c e one uncovers them a g a i n .

3. I n s p i t e of lack o f p r o o f , he still insists t h a t he didn't

rework t h e original.

As a k i n d o f f i n a l n o t e t o t h e argument between t h e two men

over the a u t h e n t i c i t y o f t h e work, i n 1971 I s o g a i Hideo presented

a summary o f t h e two positions and t h e n e x p r e s s e d h i s own opinions

on t h e s u b j e c t . Citing t h e a u t h o r ' s own admissions i n the second

appendix of the f i c t i o n a l i z a t i o n o f t h e p e r s o n who sold the e s t a t e

and the exaggeration of the q u a n t i t y o f manuscript found i n h i s

f a t h e r ' s m e d i c a l bag, Isogai s a y s one b e g i n s t o doubt one's

ability to distinguish truth from fiction i n other areas of the

diary as w e l l . In c o n c l u s i o n , I s o g a i says t h a t , like Kawashima,

he sees the d i a r y as t h e work o f t h e a u t h o r when he was twenty-six;

however, I s o g a i g o e s on t o s a y t h a t r a t h e r t h a n make an issue of

the c o r r e c t i o n s and r e v i s i o n s Kawabata a p p l i e d t o t h e work and of

t h e use of supplementary sections, he p r e f e r s t o l o o k upon them i n

a positive light. He s a y s t h a t t h e y p l a y an indispensable role i n

t h e s t r u c t u r e o f t h e work. "The diary gains a fulcrum with their

inclusion, and t h e y c o n t r i b u t e t o p r o d u c i n g an independent, com-

p l e t e d work. I f t h e y w e r e n ' t t h e r e , no m a t t e r how beautiful the

language of the d i a r y might be, t h e c o m p o s i t i o n w o u l d be nothing

 8

more t h a n a s e r i e s of fragments."^ I agree with I s o g a i . As I

mentioned i n the beginning of t h i s chapter, with the a i d of

supplementary s e c t i o n s Kawabata's "nikki" resembles an e p i t a p h .

The e p i t a p h i s c a t e g o r i z e d as a p a r t i c u l a r form o f the lyric

known a s t h e e l e g y . Much o f t h e r e m a i n d e r of t h i s chapter i s

d e v o t e d t o an e x a m i n a t i o n o f t h e c o r r e l a t i o n between t h e l y r i c and

the "nikki."

One wishes t h a t Kawabata t o o h a d chosen t o emphasize the

salutary effect on t h e "nikki" o f s u c h t h i n g s as correction and

revision r a t h e r than t o emphasize the a u t h e n t i c i t y o f t h e work.

Why Kawatata d i d emphasize t h e a u t h e n t i c i t y of the "nikki" deserves

an a t t e m p t at explanation.

It s h o u l d n ' t be difficult t o s u r m i s e what was i n the back o f

Kawabata's m i n d when he w r o t e the f i r s t appendix i n 1925, made

his comments on t h e "nikki" i n 1938, and added a second appendix

in 1948. More t h a n a n y t h i n g e l s e he w a n t e d a f i n e p i e c e o f

writing done by h i m s e l f a t t h e t e n d e r age of fourteen t o be

r e c o g n i z e d as h i s " v i r g i n a l " work. By admitting to a certain

amount o f c o r r e c t i o n and fictionalization, he p r o b a b l y hoped that

nobody w o u l d be concerned about any o t h e r q u e s t i o n a b l e a s p e c t s

of his autobiographical "nikki". One would have t o c o n c l u d e then

t h a t he was ultimately " h o i s t e d by h i s own petard."

Incidentally, Kawabata a l s o a d d e d an a p p e n d i x t o the first

vignette in his collection o f T a n a q o k o r o no s h o s e t s u ^ (T) '\- f i t ,

(The P a l m - S i z e d Stories, 1922-50). " K o t s u h i r o i " ^ ("Gather-

ing Ashes," 1916-49) i s b a s e d on t h e a c t u a l e p i s o d e i n K a w a b a t a s 1

life of the r e t r i e v i n g of h i s g r a n d f a t h e r ' s ashes from the

crematorium. An admission of a touch of f i c t i o n a l i z a t i o n in

 9

the appendix t o "Kotsu h i r o i " seems aimed at somehow s e c u r i n g f o r

i t t o o added v a l i d i t y as b e i n g the l i t e r a r y product of Kawabata

at the y o u t h f u l age of e i g h t e e n . T h i s f i n e work c o u l d then

j u s t i f i a b l y occupy the p o s i t i o n of f i r s t i n the c o l l e c t i o n .

A broader e x p l a n a t i o n f o r Kawabata's s p e c i a l attempts t o

f i x these works as " v i r g i n a l p i e c e s " can be gathered from h i s own

a p p r e c i a t i o n o f j u v e n i l e and amateur l i t e r a t u r e . I f he t r e a s u r e d

the maiden work of o t h e r w r i t e r s , i t makes sense t h a t he would

wish h i s own " n i k k i " and "Kotsu h i r o i " t o be t r e a s u r e d f o r the

same reason.

With the p u b l i c a t i o n of the second appendix i n Shinchosha's

Kawabata zenshu o f 1948, Kawabata put the f i n i s h i n g touches t o

the "nikki". I t s i n c l u s i o n w i t h the e a r l i e r p u b l i c a t i o n o f the

" n i k k i " i n 1925 i n s e r i a l i z e d form marked the completion of the

work as we know i t today. The t w i s t s and t u r n s i t took b e f o r e

t h i s f i n a l completion e x e m p l i f y an important f e a t u r e o f the

making o f most Kawabata works. They are o f t e n p u b l i s h e d i n s e r i a l

form under v a r i o u s t i t l e s , and Kawabata f r e q u e n t l y chooses t o

r e w r i t e them, and add segments, and make changes i n both titles

and c o n t e n t s . The t i t l e of the work was changed from when i t was

o r i g i n a l l y published. I t f i r s t appeared i n the August and September,

1925 i s s u e s o f Bunqei shunju as " J u s h i c h i s a i no n i k k i "

"+" "t jRj? <D B tC ("Diary of a Seventeen-Year Old").

The f i r s t thorough s c h o l a r l y treatment of the " n i k k i " was

Hasegawa Izumi's a n a l y s i s of the work i n the aforementioned

September, 1968 i s s u e of Kokubunqaku. I t may come as a s u r p r i s e

to t h i n k i t took more than f o r t y years a f t e r i t s p u b l i c a t i o n

b e f o r e someone would g i v e the " n i k k i " a c a r e f u l a n a l y s i s , but

 10

p e r h a p s i t ' s more s u r p r i s i n g t o l e a r n t h a t i t i s b u t one example

of the neglect most Kawabata w o r k s h a v e s u f f e r e d . I f one opens

the pages o f t h e K o j i e n dictionary t o the l i s t i n g f o r Kawabata,

one f i n d s f o u r r e p r e s e n t a t i v e works l i s t e d u n d e r h i s name:

" I z u no o d o r i k o " f F _? (7) £j$ -*r ("The I z u D a n c e r , " 1926),

Yukiquni "Sp __) (Snow C o u n t r y , 1935-48) , Sembazuru ^f- f£|

(Thousand Cranes, 1949-51) , Yama n o o t o th <D % (The Sound o f t h e

Mountain, 1949-54). I t ' s t h e s e f o u r t i t l e s which have been parti-

cularly favored by s c h o l a r s and c r i t i c s as s u b j e c t s f o ranalysis.

Most o f t h e s t u d i e s o f t h e " n i k k i " done b o t h p r i o r and sub-

s e q u e n t t o Hasegawa's c o n t r i b u t i o n h a v e c e n t e r e d on what i s t o be

learned about t h e a u t h o r ' s a d o l e s c e n c e f r o m i t a n d how t h e s e

revelations contribute t o an u n d e r s t a n d i n g o f h i s p e r s o n a l i t y a s

an i n d i v i d u a l and as a w r i t e r .

Found w i t h i n t h e pages o f t h e " n i k k i " i s reference t o the

state i n w h i c h y o u n g Kawabata seems t o h a v e b e e n f a t e d a l l a l o n g :

in t h e end, he w i l l h a v e n e i t h e r a home n o r a f a m i l y . In the

passage from t h e b e g i n n i n g o f t h e " n i k k i " when t h e b o y r e t u r n s

from s c h o o l , the dying grandfather doesn't respond t o t h e boy's

words o f g r e e t i n g . The y o u t h f e e l s l o n e l y and sad. This feeling

of l o n e l i n e s s and sadness r e s u l t s i n a sense o f sorrow which

the boy a s c r i b e s t o h i s g r a n d f a t h e r as w e l l . In the entry f o r

May 7, he w r i t e s that with n o one t o t a l k t o , and w i t h the i n -

ability t o see and hear p r o p e r l y , t h e o l d man s u f f e r s f r o m "com-

plete l o n e l i n e s s , t h e sorrow o f l o n e l i n e s s . " (p.19)

I'll be d i s c u s s i n g t h e s t y l e of the "nikki" at length later,

but I'd l i k e t o point o u t now t h a t i t i s p o s s i b l e t o make a

stylistic connection along lyrical novel l i n e s between "Bonbon"

 11

and the grandfather. The u n i t y o f "Bonbon" a s t h e " p e r c e i v i n g

self" and t h e g r a n d f a t h e r a s t h e " p e r c e i v e d o t h e r " may be s a i d t o

c o n t r i b u t e t o a p i c t u r e o f t h e b o y a s an " o b j e c t i v e " r a t h e r than

a "subjective" self. The common f e e l i n g of loneliness and sorrow

expressed i n the "nikki" c o u l d be c a l l e d indicative of" t h e l y r i c a l

novel style. S u c h a scheme may be o n l y m a r g i n a l l y v a l i d , b u t we

can certainly s a y t h a t a l r e a d y i n h i s " n i k k i " we f i n d t h e t y p i c a l

Kawabata " I " o r p r o t a g o n i s t whose p a s s i v e c h a r a c t e r s u i t s t h e

lyrical nature o f the author's writing style.

The uneasiness t h e boy e x p r e s s e s i n t h e pages o f t h e " n i k k i " .

naturally gains i n intensity as h i s g r a n d f a t h e r ' s p h y s i c a l con-

dition steadily declines. The d e a t h of h i s grandfather means t h e

loss of his last close relative; he w i l l t r u l y become an o r p h a n i n

t h i s world, and t h e r e p e r c u s s i o n s o f such a f a t e a r e s t a t e d near

the end o f t h e f i r s t appendix: "The c o n c e p t o f home a n d f a m i l y

were g r a d u a l l y d r i v e n f r o m my mind, I dreamt o n l y o f w a n d e r i n g . "

(p.34)

Various critics h a v e commented on t h e c o n n e c t i o n between

Kawabata's b e i n g orphaned and h i s d e v e l o p i n g literary style.

Senuma S h i g e k i r e m a r k s t h a t i n s p i t e o f the disadvantaged upbring-

i n g Kawabata f a c e d a s an i n d i v i d u a l , hisplight a s an o r p h a n was

not that unfortunate i f we c o n s i d e r i t s c o n t r i b u t i o n t o h i s d e v e l -

opment a s an a r t i s t . ^ I s o g a i Hideo says, "Through h i s w r i t i n g

the young boy connected the world of r e a l i t y with the world of

literature, and by d o i n g s o was p r o b a b l y a b l e t o make h i s p a i n f u l

7
reality somewhat more b e a r a b l e . " The o u t s p o k e n Kawashima Itaru

goes s o f a r a s t o s a y , " F o r Kawabata, ' S e n t i m e n t s o f an O r p h a n '

was a heaven-sent b l e s s i n g which other creative artists could

 g
only hope f o r . "

The q u e s t i o n many s c h o l a r s have asked t h e m s e l v e s i s exactly

what was i t that motivated the fourteen-year-old Kawabata t o write

his diary of the final days o f h i s grandfather's life. There have

b e e n two basic theories offered as possible explanations. On one

side, we have a s c h o l a r l i k e Yamamoto K e n k i c h i who says, "Jurokusai

no nikki* i s not only a mere m i d d l e s c h o o l student's diary, but is

9

a l s o the creation of a y o u n g boy who aspired t o becoming a writer."

A look at b i o g r a p h i c a l information on Kawabata w o u l d seem to

s u p p o r t Yamamoto's c l a i m . By the t i m e he turned thirteen, we

read that Kawabata had apparently set his sights on becoming a

writer. I suppose f u r t h e r support for this v i e w can be found in

the s e c o n d a p p e n d i x where Kawabata t o u c h e s on the possible publi-

cation of the diary.

There are several p e o p l e who hold f i r m to another theory and

who dispute Yamamoto's s u g g e s t i o n . For example, Y o s h i m u r a Teiji

has the f o l l o w i n g t o say:

S h o u l d n ' t we s a y i t ' s g o i n g t o o f a r t o v i e w t h e d i a r y
as t h e a f f i r m a t i o n o f Kawabata's w i s h e s t o become a
writer? R a t h e r w a s n ' t t h e d i a r y w r i t t e n as a means
o f o v e r c o m i n g t h e p a i n o f f a c i n g a s i t u a t i o n where o n e ' s
s o l e companion was a d y i n g o l d man. T h e r e was no
i n t e n t i o n t o p r o d u c e a work o f l i t e r a t u r e ; i t ' s p r o b a b l y
p r o p e r t o v i e w t h e d i a r y as a p i e c e o f c o n t i n u o u s w r i t i n g
on t h e o l d man's s t r u g g l e w i t h d e a t h . 1 0

The author himself has t a k e n up the q u e s t i o n o f what motivated

him to write the d i a r y near the end of the second appendix. He

remarks t h a t i t ' s one of the two problems which continue t o puzzle

him about the piece. "I'm sure that i t was my desire t o put down

on paper a p o r t r a i t o f my dying grandfather, but what I l a t e r found

s t r a n g e was my choice of w r i t i n g the diary i n a sketch-like style

 13

d u r i n g t h o s e days I was n e a r t h e d y i n g man." (p.39)

The question of the s t y l e found i n t h e d i a r y has resulted in

a wide scope of i n t e r p r e t a t i o n s brought f o r t h by critics and

scholars i n Japan. That t h e r e i s such a breadth o f o p i n i o n would

seem t o i n d i c a t e t h a t i t ' s i m p o s s i b l e t o l o o k a t anyone o f t h e

interpretations as a d e f i n i t i v e answer t o t h e p r o b l e m ; however,

the following summary o f some o f t h e s e v i e w s w i l l s u g g e s t we can

find a common d e n o m i n a t o r running through them.

Yamamoto K e n k i c h i c a l l s i t a "strong, concise s t y l e . H e

says t h a t b e g i n n i n g w i t h the " n i k k i " Kawabata's s e n t e n c e s were

12

" s h o r t - b r e a t h e d . . . b r o k e n w i t h a snap." A l t h o u g h Kawabata was

fond of the s t y l e of both G e n j i monogatari yft&ftyil (The Tale

of Genji, C.1008) and M a k u r a no s 5 s h i ifj^ Ii? -J- The Pillow Book,

C.1000), Yamamoto s a y s t h e w r i t e r ' s own style doesn't reflect the

flowing narrative style of G e n j i but resembles r a t h e r the sensuous,

laconic style o f Makura no s o s h i . Yamamoto d i v i d e s classical

Japanese literature i n t o two stylistic streams: the Kokinshu

& 7 % Q
%. (Collection o f A n c i e n t and Modern P o e t r y , 905)

o r G e n j i s t r e a m and t h e S h i n k o k i n s h u £ff % ^ %v 5J£ (New

Collection o f A n c i e n t and Modern P o e t r y , C. 1205) or h a i k a i stream.

Yamamoto s a y s t h e two traditions have c o n t i n u e d t h r o u g h Japanese

literature t o the present. He places writers s u c h as Takahama

Kyoshi % 5" (1874-1959), T o k u d a S h u s e i ® 4fc fi (1871-

1943), and S h i g a Naoya h

& 111 (1883-1971), t o g e t h e r w i t h

Kawabata, i n t h e l a t t e r s t r e a m and locates writers s u c h as Tanizaki

Junichiro,§ &J% l?3$ — B? (1886-1965), S a t o H a r u o f£ %

(1892-1964), and Uno KSji ^ ff >^ ^ - (1891-1961) i n t h e former

stream.
 14

Yamamoto n o n e t h e l e s s t u r n s a r o u n d and s a y s Kawabata's liter-

ature c a r r i e s w i t h i t a feminine sense which gives it a delicate

f e e l i n g of the Gen j i k i n d . He does emphasize though t h a t while

inheriting this sensitivity typically found i n Heian l y r i c i s m ,

Kawabata s t i l l writes i n a manner c l o s e r t o t h e world of haikai

where d e s c r i p t i o n of one's s u b j e c t i s r e p r o d u c e d i n an objective

way.

Nakamura M i t s u o s u p p o r t s t h e view t h a t Kawabata's " n i k k i " i s

quite d i f f e r e n t from the lyrical mode f o u n d i n many women writers

of the Heian period. He also judges the s t y l e t o be strong and

concise. Nakamura goes on to say that at the time of Kawabata's

y o u t h , S h i g a Naoya and Tanizaki JunichirS were t h e preeminent

13

writers. The implication i s that Kawabata c o u l d h a v e been

influenced by t h e s e two writers; i f so, i t makes s e n s e t o conclude

that S h i g a had the greater influence on Kawabata's w r i t i n g since

they share the laconic s t y l e Yamamoto s p e a k s of.

It appears t h a t no scholar has p r o d u c e d a m a j o r work compar-

i n g the writing s t y l e s of S h i g a and Kawabata. There c e r t a i n l y

w o u l d seem t o be cause f o r i t . While' r e a d i n g U n i v e r s i t y of British

C o l u m b i a s t u d e n t Roy S t a r r s ' M.A. thesis of 1980 titled "An Artless

Art: F i c t i o n and Reality i n the Work o f S h i g a Naoya," I was amazed

by the number o f conclusions r e a c h e d on Shiga's w r i t i n g style that

are i d e n t i c a l to those recognized i n Kawabata's w r i t i n g style.

In the t h e s i s , Roy points out the terseness of Shiga's sent-

ences, the way the events i n the writer's s t o r i e s are linked in a

loosely associative manner r e m i n i s c e n t o f the haikai related form

of renqa (Japanese l i n k e d v e r s e ) , and the aspect of "impersonality"

Shiga achieves with the " I " o f h i s works. Roy compares t h i s sense
 15

of the " I " with the " I " o f a Basho h a i k u o r t h e " I " of a Western

lyrical poem. T h e s e t h r e e p o i n t s a p p l y t o Kawabata as well.

Roy later i n his thesis compares S h i g a w i t h E r n e s t Hemingway.

He s a y s t h a t t h e two o f them were p r a c t i t i o n e r s of the fictional

form called the "lyrical novel." I shall s h o r t l y examine certain

aspects of the lyrical n o v e l i n an attempt t o show t h a t Kawabata

s h o u l d be called a practitioner of t h i s form also.

One more i n t e r e s t i n g f e a t u r e Roy suggests Hemingway and Shiga

h a v e i n common i s t h e c o n s i d e r a t i o n of p l a c i n g them i n t h e category

of modern " p r i m i t i v i s t s . " M. H. Abrams' d e f i n i t i o n of "primitivism"

is given i n the t h e s i s ; in brief, "primitivism" i s said to prefer

the " n a t u r a l t o the "artificial." Critics such as Kobayashi

14

H i d e o have i n e f f e c t classified Kawabata as a " p r i m i t i v i s t " too.

I find the classification a p p r o p r i a t e and w i l l later examine how

Shinto values support the "natural" over the "artificial" of the

primitivists and how Kawabata e x h i b i t s a like-minded preference.

One final d i s c o v e r y i n Roy's t h e s i s w h i c h d e s e r v e s mention

in relation to this thesis on Kawabata i s t h e way Shiga connects

images o f f i r e and w a t e r i n h i s l i t e r a t u r e w i t h moments o f spirit-

ual transition. Roy p o i n t s out t h a t both fire and water p l a y im-

portant roles i n Shinto p u r i f i c a t i o n rites. As w i l l be seen later

in this thesis, fire and w a t e r a r e p r e d o m i n a n t images i n Kawabata's

l i t e r a t u r e with associations identical t o t h e o n e s Roy points out

in his thesis on Shiga.

Hasegawa I z u m i s a y s t h a t i n t h e e a r l y y e a r s of Taisho

shaseibun ("writings sketched from life") was a p o p u l a r method o f

writing, and i n Taisho 7 (1914), c o m p o s i t i o n classes at school

were s t r o n g l y i n f l u e n c e d by the "artistic realism" of Suzuki

 16

Miekichi ^^^JEL $ (1882-1936) whose arinomama (candid)

style of w r i t i n g c o u l d be found i n the c h i l d r e n ' s magazine A k a i

tori These s i g n i f i c a n t developments i n composition

style could also certainly have i n f l u e n c e d t h e s t y l e of the "nikki."

S a e k i S h o i c h i remarks t h a t , except f o r the s e c t i o n s o f

supplementary information, the "nikki" i s w r i t t e n almost completely

in the present tense, and t h i n g s a r e d e s c r i b e d i n an o b j e c t i v e

fashion i n what may be termed a " s t y l e before s t y l e . S a e k i

feels t h a t i n l a t e r y e a r s Kawabata r e c o g n i z e d t h e s t y l e of the

diary t o be an ideal type. He relates the significance of the

rediscovery of t h i s s t y l e by Kawabata i n t h e f o l l o w i n g words:

I t I s p r o b a b l y an e x a g g e r a t i o n t o s a y t h a t t h e
c o n s c i o u s p u r s u i t o f a s t y l e b e f o r e s t y l e , an
a p p l i c a t i o n o f such b e i n g perhaps termed a n t i -
s t y l e , was Kawabata's aim; but undoubtedly
t h e c e n t r a l c o n c e r n o f Kawabata was t h e c a p t u r -
i n g o f an o b j e c t on p a p e r a t t h e i n s t a n t when
t h e o b j e c t and t h e s e l f become one, a moment
d e v o i d o f s u b j e c t i v e i n t e r p r e t a t i o n and c r i t i c i s m
w h i c h s h o u l d be c a l l e d t h e " e t e r n a l p r e s e n t . " ! 7

The common d e n o m i n a t o r f o u n d i n each of the p r e v i o u s inter-

pretations of the style of the "nikki" i s f a r from surprising.

The f o u r t e e n - y e a r - o l d Kawabata has perhaps both directly and i n -

directly adopted a style of w r i t i n g i n the " n i k k i " whose f e a t u r e s

are c h a r a c t e r i s t i c of the w r i t i n g s found i n the e a r l i e s t anthology

of Japanese poetry, t h e Manyoshu 7) ^ (Collection of Ten

Thousand Leaves, C.759). The lyrical mode f o u n d i n the Manyoshu

established f o r J a p a n e s e l i t e r a t u r e what has come t o be probably

the s i n g l e most i m p o r t a n t characteristic of the Japanese literary

tradition from the a n c i e n t past t o the present. Thinking of the

Kokinshu and Shinkokinshu as two streams i s s u i n g from the headwaters

of the lyrical tradition, i t ' s n a t u r a l f o r us t o l o c a t e the

 17

Manyoshu as i t s source. More p r o p e r l y , i t sr

more a c c u r a t e to

c o n s i d e r the Kokinshu a secondary stream o f t h e Manyoshu w h i c h

itself downstream t a k e s the Shinkokinshu f o r i t s name.

I t h i n k we find i n t h e Tokugawa s c h o l a r Kamo M a b u c h i s 1

(1697-

1769) words o f p r a i s e f o r t h e p o e t r y o f t h e Manyoshu two terms,

takaki and naoki, which are e s s e n t i a l l y e q u i v a l e n t to the respec-

tive t e r m s o f " c o n c i s e " and " s t r o n g " u s e d by Yamamoto K e n k i c h i

and supported by Nakamura M i t s u o in their e v a l u a t i o n s of the style

of the "nikki." T s u n e t s u g u Muraoka, i n h i s book S t u d i e s i n Shinto

T h o u g h t , e x p l a i n s what M a b u c h i meant by takaki ( " l o f t y " ) and

naoki ("direct"):

" L o f t y " r e f e r r e d t o what was d i v o r c e d f r o m t h e

t e d i o u s l y v u l g a r - t o t h e l a r g e as o p p o s e d t o t h e
s m a l l , t h e b r o a d as o p p o s e d t o t h e n a r r o w , t h e
s i m p l e a s o p p o s e d t o t h e complex, and t h e l a c o n i c
as o p p o s e d t o t h e v e r b o s e . I t s b e a u t y was recog-
n i z e d as " e l e g a n c e . " H e r e we s e e d e m o n s t r a t e d
t h e g r e a t n e s s o f t h a t w h i c h had s i m p l e p u r i t y .

"Direct" r e f e r r e d t o a frankness of f e e l i n g
w h i c h was d e v o i d o f o s t e n t a t i o n - t h e s t r a i g h t as
o p p o s e d t o t h e s t o o p e d , t h e r e g u l a r as o p p o s e d t o t h e
b e n t , t h e e r e c t as o p p o s e d t o t h e t w i s t e d , and t h e
e a s y as o p p o s e d t o t h e l a b o r e d . On t h a t f o u n d a t i o n
he r e c o g n i z e d a m a n l i n e s s t h a t d i d n o t p e r m i t e f f e m i n a c y .
H e r e we s e e an u n d e r s t a n d i n g o f t h e l i t e r a r y v a l u e o f
simplicity, i n contrast to sentimentality.18

The d i r e c t n e s s of the p o e t i c s p i r i t found i n the Manyoshu

together with a simplicity and brevity of expression r e m i n d s us of

the s t y l e of Saigyo's poetry i n the Shinkokinshu and of the style

of Kawabata's "nikki."

As Yamamoto K e n k i c h i p o i n t s o u t , the laconic style of Shiga's

writings c o u l d e a s i l y be taken as an e x t e n s i o n o f t h e same tradi-

tion; and with the shaseibun movement w h i c h began i n t h e Meiji

p e r i o d we again find o u r s e l v e s l o o k i n g b a c k t o t h e Manyoshu. The

 18

p o e t most c l o s e l y a s s o c i a t e d w i t h t h e movement, Masaoka Shiki

JE Sffi 3- (1867-1902) was an a r d e n t a d m i r e r o f the anthology,

and he a t t e m p t e d t o i n c o r p o r a t e t h e mode o f t h e Manyoshu i n t o h i s

own p o e t r y . A t t h e base o f S h i k i ' s desire for"realistic des-

cription" or shasei ("sketching from life") was a r e t u r n t o t h e

Manyoshu style.

S a e k i ' s r e f e r e n c e t o how t h e p r e s e n t t e n s e o f t h e d i a r y

contains that a s p e c t o f t h e " e t e r n a l p r e s e n t " sought f o r by t h e

author i n h i s l a t e r w r i t i n g s n a t u r a l l y s u g g e s t s more u n i v e r s a l

implications than a s p e c i a l e m p h a s i s o f t h e Manyoshu w a r r a n t s .

We a r e s t i l l talking primarily about the l y r i c a l mode t h o u g h , and

I t h i n k b y t u r n i n g f o r a moment t o a s t u d y done on t h e W e s t e r n

lyrical n o v e l we c a n f i n d some r e v e a l i n g s i m i l a r i t i e s between t h e

salient characteristics o f the genre a n d Kawabata's " n i k k i " and

his later works.

Ralph Freedman, i n The L y r i c a l N o v e l , distinguishes the

c4
lyric from e p i c a n d drama by t h a t capturing^the instant o f which

Saeki r e f e r s t o as t h e " e t e r n a l p r e s e n t " :

C o n v e n t i o n a l l y , t h e l y r i c , as d i s t i n c t from e p i c and
drama, i s s e e n e i t h e r a s an i n s t a n t a n e o u s e x p r e s s i o n
of a f e e l i n g o r as a s p a t i a l form. The r e a d e r
a p p r o a c h e s a l y r i c t h e way an o n l o o k e r r e g a r d s a
picture: h e s e e s complex d e t a i l s i n j u x t a p o s i t i o n
and e x p e r i e n c e s them a s a w h o l e . I n Pound's famous
p h r a s e , t h e v e r y n o t i o n o f t h e image i s d e f i n e d a s
t h e r e n d e r i n g o f "an e m o t i o n a l i n t e l l e c t u a l c o m p l e x
i n an i n s t a n t o f t i m e . " 19
A few p a g e s e a r l i e r , Freedman e x a m i n e s t h e d i f f e r e n c e between

lyrical and n o n - l y r i c a l writing:

The l y r i c a l n o v e l , b y c o n t r a s t , s e e k s t o combine man

and w o r l d i n a s t r a n g e l y i n w a r d , y e t a e s t h e t i c a l l y
o b j e c t i v e , form. This i s not t o say that l y r i c a l
w r i t e r s a r e u n i n t e r e s t e d i n t h e q u e s t i o n s o f human
conduct t h a t concern a l l f i c t i o n , b u t they view t h e s e
 19

questions i n a d i f f e r e n t l i g h t . T h e i r stages are not

t h o s e on w h i c h men u s u a l l y p e r f o r m i n t h e n o v e l , b u t
i n d e p e n d e n t d e s i g n s i n w h i c h t h e a w a r e n e s s o f men's
e x p e r i e n c e s i s merged w i t h i t s o b j e c t s . R a t h e r t h a n
f i n d i n g i t s G e s t a l t i n t h e i m i t a t i o n o f an a c t i o n ,
t h e l y r i c a l n o v e l a b s o r b s a c t i o n a l t o g e t h e r and
r e f a s h i o n s i t as a p a t t e r n o f i m a g e r y . Its tradition
i s n e i t h e r d i d a c t i c nor dramatic, although f e a t u r e s of
b o t h may be u s e d , b u t p o e t i c i n t h e n a r r o w s e n s e o f
"lyrical." A l y r i c a l poem's f o r m o b j e c t i f i e s n o t
men and t i m e s b u t an e x p e r i e n c e and a theme f o r w h i c h
men and t h e i r l i v e s , o r p l a c e s and e v e n t s , h a v e b e e n
used. S i m i l a r l y , l y r i c a l n o v e l s s u c h as G o e t h e ' s
Werther, H b l d e r l i n ' s Hyperion, or Djuna Barnes'
Niqhtwood r e f l e c t t h e p l e a s u r e and p a i n o r t h e d y i n g
o f men as e x t e n d e d l y r i c s . Their objectivity lies
i n a f o r m u n i t i n g s e l f and o t h e r , a p i c t u r e t h a t
detaches the w r i t e r from h i s persona i n a s e p a r a t e ,
formal world.20

Coincidentally t o Freedman's e x a m p l e s o f l y r i c a l novels in

the above q u o t a t i o n , t h e y o u n g Kawabata's d i a r y can t o a g r e a t

e x t e n t be r e a d as t h e o b j e c t i f i c a t i o n of the dying of h i s grand-

f a t h e r i n t h e manner o f an e x t e n d e d lyric.

People such as Nakamura M i t s u o in his analysis o f Kawabata's

21 22
Yukiquni and I s o g a i H i d e o i n an a n a l y s i s o f t h e "nikki" both

suggest an affinity with the techniques o f t h e N5 drama. In

Yukiquni Nakamura
t contends t h a t Komako a c t s t h e p a r t o f t h e shite

(protagonist) i n t h e n o v e l and Shimamura f u n c t i o n s as t h e waki

(deuteragonist); the waki's r o l e i s t o p r o v i d e the s h i t e with a

stimulus t o express her innermost thoughts and emotions. Isogai

sees t h e boy a s t h e w a k i and t h e g r a n d f a t h e r as t h e shite i n the

"nikki." I t ' s easy t o see the v a l i d i t y of the r e l a t i o n s h i p between

t h e two a r t f o r m s i f we f o c u s on the nature of the respective roles

p l a y e d by the c h a r a c t e r s i n t h e two Kawabata w o r k s ; b u t the genre

of drama and prose or l y r i c w o u l d seem t o h a v e e v e n l e s s i n common

with each o t h e r than t h a t other troublesome p a i r i n g of lyric and

prose.
 20

By r e t u r n i n g t o Ralph Freedman s 1
a n a l y s i s of the lyrical

novel, I t h i n k we can find a much more s a t i s f y i n g explanation of

the nature of the " I " or protagonist i n Kawabata's literature.

He says, "Concentration on the inner life of a passive hero and

the consequent c r e a t i o n of a detached ' p o e t i c ' form d i s t i n g u i s h

23

lyrical from n o n - l y r i c a l n a r r a t i v e . " I t i s the passive hero i n

Kawabata's w o r k s w h i c h i s one of the striking characteristics of

his literature. Through such p a s s i v i t y , the self and the other

are united. Here i s a q u o t a t i o n f r o m Freedman's book w h i c h ex-

plains the r e l a t i o n s h i p between t h e "perceiving self" and the

"perceived o b j e c t " f o r the p o e t i c a r t i s t :

The p e r c e i v e d o b j e c t becomes p a r t o f t h e p o e t ' s
experience while rendering h i s p r i v a t e s e n s i b i l i t y
p u b l i c , but, i n m i r r o r i n g the p o e t ' s i n n e r s t a t e ,
i t l o s e s i t s separate, independent c h a r a c t e r . In
t h i s way, p e r c e i v e d o b j e c t s become m a n i f e s t a t i o n s o f
the poet's s p i r i t - f e a t u r e s of h i s s e l f - p o r t r a i t -
as t h e y a r e p o r t r a y e d s y m b o l i c a l l y i n t h e f o r m o f
art. The " o b j e c t " i s t h e c a t a l y s t t h r o u g h w h i c h a
f i n i t e , i n d i v i d u a l s e l f i s t r a n s m u t e d i n t o an i n f i n i t e ,
aesthetic self.24

From s u c h a p e r s p e c t i v e , I t h i n k Kawabata's p o s t s c r i p t i n the

Sogensha e d i t i o n of Yukiquni on w h e t h e r o r n o t his characters are

b a s e d on a c t u a l p e o p l e s u g g e s t s an author-protagonist - "object"

relationship s i m i l a r t o the one Freedman o u t l i n e s :

Shimamura i s , o f c o u r s e , n o t m y s e l f . He i s n o t h i n g
b u t a f o i l t o t h e g e i s h a , Komako. T h i s i s a t once
t h e f a i l u r e as w e l l as t h e s u c c e s s o f t h e n o v e l . I
e n t e r e d d e e p l y i n t o t h e c h a r a c t e r o f Komako and o n l y
v e r y s h a l l o w l y i n t o Shimamura. In t h a t sense i t i s
t r u e r t o s a y t h a t i n many ways I am Komako r a t h e r t h a n
Shimamura. I c o n s c i o u s l y t r i e d t o k e e p Shimamura a t
a d i s t a n c e f r o m me as I w r o t e . A l s o , t h e e v e n t s and
f e e l i n g s e x p r e s s e d a r e t h e p r o d u c t s o f my imagination
r a t h e r t h a n o f any l i v e d e x p e r i e n c e s . The f e e l i n g s
o f Komako i n p a r t i c u l a r a r e t h e embodiment o f my own
sadness.25
 21

J u s t as the " o b j e c t " o f Kawabata's p r o t a g o n i s t in Yukiquni,

Komako, c a n be s a i d t o be the embodiment o f K a w a b a t a ' s own feel-

ings of sadness, so t o o can we view the "object" of "Bonbon" i n

the "nikki," h i s grandfather, as t h e manifestation of the author's

loneliness and sorrow. T h e r e ' s no questioning the similarity in

f u n c t i o n o f Kawabata's c h a r a c t e r s t o the No drama's s h i t e and

waki, but isn't i t more r e a s o n a b l e t o view the characters' re-

s p e c t i v e r o l e s from the p e r s p e c t i v e of the g e n r e Kawabata funda-

mentally writes i n , the lyrical novel. I t ' s hard to imagine

Kawabata c o n s c i o u s l y a d o p t i n g s u c h a scheme f r o m N5; i t ' s easy

to i m a g i n e Kawabata c o m i n g t o t h e scheme n a t u r a l l y a s the outcome

o f someone who chooses t o w r i t e prose i n a l y r i c a l way.

Turning t o an i n v e s t i g a t i o n of the "nikki" from a literally

lyrical approach, that i s the rhythmic or musical nature of the

genre, I t h i n k we find i n i t e a r l y examples o f t h a t auditory

s e n s i t i v i t y w h i c h Kawabata d e m o n s t r a t e s s o m a s t e r f u l l y i n h i s

l a t e r works. The musical tone found i n the "nikki" i s reproduced

in a rather naive way, as one might expect in a fourteen-year-old's

composition. L i k e a p r i m i t i v e song, m u s i c - l i k e expressions found

in the "nikki" come m o s t l y from p a r a l l e l i s m s , r e p e t i t i o n s , and

exclamations. The f o l l o w i n g passage i s taken from the first entry

of the d i a r y when t h e y o u n g boy gives h i s grandfather some t e a to

drink. As elsewhere i n the d i a r y , we hear a r e p e t i t i o n i n twos

of syllables, words,, o r e x p r e s s i o n s . The r e p e t i t i o n s are of three

kinds: the same u n i t i s r e p r e a t e d immediately; i t is repeated

after a short interval, g i v i n g the flow o f words a r h y m i n g touch;

or, i t s r e p e t i t i o n takes place l a t e r where i t a c t s as t h e c l o s i n g

refrain of that p a r t i c u l a r segment:

 22

"Un, s o k a , y o s h i , y o s h i , g u t t o , un, q u t t o . "

DeT n o d o b o t o k e ga gokugoku ugoku. K o r e , kemono g a
nonde i r u no k a ? Baka, b a k a . Sonna myo na k o t o ga
a r u mono k a ? Chugaku no s a n n e n s e i n i mo n a t t e i t e -.

.&a^ _ 9i sjt_i•
,,
0 > J Cha wa y o i . T a n p a k u de y o i . A m a r i
o i s h i s u g i r u mono wa i k a n . A j i ^ ^ i s h i . - T a b a k o wa?" (p. 14)

"Hum, y e a h , good, good, g u l p , hum, g u l p . "

And t h e Adam's a p p l e moved a s he d r a n k i n g u l p s . I s t h i s t h e
beast drinking? Crazy, c r a z y i How c o u l d t h e r e be s u c h a
weird thing? H e r e I am g o i n g i n t o t h i r d y e a r o f m i d d l e
school - .
"Ah, d e l i c i o u s . The t e a ' s good, t h e l i g h t n e s s i s good.
T h i n g s t o o d e l i c i o u s a r e no good. Ah, d e l i c i o u s . — G o t
a cigarette?"

Kawabata i n t r o d u c e s this same k i n d o f a u d i t o r y sensitivity,

especially t h e power o f t h e a r t i s t i c r e p e t i t i o n o f sounds, into

much o f h i s l a t e r w r i t i n g a s w e l l . The l i n e s I've reproduced may

not touch the reader as b e i n g particularly beautiful, especially

when we compare them t o t h e f o l l o w i n g l i n e s f r o m The I z u D a n c e r :

" I i h i t o ne."
" S o r e wa s o , i i h i t o r a s h i i . " .
"Honto n i i i h i t o ne, I i h i t o wa __L he," (p. 220)
"He's n i c e , i s n ' t h e . "
" T h a t ' s t r u e , he does seem n i c e . "
"He r e a l l y i s n i c e , i s n ' t h e . I t ' s n i c e t o know
n i c e people, i s n ' t i t . "

tJo^etketeffI t h i n k we s h o u l d appreciate the effective use o f

sound i n b o t h o f t h e p a s s a g e s .

An explanation of the origin o f Kawabata's a r t i s t i c sensitiv-

ity t o s o u n d c a n be f o u n d i n some o f t h e e s s a y s t h e author has

produced. In a piece called "Bunsho n i t s u i t e " >C ^ " I - ~? Z

("On S t y l e , " 1 9 5 4 ) , Kawabata w r i t e s t h a t a s a y o u n g b o y he e n j o y e d

reading G e n j i m o n o g a t a r i a n d Makura no s S s h i e v e n t h o u g h he c o u l d -

n't u n d e r s t a n d t h e m e a n i n g o f what he was r e a d i n g . What he d e r i v e d

pleasure f r o m was t h e h i b i k i (sound) a n d t h e t o n e o f t h e l a n g u a g e .

In h i g h e r school, the r e c i t a t i o n of norito (Shinto prayers)

and semmyo (Imperial edicts) p r o v i d e d him w i t h a revelation. He

d i s c o v e r e d what he t h o u g h t t o be t h e h e a r t of Japanese literary

style i n the p r i m i t i v e songs: t h e e s s e n c e o f t h e "songs" i n G e n j i

a n d Makura no s o s h i c o u l d be t r a c e d b a c k t o n o r i t o .

Kawabata was t o always r e v e r e the beauty i n the t o n a l aspect

of language. In h i s Shinbuntokuhon, he w r i t e s , " 'To appreciate

a literary c o m p o s i t i o n by l i s t e n i n g to i t ' has been a w i s h o f mine

,.26
for
c
years."
i

A n o t h e r example of musical evocation i n the " n i k k i " i s found

in its first pages. I t ' s t h e famous p a s s a g e where t h e young boy

h e l p s t h e o l d man urinate into a bedpan:

"Aa, aa, i t a t a , i t a t a t t a , i t t a t t a , a, a a . "
O s h i k k o o s u r u t o k i n i , i t a m u no de a r u .
K u r u s h i i i k i mo t a e s 5 na koe t o tomo n i ,
s h i b i n no s o k o n i wa t a n i g a w a no s h i m i z u no o t o .

"Aa, itatatta." (p.10)

"Ah, ah, ow-ow, ow- ow-aow, aow-aow, a, ah."

I t h u r t when he p e e d . W i t h t h e g a s p i n g and g r o a n i n g ,
a t t h e b o t t o m o f t h e bedpan t h e s o u n d o f c l e a r w a t e r
of a v a l l e y stream.
"Ah, ow-ow-aow."

The sounds o f p a i n t h e o l d man makes as he p a s s e s w a t e r have

been p u t down on p a p e r i n a m u s i c a l way; and i n t e r s p e r s e d between

the "candid" sounds o f t h e g r a n d f a t h e r a r e words exhibiting

"Bonbon's" remarkable p o e t i c sensitivity t o t h e sound o f t h e water.

"Bonbon" and t h e r e a d e r o f "Bonbon's" diary experience a point of

epiphany. We are s h a r i n g w i t h him t h e " d i v i n e " revelation that

t h e sound o f u r i n e and t h e s o u n d o f c l e a r w a t e r a r e b u t two mani-

festations of the underlying a u d i t o r y oneness o f t h e sound o f a l l

water.

This section of the " n i k k i " has received special attention

from c r i t i c s . They h a v e p o i n t e d o u t t h a t by e x a m i n i n g t h e passage

we c a n draw s t y l i s t i c conclusions about the "nikki" i n general.

The lines i n this part of the entry f o r May 4 a r e t e r s e and t h e

description i s b o t h g r a p h i c and ingenuous; i n o t h e r words, t h e

passage i s representative of the overall style of the diary.

Critics have e s p e c i a l l y marvelled at the poetic l e a p t h e young

Kawabata makes by t r a n s f o r m i n g t h e s o u n d of urine t r i c k l i n g into

t h e bedpan i n t o an image o f t h e s o u n d o f c l e a r water i n a valley

stream.

I can't r e s i s t outlining how two J a p a n e s e critics account f o r

the presence o f such a l i t e r a r y technique i n the "nikki."

Hasegawa I z u m i , who l a r g e l y b a s e s h i s method o f l i t e r a r y

a n a l y s i s on much u s e o f p r i m a r y s o u r c e m a t e r i a l s , offers a "forward-

looking" opinion on t h e i s s u e . He s a y s , "The d e s c r i p t i o n calls

t o mind t h e coming elements o f Shinkankakuha ("Neo-Perceptionist

27

School") techniques." S i n c e we r e a d t h a t avant-garde European

art a n d l i t e r a t u r e was i n t r o d u c e d i n t o Japan about 1920, and t h a t

the establishment of the l i t e r a r y j o u r n a l Bunqei jidai i n 19 2 4

i n c l u d e d Kawabata's own t r e a t i s e on a new k i n d o f w r i t i n g that

came t o be c a l l e d N e o - P e r c e p t i o n i s m , a n d which was b a s e d on t h e

a v a n t - g a r d e movement, t h e n a r e n ' t we t o be a s t o n i s h e d by t h e " p r e -

a v a n t - g a r d e " t e c h n i q u e s t h e f o u r t e e n - y e a r - o l d Kawabata employed i n

1914? Does t h i s mean we a r e f o r c e d t o be as c y n i c a l a s Kawashima

and v i e w t h e " n i k k i " strictly a s a 1925 l i t e r a r y piece? I think

not and w i l l presently offer some r e a s o n s why.

Sasabuchi Tomoichi displays a similar fondness f o r "anach-

ronistic literary analysis" by f i n d i n g t h e " n i k k i " a most appro-

priate example o f Kawabata's l a t e n t s u r r e a l i s t i c tendencies.

 25

Sasabuchi makes s p e c i a l m e n t i o n o f t h e way Kawabata t a k e s the

unclean im^age o f t h e s o u n d o f t h e o l d man's u r i n e and through

"metamorphosis" t r a n s f o r m s t h e image i n t o t h e b e a u t y of the sound

2 8

of c l e a r water running i n a v a l l e y stream.

I n a p u b l i s h e d d i a l o g u e between K i n y a T s u r u t a and Hasegawa

Izumi on t h e "nikki," Tsuruta takes i s s u e w i t h Hasegawa's c h o i c e

of f o c u s i n g on t h e r e l a t i o n s h i p between Kawabata's w r i t i n g style

and the Neo-Perceptionist School, a c h o i c e Hasegawa unwaveringly

c a r r i e s w i t h him i n every article I've r e a d o f h i s on Kawabata's

e a r l y works. T s u r u t a would appear t o r e f u t e both N e o - P e r c e p t i o n i s t

and surrealistic influences on Kawabata's s t y l e when he suggests

it w o u l d be b e t t e r t o v i e w Kawabata's t r e a t m e n t of the bedpan

2'

scene as a r e f l e c t i o n of the author's i n n a t e method o f conception.

If I were t o make my own c h o i c e as t o w h i c h o f t h e t h r e e men's

views t o support, I would u n q u e s t i o n a b l y choose T s u r u t a ' s ; but i f

we are t o p r o p e r l y consider the nature o f Kawabata's s t y l e , we

certainly s h o u l d n ' t be s a t i s f i e d w i t h d i s m i s s i n g i t as something

genetically earned.

It seems t o me t h a t many c r i t i c s o f modern J a p a n e s e literature

i n Japan such as Hasegawa and Sasabuchi suffer from an acute case

o f myopia: as s p e c i a l i s t s o f t h e modern p e r i o d , t h e y consequently

feel compelled to restrict their tools of analysis t o t h e modern

period. I f we were t o p r o v i d e them w i t h t h e p r o p e r corrective

lenses, I t h i n k t h e y might deduce from their own observations a

much more l i k e l y influence on Kawabata's s t y l e t h e n t h e ones they

offer. F o r example, i n his close analysis of the s p e c i a l f e a t u r e s

of the "nikki," Hasegawa l i s t s the following four points:

1. The diary i s composed m o s t l y of short sentences

 26

2. T h e r e i s an effective use of noun-ending sentences

3. I n an "artless" way, there i s found the germination of the Neo-

Perceptionist method

4. The y o u n g Kawabata d i s p l a y s a s p i r i t which r e f u s e s to be

30
c r u s h e d by the weight of grim reality

In the hope t h a t I have c a p t u r e d the essence of Hasegawa's

four points, h e r e i s my r e w r i t i n g o f what seems t o be the salient

features Hasegawa f i n d s i n t h e style of the "nikki":

1. terseness

2. noun-ending lines

3. the j u x t a p o s i t i o n of d i v e r s e objects or scenes i n a f r e e ,

illogical way (my attempt a t d e f i n i n g what seems t o h a v e b e e n

the e s s e n t i a l "new" c o n t r i b u t i o n the Neo-Perceptionists would

add t o Japanese fiction)

4. a d e t a c h e d manner

I f we were t o t a k e t h e above f o u r p o i n t s and ask a student

o f J a p a n e s e l i t e r a t u r e w h e t h e r he recognizes them t o be represent-

ative of a traditional Japanese l i t e r a r y form, I t h i n k there's

no question t h a t he would say we're s p e a k i n g o f t h e haikai trad-

ition. I t bears repeating that the h a i k a i t r a d i t i o n itself, as

Yamamoto K e n k i c h i points out, can be u n d e r s t o o d t o be a part of

t h e M a k u r a no soshi, Shinkokinshu tradition.

Tsuruta has b a c k e d up his opinion t h a t the bedpan s c e n e i s

part o f an innate Kawabata method o f conception by pointing to the

author's l a t e r masterpiece Yukiquni i n w h i c h we find a similar

scene. The scene i s the one where t h e e p h e m e r a l b e a u t y Yoko w a l k s

by c a r r y i n g a chamber p o t containing the u r i n e of the dying Yukio.

The comparison does not f i t p e r f e c t l y since i n the "nikki" the

 27

juxtaposition of the urine with the v a l l e y stream i s "self-

c o n t a i n e d , " whereas i n Y u k i q u n i i t i s t h e beauty o f Y5ko t h a t i s

"externally" j u x t a p o s e d w i t h t h e u r i n e i n t h e chamber p o t . None-

theless, Tsuruta's observation i s perceptive.

Having introduced this c o m p a r i s o n T s u r u t a makes w i t h Yukiquni.

it s h o u l d a l s o be m e n t i o n e d t h a t we c a n make a t h e m a t i c connection

between "Bonbon," Y5ko, a n d o t h e r c h a r a c t e r s i n Kawabata's litera-

ture. Both "Bonbon" and Yoko a r e t y p i c a l o f one o f Kawabata's

favorite characters i n h i s f i c t i o n . They a r e e x a m p l e s o f t h e p u r e

and self-sacrificing "nurses" who d e v o t e themselves t o serving the

needs o f a i l i n g o r d y i n g men. One e x c e l l e n t example o f an e x t e n s i o n

o f t h e "Bonbon" c h a r a c t e r i s t h e y o u n g woman i n " S u i g e t s u " $

("The Moon on t h e Water," 1953) who a c t s as a n u r s e f o r her dying

husband.

The line " A t t h e b o t t o m o f t h e bedpan, t h e s o u n d o f c l e a r

water o f a v a l l e y stream" deserves the attention i t has r e c e i v e d

from critics. Its relationship t o the haikai tradition and t h e

continuation of this tradition i n f u t u r e Kawabata l i t e r a r y works

is of considerable importance.

As i n haiku poetry, Kawabata d i s p l a y s a common bond with

poets o f t h e p a s t when he s t r i k e s h i s juxtaposition with nature.

The images p r o v i d e t h e r e a d e r w i t h a concrete p i c t u r e of a part-

icular object i n nature, and t h e p i c t u r e s i m u l t a n e o u s l y opens up

a spectrum of association, including an i n f e r e n c e t o t h e human

feelings felt by t h e i n d i v i d u a l at that p a r t i c u l a r moment.

The n a t u r a l o b j e c t and i t s p a r a l l e l image n e e d n o t be

"logically" a s s o c i a t e d , as i n t h e " n i k k i . " The f a c t that the

y o u n g Kawabata h a s t u r n e d t h e s o u n d o f u r i n e i n t o t h e s o u n d o f t h e
 28

c l e a r water of a valley stream would seem t o i n d i c a t e a primitive

or p r e - r a t i o n a l ability on t h e a u t h o r ' s p a r t t o d i s c o v e r beauty i n

so u n l i k e l y a situation.

In t h i s connection, I think a few words on M o t o o r i Norinaga's

(1730-1801) v i e w s on l i t e r a t u r e s h o u l d prove r e v e a l i n g . The c o r n e r -

stone o f Norinaga's theory i s the capturing i n l i t e r a t u r e of a

feeling o f mono no aware (the "ahness" of things; a "sensitivity

to things"). For Norinaga, the w r i t e r should cast aside the chain

o f u n n a t u r a l moral thought which p r e v e n t s him from g r a s p i n g t h e

essence o f things. A h e a r t which i s p u r e and s e n s i t i v e breaks

through such c h a i n s t o g e t t o the core o f t h e t h i n g . "Bonbon"

would appear t o have j u s t s u c h a h e a r t f r o m t h e way he i s a b l e t o

sense i n t h e sound o f u r i n e t h e sound o f c l e a r water. Norinaga

s u g g e s t s as example t h a t such a h e a r t can admire t h e beauty of a

lotus f l o w e r i n b l o o m i n a muddy p o n d . The d i r t y surroundings

31

need n o t i n t e r f e r e w i t h t h e e s s e n t i a l beauty of the flower.

Incidentally, this aesthetic c o n c e p t t a k e s on t h e m a t i c

dimensions i n Kawabata's l a t e r fiction. T h i n g s o f b e a u t y have a

habit o f b e i n g i n c o n t a c t w i t h "mud" o r o f p a s s i n g t h r o u g h i t a s

t h e y move i n and o u t o f t h e l i v e s o f Kawabata's male protagonists.

One example w o u l d be Y u k i k o , the g i r l o f t h e Sembazuru,

r
who

e n t e r s K i k u j i ' s w o r l d t h r o u g h t h e woman o f t h e "muddy" b i r t h m a r k .

The c u l t u r a l w e l l s p r i n g which seems most r e s p o n s i b l e f o r the

"primitive" artistic sensibility o f b o t h N o r i n a g a a n d Kawabata i s

Shinto. Shinto i t s e l f i s more a s y s t e m of aesthetics than ethics;

in fact, Western m i s s i o n a r i e s have found S h i n t o l a c k i n g almost

totally an e t h i c a l code a n d have c o n s e q u e n t l y r e f u t e d S h i n t o ' s

right t o be c a l l e d a religion at a l l .
 29

The S h i n t o w o r l d v i e w s e e s t h e gods, man, a n d n a t u r e a s one.

Inherent i n such a view i s a p a n t h e i s t i c outlook which S h i n t o

s h a r e s w i t h Buddhism. When B u d d h i s m was i n t r o d u c e d t o J a p a n , i t s

philosophical concept o f t h e oneness o f a l l c r e a t i o n f i t in

smoothly with t h e indigenous religion. O f t h e two g r e a t f o r m s o f

Buddhism, H i n a y a n a a n d Mahayana, i t i s t h e l i n e o f Mahayana

Buddhism which Japanese Buddhism b e l o n g s to. The p h i l o s o p h y o f

o n e n e s s i n Mahayana B u d d h i s m i s s u p p o r t e d b y a p a n t h e i s t i c world

v i e w : t h e One i s i n a l l t h i n g s , a n d c o n v e r s e l y a l l t h i n g s a r e t h e

One. In Robert Schinzinger's introduction to h i s translation of

t h r e e N i s h i d a K i t a r o e s s a y s , he t a l k s about how B u d d h i s t s use t h e

symbol o f t h e m i r r o r t o e x p l a i n t h a t Dharmafeaya ("the d i v i n e

center o f being") i s "reflected" i n a l l things. The p a r t i c u l a r

example S c h i n z i n g e r s e l e c t s from Buddhist teachings reads l i k e an

expansion on t h e a e s t h e t i c p r i n c i p l e found i n Norinaga's words on

the lotus:

B u d d h i s t s s a y t h a t DharmaJcaya i s i n a l l t h i n g s ,
i n t h e same way a s t h e one a n d u n d i v i d e d moon
i s r e f l e c t e d i n w a t e r , i n t h e o c e a n a s w e l l as
i n m i l l i o n s o f dewdrops, o r e v e n i n d i r t y
puddles. I n e a c h r e f l e c t i o n t h e moon i s w h o l e
and u n d i v i d e d . 3 2

The o n e n e s s o f t h e s o u n d o f w a t e r f o r "Bonbon" c a n c l e a r l y

f i n d - i t s c o n c e p t u a l r o o t s i n b o t h S h i n t o a n d Buddhism. The

pantheistic overtones i n the line from t h e " n i k k i " hint a t what

will be an i m p o r t a n t f e a t u r e o f l a t e r Kawabata w o r k s .

One final aspect o f the l i n e I'd l i k e t o draw a t t e n t i o n t o

is t h e emphasis "Bonbon" p l a c e s on t h e a d j e c t i v e "pure" or "clear."

In t h e c i t e d passage, he h e a r s t h e sound o f s h i m i z u ( " c l e a r water")

In a l a t e r passage found i n t h e May 7 e n t r y , t h e o l d man a g a i n

 30

urinates, and t h i s time t h e young boy h e a r s t h e sound as K i y o r a k a

na o t o (a " c l e a r sound"), (p.19)

Kivorakasa ("cleanness") i s p r o b a b l y t h e s i n g l e most i m p o r t a n t

aesthetic consideration f o r Kawabata's p r o t a g o n i s t s i n a l l of h i s

literature. Kawabata's s e n s e o f b e a u t y i n general, and sense o f

female beauty i n particular, r e v o l v e s around cleanness or p u r i t y .

I n Y u k i q u n i i t i s Komako's q u a l i t y o f p u r i t y which draws Shimamura

to her.

We f i n d the origin of this c o n c e p t i n S h i n t o as w e l l . From

as f a r b a c k as t h e K o j i k i ^ ^ f£ (Record o f A n c i e n t M a t t e r s , 712),

the Japanese have r e v e r e d a sense o f p u r i t y . I n semmvo (Imperial

edicts) from t h e e i g h t h century, the following attributes are

idealized: kiyoki kokoro ("the p u r e h e a r t " ) , a k a k i k o k o r o ("the

bright heart"), and k i y o k i akaki kokoro ("the p u r e and b r i g h t

heart!). 3 3

The description o f " c l e a r water" further calls t o mind the

association o f p u r i t y w i t h water i n Shinto r i t u a l . The p a r t water

plays i n Shinto p u r i f i c a t i o n rites i s well documented. By b a t h -

ing i n rivers o r streams, o r by c r o s s i n g them, one i s p u r i f i e d .

The water of lakes, rivers, streams, and s p r i n g s p l a y an

important part i n a l m o s t e v e r y Kawabata work. I t s association

with Shinto p u r i f i c a t i o n can i n c l u d e i t s function as a s y m b o l i c

passage from t h i s earthly world to a p r i s t i n e , heavenly world. In

t h e May 8 e n t r y , t h e o l d man a p p e a r s r e a d y t o make a "real"

passage from t h i s w o r l d t o a h e a v e n l y w o r l d through the agency o f

water. He s a y s , " I w o u l d n ' t mind f a l l i n g into a pond and d y i n g

there." (p.25) As w i t h many o t h e r l i n e s i n t h e " n i k k i , " we find

t h e s e words o f t h e o l d man r e p e a t e d s h o r t l y after.

 31

Another one of Kawabata's c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s already to be

found i n the " n i k k i " i s his use of contrasting images to support

a thematic design. The loneliness and sorrow of the old man i s

underscored i n the contrast between l i g h t and darkness. When

darkness s e t t l e s i n the household, the old man's p l a i n t i v e cries

"shake the night a i r . " (p.14) The sadness of the grandfather's

almost complete blindness i s temporarily assuaged when "Bonbon"

brings a beam of l i g h t close to the old man's eyes and illuminates

his "world of darkness." (p.14) A f t e r the old man expresses h i s

desire to drown i n a pond, which i s then followed by his f i n a l

r e c i t a t i o n of "Namu amida butsu," the " I " says, "to me, the l i g h t

of the lamp turned dark." (p.25) The undated entry of the diary

discovered even l a t e r than the other sections and included i n the

second appendix closes with a play on l i g h t and shadow. "In the

dim f l i c k e r of l i g h t from the bedside lamp, the two women sat

s i l e n t l y with t h e i r heads between t h e i r hands." (p.38) I t seems

appropriate to learn that the old man passed away i n the night.

It was young Kawabata's awareness of the coming death of his

grandfather which prompted him to begin the diary i n the f i r s t

place. The r e s u l t of writing a "sketch-like" description of those

days before his grandfather's death would eventually lead to the

f i r s t of the two questions Kawabata asked himself about the

composition. In the second appendix, Kawabata writes that at

f i f t y years of age, just as at the time when he wrote his f i r s t

appendix, the thing he finds strangest i s the fact he i s unable

to r e c a l l the days he had written of. He writes that he didn't

set about explaining the meaning of memory and forgetfulness i n

the work; he also writes that he didn't make an e f f o r t to touch

 32

on t h e meaning o f " t i m e " and " l i f e " either.

One o f t h e c l u e s t o t h e m e a n i n g o f f o r g e t f u l n e s s he does

l e a v e h i m s e l f and us w i t h i s found i n the f i r s t appendix. The

ugliness o f t h e o l d man's a p p e a r a n c e d u r i n g t h e days when t h e

d i a r y was b e i n g w r i t t e n h a s g r a d u a l l y b e e n d i s a p p e a r i n g f r o m t h e

memory o f Kawabata. He r e c o g n i z e s t h a t he h a d " c o n t i n u e d t o wash

clean" ( k i y o r a k a n i a r a i t s u z u k e t e i t a ) (p.33) t h e memory o f h i s

grandfather over a ten-year p e r i o d .

By r e a d i n g h i s own d i a r y t e n y e a r s later, Kawabata was n o t

o n l y made t o r e c a l l a forgotten past, but also t o r e l i v e the

immediacy o f t h e l i n e a r p a s s a g e o f " n a t u r a l t i m e . " A s much a s he

admired t h i s early composition o f h i s , he s u r e l y must have b e e n

d i s t u r b e d by t h e c o n c r e t e r e a l i t y he f o u n d there. I agree with

Saeki S h o i c h i t h a t Kawabata p r o b a b l y v a l u e d t h e o b j e c t i v i t y o f the

style o f t h e d i a r y and a l s o the e f f e c t of i t s being written almost

totally i n the present t e n s e ; however, t h e p r e s e n t tense o f the

composition i s , i n fact, not equivalent to the " e t e r n a l present"

w h i c h we f i n d i n later Kawabata f i c t i o n . The " e t e r n a l present"

must be b e y o n d t h e p e r i s h a b i l i t y o f " n a t u r a l t i m e . " The c o n c r e t e

becomes a b s t r a c t . F o r someone who s o u g h t the p u r i f y i n g effect of

beauty i n literature, the " u g l i n e s s " o f the grandfather captured

in the " o b j e c t i v e " or "real" time o f t h e p a g e s o f t h e d i a r y must

s t a n d as somewhat o f a c o u n t e r p o i n t t o what we f i n d i n f u t u r e works

by the i n d i v i d u a l . Such i s t h e p o s i t i o n Kawabata s 1

"Jurokusai

no n i k k i " h o l d s when compared w i t h the rest o f the author's

literature.
 • DEATH AND THE VIRGIN: "CHIYO" TO "KAGARIBI"

CHAPTER I I

I n 1915, the year following his grandfather's death, Kawabata

took up r e s i d e n c e i n the dormitory o f Osaka's l b a r a g i Middle School.

He had first started a t t e n d i n g t h e s c h o o l i n 1912, and he stayed

in the dormitory until graduation i n 1917. As a fifth-year student

at the s c h o o l , he shared a room w i t h a second-year student named

Ogasawara. The two developed a r e l a t i o n s h i p with clear homosexual

overtones.

This r e l a t i o n s h i p was t h e b a s i s f o r Kawabata's a u t o b i o g r a p h i c a l

story "Shonen"^ ^ ("A Boy") w h i c h was published s e r i a l l y in 1948

and 1949. The work i s d i v i d e d into seventeen s e c t i o n s but the

final three sections exemplify the o v e r a l l questionable literary

m e r i t o f t h e work. They c o n s i s t of the contents of o l d letters

Ogasawara s e n t t o Kawabata a f t e r the l a t t e r had graduated from

the middle s c h o o l and had begun t o l i v e i n Tokyo.

The f r a n k e s t passages d e a l i n g with their physical relationship

are found in sections five and six. As frank as•they a r e however,

they are l i m i t e d t o the d e s c r i p t i o n o f t h e two l y i n g down t o g e t h e r

on a bed with the w r i t e r v o i c i n g the t a c t i l e experience of their

physical c o n t a c t w h i c h seems t o have n o t really gone b e y o n d a

mutually passive stage.

Characteristic o f how most o f Kawabata's h e r o e s d e s c r i b e the

people they are involved with, t h e w r i t e r i n "Shonen" has the

e e r i e penchant for dissecting the p h y s i c a l charms o f t h e young

boy r a t h e r than giving a "whole" p i c t u r e o f him. With the boy

either asleep or i n a dream-like state, the author relates the

p l e a s u r e he the touch o f v a r i o u s p a r t s o f t h e b o y ' s body includ-

ing h i s forehead, neck, chest, shoulders, arms, hands, and

feet. Content with this extent of a physical relationship,

 34

the writer drifts into a state of reverie. The p r o t a g o n i s t i n

"Shonen" a p p e a r s t o have something i n common w i t h t h e p r o t a g o n i s t s

in two works w r i t t e n b y Kawabata i n t h e 1960's. Eguchi of

0R te

Nemureru b i j o (House o f t h e S l e e p i n g B e a u t i e s , 1960) e n j o y s

the pleasure of d r i f t i n g into a state o f r e v e r i e n e x t t o t h e drugged,

s l e e p i n g b o d i e s o f young v i r g i n s . The b a c h e l o r i n t h e s u r r e a l i s t i c

" K a t a Ude" ("One Arm," 1963) i s a b l e t o e n j o y t h e v i r g i n i t y o f

a young g i r l without a c t u a l l y d e s p o i l i n g h e r by b o r r o w i n g one o f

h e r arms f o r a n i g h t .

The k e y t h i n g b o t h t h e y o u n g g i r l s and t h e boy p o s s e s s i s

purity. I n Kawabata's l i t e r a t u r e , t h e b o r d e r l i n e between m a l e

and female i s effectively e r a s e d when y o u n g p e o p l e o f p h y s i c a l

b e a u t y h a p p e n t o be v i r g i n s as w e l l . I n Yama no o t o f o r example,

Shingo i s drawn t o t h e p u r i t y o f t h e N5 mask o f a y o u n g b o y . Upon

examining t h e mask, S h i n g o finds the features o f t h e mask trans-

formed i n t o those of a girl.

Two y e a r s a f t e r Kawabata's d o r m i t o r y l i f e w i t h Ogasawara,

Kawabata j o t t e d down i n h i s d i a r y a revealing reaction to h i s

r e a d i n g o f Dostoyevsky's The House o f t h e Dead. I n t h e e n t r y f o r

January 23, 1918, Kawabata w r i t e s , "The p a s s a g e about A l i espec-

ially a f f e c t e d me. I was b r o u g h t to tears. I t made me t h i n k o f

my Ogasawara. That i m m a c u l a t e l y p u r e Ogasawara w i l l forever

p r o v i d e me w i t h a s e n s e of salvation." 1

The m a i n c h a r a c t e r i n The House o f t h e Dead, Alexander

Petrovitch, i s a nobleman who h a s b e e n i m p r i s o n e d i n S i b e r i a . The

novel i s supposedly based on t h e r e c o l l e c t i o n s f o u n d i n h i s manu-

script. The b r i g h t e s t chapter i n the novel i s Chapter X which

c o n t a i n s t h e passage on A l i . The f o l l o w i n g i s how he i s d e s c r i b e d :

 35

Of t h e t h r e e D a g h e s t a n T a r t a r s , a l l b r o t h e r s , t h e
e l d e r two were w e l l - d e v e l o p e d men, w h i l e t h e y o u n g e s t ,
A l i , was n o t more t h a n t w e n t y - t w o a n d l o o k e d s t i l l
younger. He s l e p t b y my s i d e , and when I o b s e r v e d
his frank, i n t e l l i g e n t countenance, t h o r o u g h l y n a t u r a l ,
I was a t o n c e a t t r a c t e d t o h i m and t h a n k e d my f a t e
t h a t I h a d h i m f o r a n e i g h b o u r a n d n o t some o t h e r
prisoner. H i s whole s o u l c o u l d be r e a d i n h i s beaming
countenance. H i s c o n f i d e n t s m i l e had a c e r t a i n c h i l d -
ish simplicity. H i s l a r g e b l a c k eyes e x p r e s s e d such
f r i e n d l i n e s s , such t e n d e r f e e l i n g , t h a t I always took
p l e a s u r e i n l o o k i n g a t h i m : i t was a r e l i e f t o me i n
moments o f s a d n e s s a n d anguish....How t h i s y o u n g man
p r e s e r v e d h i s tender heart, h i s n a t i v e honesty, h i s
f r a n k c o r d i a l i t y w i t h o u t becoming p e r v e r t e d and c o r r u p t -
ed d u r i n g h i s p e r i o d o f h a r d l a b o u r i s q u i t e i n e x p l i c a b l e
. . . . C h a s t e a s a y o u n g g i r l , e v e r y t h i n g t h a t was f o u l ,
c y n i c a l , shameful, o r u n j u s t f i l l e d h i s f i n e b l a c k eyes
w i t h i n d i g n a t i o n , a n d made them f i n e r t h a n e v e r . 2

The b o y o f "Sh5nen" i s a l s o chaste like a young g i r l , and i n

the same manner t h a t he w r i t e s o f Ogasawara i n h i s d i a r y , t h e

author here too indicates t h a t t h e boy has bestowed a spiritual

blessing on h i m . "...I feel t h a t y o u a r e my g o d o f s a l v a t i o n . . . .

3
You were a f r e s h surprise i n my l i f e . . " .

Probably the f i n e s t scene i n t h e s t o r y t a k e s p l a c e when t h e

author joins t h e b o y i n S a g a and t h e y make a t r i p t o a w a t e r f a l l so

that t h e boy can p e r f o r m m i s o g i ( p u r i f i c a t i o n by b a t h i n g ) . He i s

t r a n s f i x e d by the s i g h t o f t h e b o y ' s body b e i n g s t r u c k by t h e

cascading water. "The naked innocence o f t h e boy brought him

close to nature. B u t t h e f i g u r e was d e f i n i t e l y godly (kogoshii

$ [a term found i n Shinto]). At the f i r s t sight o f what

s h o u l d be d e s c r i b e d as t h e e m a n a t i o n o f a s p i r i t u a l light, my

body t u r n e d cold."^

The passage c o n t a i n s examples o f t h e e s s e n t i a l elements i n

much o f Kawabata's l i t e r a t u r e which designate singular moments

of artistic sensibility.
The ultimate experience o f misogi i s t o bathe completely
 36

nude under a w a t e r f a l l . The effect of the s p i r i t u a l p u r i f i c a t i o n

In such an exercise i s the return to a p r i s t i n e state. By a r r i v -

ing at this p r i s t i n e state, the boy i n h i s natural innocence

possesses divine q u a l i t i e s . As I indicated i n my analysis of

"Jurokusai no n i k k i , " water, p a r t i c u l a r l y the clear water of a

mountain stream or w a t e r f a l l , together with i t s coolness, produces

a p u r i f y i n g e f f e c t i n many of Kawabata's works.

The imagery of l i g h t and f i r e i s another Kawabata indication

of profound aesthetic moments suffused with a sense of the divine.

Kawabata's use of f i r e images appears to correspond to the symbolic

use of f i r e i n both Western l i t e r a t u r e and Japanese Shinto r i t e s .

As pointed out by Northrop Frye, the use of f i r e i n Western

apocalyptic symbolism has been to associate i t "with a s p i r i t u a l

or angelic world midway between the human and the divine.""' Fiery

bodies are either to be i d e n t i f i e d with heaven or are to be thought

of as passages to heaven. In Shinto too, f i r e i s closely assoc-

iated with the divine. It ranks on the same l e v e l as water as a '

p u r i f y i n g power.

The Shinto scholar Hirata Atsutane (1776-1843) came up with

an i n t e r e s t i n g theory on the derivation of the Shinto term musubi.

According to him, musu means "to beget" and b i refers to the sun.

Musubi designates a synthesizing power which acts to harmonize

the waxing and waning of cosmic forces. F i r e i n i t s various

manifestations i n Kawabata's l i t e r a t u r e acts i n a s i m i l a r manner

as a synthesizing agent of a divine nature.

A f i n a l word on "Shonen" underscores the connection Kawabata

makes with the Shinto concept of purity. The f i c t i o n a l name he

gives to Ogasawara i n the story, h i s "god of salvation," i s

 37

K i y o n o > | f j ( f i e l d of p u r i t y " ) .
M

In 1917, Kawabata went to Tokyo and entered the F i r s t Higher

School. The autumn of the following year saw him make h i s f i r s t

t r i p to Izu. It was during this walking tour that he met up with

a group of wandering performers. Attracted to the young dancer

in the troupe, he was accepted as a t r a v e l l i n g companion by them

for the remainder of the Izu t r i p . During a stay at Yugashima

Hotsprings four years l a t e r , Kawabata produced a manuscript titled

"Yugashima de no omoide" which draws on his relationship with

Ogasawara as well as the Izu t r a v e l with the wandering performers.

The manuscript was eventually turned into two s t o r i e s : the one I've

just dealt with t i t l e d "ShSnen" and the novelette "Izu no odoriko' 1

which stands as the author's f i r s t masterpiece.

In 1919, at the age of twenty-one, Kawabata had his short

story "Chiyo"'published i n the F i r s t Higher School's literary

magazine. It has a rather curious plot. The " I " of the story

has the uncommon fate of successively coming i n contact with three

g i r l s who a l l happen to be c a l l e d Chiyo: the daughter of Yamamoto

Chiyomatsu, the Izu dancer, and the g i r l f o r whose affections he

must compete with a classmate. Each time he makes contact with

one of the g i r l s c a l l e d Chiyo, he r e c a l l s Chiyomatsu. The " I "

feels that his f a i l u r e to repay a family debt has caused a

p a r t i c u l a r l y p a i n f u l death for the man. It i s not surprising then

that the hero feels a sense of fear and unnaturalness about the

unfolding events. When the young man receives from the deceased

man's daughter Chiyo a sum of money bequeathed to him i n her father's

w i l l , h i s sense of uneasiness i s compounded. Nonetheless, he uses

the money to make a t r i p to Izu where he meets up with a group of

 38

t r a v e l l i n g performers and f a l l s i n love with the troupe's fourteen-

year-old dancer named Chiyo. Ttfhen he returns to Tokyo, a l l the

while receiving l e t t e r s from Chiyomatsu's daughter, the young man

f a l l s i n love with a new Chiyo who has captured the attention of

his classmate as well. The conclusion " I " comes to is"that he has

been cursed by the ghost of Chiyomatsu.

There are several possible explanations as to why Kawabata

dealt with the world of the supernatural i n t h i s early short story

of h i s . The most obvious would be to point to the fact that the

author's early years were f i l l e d with the deaths of a l l the close

members of h i s family. Being cut o f f from family relationships i n

this natural world, i t should not be s t a r t l i n g to f i n d a person

l i k e Kawabata searching for a renewal of these relationships i n a

supernatural world. Not to be overlooked are the years Kawabata

spent alone'with h i s grandfather. In the " n i k k i " are found examples

of the old man's b e l i e f i n demons and details of his work on d i v i n -

ation.
Another possible source of i n s p i r a t i o n for the element of the
supernatural i n "Chiyo" can be uncovered i n the wealth of Japanese
c l a s s i c a l l i t e r a t u r e which deals with the subject. Kawabata must
c e r t a i n l y have appreciated the presence of ghosts i n Genji monogatari
yff. (The Tale of Genji,C. 1008), p a r t i c u l a r l y the vengeful s p i r i t

of Lady Rokujo who takes possession of a number of ladies while

she i s a l i v e and a f t e r she i s dead. An even better example of
ghostly tales are those to be found i n Ugetsu monogatari fa ^ %%
(Tales of Moonlight and Rain) of Ueda A k i n a r i ± ® 4*&(1734-1809).

Probably i n a l l of Kawabata's early works one can detect an

element of the supernatural. His interest i n the supernatural

 39

eventually led him to take up the reading of books on s p i r i t u a l i s m

from 1925. Much of the thematic content of Kawabata's writing in

the next ten years was derived from a knowledge of Eastern r e i n -

carnation and W e s t e r n s p i r i t u a l i s m . The finest piece of writing

Kawabata produced which dealt with these two ideas was "Jojoka"

J ffc ("Lyric Poem," 1932). Itfith numerous references to Eastern and

Western h i s t o r i c a l and l i t e r a r y examples of reincarnation and

s p i r i t u a l i s m , "Jojoka" makes an excellent primer f o r the student

of the supernatural.
Minus the scholarship found i n "Joj5ka," "Chiyo," e s p e c i a l l y

i t s l a s t h a l f , should be taken as the f i r s t of Kawabata's long l i n e

of stories centering on the world of s p i r i t u a l i s m and reincarna -

tion. When the hero of the story returns from his Izu t r i p , he

notices that the cherry blossoms have f a l l e n and senses the smell

of the new leaves. TM$\introduces a switch i n the style of the

short story from the prosaic to the poetic. The lines are shorten-

ed and the author makes use of v i s u a l effect by introducing a s t r i n g

of short paragraphs with the enclosed name Chiyo set o f f to the

right of the paragraphs. E a r l i e r i n the work, the Chiyo most often

referred to was Yamamoto Chiyomatsu whose name was written i n

Chinese characters. Now Chiyo i s mostly written i n the more

ephemeral hiragana (cursive Japanese s y l l a b i c s c r i p t ) as the name

begins to r e f e r more to Chiyomatsu's daughter and the Izu dancer

and ultimately to the ghostly power behind the name.

With the smell of the new leaves, the hero suddenly finds

himself caught up i n the t e r r i f y i n g fate of one who has been

cursed. As he thinks more deeply about the events taking place,

he begins to believe that he's not the only one who has been
 40

cursed: the t h r e e Chiyos are themselves cursed. An e v e n more

startling r e v e l a t i o n occurs later:

The t h r e e C h i y o s are, of course, ghosts. At the

l e a s t , t h e y a r e phantoms w h i c h a r e b e i n g made t o move
a b o u t by t h e work o f a g h o s t .

Y e s t e r d a y my f r i e n d and I t h o u g h t o f how we h a d
n e r v o u s l y gone t o t a k e a l o o k a t t h e p l a c e C h i y o _ h a d
appeared. When s h e came c l o s e , f r o m a r o u n d t h e o t h e r
s i d e o f t h a t b e a u t i f u l f a c e we c o u l d o n l y s e e a g h o s t l y
apparition. From b e h i n d h e r , a p a l e h a n d came f o r t h
and b e c k o n e d u s . We c o u l d n ' t t h i n k o f h e r as b e i n g a
person of t h i s world.^

The final c o n c l u s i o n the hero comes t o a b o u t the strange turn

of events i n h i s l i f e i s that e v e r y f a m i l y has i t s own vengeful

ghosts t o contend with. In the case of h i s f a m i l y , f o r generations

p a s t t h e y have been haunted by t h e g h o s t of Chiyo. He wishes to

come t o an u n d e r s t a n d i n g o f t h e n a t u r e o f t h e v e n g e a n c e . Failure

to a c h i e v e an u n d e r s t a n d i n g i n o r d e r t o a p p e a s e t h e g h o s t means

being perpetually pursued by t h e specter.

In Kawabata's " n i k k i " w r i t t e n a t t h e age of sixteen, one finds

the beginning of a l y r i c a l s t y l e which runs throughout the author's

literature. The mood o f t h e work s e t s t h e t o n e f o r much o f h i s

later l i t e r a r y works: i t i s a p i e c e w r i t t e n w i t h a sense of lone-

liness and sadness. I n Kawabata's " C h i y o " w r i t t e n at twenty-one,

one finds the author's e a r l y thematic i n t e r e s t i n t h e noumenal

world. The author's concern with the i n t e r a c t i o n between the

s u p e r n a t u r a l and n a t u r a l w o r l d s and w i t h how p e o p l e and events of

the past a f f e c t p e o p l e and events of the present f i n d s its first

expression i n "Chiyo." Most o f K a w a b a t a ' s l a t e r stories share to

some e x t e n t t h e same t h e m a t i c i n t e r e s t found i n "Chiyo." There i s

regularly at least a touch of the f a n t a s t i c i n them, and consequent-

ly the world the p r o t a g o n i s t s of h i s s t o r i e s find themselves in

n o r m a l l y b o r d e r s on t h e w o r l d o f t h e s u p e r n a t u r a l .

The three g i r l s named C h i y o i n t h i s early short story of

 41

Kawabata's are representative of perhaps a l l the women i n the

author's l i t e r a t u r e . I f one were to point to the most f u l l y

developed and most " r e a l " female character i n a l l o f h i s f i c t i o n ,

probably i t would be Komako of Yuki^guni; but i t ' s o f considerable

interest to read that when questioned about the fleshed-out

quality of Komako, Kawabata r e p l i e d , "Obake desu yo."("She's a

spook."). The author would seem to be saying that behind a l l his

female characters there i s found a Chiyo.

In 1920, one year after the publication of "Chiyo," Kawabata

graduated from F i r s t Higher School and entered the English

Literature Department of Tokyo Imperial University. Later the

same year, he was introduced to a fifteen-year-old waitress c a l l e d

Chiyo (Ito Hatsuyo) working at a Tokyo coffee shop. This r e a l l i f e

Chiyo would eventually vanish from Kawabata's world and turn into

a phantom of sorts l i k e the g i r l s i n the story. Her role as a

model i n Kawabata's early l i t e r a r y works w i l l be discussed l a t e r .

The year 1921 brought with i t the i n i t i a l publication of the

sixth r e v i v a l of the magazine Shinshicho. Its f i r s t three issues

each contained a short story by Kawabata: "Aru konyaku" %~b k%

("A Certain Engagement") i n February, "Shokonsai i k k e i " - t o 1% ^= - %

("Memorial Day Sketch") i n A p r i l , and "Abura" >^ ("Oil") i n July.

"Shokonsai" was well received by such i n f l u e n t i a l writers as

Kikuchi Kan and Kume Masao, and i t was t h i s work which r e a l l y

launched Kawabata's career as a writer.

Kikuchi was p a r t i c u l a r l y impressed by the "power o f v i s u a l i z a -

t i o n " found i n the work. By " v i s u a l i z a t i o n " he meant Kawabata's

s k i l l f u l use of sensuous description. Found i n the opening para-

graphs are several examples of such description. The sense of

 42

smell i s one facet Kawabata works with: "I suddenly caught the scent

of the sweet smell of roasting chestnuts. I'd love some." (p.43)

It i s within the sensuous passages that one finds i n this work

the poetic response to natural description which becomes one of

the trademarks of the writer. For example, a few lines after the

main character smells the roasting chestnuts, she supposedly begins

to hear the sound of soya beans being parched on the other side of

the concourse. Her actually being able to hear this sound seems

farfetched. The poet has refashioned nature f o r a r t i s t i c ends.

Added to the terse, clear style found i n his e a r l i e r " n i k k i "

is an a r t i s t i c s e n s i b i l i t y which chooses to mold r e a l i t y to suit

the writer's purpose. Objective r e a l i t y has been replaced by

"subjective" r e a l i t y .

One other conspicuous feature of "Shokonsai" i s his writing

the work i n a " f l u i d " first-person voice. The main character i n

the story, Omitsu, i s at times described from the narrator's point

of view, while at other times she herself takes the first-person

voice. For instance, Omitsu's discovery of the unique smell of

horses i s given i n her first-person: "Otome was r i g h t . There i s

the smell of horses." (p.51)

The subject matter for the short story was mostly obtained

from the author's v i s i t to the Memorial Day F e s t i v a l held i n the

compound of Yasukuni Shrine i n Tokyo. It i s the special world

of the individuals who work these f e s t i v a l s , people l i v i n g outside

the boundary of t y p i c a l society, that Kawabata focused on i n

"Shokonsai."

In Kawabata's essay "Bungakuteki j i j o d e n "

C'My L i f e as a Writer," 19-34)., the author c l e a r l y expresses hfs
 43

interest i n the u n d e r s i d e o f Tokyo l i f e . In the f o l l o w i n g passage

from the essay, the a u t h o r p l a c e s the young c i r c u s r i d e r s of

"Shokonsai" w i t h i n the context of this interest:

B u t i t ' s A s a k u s a more t h a n G i n z a , s l u m s more

than r e s i d e n t i a l a r e a s , and a group o f g i r l s w o r k i n g
a t t o b a c c o f a c t o r i e s more t h a n s t u d e n t s l e a v i n g a
g i r l s ' s c h o o l at t h e end o f t h e day t h a t I f i n d
lyrical. I am a t t r a c t e d t o d i r t y b e a u t y . I like
v i s i t i n g the tamanori ( b a l l b a l a n c i n g p e r f o r m e r s ) ,
c i r c u s r i d e r s , j u g g l e r s , a n d i n g a takamono ( f o r t u n e -
t e l l e r s ) o f Egawa. I e n j o y w a t c h i n g t h e f a k e shows
p u t on a t A s a k u s a ' s c h e a p p l a y h o u s e s . My f i r s t w o r k
t o b e p r a i s e d was " S h o k o n s a i i k k e i , " a s t o r y a b o u t
c i r c u s r i d e r s ; my s h o r t p i e c e t i t l e d " R i n k i n k a n o
y u u t s u " found i n the f i r s t i s s u e of Bungei shunju
i s a b o u t a y o u n g g i r l who s e l l s k o n n y a k u ( a p a s t e
made f r o m t h e s t a r c h o f d e v i l ' s t o n g u e ) ; a n d " I z u
no o d o r i k o " t e l l s o f a g r o u p o f t r a v e l l i n g e n t e r t a i n e r s
I met when I w a l k e d t h r o u g h I z u as a F i r s t H i g h e r S c h o o l
student.9

The s h o r t line expressing Kawabata's a t t r a c t i o n to "dirty

beauty" deserves e l a b o r a t i o n , p a r t i c u l a r l y s i n c e Edward

S e i d e n s t i c k e r seems t o h a v e a t t r i b u t e d much more t o t h e m e a n i n g

than Kawabata i n t e n d e d . I n h i s e s s a y "On K a w a b a t a , " S e i d e n s t i c k e r

equates " d i r t y beauty" w i t h u g l i n e s s . He s u g g e s t s t h a t K a w a b a t a

had a f a s c i n a t i o n w i t h u g l i n e s s which i s a p p a r e n t i n much o f the

author's writing."^ If S e i d e n s t i c k e r had summarized the passage

q u o t e d a b o v e f r o m w h i c h he t o o k t h e q u o t a t i o n , he w o u l d h a v e

g i v e n t h e r e a d e r a more a c c u r a t e p i c t u r e o f w h a t K a w a b a t a was

getting at. Kawabata i s saying that i t ' s i n places of "dirtiness,"

i n o t h e r words i n l o c a t i o n s s u c h as the A y a k u s a p l a y h o u s e s , t h a t

he i s a t t r a c t e d to beauty. Like Motoori Norinaga's lotus in the

muddy p o n d , i t i s t h e p r e s e n c e o f b e a u t y i n t h e mud w h i c h stirs

the heart of Kawabata.

That i s not to imply t h a t Kawabata, p a r t i c u l a r l y as a literary

artist, had no i n t e r e s t i n d e s c r i b i n g t h e mud. To r e s t a t e the

 44

formula as i t c e r t a i n l y applies to Kawabata, i t i s because the

flower blooms i n the mud that the a r t i s t has been drawn to i t .

The two go hand i n hand. To f i n d beauty i n such a place makes

the beauty a l l the more poignant and precious. In addition, a

degree of dramatic tension can be derived from the consideration

that a slender strand of beauty i s i n danger of being engulfed by

a greater sea of mud surrounding i t .

The object of beauty i n "ShSkonsai" i s the central character

in the story named Omitsu. Omitsu i s a seventeen-year-old g i r l

who works as a horseback r i d e r for a circus show which puts on

performances on occasions such as the Memorial Day F e s t i v a l at

Yasukuni Shrine. That her job as a horseback r i d e r for the troupe

draws attention to her beauty while i t paradoxically threatens

to degrade that beauty i s the g i s t of the thematic design b u i l t

into the sketch.

The author develops this theme more c l e a r l y by introducing

into the story two other horseback r i d e r s : the star of the show,

Sakurako, who represents a kind of i d e a l i z e d version of Omitsu

and Otome who represents the probable image of a degraded future

Omitsu.

The name Kawabata chooses f o r the star of the show, Sakurako,

f a l l s i n l i n e with the names of l a t e r ephemeral or v i r g i n a l

female characters i n the author's f i c t i o n . Like characters such

as the ghost Hanako ("flower child") i n " I r e i k a "

"Memorial Poem," 1932) and Yoko ("leaf child") i n Yuki guni,

Sakurako ("cherry blossom child") i s associated with images of

flora. F l o r a can be thought of as being one stage further removed

from humans than fauna i s and, for Kawabata, the less human the
 45

symbol, the more p r i s t i n e the association becomes. Although the

name "sakura" carries a f e e l i n g of the ostentatious i n the story,

i t should be pointed out that the cherry tree i n Shinto i s a

symbol of purity.
The reading for Otome includes the meanings of "stop" and

"cease." It would seem an appropriate name for someone whose

beauty has been i r r e t r i e v a b l y lost through her l i f e as a horseback

rider. Suffering from the consequences of having been the leader

of the troupe's "plaything" and having spent long hours astride

horses, she has been s p i r i t u a l l y and p h y s i c a l l y d e b i l i t a t e d by her

experiences.

Kawabata's s e l e c t i o n of Omitsu as the name for the main

character of "Shdkonsai" makes for a s l i g h t l y more complex symbolic

interpretation. Possible meanings for Omitsu include " l i g h t " , "a

ray," and "a beam." As was mentioned e a r l i e r i n this chapter,

l i g h t connotes singular moments of aesthetic appreciation i n

Kawabata's a r t i s t i c lexicon. More often than not, examples of

l i g h t i n the author's works are of b r i e f duration. Borrowing a

Seidensticker phrase which he used to describe the haiku manner

of Kawabata's style and applying a more l i t e r a l meaning to i t ,

momentary beams of l i g h t i n Kawabata's f i c t i o n often seem l i k e

" b r i e f flashes i n a v o i d . " 1 1

Omitsu, the p e r s o n i f i c a t i o n of l i g h t , could further be seen

as l i v i n g example of the meaning given to musubi. Similar to the

synthesizing power of musubi, Omitsu represents the waxing and

waning of the forces of "cosmic" beauty found i n the sketch. She

i s the f l a s h of l i g h t synthesizing the f r i g i d but consummate

beauty of Sakurako with the "warmed over" and degraded beauty of

Otome.
 46

"Shokonsai" can be divided into s i x sections. I t i s i n the

long dialogue between Otome and Omitsu near the end of the t h i r d

section that Kawabata makes most e x p l i c i t the s i g n i f i c a n t thematic

role time plays i n the story. Having not seen each other f o r some

time, Otome repeats i n amazement the fact that Omitsu has grown up.

In a worried tone of voice, Otome three times asks Omitsu how old

she i s now. When Omitsu r e p l i e s that she i s seventeen, Otome pro-

ceeds to caution her to not be deceived by Isaku, the male leader

of the troupe. Otome t e l l s her i t ' s time Omitsu quit the circus.

In a l i n e r i c h i n l i t e r a l and f i g u r a t i v e meaning, Otome says,

"Humans get to smell l i k e horses too!" (p.48) She warns Omitsu

not to become the plaything of men. Otome, who had e a r l i e r been

described as looking l i k e a "corpse d o l l , " (p.48) says, " I f you

become the plaything of men, you wind up as good as dead." (p.49)

The meaning of time here i s obvious. As a g i r l of seventeen,

Omitsu has now reached the age where her v i r g i n a l beauty i s

threatened. I f she continues as a circus horseback r i d e r , she too

w i l l have the smell of a horse. Kawabata's use i n "ShSkonsai" of

the horse as metaphor for the f a l l e n woman i s echoed i n h i s master-

piece Yuki guni. The symbolic name he gives the main character i s

Komako ("horse c h i l d " ) .

Omitsu i s d e l i c a t e l y balancing somewhere between the dream

existence of a Sakurako and the too r e a l existence of an Otome.

In the very beginning of the sketch, she i s described as lost i n

a dream as she performs f o r spectators; however, the consequences

of being made to give more performances than she i s humanly capable

of have the i r o n i c e f f e c t of repeatedly c a l l i n g her back to the

world of r e a l i t y . The loss of physical and s p i r i t u a l strength

ultimately takes i t s t o l l .
 47

The short f i f t h section of "Shokonsai" exposes Omitsu's grow-

ing despair as she r e a l i z e s the i m p o s s i b i l i t y of her connecting

her dreams with r e a l i t y :

As the r e a l i t y of the days sadly brought Omitsu
more and more to the point of despondency, her dreams
became a l l the more b e a u t i f u l . But she no longer
believed i n a bridge between her dreams and r e a l i t y .
Instead, whenever the desire had been f e l t , she had
mounted a f l y i n g horse and soared to dreams i n the
sky. (p.52)
She also recognizes there i s an unbridgeable gap between her-

s e l f and Sakurako. "...Besides, i t ' s not only our faces. Just as

Sakurako said, our personalities are different too." (p.52)

The scene ends with Omitsu being awakened from her faraway

thoughts. I t ' s time for the f i n a l e of the show.

Kawabata gives a v i v i d description of the f i n a l act on the

program as he leads up to a dramatic ending of the sketch. The

language i s a l i v e with l i t e r a r y devices such as the onomatopeic

rendering of Isaku whistling to set the horses c i r c l i n g about the

ring. Metaphors are e f f e c t i v e l y used. When the children take

t h e i r places i n the center of the ring, they "scattered l i k e mice."

(p.53) Omitsu's horse trots around the r i n g " l i k e a hawk f l y i n g

o f f with a small b i r d i n i t s clutches." (p.54)

The color of the scene i s red, the color of f i r e . Indeed, i t

i s f i r e which becomes the focus of the scene; and where there i s

f i r e , one should also expect to f i n d i n Kawabata's l i t e r a t u r e

beauty and a glimpse of the divine.

Two men bring out a long red cloth and stretch i t tight across

the ring. The g i r l s are to execute jumps from the backs of t h e i r

horses over the red cloth. It becomes apparent that the distance

separating Omitsu and Sakurako has never been greater. Omitsu i s

unsteady i n her performance while Sakurako i s as superb as ever.

 48

When Sakurako takes hold of a burning Oval-shaped twist of

wire and begins to skip through i t from the back of her circling

horse, she i s a visage of divinity. "She was pictured like a

goddess set w i t h i n the frame of the burning oval." (p.54)

Omitsu's eyes are d a z z l e d by the sight.

It i s at this moment of e x c e p t i o n a l beauty that the author

c

brings his story to a clima'tic ending. Having prepared the reader

for Omitsu's eventual artistic collapse during her performance, the

author finishes o f f "Shokonsai" with a symbolic twist, symbolic to

both Omitsu and the reader. Omitsu falls from a standing position

on the horse onto i t s back. The horse r e a r s and charges by

Sakurako's horse, g r a z i n g the second animal. The following lines

conclude the sketch:

Oh! I ' v e c a u g h t u p t o S a k u r a . I've p a s s e d Sakura.
I t was a t t h e p r e c i s e moment w h e n O m i t s u ' s t h o u g h t s w e r e
g i v e n o n l y t o h a v i n g c a u g h t up t o . S a k u r a k o t h a t t h e two
horses grazed each other; then they both staggered
s l i g h t l y a n d t h e s t a r o f t h e c i r c u s show, S a k u r a k o , h e r
h a l o o f f l a m e s a n d a l l , f e l l t o t h e g r o u n d , (p.55)

In a p a r a d o x i c a l way, O m i t s u has symbolically achieved her

aim. She has "overtaken" Sakurako by causing Sakurako's artistic

beauty to come " f a l l i n g to earth." From the opening line of the

s k e t c h w h e r e we read that the noise of the festival went straight

up into the sky, the sense o f movement has been upwards. Omitsu's

dream direction has likewise been up: "she had mounted a flying

horse and soared to dreams i n the sky." In the final scene how-

ever, with the tempo of the work increasing, the upward motion of

the sketch i s matched by a downward m o t i o n . The fire-world of

heaven has been transposed to the circus ring, and the action inside

the ring takes on a vigorous vertical motion. Circling the ring on

 49

their horses, the girls jump u p a n d down o v e r the long r e d cloth.

It i s at the precise moment i n the performance when Sakurako i s

her most "unearthly" beautiful that Omitsu, who h a d o n l y earlier

realized the impossibility of bridging t h e gap between h e r dreams

and reality, i svictimized by the r e a l i t y of her "earthly"

physical state. The f i n a l direction i n "Sh5konsai" i s down. The

last r e s o u n d i n g words i n t h e s k e t c h a r e t h e words of Sakurako's

fall. The "goddess" has f a l l e n to earth. Surely Omitsu has

"fallen" further yet herself.

The amount of actual time which elapses i n "Sh5konsai" c a n

be no more than one h o u r . On t h e s y m b o l i c level though, t h e mean-

ing o f the sketch takes on e t e r n a l significance. The artistic

camera work o f Kawabata has captured three time frames o f a woman

called Omitsu: Sakurako (Omitsu "beyond time"), Omitsu (actor i n

time), a n d Otome (Omitsu as v i c t i m o f time). Throughout Kawabata's

later literature one f i n d s numerous examples o f these three arche-

typal women. The u s u a l p a t t e r n the author follows i s to represent

the woman of eternal beauty, t h e woman "beyond time," as someone

whose time has been frozen just a t t h e peak of her virginal charms.

Frequently that means death o r madness. I t i s , o f course, the

woman caught i n time, t h e woman o f v i r g i n a l beauty o n h e r way t o

losing i t , who i s t h e c e n t e r o f most o f Kawabata's works. Usually

it i s either through the use o f flashbacks, t h e development ofthe

character i n time i n the novel, o r through comparison with a

secondary c h a r a c t e r such a s Otome i n "Shokonsai" that Kawabata

indicates the process o f loss of virginal beauty i nhis main

characters. I t i s when one r e c o g n i z e s t h e o b v i o u s abstract nature

of this "woman i n one, two, o r t h r e e " t h a t one might, as Kawabata

 50

suggests, see a "spook" at the heart of even his most r e a l i s t i c

female characters.

Kawabata's short story "Abura" ("Oil") was published i n the

July, 1921, issue of Shinshicho. It belongs to a l i s t of works

which can be c l a s s i f i e d as autobiographical r e c o l l e c t i o n s of the

author's early years. The d i s t i n c t i o n between autobiographical

works such as "Abura" and "Jurokusai no n i k k i " i s obvious. The

diary style of the " n i k k i " captured the daily "objective" r e a l i t y

of the days of the fourteen-year-old Kawabata, whereas "Abura"

and other autobiographical pieces were creative products developed

from r e c o l l e c t i o n s of e a r l i e r years. In "Abura" i s to be found a

unity of theme symbolized by the emblematic object which gives the

work i t s t i t l e .

The theme i s death. How young Kawabata was affected by the

loss of his father and mother, and l a t e r his grandmother and sister

is the thematic concern of the work.

The f i r s t lines of "Abura" d i r e c t l y introduce the reader to

the unfortunate infant years of the writer: "Because my father

died when I was two and my mother died the following year, I don't

remember a thing about my parents." (p.59) For the student of

Kawabata, these lines are almost l i k e makura kotoba (conventional

epithets) introducing the author. This information i s continually

included i n discussion on the author by researchers and the author

himself. In fact, a good deal of the factual information i n "Abura"

together with a s e l f - a n a l y s i s of the possible effects of the deaths

i n h i s family on the author's personality turns up i n a short

piece Kawabata wrote soon after his acceptance of the Nobel prize

for l i t e r a t u r e i n 1968. The autobiographical essay's t i t l e i s

 51

"Omoidasu to mo naku" and was published i n an A p r i l , 1969 edition

of Mainichi Shimbun. By comparing not only the contents of the

two works but also t h e i r d i c t i o n and syntax, one i s struck by

the amazing s i m i l a r i t y between these two pieces written almost

f i f t y years apart. I t might be said that "Abura" f a i l s as a short

story because of those passages which are reminiscent of the l a t e r

autobiographical essay. E s p e c i a l l y unwelcome i n the short story

are the passages much given to an emotional analysis of the s e l f .

The catchword the author comes up with for the effect of the early

deaths of himself i s "minashigo konjS" ("orphan complex"). The

term f i r s t appears i n a short paragraph following a long f i r s t -

person musing on the c h i l d i s h tears of sadness and feelings of

loneliness the writer had f e l t . Let me quote that paragraph which

marks a change i n the s e l f ' s attitude i n the story as he resolves

to accept h i s fate:
As with the sudden, complete disappearance of t h i r t y
or forty pictures of my father, i t ' s best not to distress
myself over my dead r e l a t i v e s . It's best to avoid s e l f -
examination of the orphan complex within me. (p.64)
Unfortunately i n "Abura" the author never does stray very
far from a cerebral investigation into how and why he has emotion-

a l l y suffered from the deaths i n his family. It i s when he works

with the e f f e c t of sensuous experience on his memory versus memory

per se, without the intrusion of psychological analysis, that the

short story comes a l i v e . In the opening paragraph of the story,

the " I " mentions that since he r e c a l l s nothing when he looks at

photographs of h i s father, he has no r e a l sense of the man i n the

photographs being h i s own father. For the " I " of "Abura" sensuous

impressions are the key to the l a s t i n g effect of early experiences

 52

The " I " goes on t o r e l a t e the r e f l e c t i v e effect a reunion with

one o f h i s a u n t s h a s on h i m . A l t h o u g h he c a n ' t remember a t a l l

t h e h a p p i n e s s he was s a i d t o h a v e f e l t by t h e l i v e l y activity which

took p l a c e a t t h e time o f h i s f a t h e r ' s funeral, the aunt's story

o f the e f f e c t o f s e n s o r y e x p e r i e n c e s on h i m a s an i n f a n t makes h i m

recall early years. The s e n s o r y e x p e r i e n c e s t h e a u n t talks about

are r e l a t e d t o Buddhtet r i t e s f o r t h e dead. A t the time o f h i s

father's funeral, t h e aunt tells h i m t h a t he h a t e d t h e sound o f the

striking o f the b e l l b e f o r e t h e Buddha a n d was so u p s e t b y t h e

sound that they had t o cease striking it. Also, he c a u s e d an u n -

bearable commotion o v e r t h e l i g h t e d t a p e r on t h e B u d d h i s t altar.

He n o t o n l y s u c c e e d e d i n having the l i g h t e x t i n g u i s h e d b u t he a l s o

made s u r e t h e c a n d l e was removed a n d t h e o i l i n t h e e a r t h e n w a r e

b o w l was e m p t i e d into the garden. "I recalled t h e image o f m y s e l f

holding the earthenware b o w l my i n f a n t tear-stained face dirtied

(Kegashite iru>5t? D 3 ) b y t h e o i l on my h a n d s . " (p. 60)

He p o n d e r s over the thought that h i s constitution r e j e c t s the

sound o f the b e l l and t h e s i g h t o f the o i l l i g h t . Among several

t y p e s o f f o o d p r o d u c t s he d i s l i k e s , rape s e e d o i l seems t o h a v e a

particularly ill effect on h i m . When he p u t s something in his

mouth w h i c h has t h e s m e l l o f rape seed o i l , i t i s s u r e t o cause

him t o vomit. He r e m a r k s t h a t h i s s e n s i t i v i t y to the smell o f

oil remains with him t o the present. The " I " s u g g e s t s a p o s s i b l e

psychological reference to this physiological sensitivity ofhis:

"Perhaps my d i s l i k e f o r the o i l l i g h t at the Buddhist altar comes

f r o m my h a v i n g b e e n s a t u r a t e d (shimikonde ita 3f ^ A ^ c V £ ) w i t h

t h e s m e l l o f o i l a t my p a r e n t s ' d e a t h s . " (p.62)

U n d e r s t a n d i n g o f t h e u s e o f o i l as an e m b l e m a t i c object
 53

has been made clear. O i l symbolizes death i n the most concrete

of ways. The boy has been s p i r i t u a l l y polluted by the death of

his parents. This s p i r i t u a l p o l l u t i o n i s given a physiological

dimension with the thought that the o i l has permeated the body

of the young man.

A long passage follows i n which he psychoanalyzes his actions

through the years which have prevented him from attaining happiness.

He r e a l i z e s that he has only been playing with feelings of lone-

liness and sadness. Excessive feelings of s e l f - p i t y f o r his s i t u -

ation as an orphan are recognized as symptoms of "orphan complex."

The self-examination results i n a cathartic surrender of h i s

"orphan complex" to reveal a "beautiful s p i r i t " found within. Now

twenty years of age, he can say, "A tremendous sense of happiness

could be achieved by the simple act of having been washed of my

orphan complex." (emphasis added) (p.64)

He decides to test his new sense of s e l f by trying to eat some

food smelling of rape seed o i l . The catharsis i s apparently com-

plete. He no longer feels nauseated by the smell and i s able to

eat the food without any trouble. The " I " once more r e f l e c t s on

the connection o i l has had with death:

A heart saddened by the deaths of a father and
mother had suddenly lodged i t s e l f i n the l i g h t of a
Buddhist a l t a r , and i t seemed that a d i s l i k e for o i l
came from a time when o i l had been thrown into a
garden. Having forgotten this causal relationship,
I had come to detest o i l ; and i t could be said that
through the chance r e t e l l i n g of the story of my father
and mother a cause and effect relationship had been
t i e d together, (pp.64-65)
The catharsis has been spelled out i n a f a m i l i a r Shinto manner.

To achieve happiness, the " I " of "Abura" has had to wash himself

clean of the p o l l u t i o n ( K e g a r e H) caused by the death of his

 54

parents. Whether one points to h i s d i r t y i n g himself with the o i l

from the overturned earthenware bowl or h i s being saturated with

the smell of o i l , the young man's p o l l u t i o n i s i n either case seen

in physical terms. At the moment he purges himself of his p o l l u -

tion (the "orphan complex" r e s u l t i n g from the death of his parents),

the act i s described as the "washing" away of the complex.

In contrasting words which could have come straight out of

Shinto terminology, the young man hopes that a pure heart (joshin

>^ /(^ ) w i l l be his fortune and not the crooked ( i b i t s u O "T/~> )

(p.65) heart he has just been purged of.

The graphic symbolism i n the f i n a l sentence of the story also

f i t s i n p e r f e c t l y with a Shinto order of things. The darkness of

the young man's l i f e had been symbolized since h i s infant years by

his insistence on extinguishing the l i g h t at the Buddhist altar.

Now with a p u r i f i e d heart, he shares a Shinto reverence for bright-

ness c l e a r l y expressed i n the f i n a l words of the work: "Before the

tablet of my deceased r e l a t i v e s , I'd l i k e to o f f e r a radiantly glow-

ing one hundred tapers of o i l . " (p.65) Kawabata's " I " has achieved

s p i r i t u a l rejuvenation p r e c i s e l y along Shinto l i n e s : aspects of

brightness and purity have i d e n t i f i e d h i s personal cleansing.

For about a year and a h a l f after the publication of "Abura"

in July, 1921, Kawabata produced almost nothing of his own fiction.

His writings for publication consisted mainly of l i t e r a r y reviews.

It was during this time, i n June of 1922, that he transferred from

the English Department of Tokyo Imperial University to the school's

Japanese Literature Department.

Almost l i k e a swan song to h i s time spent as an English

L i t e r a t u r e student at the university, Kawabata translated three

 55

s h o r t p i e c e s from E n g l i s h to Japanese i n the January and February,

1922 i s s u e s o f Bunsho k u r a b u . The two f o r January were J o h n

Galsworthy's "The Road" and the I r i s h w r i t e r L o r d Dunsany's "Oasis

of Death." The one f o r February was A n t o n Chekhov's " A f t e r the

Theatre."

There can be little doubt t h a t t h e choices f o r translation

were Kawabata's own. Commentary on the three pieces suggests

similarities w i t h Kawabata's own writings. I n "The Road,"

Galsworthy describes a road t r a v e l e d by a long l i n e of soldiers

returning f r o m war. J u s t as Kawabata m i g h t h a v e done w i t h the same

material, Galsworthy p a r a l l e l s nature t u r n i n g from darkness t o dawn

with the gradual r e v i v a l o f t h e men from their spectral state. Lord

Dunsany's " O a s i s o f D e a t h " i s one o f many s u p e r n a t u r a l t a l e s on

death this I r i s h master of fantasy produced. Kawabata's selection

of this tale f o r t r a n s l a t i o n w o u l d a p p e a r t o be one more indication

of Kawabata's f a s c i n a t i o n w i t h the s u b j e c t o f the s u p e r n a t u r a l .

Chekhov's " A f t e r the T h e a t r e " reflects Kawabata's own pre-

dilections as w e l l . The h e r o i n e o f t h e p i e c e i s Nadya Z e l e n i n ,

a girl o f s i x t e e n whose age alone corresponds to the typical girl

found i n Kawabata's e a r l y w o r k s . I n Chekhov's s h o r t p i e c e , Nadya,

dressed i n white, is trying to w r i t e a l e t t e r t o one o f the two

b o y s who love her. She begins t o muse o v e r the complicated relation-

ship the t h r e e o f them s h a r e . E v e n t h o u g h Nadya i s e x c i t e d by the

richly romantic and touching s i t u a t i o n she finds herself i n , she

is reduced to t e a r s at the thought o f l e a v i n g h e r mother and

brother. Nadya's t h o u g h t s lead to the idea of leaving this world

rather than facing a f u t u r e which w i l l necessarily bring unhappi-

n e s s t o t h o s e who love her. She would appear t o f i n d h e r counter-

 56

parts i n two legendary maidens found i n the poetry of the Many5shu.

The maiden Tekona of Mama i n Katsushika and the maiden Unai were

both courted by more than one man. Lamenting the r i v a l r y over their

respective selves, both of the maidens took their own l i v e s .

Akahito's poem i n the Manyoshu about Tekona t e l l s of the maiden

drowning h e r s e l f at the mouth of a r i v e r . Kawabata expressed a

fondness for these two legendary maidens i n a public lecture he

delivered at the Hilo Campus of the University of Hawaii on May 16,

1969.
A month following the appearance of h i s t r a n s l a t i o n of "After
the Theatre," Kawabata exhibited h i s own f i c t i o n a l interest i n g i r l s
in t h e i r mid-teens with a short story c a l l e d "Issetsu" — j5>p ("A
Passage") published i n the March, 1922, issue of Shinshicho. In
the story, the fifteen-year-old g i r l Fusayo i s the focus of atten-
tion of two young men friends, Muroki and Ihara. She i s representa-
t i v e of the type of g i r l who continually turns up i n Kawabata's
early l i t e r a t u r e . For example, Ihara speaks of Fusayo i n words
which might have applied to Omitsu i n "Shokonsai" and which might
have been spoken by the student i n Kawabata's l a t e r "Izu no odoriko"
in reaction to the dancer: "The question which couldn't be c l e a r l y

answered was how much of the adult and how much of the c h i l d were
12
to be found i n two sides of the g i r l , her heart and her body."

Another instance of recognition with other young g i r l s i n Kawabata's

early works i s a sense of loneliness about Fusayo which i n her case

was caused by the loss of her mother. The author again shows a

consistency of death-related images i n h i s early f i c t i o n by having

Fusayo's mother die by drowning.

Kawabata's fondness f o r having h i s f i c t i o n a l characters pass
 57

from t h i s e a r t h by drowning makes i t again p o s s i b l e to a s s o c i a t e

him w i t h the ManySshu. An example j u s t g i v e n from the Manyoshu

was the poem about Tekona o f Mama who drowned h e r s e l f at the mouth

of a river. Muramatsu T a k e s h i l i n k s the Manyoshu poet Kakinomoto

Hitomaro's use o f water images w i t h Western l i t e r a r y use o f the

image o f O p h e l i a . A drowned g i r l f l o a t i n g on the water i s an

image found i n one o f the many poems r e l a t i n g to water and death

w r i t t e n by Hitomaro. Muramatsu goes on to d i s c u s s how the a n c i e n t s

and poets such as Hitomaro r e c o g n i z e d water and jewels as symbols

of rebirth. The drowned g i r l f l o a t i n g along i n water c o u l d be

13

v i s u a l i z e d as f l o w i n g towards r e b i r t h . Kawabata's symbolic use

of water m i r r o r s t h i s e a r l i e r m o t i f .

-- T!he s t o r y o f the mother near the end o f " I s s e t s u "

reminds one o f another l a t e r Kawabata n o v e l , Sembazuru. As i n

Sembazuru, the author pays s p e c i a l a t t e n t i o n to the e f f e c t or l a c k

of e f f e c t h e r e d i t y p l a y s i n a mother-daughter r e l a t i o n s h i p . Similar

to the key r o l e the f i r s t g e n e r a t i o n o f c h a r a c t e r s i n Sembazuru

p l a y s f o r the second g e n e r a t i o n , Ihara o f " I s s e t s u " openly suggests

that h i s f a t h e r and Fusayo's mother had an e a r l i e r relationship.

One f i n a l common f e a t u r e worth mentioning i s the use Kawabata makes

of s e n s a t i o n s and images r e l a t i n g to the passage o f p r i s t i n e

f i g u r e s from t h i s world. S i m i l a r to K i k u j i ' s f e e l i n g o f coldness

at h i s l o s s o f Fumiko and Mrs. Ota, Fusayo i s overcome w i t h a

sense o f coldness a t the thought o f h e r l o s t mother. The r e s p e c -

t i v e works' succeeding images to f e e l i n g s o f coldness are s i m i l a r

as well. In " I s s e t s u , " the author a b r u p t l y l i n k s Fusayo's sense

of coldness w i t h Muroki's words t o the e f f e c t t h a t i n the autumn

of Fusayo's f o u r t e e n t h year a nova ( s h i n s e i ^/f _^ ) was "cleanly"

 58
,i , 14
( k i y o r a k a n i ;f| £ 6i(/2) b o r n . I n Sembazuru, the author also

as^oci^tes Kikuji^S. feeling 0 f coldness at the disappearance of

Fumiko w i t h K i k u j i ' s s i g h t i n g o f a h e a v e n l y body. In K i k u j i ' s

case, he looks up t o the sky t o see the morning s t a r (ake no myoj5

a$ w en f ). 1 5

It took a y e a r before Kawabata w o u l d p r o d u c e a n o t h e r piece

of fiction which might p r o p e r l y be called a short story. He did,

however, contribute a few short pieces of c r e a t i v e w r i t i n g i n the

meantime i n c l u d i n g t h e first of a long line of v i g n e t t e s , "Otoko

t o onna t o n i g u r u m a " W t ~¥ t ^ ^ ("Boys and Girls and a C a r t , "1923),

w h i c h he called his "palm-sized" stories. I t would probably be

e r r o n e o u s t o assume t h e three t r a n s l a t i o n s of v i g n e t t e s from

Western l i t e r a t u r e were t h e main i n s p i r a t i o n b e h i n d h i s own deci-

sion to write i n the form, but i t w o u l d s u r e l y be improper to

discredit the e n c o u r a g e m e n t t h e y must h a v e g i v e n Kawabata t o write

in the same f o r m .

At any r a t e , Kawabata's n e x t short story after "Issetsu" was

"Kaiso no meijin" f^Cp^/L ("An Expert i n Attending Funerals").

Later r e t i t l e d " S o s h i k i no m e i j i n " |^ Q) Z? ("Funeral Expert"

or "Undertaker"), i t appeared i n the May, 1923 issue of Bunqei

shun j u and belongs t o the same c a t e g o r y of the author's fiction

as "Abura." This autobiographical work i s d i v i d e d i n t o three

sections: a relatively short opening s e c t i o n ; a long middle

section; and a very short concluding section.

The u n i f y i n g element i n the three sections i s , as the title

suggests, the nickname t h e young f i r s t person of the story has

been g i v e n . The time p e r i o d i n the first and third sections is

contiguous. I t takes up a thirty day p e r i o d of time d u r i n g the

summer v a c a t i o n of Jhis t w e n t y - s e c o n d y e a r . Having attended the

funerals of three distant relatives within this short space of time,

 59

a male cousin jokingly suggests that he i s an undertaker. The short

concluding section consists basically of a d i a l o g u e the young man

has with a female c o u s i n who also teases him about his role as

"undertaker." The author concludes the story with this cousin

remarking that the y o u n g man's clothes smell of the grave. In a

manner reminiscent of the use of the smell of o i l i n "Abura,"

Kawabata here has the smell of the grave represent i n a sensuous

way the " I " of the story's close relationship with death.

The long middle section of "S5shiki" consists of the author's

recollections o f h i s many e a r l i e r experiences as an "undertaker."

The opening line of the section i s but a variation of the opening

line of "Abura." "I don't remember a thing about the funerals for

my mother and father." (p.71) The succeeding lines i n the section's

first paragraph m i r r o r the lines about his father's photographs

found i n "Abura." In "Soshiki," looking at photographs of his

father leaves the " I " with an embarrassingly "in-between" (chukan

<\> ) feeling: the photographs seem n e i t h e r like a portrait

of a man nor like a living person; also, they g i v e him no sense of

the person being either a relative or a stranger.

The first-person narrator of "Soshiki" juxtaposes these

thoughts with a more recent f l a s h b a c k i n the next paragraph. The

"I" recalls an experience from the first day he came to Tokyo.

He had been guided to Yushima S h r i n e and found himself standing

in front of the statue of the president of h i s father's medical

school. I t produced an extremely curious feeling: "I felt as i f

the s t a t u e were half alive, and as I gazed on at i t I became

embarrassed." (p.72)

The reason f o r the narrator's insertion of this recent

 60

flashback in the midst of the recounting of the deaths of his

family members seems o b v i o u s . The "I" is indicating to the reader

the lasting effect on h i m s e l f of early separation from the living.

His reaction to the statue in Yushima Shrine parallels his reaction

to the photographs of his father. Images are the contact point

with the once living; these images are at least as "real" to him

as the once living themselves are. For the "I" of "Soshiki," the

line between the living and a p o r t r a i t or statue of the living has

become blurred.

In his psychological portrait of the "I" in this autobio-

graphical piece, the author textually shows a continuing early

interest in at least temporarily breaking down t h e lines which

distinguish one order of things from another: in "Chiyo", it was

the natural and the supernatural; in "Sh5konsai," i t was dream and

reality; and here in "Soshiki," it is image and reality.

Within the overall blurring of image and r e a l i t y in "S oshiki,"

the young man's uncertain feelings as to whether the man in the

photographs is a relative or a stranger is of particular interest

when one reflects on later Kawabata fiction. The author regularly

introduces the ambiguous n a t u r e of human r e l a t i o n s h i p s into his

more famous later works. For example, at the end o f the first

part of Yuki guni, Kawabata almost gratuitiously describes through

Shimamura's eyes fellow train p a s s e n g e r s who appear to be father

and daughter. In reality, they are n o t h i n g more than strangers

who chanced to meet each other on the train. Also, on another

train near the end o f Yama n o oto, the main character Shingo

similarly mistakes a couple for father and d a u g h t e r . For those

who p l a c e stock in biographical criticism, they would certainly

 61

appear t o have c a u s e t o connect t h e c o n c e p t i o n o f t h e s e two fiction-

al e p i s o d e s w i t h Kawabata's u n c e r t a i n feelings a b o u t h i s own p a r e n t s

as d e p i c t e d i n the autobiographical "Soshiki."

One o t h e r s p e c i f i c i n s t a n c e o f the f l u i d interrelationship

between two n o r m a l l y d i s t i n c t states found i n " S o s h i k i " appears i n

the y o u n g man's r e c o l l e c t i o n s o f t h e death o f h i s grandmother just

when he was o f e l e m e n t a r y s c h o o l age. I t was w i t h t h e d e a t h o f

his grandmother t h a t the f o l l o w i n g remarkable sensation occurred:

" C o n c e r n i n g t h e d e a t h o f my g r a n d m o t h e r , i t was t h e f i r s t time i n

my h o u s e t h a t I had f e l t something like a living feeling toward

the Buddhist a l t a r . " (emphasis added) (p.72) The r e s i d u e o f

death has amazingly e l i c i t e d sensations of l i f e ; life and d e a t h

intermingle at the Buddhist a l t a r . As i n many l a t e r works b y

Kawabata, a s e n s e of l i f e i n death i s e x t r a c t e d from the deceased.

The next death the " I " r e p o r t s on i n h i s c h r o n o l o g i c a l recount-

ing o f h i s "undertaker" experiences i s h i s s i s t e r ' s . Her death

bears some r e s e m b l a n c e to that of h i s parents. Because the deaths

of h i s m o t h e r a n d f a t h e r o c c u r r e d when he was o n l y an i n f a n t , he

never r e a l l y knew them. L i k e w i s e , because h i s s i s t e r had been

separated f r o m h i m and b r o u g h t up i n a d i f f e r e n t relative's house,

he h a d no r e a l sense o f h a v i n g had a s i s t e r a t a l l . The g r e a t e s t

impact on t h e " I " a t t h e t i m e o f h i s s i s t e r ' s death took p l a c e

when he r e a d t h e news o f h e r d e a t h t o h i s n e a r l y b l i n d g r a n d f a t h e r .

Once a g a i n t h e s e n s e s p l a y a c r i t i c a l role f o r a Kawabata l i t e r a r y

hero. Having taken h o l d o f h i s g r a n d f a t h e r ' s h a n d as he r e a d a l o u d

the news o f h i s s i s t e r ' s death, here i s what t h e " I " w r i t e s : "When

I think o f the f e e l i n g I g o t f r o m my g r a n d f a t h e r ' s h a n d as I r e a d

the l e t t e r , e v e n now my left hand f e e l s cold." (p.73) Memory i s

 62

reinforced by a sensory impression i n the manner of "Abura".

An interesting parallel can be drawn h e r e with "Soshiki" and

a later Kawabata n o v e l . The left forefinger of Shimamura i n Yuki-

guni plays an exceptional role i n S h i m a m u r a ' s memory of his first

encounter with Komako. The narrator suggests that, in-fact, i t is

only within the hand itself that memory o f Komako i s locked up.

The final death of a family member taken up by the " I " of

"Soshiki" i s his grandfather's. The particularly painful meaning

of his grandfather's death comes from the fact that the young man

is now the sole remaining member of the family. In the last line

of this section, he admits that he has come to earn the title of

"undertaker."

Before the " I " makes this admission that provides the three

sections with their unifying element, the author brings into

recollections of the grandfather's funeral two cases of the " I "

suffering a nose bleed. The emphasis the author p l a c e s on the

nosebleed incidents calls for careful analysis.

The first nosebleed occurs at the height of activities on

the funeral day when many m o u r n e r s h a v e come to offer condolences

to the y o u n g man. The fact that this i s the first time in his life

he has suffered a nosebleed suggests portentous implications to

him. He feels that the nosebleed i s a way of t e a c h i n g him of the

pain i n his heart caused by h i s grandfather's death.

The second nosebleed occurs the next m o r n i n g when he goes

with s i x or seven relatives and village people to pick up his

grandfather's ashes from an outdoor mountain crematorium. About

to pick up the ashes, the " I " discovers a slight fire still burning

in the ground and suddenly h i s nose begins to bleed.

 63

On both o c c a s i o n s , the " I " i n s t i n c t i v e l y runs away from the

others. The reason f o r such behaviour i s given as a sense o f

embarrassment coupled w i t h the f e a r o f appearing f r a i l i n front of

the r e s t o f them. An a n a l y s i s o f the r e s p e c t i v e s e t t i n g s i s more

i n t r i g u i n g from a thematic p o i n t o f view than study o f i n d i v i d u a l

pieces o f s e l f - a n a l y s i s are.

Although he s u f f e r s the f i r s t nosebleed at h i s home and the

second one i n the mountains, there are a number o f f e a t u r e s the two

i n c i d e n t s have i n common. In both cases, the " I " runs t o h i g h e r

ground: from h i s house he runs up a f l a g s t o n e path and l i e s down

on top o f a l a r g e rock; from the crematorium he races to the top

of the mountain and l i e s down on the g r a s s . Furthermore, the

r e s p e c t i v e d e s c r i p t i o n s o f the surroundings found at the two

l o c a t i o n s both evoke grand v i s i o n s o f n a t u r e : from the garden rock,

d a z z l i n g rays o f the sun shine down from between the open spaces

of an o l d oak t r e e as he looks up to t h i n patches o f blue sky

above; on the summit, he looks down upon a pond at the bottom o f

the mountain where the morning sun i s dancing on the s u r f a c e o f

the water.

It shouldn't be d i f f i c u l t to p l a c e these images w i t h i n the

thematic framework Kawabata has e s t a b l i s h e d f o r h i m s e l f i n e a r l i e r

works. In the midst o f death, the " I " has s u f f e r e d nosebleeds and

has i n s t i n c t i v e l y run to the h i g h e s t p l a c e s he c o u l d f i n d . The

mountain-top and the rock i n h i s garden both f u n c t i o n as symbolic

p o i n t s o f epiphany. As w i t h the use o f f i r e images i n Kawabata's

works, the tops o f p l a c e s such as mountains and towers i n h i s

f i c t i o n appear t o be used as p o i n t s o f symbolic p r e s e n t a t i o n i n

much the same way as they are used i n Western a p o c a l y p t i c symbolism

 64

and n a t i v e J a p a n e s e beliefs. Northrop Frye states that i n poetic

symbolism a setting s u c h as a m o u n t a i n - t o p or a lighthouse i s "the

symbolic p r e s e n t a t i o n o f the p o i n t at which the u n d i s p l a c e d

a p o c a l y p t i c w o r l d and t h e c y c l i c a l w o r l d o f n a t u r e come into

alignment." ^ 1
Hori I c h i r o g i v e s much t h e same m e a n i n g t o mountain

beliefs i n Japan since ancient t i m e s : "Thus, we see t h a t t h e moun-

tain i s believed t o be t h e w o r l d o f t h e dead; the meeting p l a c e of

the living and t h e dead; o r a passageway from t h i s w o r l d t o the

next -- from the profane t o the s a c r e d and from e a r t h to heaven." ^ 1

The " I " h a s made h i s way t o two places ideally suited to act

as s y m b o l i c p o i n t s o f epiphany. A few more t o u c h e s complete the

symbolism: divine fiery r a y s o f t h e sun f r o m above and w a t e r below,

the water o f death, are p r e s e n t i n the s e t t i n g s . With the r e d

blood of l i f e o o z i n g from h i s nose and h i s b l a c k s t a i n e d o b i

c o v e r e d w i t h t h e d a r k n e s s o f d e a t h , t h e " I " has found h i m s e l f i n

the meeting p l a c e o f the l i v i n g and dead, a p o i n t midway between

the human and the divine.

A f i n a l note on "Soshiki" relates t o Kawabata's u s e of color

symbolism. The two c o l o r s which a p p e a r most o f t e n i n t h e work a r e

red and w h i t e . I t s h o u l d be recalled that red, the c o l o r o f fire,

filled the c l i m a c t i c last scene of "Shokonsai." As i n "Shokonsai,"

red here t o o c a n be a s s o c i a t e d w i t h the s a c r e d : the e a r t h h i s

sister and h i m s e l f travel o v e r up the mountain road to their

grandmother's grave i s red clay. Besides t h i s connotation, red

as e x e m p l i f i e d by the b l o o d o f the boy's nosebleeds r e p r e s e n t s the

life s i d e o f the l i f e and death dichotomy f o u n d i n t h e work. White

appears s i x times i n " S o s h i k i . " On each o c c a s i o n i t i s a s s o c i a t e d

with death: white tabi and w h i t e d r e s s worn a t f u n e r a l s , the white

 65

fusuma leading to h i s grandmother's ashes i n the Buddhist a l t a r ,

and memories of h i s dead s i s t e r summed up by the " I " as "things of

white."
Kawabata's use of red and white symbolism reminds one of the

Japanese proverb on the fleetingness of l i f e (mujokan S£ ^ )

which reads l i k e a statement on the aesthetics of death: "A rosy

18
face i n the morning, white bones i n the evening."
With "SSshiki," Kawabata has introduced the symbolic use of

red and white into h i s l i t e r a t u r e . It w i l l be seen that these

two colors, with t h e i r symbolic meanings i n tact, become the

predominant colors i n a l l of Kawabata's works.

The August, 1923 issue of Shinshicho included Kawabata's

f i r s t of three d i f f e r e n t works t i t l e d "Nanpo no h i " ^ 0) ("Fire

in the South"). The publication signalled the beginning of a

series of short stories based on Kawabata's actual relationship

with Ito Hatsuyo (nicknamed Chiyo). In late 1920, h i s f r i e n d Miake Em*

introduced Kawabata to the g i r l who was working at a Tokyo coffee

shop. Kawabata f e l l i n love with Chiyo and on October 8, 1921, he

and Miake v i s i t e d her and her foster parents at t h e i r home i n Gifu

Prefecture so that Kawabata could propose marriage. She accepted,

but only a month l a t e r Kawabata received a l e t t e r from her breaking

off t h e i r engagement f o r some unexplained reason. Kawabata was

shattered by the experience. How s i g n i f i c a n t the whole thing was

for Kawabata can be measured by the many stories he produced begin-

ning with "Nanpo no h i " which were based on h i s r e l a t i o n s h i p with

Chiyo. The series of works have been categorized as both "Chiyo

mono" ("Chiyo a f f a i r " ) and "Michiko mono" ("Michiko affair"),

Michiko being the f i c t i t i o u s name Kawabata most often used for Chiyo.
 66

By the former Japanese way of counting ages, he was twenty-three

and she was sixteen when he proposed. Another example of how

deeply Kawabata was affected by his proposal and her eventual

r e j e c t i o n of marriage enters into the opening of Kin j* u ^

("Of Birds and Beasts," 1933). The t a x i the " I " of the short story

i s r i d i n g i n happens to make i t s way into a funeral procession.

It surely i s n ' t mere coincidence that the car following the taxi

in the procession has the number twenty-three pasted on the glass

in front of the driver's face.

"Nanpo no h i " was not the f i r s t of the Michiko mono" Kawabata

Tt

had worked on though. He had written an e a r l i e r unpublished piece

in June, 1922 which covers the same autobiographical area that

"Nanpo no h i " does. The t i t l e he gave the work was "Shinsei" jpif Bj| .

Written i n the third-person narrative, "Shinsei" i s based on the

v i s i t Mimei and Kawabata made to Gifu to see Chiyo i n October, 1921.

One might consider the f i r s t "Nanpo no h i " to be a reworked

version of "Shinsei." "Nanpo no h i " also covers the events which

take place upon a r r i v a l i n Gifu of the two young men. It too i s

written i n the third-person narrative. Yet one other work Kawabata

produced on the G i f u v i s i t was a piece c a l l e d "Kagaribi" /\

("Fishing Fire?) published i n the March, 1924; issue of Shinshosetsu.

According to Hasegawa Izumi, "Kagaribi" was, i n fact, the new title

19
Kawabata gave to his r e v i s i o n of "Shinsei." The research that

went into Hasegawa's pronouncement of "Kagaribi" being the r e v i s i o n

of "Shinsei" leaves one a l i t t l e u n s a t i s f i e d . A perusal of "Shinsei,"

the f i r s t "Nanpo no h i , " and "Kagaribi" gives the impression that

Kawabata's "Nanpo no h i " i s a polished version of "Shinsei" and

that h i s "Kagaribi" i s i n turn an improvement on "Nanpo no h i . "

 67

With the three short s t o r i e s being b a s i c a l l y a f a c t u a l recount-

ing of the visit, i t ' s clear that the three main c h a r a c t e r s in

"Shinsei", "Nanpo no h i , " and "Kagaribi" a r e m o d e l l e d on Kawabata,

M i a k e , and It5 Hatsuyo: i n " K a g a r i b i , " S u g u r u i s Kawabata, Asakura

is Miake, and Michiko i s Chiyo. " S h i n s e i " n e v e r was published in

Kawabata's l i f e t i m e ; the first "Nanp5 no h i " was not included by

Kawabata i n t h e s e l e c t i o n s f o r h i s c o l l e c t e d works. Kawabata

obviously came t o feel that only " K a g a r i b i " was worthy of i n s e r t i o n

in his c o l l e c t e d works. Unlike the third-person narrative point of

view of " S h i n s e i " and "Nanpo no h i , " "Kagaribi" i s written in the

f a m i l i a r e a r l y Kawabata f i r s t - p e r s o n n a r r a t i v e .

The a u t h o r has divided "Kagaribi" i n t o two sections. The

first section begins i n the t e m p l e g r o u n d s where M i c h i k o lives

with her f o s t e r parents, the father being a Buddhist p r i e s t at the

temple. A f t e r S u g u r u and Asakura enter the main t e m p l e and spend

time with the family, which i n c l u d e s S u g u r u p l a y i n g a game o f go

with the priest, M i c h i k o j o i n s the two y o u n g men f o r a walk to

Yanagase t o see a chrysanthemum d i s p l a y . The second s e c t i o n con-

sists of the events which take p l a c e a f t e r t h e y a r r i v e a t an inn

in Yanagase.

With the work w r i t t e n i n the first-person narrative, the

author presents the reader with a l y r i c a l voice throughout. The

first s e c t i o n i s e s p e c i a l l y given t o the i n t e r n a l musings of Suguru.

Past and present are intertwined i n a manner w h i c h c a l l s to mind

the stream of consciousness technique. The second s e c t i o n stands

in contrast. I t mainly consists of dialogue i n the present.

Such a t e c h n i c a l d i v i s i o n i n w r i t i n g between t h e two sections

c a r r i e s with i t a thematic contrast as w e l l . In a word, a word

 68

which appears eight times i n the f i r s t section and only three times

in the second, the f i r s t half is built around the f a n t a s i e s (kus5

J- AS ) o f Suguru. With the prime exception of the f i s h i n g fire

scene near t h e end of the second section, the second half i s given

o v e r more t o t h e "reality" of the situation.

Saying the f i r s t section is built around the f a n t a s i e s of

S u g u r u s h o u l d n o t be t a k e n t o mean t h a t reality has been entirely

eliminated. ( C o n t r a r i w i s e , the second section does n o t exclude

examples o f f a n t a s y . ) Reality s e r v e s as a c o u n t e r p o i n t t o S u g u r u ' s

fantasies.

Just after coming f a c e t o f a c e w i t h M i c h i k o a f t e r not seeing

h e r f o r some t w e n t y days, Suguru immediately f l a s h e s back t o the

p r e v i o u s e v e n i n g when A s a k u r a and h i m s e l f were r i d i n g the n i g h t

train to Gifu. As t h e use of a t r a i n ride so o f t e n does i n

Kawabata's l a t e r literature, the i n t e r i o r of the t r a i n a c t s as a

symbolic capsule of timelessness t r a v e l i n g through time. Suguru

is lost i n a w o r l d o f dreams i n t h e t r a i n c a r as he fantasizes over

t h e c o m i n g d a y s t o be spent with Michiko. B e s i d e s Suguru and

Asakura, t h e c a r i s o c c u p i e d by girl s t u d e n t s on a s c h o o l trip.

For S u g u r u , an image o f h i s dream M i c h i k o becomes superimposed

over the v i s a g e s of the g i r l students. As one frequently finds i n

Kawabata f i c t i o n , the g i r l s i n t h i s world of fantasy are asleep.

S l e e p may be likened t o a s t a t e o f s u s p e n s i o n between l i f e and

death, and t h e c o l o r one a s s o c i a t e s with death and innocence in

Kawabata's l i t e r a t u r e i s white. The girls here are colored i n

white too: " . . . t h e c a r bloomed w h i t e w i t h the s c a t t e r e d travel

weary s l e e p i n g faces...when the faces of the g i r l s drifted into

sleep, I c o u l d see the w h i t e color of a heightened level of

innocence s u r f a c i n g i n the car." (p.80) It i s within this vision

of the b e a u t i f u l l y innocent sleeping faces of the girls that Suguru

superimposes the e v e n more b e a u t i f u l image o f h i s dream Michiko.

The r e a l M i c h i k o f o r the most p a r t r e t a i n s the white face of Suguru

fantasies until the subject o f m a r r i a g e i s b r o u g h t up i n the second

section.

Once t h i s long flashback t o the train i s completed, Suguru

expresses astonishment at the a c t u a l appearance of Michiko and

wonders what c o n n e c t i o n reality has with fantasy. He suddenly

recognizes flaws i n her face. Something which appears t o disturb

him e v e n more i s h e r "large bare feet." One i s reminded again on

a literal level of the l o t u s i n the mud by the association the

a u t h o r makes w i t h M i c h i k o ' s f e e t . The opening scene of the story

had found M i c h i k o h e l p i n g the priest cover a temple w a l l . In his

consternation at coming f a c e to face w i t h the "real" Michiko,

Suguru r e c a l l s what t a s k Michiko's bare f e e t had been fulfilling:

"These were t h e f e e t t h a t were u s e d t o mix the wall mud." (p.81)

Another feature about M i c h i k o which a l s o f i t s i n with an

earlier Kawabata m o t i f i s the ambiguous n a t u r e o f h e r sexual

maturity. Michiko, like Fusayo of "Issetsu," a t one point is

described as being "neither a girl nor a woman." (p.81) It i s the

girl side of Michiko that seems t o e s p e c i a l l y a p p e a l t o Suguru

while simultaneously bringing i n t o question the whole i d e a of

marriage to her. S u g u r u s e e m s ' o b s e s s e d by the possibility that

she still i s , in fact, a child (kodomo nanda i# )• (p.81)

Although the phrase "kodomo n a n d a " i n " K a g a r i b i " lacks revelatory

impact, i t should be pointed out that the exact same words are

a l s o used i n r e f e r e n c e t o the d a n c e r o f Kawabata's " I z u no odoriko.

 70

In the l a t t e r work, t h e words a r e u s e d to express t h e most gratify-

ing of r e v e l a t i o n s f o r t h e young s t u d e n t o f the s t o r y . Feeling

that a sexual relationship with a c h i l d is totally out of the

question, the s t u d e n t i s a t once f i l l e d w i t h a t r e m e n d o u s sense

of joy. In " I z u no odoriko ," t h e d e n i a l o f p h y s i c a l love i n

favor of p l a t o n i c love results i n personal salvation f o r the

student. It i s realization of eventual p h y s i c a l communion with

Michiko that c r e a t e s a n x i e t y i n the hero of "Kagaribi."

Up until the f i n a l passage i n the second section, Michiko and

Suguru don't t o u c h on t h e s u b j e c t o f m a t r i m o n y a t a l l . As long as

the s u b j e c t i s n o t d i s c u s s e d , M i c h i k o r e t a i n s an a u r a o f pristine

innocence. To S u g u r u , M i c h i k o has c o n t i n u e d t o be a vision of

whiteness. He felt that she was "a g i r l without the slightest

smell f r o m h e r body." (p.85)

In the last passage of the f i r s t section, Michiko hints at

the t o p i c of marriage and Suguru f i r s t fully contemplates the

connection reality has with fantasy:

Wasn't I s e t t i n g t o d a n c e i n a f a n t a s y w o r l d t h e
Michiko l i v i n g i n t h i s world with a d o l l Michiko
t h r o u g h whom t h e same b l o o d w a s n ' t f l o w i n g ? Is t h i s
what i s c a l l e d t h e a w a k e n i n g o f l o v e ? And d o e s n ' t
t h e b e a u t i f u l name o f m a r r i a g e mean k i l l i n g a g i r l
t o b r i n g l i f e t o my f a n t a s i e s ? , . . M y p r a y e r was offer-
ed i n h o p e s o f l e a r n i n g i f a s i n g l e - m i n d e d d e s i r e t o
h a v e a s h i n i n g M i c h i k o f l y a b o u t i n a c l o u d l e s s and
w e i g h t l e s s f r e e b l u e s k y were t i e d t o l o v e o r n o t o r
m a r r i a g e o r n o t . (p. 87)

The l i n e which c l o s e s the f i n a l passage of the first section

of "Kagaribi" states that t h e y have c r o s s e d t h e b r i d g e t o t h e i n n .

From what f o l l o w s i n t h e s e c t i o n , the c r o s s i n g of the bridge

suggests Suguru's m e t a p h o r i c a l displacement from a w o r l d of fantasy

to a world of r e a l i t y . Not o n c e i n p a r t two will a "doll Michiko"

enter the thoughts o f Suguru. S i m i l a r t o the f a t e o f Omitsu's

 71

p e r s o n a l dreams o f s o a r i n g t h r o u g h the sky atop a f l y i n g horse,

Suguru's f a n t a s i e s of seeing Michiko f l y through the sky come t o an

end as well.

At t h e i n n , Suguru asks M i c h i k o i f Asakura has broached the

subject o f S u g u r u and M i c h i k o s impending

1
marriage: "Suddenly the

color of l i f e w h i c h had d r a i n e d f r o m M i c h i k o ' s f a c e i n an instant

c o u l d be seen to faintly return; t h e n she was colored i n red." (p.91)

As was the case i n "S5shiki," red representing l i f e stands i n

contrast t o white r e p r e s e n t i n g death (and p u r i t y ) . L a t e r i n the

second section Sugurw a g a i n r e m a r k s on how Michiko's f a c i a l color

has been t r a n s f o r m e d f r o m w h i t e to red. The transformation coin-

cides with t h e i r talk turning to the rather serious business of

the meaning o f t h e i r forthcoming marriage. Ranging from matters

such as f u t u r e h a p p i n e s s i n matrimony t o the t a s k o f getting

family registers i n order, the tone of the second section becomes

decidedly mundane.

It i s only with cessation o f mundane t a l k about marriage

that i n the q u i e t n e s s Suguru i s a b l e t o a t t a i n a momentary bliss-

ful state. The word c h o i c e Kawabata s e l e c t s to describe this state

is virtually identical t o the f i n a l lines t o be found i n "Izu no

odoriko." "Then w i t h e v e r y t h i n g p e r f e c t l y q u i e t , my tranquil

heart turned into quiet, c l e a r water (sunda m i z u y^X^

spreading out l a p p i n g a g a i n s t some d i s t a n t shore. I t was as i f

I wanted t o f a l l completely i n t o sleep." (p.93)

The images a r e f u l l y recognizable. Kawabata h a s used water

to symbolize the sense of p u r i f i c a t i o n S u g u r u f e e l s by contact

with the maidenly Michiko. Purification, i n turn, induces a wish

to fall i n t o a deep s l e e p s i m i l a r t o one experiencing nirvana.

 72

The sense of purification f o l l o w e d by a d e s i r e to attain a

state of nothingness quickly g i v e s way t o an o p p o s i n g sense o f

gloom which overcomes Suguru. He f e e l s sorry f o rMichiko being

engaged t o a p e r s o n like himself. The mood c a l l s f o r an a l l u s i o n

t o darkness: "Suddenly falling deeply into an e x t e n d e d darkness,

I was l o o k i n g a t two f i r e b a l l s . " (p.93) The a p p e a r a n c e of the

two fireballs literally lights up t h e d a r k n e s s . The dichotomy

between f i e r y light and darkness s e t here i s soon mirrored i nthe

c
climactic scene o f t h e work.

Just a t t h e p o i n t where M i c h i k o b e g i n s t o speak excitedly

about h e r being born i n the year of hinoe j^j , an i n a u s p i c i o u s

year f o r a g i r l w i s h i n g t o marry s i n c e s u p e r s t i t i o n has i t t h a t

she w i l l kill h e r h u s b a n d , S u g u r u s h o u t s t h a t he s e e s the f i s h i n g

fires o f t h e cormorant fishermen's boats. As t h e b o a t s get closer,

the s e n s u o u s r e l a t i o n s h i p between t h e f i r e and t h e m s e l v e s becomes

increasingly intense: at first the f i r e s only f a i n t l y light up

the darkness; next the f i r e s appear t o hurry closer t o the "lights

of t h e i r h e a r t s ; " then M i c h i k o and Suguru "are standing i nthe

middle of the f i s h i n g fires." (p.95)

At one s t a g e , t h e f i s h i n g fires a t t h e bows o f t h e b o a t " s e t

fire t o t h e water." (p.95) From i n v e s t i g a t i o n s of earlier Kawabata

literature, t h e image o f t h e s e two g r e a t f o r c e s of f i r e and water

i n t e r a c t i n g w i t h each other should s i g n i f y a moment of unparalleled

aesthetic appreciation. So i t d o e s here:

Then I h e l d t h e f i s h i n g f i r e s , b r i g h t l y . I was
l o o k i n g a t t h e f l i c k e r i n g of t h e flames r e f l e c t e d i n
Michiko's face. I t ' s u n l i k e l y t h a t t h e r e ' l l e v e r be
a t i m e i n M i c h i k o ' s l i f e when s h e ' l l l o o k a s b e a u t i f u l ,
(p.95)
 73

With t h e s e words, t h e s p e l l of the f i s h i n g fires is effective-

l y broken. The succeeding f i n a l paragraph of "Kagaribi" acts like

a denouement i n t h e work. Asakura s e e s M i c h i k o and S u g u r u o f f at

the train station. In symbolic c o n t r a s t t o the b r i g h t fishing

fires which had l i t up'the darkness along the r i v e r , the final

line of "Kagaribi" describes t h e two o f them p a s s i n g t h r o u g h the

town p o o r l y l i t up in lights.

The author i s c l e a r l y h i n t i n g t h a t M i c h i k o and Suguru's

future is ill-fated. Whether t h e f a c t t h a t Kawabata's relation-

s h i p w i t h C h i y o was b e h i n d t h e ominous n o t e i n the f i n a l line

makes g r i s t f o r the m i l l of the b i o g r a p h i c a l critic.

 REINCARNATION: "SORA NI UGOKU HI" TO

"AOI UMI KUROI; UMI"

CHAPTER I I I

Kawabata g r a d u a t e d from Tokyo I m p e r i a l U n i v e r s i t y i n March,

1924, t h e same month " K a g a r i b i " was published i n Shinshosetsu.

H i s b a c h e l o r ' s t h e s i s was titled "Nihon s h o s e t s u shi shoron

0 ^ 'J" it 'J%
1m ("A S h o r t T r e a t i s e on the H i s t o r y of

Japanese Novels").

The opening paragraph of the p r e f a c e to the t h e s i s outlines

three a p p r o a c h e s t o how one might study literature: the historical,

the b i o g r a p h i c a l , and the c r i t i c a l . Kawabata a c k n o w l e d g e s later

i n the preface t h a t the i d e a of the d i v i s i o n s i n t o these three

possible a p p r o a c h e s came f r o m h i s r e a d i n g of the American s c h o l a r

C. T. W i n c h e s t e r ' s Some P r i n c i p l e s of L i t e r a r y Criticism. The

a p p r o a c h he p r e f e r s t o choose f o r h i m s e l f i s the critical approach.

He says t h a t the meaning o f t h e critical approach i s t o take a

work f r o m t h e p a s t and evaluate i t i n the present strictly on i t s

intrinsic artistic worth. Kawabata s a y s he w o u l d h a v e n o v e l s of

the Heian, Kamakura, and Muromachi p e r i o d s , t o g e t h e r w i t h the

novels o f modern w r i t e r s s u c h as T a n i z a k i J u n i c h i r S and Akutagawa

Ryunosuke ?f J'l *lt ^_^T (1892-1927), m e a s u r e d f o r t h e i r artistic

w o r t h by the same c r i t i c a l yardstick.

In a l i n e o f r e a s o n i n g w h i c h r e v e a l s Kawabata's v i s i o n of the

meaning o f l i t e r a t u r e , he continues h i s preface with a d i s c u s s i o n

on beauty. B e a u t y w o u l d a p p a r e n t l y be his sole criterion for

j u d g i n g t h e a r t i s t i c m e r i t o f an i n d i v i d u a l work. He says that to

d e c i d e what c o n s t i t u t e s e t e r n a l beauty one must r e a c h conclusions

based on an investigation o f t h e works b f e v e r y p e r i o d . The author

quickly introduces a caveat though. He says t h a t d e c i d i n g on what

constitutes e t e r n a l beauty, i n o t h e r words d e t e r m i n i n g a fixed set

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of i d e a s o f what t h e e s s e n c e o f a r t i s , one must k e e p i n mind Basho's

dictum of " t r a d i t i o n and n o v e l t y " (fueki rvuko ^ ^ sfiL^T ) the

poet advocated i n haikai.

Kawabata s a y s t h a t t h e demise of "novelty," i n o t h e r words

demise of the t r a n s i t i o n a l n a t u r e o f a r t , w o u l d mean t h e d e a t h o f

art history: "A work o f a r t w o u l d become a c o l d tombstone. More-

over, e a c h new g o l d e n age o f a r t comes i n t o bloom as a r e s u l t of

this transitional nature." 1

Kawabata d e c r i e s the outcome o f an

inability to strike a p r o p e r b a l a n c e between " t r a d i t i o n " and

"novelty." On t h e one hand, he e x p r e s s e s d i s p l e a s u r e ' t h a t Japanese

literary history is filled w i t h examples o f how feckless adoration

of Japanese c l a s s i c s s u c h as t h e n o v e l G e n j i m o n o g a t a r i and the

poetry of the Kokinshu hindered the development of Japanese liter-

ature. On t h e o t h e r hand, he c h a s t i s e s the Japanese naturalists

of the e a r l y twentieth century f o r f a i l u r e t o r e c o g n i z e how anti-

thetical their w r i t i n g s were t o J a p a n e s e n a t i o n a l c h a r a c t e r and the

traditional spirit of Japanese literature.

The c o n s e n s u s among c r i t i c s o f modern J a p a n e s e literature i s

t h a t Kawabata was able to r e a l i z e i n h i s own literature exactly

what he p r e a c h e d i n t h e b a c h e l o r ' s t h e s i s . He has been praised

by many f o r h i s a b i l i t y t o be a t t h e same t i m e t r a d i t i o n a l and

modern. By modern, most c r i t i c s mean t h e i n f l u e n c e on Kawabata

of imported avant-garde European a r t and l i t e r a t u r e which began

to e n t e r t h e c o u n t r y i n a b o u t 1920. Most o f t h e works I will

analyze i n t h i s c h a p t e r were i n f l u e n c e d by t h e new movements.

The most e x p e r i m e n t a l o f t h e works I ' l l be t a k i n g up i s " A o i umi

kuroi umi" % v.* % ^ ("Blue Sea, B l a c k Sea," 1925).

With t h i s piece, i t m i g h t be a r g u e d t h a t Kawabata comes perilously

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close t o t i p p i n g the scales too f a r t o the side of "novelty."

Two months a f t e r graduating from Tokyo I m p e r i a l University,

Kawabata had a s h o r t story t i t l e d " S o r a n i ugoku h i " ^ I- pj> X'J

("Lights T h a t Move i n t h e Sky") published i n t h e May, 192 4 issue

o f Gakan. The h i s t o r i c a l background f o r the s t o r y i s the Kanto

earthquake and fire o f September 1, 1923 which claimed the lives

o f more t h a n one hundred thousand people.

Considering Kawabata's p e r s o n a l h i s t o r y , some k i n d o f spirit-

ual i n t e r p r e t a t i o n o f t h e human p r e d i c a m e n t resulting from the

aftermath of t h i s catastrophe seems a l m o s t a t a s k w i l l e d t o him by

fate.

Since i n f a n c y Kawabata h a d faced a s t r i n g o f deaths in his

f a m i l y which left him an o r p h a n i n t h e t r u e s t s e n s e o f t h e word

a month b e f o r e his fifteenth birthday. As a y o u n g man, he had

found himself " w i t h o u t home o r f a m i l y . " Many o f t h e s u r v i v o r s

of the Kanto earthquake s u d d e n l y f o u n d t h e m s e l v e s more o r less

"without home o r f a m i l y " as w e l l . In a u t o b i o g r a p h i c a l essays and

early autobiographical short stories s u c h as "Abura" and "Soshiki

no m e i j i n , " t h e message comes t h r o u g h c l e a r l y t h a t Kawabata went

through a great deal of personal anguish before coming to terms

with h i s "orphan complex." I f t h e h e r o o f "Abura" and "Soshiki"

couldn't overcome t h e c o n d i t i o n he found h i m s e l f i n as an orphan,

he a t any rate realized that i t was best not t o d i s t r e s s himself

over h i s dead relatives: " I t ' s best to avoid self-examination of

the orphan complex w i t h i n me." (p.64)

The consequences o f the Kanto earthquake brought forth from

Kawabata a s p i r i t u a l t r e a t i s e based on a f a t a l i s t i c outlook which

in i t s i m p l i c a t i o n s does provide t h e way f o r the orphan t o overcome

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his sorrow. This s p i r i t u a l treatise t u r n s up i n the first of the

three s e c t i o n s of "Sora." At the heart of the d i s c o u r s e are two

philosophic concepts with long t r a d i t i o n s i n the E a s t : metempsychosis

s e t s down h i s s p i r i t u a l code i n a framework o f d i a l e c t i c a l argu-

ment.

The opening line of "Sora" calls t o mind t h e o p e n i n g line of

"Shokonsai ikkei." In "Shokonsai," the n a r r a t o r w r i t e s that the

noise of the f e s t i v a l went s t r a i g h t up i n t o t h e autumn s k y . In

"Sora," t h e n a r r a t o r more c o n c i s e l y describes a similar scene:

"The autumn s k y was clear t o the h e i g h t s . " (p.99) The n a r r a t o r

f o l l o w s up this description i n "Sora" with an interesting obser-

vation on t h e supposed h a b i t s o f Tokyo p e o p l e of the time: "In

those d a y s i t was the h a b i t of people living i n Tokyo t o climb

t o h i g h p l a c e s , and i n the instant they o b t a i n e d a view they would

e x p e r i e n c e the j o y which comes f r o m losing a sense of s e l f , there-

by refreshing their hearts." (p.99) Whether t h i s i s

t r u e or not i s beside the p o i n t . From a l i t e r a r y p o i n t of view,

Kawabata i s b e i n g p e r h a p s a little too clear in stating right at

the beginning of "Sora" that the tops of high p l a c e s f u n c t i o n as

points of epiphany. As I mentioned e a r l i e r , Northrop Frye has

pointed out t h a t h i g h l o c a t i o n s a c t as "the symbolic p r e s e n t a t i o n

of the p o i n t a t which the u n d i s p l a c e d a p o c a l y p t i c world and the

cyclical world of nature come i n t o a l i g n m e n t . " The boy of "Soshiki

no m e i j i n " reached h i s symbolic p o i n t s of epiphany at the highest

point i n h i s garden and on t o p o f a m o u n t a i n . In "Sora," the

specific setting f o r symbolic p o i n t s of epiphany i n t h e work i s

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the roof garden tower of a t h r e e - s t o r i e d elementary school at the

back of Asakusa Park. The school and a p o l i c e s t a t i o n were the

only two buildings i n the area not d e s t r o y e d by fires accompanying

the earthquake. The roof garden tower a c t s as a point of epiphany

twice i n the story: i t i s the l o c a t i o n f o r the long dialectical

argument o f a fatalistic n a t u r e w h i c h t a k e s up most o f the first

section, and i t i s the l o c a t i o n f o r the a e s t h e t i c moment o f a

divine nature which concludes the work. I t ' s not surprising then

that the characters of "Sora" are looking down on humanity from

the tower i n the first section and up t o the heavens i n the con-

cluding passage.

In the opening scene of "Sora," a school t e a c h e r named

K a n e h a r a has t a k e n some c h i l d r e n t o draw p i c t u r e s a t t h e top of the

tower. K a n e h a r a has b e e n j o i n e d by an o l d f r i e n d and the two are

looking down on the reconstruction taking place i n the city. The

time of the story i s l e s s t h a n two months a f t e r t h e earthquake.

K a n e h a r a ' s o l d f r i e n d i s one of the rarest characters found in

Kawabata's l i t e r a t u r e . The extraordinary case of the "anti-

intellectual" w r i t e r Kawabata t u r n i n g h i s t a l e n t s to a spiritual

treatise calls f o r the introduction of a character given to

verbosity.

As Masao M i y o s h i p o i n t s out i n the preface to his Accomplices

of Silence, the narrator's a t t i t u d e toward the story i n the typical

Japanese novel shows a "passion for silence." Suggestion and

evocation determine the scene of the Japanese novel r a t h e r than

description. Miyoshi gives Kawabata's Yama no oto as an excellent

example o f how "this silence fairly r e s o n a t e s w i t h meaning.""^ In

"Sora," the narrator w o u l d a p p e a r t o be a l i t t l e nervous about

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i n t r o d u c i n g the nameless " o l d f r i e n d " whose t h o u g h t s on life are

contained i n undoubtedly four of the longest paragraphs (they cover

five pages o f K a w a b a t a s zenshu) found i n t h e e n t i r e

1
literary works

of the author. Before the o l d f r i e n d begins h i s discourse, the

n a r r a t o r goes t o t h e t r o u b l e of twice warning the reader through

Kanehara's understanding of the f r i e n d ' s personality that the

l o q u a c i o u s man i s showing the usual signs of g e t t i n g ready t o talk

at l e n g t h on some topic.

The friend opens h i s t a l k by remarking about how beneficial

the c o n d i t i o n s i n T o k y o have become f o r t h e p o l i c e . S i n c e the

citizens are relegated to l i v i n g i n barracks devoid of "roofs and

walls," i t has become v e r y e a s y f o r t h e p o l i c e t o spot crime and

apprehend criminals. He surmises the r e a c t i o n of the survivors to

the deceased before returning t o t h e meaning o f a p o s s i b l e time

w i t h no roofs or walls. The man says t h a t i n such a time t h e r e

w o u l d be no n e e d for police. This l i n e o f r e a s o n i n g l e a d s him to

the c o n s i d e r a t i o n that t h e c o n c e p t s o f "good" and "bad" might dis-

appear. Not surprisingly, a link i s t h e n made w i t h a "primitive"

time f r e e o f human m o r a l i t y and t h e city.

The old friend contends that the worst t h i n g about the earth-

quake d i s a s t e r was death. He says t h a t the f i n a l i t y of death i s

a problem he h a s w r e s t l e d w i t h c o n t i n u o u s l y . He suggests that the

god who c r e a t e d man slipped up on t h i s one point. The friend says

t h e s e n d i n g o f t h e dead t o t h e moon t h r o u g h t h e h e a v e n s i n a f l o w e r

bedecked boat i s fine, b u t he exclaims that god i s wrong i n m a k i n g

man go t o t h e t r o u b l e o f d e p i c t i n g t h e dream o f a j o u r n e y t o

paradise. The dream o f a j o u r n e y t o p a r a d i s e l e a d s h i m to bring

up t h e c o n c e p t o f metempsychosis:
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T o g e t h e r w i t h t h e dream o f a j o u r n e y t o p a r a d i s e
i n a n c i e n t t i m e s i n J a p a n , t h e r e was an a p p e a l i n g
b e l i e f h e l d by t h e p e o p l e . A princess i n a previous
l i f e i s a b e g g a r i n t h i s l i f e and a l i n n e t i n a
f u t u r e one, and i n t h e n e x t w o r l d a w h i t e l i l y o f
the v a l l e y . I t was s a i d t h a t a p o e t i n t h i s l i f e
i s a Buddha i n a f u t u r e l i f e and was a w h i t e r a t i n
a previous l i f e . What do y o u t h i n k o f t h i s t h e o r y
o f m e t e m p s y c h o s i s ? (p.102)

The old friend temporarily strays a l i t t l e from the subject

o f m e t e m p s y c h o s i s and takes up the role fate plays in life. He

o b s e r v e s t h a t uptown p e o p l e d i d n ' t s u f f e r as much a s downtown

people. This point leads him t o say that to live uptown o r to

live downtown, t o d i e o r t o be saved, i s largely d e t e r m i n e d by fate

The comments on f a t e he makes b e f o r e r e t u r n i n g t o the subject of

metempsychosis stress that c h a n c e and inevitability are one and

the same t h i n g .

A r e s u m p t i o n o f words on m e t e m p s y c h o s i s introduce the concept

of oneness i n t o the argument:

T h i s t h e o r y o f m e t e m p s y c h o s i s was b a s e d on t h e
n o t i o n t h a t t o r i d e on a l o t u s i n a f u t u r e l i f e
one must p e r f o r m good d e e d s i n t h i s l i f e . It
seems t h a t a d m o n i t i o n s t o n o t be r e i n c a r n a t e d
as a s n a k e s e r v e d t h e p u r p o s e s o f p r i e s t s i n
t h e i r teachings. The i n s p i r a t i o n o f a new life
o f f e r e d by someone w o u l d be r e c e i v e d as a
welcome t r u t h . I t w o u l d be s c i e n t i f i c a l l y
e x p l a i n e d b o t h m a t e r i a l l y and s p i r i t u a l l y .
G e n e r a l l y man has c h o s e n t o make a d i s t i n c t i o n
between h i m s e l f and a l l t h i n g s f o u n d i n t h e
n a t u r a l w o r l d and c o n t i n u a t i o n o f t h i s l o n g
h i s t o r i c a l p r a c t i c e i s n o t v e r y welcome. I
wonder i f most o f t h e h e a r t s w h i c h f e e l t h e
v o i d o f human e x i s t e n c e h a v e n ' t s p r u n g f r o m t h e
l e g a c y o f s u c h a p r a c t i c e . I t h i n k t h a t when
man p e r h a p s some day t u r n s a r o u n d and b e g i n s t o
w a l k b a c k a l o n g t h e r o a d he has t a k e n , i t w i l l
be s i m i l a r t o a s t o n e t h r o w n i n t o t h e s k y w h i c h
upon r e a c h i n g a s h i g h as i t c a n go comes f a l l i n g
back t o e a r t h . I t h i n k t h a t a t t h e end o f t h i s
r e t r a c e d r o a d t h e many i s t h e w o r l d o f t h e one.
T h a t ' s where t h e s a l v a t i o n o f most p e o p l e l i e s ,
(p.103)
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The man's d i s c o u r s e turns t o the f l e e t i n g n e s s of life and

t h o u g h t s on belief i n the continuation of the human r a c e . It is

at this point that the old friend offers his final thoughts on

metempsychosis and the oneness of creation:

I t ' s n o t t h e i d e a o f man b e i n g r e b o r n as a
p e n g u i n o r an e v e n i n g p r i m r o s e t h a t I f i n d
f a v o r w i t h ; what p l e a s e s me more i s t h e
t h o u g h t t h a t an e v e n i n g p r i m r o s e and man
a r e one. I t i s i n t h i s way o n l y t h a t t h e
w o r l d o f t h e h e a r t o f man, i n o t h e r words
l o v e , m i g h t become e x p a n s i v e and f r e e . The
one i s t h e many and a l l t h i n g s and t h e i r
s p i r i t s a r e p a r t o f one d e i t y , (p.104)

Upon c o m p l e t i o n of the discourse, the narrator steps in to

remark t h a t "on top of the tall tower, o n l y the long t a l k of the

f r i e n d was being played w i t h by the autumn b r e e z e . . . . " (p.105)

The end of the discourse s i g n a l s the end o f K a n e h a r a and the old

friend's purpose i n the short story. They w i l l never appear i n

the story again. Kawabata l i n k s the two men and the s e t t i n g with

what f o l l o w s i n a rather i n t e r e s t i n g way. A l l the while the men

had b e e n c a r r y i n g on their one-sided conversation, an elementary

school s t u d e n t named H i r a t a had b e e n w o r k i n g on a crayon sketch of

the s u r r o u n d i n g view from the top of the tower. The focus of the

first section shifts from the men to t h i s y o u n g boy. Two physical

features about the boy are emphasized: h i s eyes are penetrating

(surudoku % ^ <!. ) and he has a l a r g e head. He i s s a i d t o have a

talent for pictures. The p i c t u r e he had b e e n w o r k i n g on during

the men's d i s c u s s i o n i s described as bright, but i t doesn't dis-

play the heart of a c h i l d . P h y s i c a l d e s c r i p t i o n of t h i s boy

coupled with recognition of a p r e d i s p o s i t i o n and talent for paint-

ing make i t c l e a r t h a t the t w e n t y - f o u r - y e a r o l d Kawabata has in-

t r o d u c e d a minor c h a r a c t e r i n t o " S o r a " who represents a portrait

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of h i m s e l f as a young boy. This i s not the f i r s t time Kawabata

has drawn h i s s e l f - p o r t r a i t i n an e a r l y work. I n t h e o n l y work

taken up i n t h e s e c o n d chapter o f t h i s t h e s i s w h i c h was n o t

written i n the first-person narrative, "Shokonsai i k k e i , " the

n a r r a t o r d e s c r i b e s two u n i v e r s i t y s t u d e n t s who a r e g a z i n g a t

Omitsu. One o f them i s d e p i c t e d w i t h g o g g l y eyes and t e r r i b l y

l a r g e e a r s , a n d he i s w e a r i n g a hunting cap. This p o r t r a i t fits

t h e a p p e a r a n c e o f Kawabata when he was a u n i v e r s i t y student.

Kawabata's w e a r i n g a hunting cap during h i s u n i v e r s i t y d a y s c a n be

interpreted as a g e s t u r e o f p r o t e s t a g a i n s t t h e e l i t e status that

came w i t h b e i n g a s t u d e n t o f Tokyo I m p e r i a l U n i v e r s i t y . The " I "

of " I z u no o d o r i k o " i s c l e a r l y a fictional representation of

Kawabata who, i n t h e c o u r s e of the story, r e p l a c e s h i s s c h o o l cap

with a hunting cap i n a symbolic g e s t u r e o f b e c o m i n g one w i t h t h e

traveling performers.

The young boy i n "Sora" l e a v e s t h e t o w e r a n d g o e s down t o

the second floor o f t h e s c h o o l where he meets h i s o l d e r sister

Ohana i n t h e h a l l w a y broiling some s a l t e d salmon f o r d i n n e r .

Their f a m i l y i s b u t one o f many f a m i l i e s who h a v e t a k e n refuge i n

the b u i l d i n g . Ohana l e a v e s h e r t a s k f o r a moment a n d l o o k s down

on t h e s c h o o l c o u r t y a r d f r o m one o f t h e windows. The s i g h t is in

keeping w i t h t h e s y m b o l i s m Kawabata h a s e s t a b l i s h e d i n e a r l i e r

works. She s e e s rows o f b r a n d new W e s t e r n t o w e l s hanging out t o

d r y a f t e r h a v i n g b e e n dampened b y t h e w i n d a n d r a i n . Found on t h e

towels a r e two r e d l a t e r a l stripes. The r e d h e r e i s clearly

symbolic o f t h e ascendancy o f t h e l i f e f o r c e f o l l o w i n g the death

and d e s t r u c t i o n w r o u g h t by t h e e a r t h q u a k e and fire:

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The movement i n t h e g a r d e n o f t h e b r i g h t r e d l i n e s
on t h e wet new t o w e l s drew a f o n d l o o k f r o m Ohana,
and i t was enough t o c a u s e h e r a s l i g h t f e e l i n g o f
sadness. T h e r e h a d n o t been u n t i l now s u c h a v i v i d
c o l o r at the s h e l t e r . I t was n e a r noon on a b r i g h t
autumn day and t h e w e a t h e r was p e r f e c t f o r d r y i n g
o u t t h e t o w e l s dampened by t h e e a r l i e r w i n d and r a i n ,
(p.106)

These t h r e e l i n e s bring the f i r s t part of "Sora" t o a close.

The a u t h o r has finally i n t r o d u c e d h i s main c h a r a c t e r , Ohana, into

the short story, but the seemingly haphazard manner Kawabata has

his c h a r a c t e r s i n " S o r a " move i n and out of the scenes continues

with the opening passage of part two. No s o o n e r had Ohana b e e n

introduced i n t h e s t o r y t h a n she t e m p o r a r i l y d i s a p p e a r s . Instead,

the next section b e g i n s w i t h Ohana's m o t h e r w a k i n g f r o m a dream;

but t h e mother h e r s e l f i s around just l o n g enough t o h e a r the c r y

of a beggar woman's b a b y .

The beggar woman f a r e s b e t t e r t h a n Ohana's m o t h e r i n t h e

attention she receives from the n a r r a t o r . The story o f how she

and h e r f a m i l y cope w i t h l i f e at the s h e l t e r i s t h e main episode

found i n part two dealing with the a c t i v i t i e s g o i n g on at the

school. T h i s l e n g t h y e p i s o d e has o b v i o u s l y b e e n d e s i g n e d t o show

the beggar woman's s t y l e of l i v i n g i n a f a v o r a b l e l i g h t when com-

pared t o the s t y l e of l i v i n g e x h i b i t e d by other families there.

Their life-style as beggars i n a world outdoors has meant t h e y are

perfectly suited f o r t h e communal s t y l e of l i v i n g i n the shelter

without " r o o f s and w a l l s . " In unison w i t h the "old friend" in

part one who e x p r e s s e d contempt f o r r o o f s and w a l l s w h i c h s h u t o f f

people from each other, the n a r r a t o r ' s tone i n part two reveals

a distaste f o r t h o s e who attempt to duplicate their lives prior

to the earthquake by e s t a b l i s h i n g b a r r i e r s between t h e m s e l v e s and

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others at the school. The b e g g a r woman's f a m i l y are considerate

of o t h e r s a n d show no d e s i r e t o s e a l t h e m s e l v e s o f f from t h e r e s t

of them.

Extolling the virtues of a class of people normally berated

by society i s b u t one example i n " S o r a " o f t h e n a r r a t o r t a k i n g a

position counter t o popular moral views. Another episode i nthe

s t o r y which s i m i l a r l y finds t h e n a r r a t o r a d m i r i n g p e o p l e who a r e

usually c a s t a s u n a c c e p t a b l e members o f s o c i e t y takes place i n

part three. I t involves the story o f b r o t h e r s who by p r o f e s s i o n

are artisans. They h a v e b e e n a s o u r c e o f h a p p i n e s s at the school

with their good-natured concern f o r the welfare of t h e i r fellow

members i n t h e s h e l t e r . Their cheerful demeanor i n t h e m i d s t o f

the chaotic situation caused by t h e e a r t h q u a k e allows acceptance

of minor t r a n s g r e s s i o n s they commit s u c h as s t e a l i n g umeboshi

(Japanese pickled plums) f r o m t h e s c h o o l g a r d e n at night. When

t h e b r o t h e r s a r e a r r e s t e d by p o l i c e on g a m b l i n g charges, the

narrator explains that t h e y were m i s s e d at the shelter.

What Kawabata h a s s e t o u t t o do i n much o f p a r t s two a n d t h r e e

of "Sora" i s t o provide through episodes such as t h o s e o f t h e

beggar woman a n d t h e b r o t h e r s p a r t i c u l a r e x a m p l e s o f an approach

to l i v i n g w h i c h m i r r o r t h e p o i n t s made by t h e " o l d f r i e n d " i n

part one. The s t o r i e s o f t h e beggar woman a n d t h e b r o t h e r s c a n

be t a k e n as p a r a b l e s o f t h e t h e s i s p r e s e n t e d by t h e f r i e n d . In

part one, t h e o l d f r i e n d found a p p e a l i n g a w o r l d without "roofs

and w a l l s " and a s s o c i a t e d t h i s state with the disappearance of the

concepts o f "good" and " e v i l . " He f u r t h e r associated these

conditions with a "primitive" time f r e e o f human m o r a l i t y and t h e

city. The b e g g a r woman a n d h e r f a m i l y , and t h e b r o t h e r s r e p r e s e n t

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i d e a l members o f t h i s w o r l d f r e e of " r o o f s and w a l l s " and imposed

concepts o f good and evil.

To give these ideas presented i n "Sora" wider perspective,

it i s u s e f u l t o r e t u r n t o , and e x p a n d on, some o f t h e p o i n t s I

made i n c h a p t e r one of t h i s thesis on the significance of the

oneness of the s o u n d o f u r i n e and the sound o f c l e a r water of a

valley stream found i n " J u r o k u s a i no nikki." I wrote t h a t by

e x p r e s s i n g a oneness o f the s o u n d s , Kawabata had shown a "primitive"

or p r e - r a t i o n a l a b i l i t y t o d i s c o v e r b e a u t y i n what w o u l d custom-

arily a p p e a r t o be an unlikely situation. This a b i l i t y indicated

to me t h a t Kawabata p o s s e s s e d a "primitive" artistic sensibility

a d m i r e d by Motoori N o r i n a g a . t contempt f o r "unnatural" moral

percepts was then examined i n c o n n e c t i o n with Shinto. I n Makoto

Ueda's c h a p t e r titled "Shintoism and the Theory of L i t e r a t u r e " in

his book L i t e r a t u r e and Art Theories i n Japan, the scholar repro-

d u c e s words by Norinaga on how S h i n t o views the concepts of "good"

and "evil." The f o l l o w i n g q u o t a t i o n taken f r o m Ueda's book links

Norinaga's theory of l i t e r a t u r e with Shinto:

" U n l i k e C o n f u c i a n i s m o r Buddhism, S h i n t o i s m d o e s
n o t i n d u l g e i n any o f t h e n o i s y d e b a t e s o v e r Good
a n d E v i l , o r o v e r R i g h t and Wrong," Norinaga says
" I t i s a l l - i n c l u s i v e , b o u n t i f u l , and g r a c i o u s —
e x a c t l y what p o e t r y aims a t . " In s h o r t , l i t e r a t u r e
h e l p s ^ o n e t o r e t u r n t o b a s i c h u m a n i t y , as S h i n t o i s m
does.

The stories o f t h e b e g g a r woman and her f a m i l y and the brothers

in "Sora" represent parables o f t h e d o c t r i n e expounded by the "old

friend" i n p a r t one. The "old friend" i n t u r n c o u l d be taken as

a spokesman f o r N o r i n a g a ' s interpretation of a Shinto attitude

towards "good" and "evil."

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A further c o n n e c t i o n I made w i t h Kawabata's o n e n e s s o f t h e

s o u n d o f w a t e r a n d S h i n t o i n c h a p t e r one was w i t h one o f t h e

aspects of Shinto that i t s h a r e s w i t h Buddhism. Both S h i n t o and

Mahayana B u d d h i s m b e l i e v e i n t h e oneness o f a l l c r e a t i o n . The

p a n t h e i s t i c world view s e t o u t by t h e " o l d f r i e n d " i n p a r t one

makes i t a l l t h e more c l e a r t h a t t h e man's i d e a s f a l l into line

with Shinto thinking. There was one f e a t u r e o f B u d d h i s t metem-

psychosis identified by t h e " o l d f r i e n d " as o f u t i l i t a r i a n value

to priests i n their teachings. I t was g i v e n a s t h e i d e a t h a t i f

one hoped "to ride on a l o t u s i n a future l i f e one must perform

good d e e d s i n t h i s life." The a t t a c h i n g o f " m o r a l " strings to a

p a n t h e i s t i c world view o b v i o u s l y runs c o u n t e r t o an " a m o r a l " Shinto

p a n t h e i s t i c world view. The " o l d f r i e n d " i n "Sora" doesn't expli-

citly express d i s a p p r o v a l of t h i s moral aspect found i n Buddhist

metempsychosis, but the f i r s t - p e r s o n n a r r a t o r i n Kawabata's b e s t

work on m e t e m p s y c h o s i s a n d t h e o n e n e s s o f c r e a t i o n , Tatsue o f

" L y r i c Poem," s a y s e l o q u e n t l y what t h e f r i e n d implies:

The B u d d h i s t d o c t r i n e o f t r a n s m i g r a t i o n c a n
a l s o be t a k e n a s a s y m b o l o f m o r a l l i f e i n t h i s
world. T h a t a hawk s h o u l d be r e b o r n a s a man,
o r a man a s a b u t t e r f l y o r as a Buddha, i s t h o u g h t
t o be i n r e t r i b u t i o n f o r c o n d u c t i n t h e p r e s e n t
life.

T h i s way o f t h i n k i n g i s a s t a i n on an o t h e r -
wise p l e a s i n g l y r i c poem.5

The final episode i n "Sora" c e n t e r s on t h e i n d i v i d u a l whose

name h a s most o f t e n s l i p p e d i n a n d o u t o f t h e p a g e s o f t h e work,

the g i r l Ohana. Her s t o r y t o o reads like a parable t o the thesis

found i n p a r t one. She g i v e s h e r l o v e i n a most " e x p a n s i v e and

f r e e " way. How s h e began a r e l a t i o n s h i p w i t h a n a m e l e s s man i s

d e s c r i b e d near t h e end o f p a r t two i n t h e f o l l o w i n g way: " I t was

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as i f t h e man h a d b e e n b l o w n away i n a v i o l e n t storm one n i g h t and

had chanced to fall on t o p o f Ohana." (p.109)

The final episode i n t h e work b e g i n s immediately upon c o n c l u -

sion of the story of the artisan brothers. Ohana i s f o u n d listen-

ing t o the a c t i v i t y of school g i r l s who a r e o n t o p o f t h e r o o f .

Mixed w i t h r e c o l l e c t i o n s o f h e r own e l e m e n t a r y school years i sa

momentary f e e l i n g of self-reproach. She r e a l i z e s that her liason

with a man h a d t a k e n p l a c e on t h e o u t l o o k t o w e r o f t h e r o o f near

where t h e g i r l s were s k e t c h i n g . Q u i c k l y Ohana's strong-minded

nature allows her t o disparage the g i r l s and i n s o d o i n g s h e

vanquishes h e r thoughts of self-reproach.

The n a r r a t o r t a k e s up how Ohana h a s been r e v i t a l i z e d after

the earthquake. We r e a d t h a t w i t h o u t the least thought, she had

g i v e n up h e r p u r i t y and i t had brought h e r body t o l i f e again. The

n a r r a t o r goes on t o s a y t h a t this had i n s p i r e d h e r t o wash o f f t h e

sweat a n d g r i m e h e r body h a d a c c u m u l a t e d s i n c e t h e earthquake and

to p u t on new u n d e r w e a r . In the evening after t h e l i g h t s went o u t ,

her l o v e became a s e x p a n s i v e and f r e e as t h e " o l d f r i e n d " outlined

in his discourse. Although she d e e p l y l o v e d b u t one o f t h e men i n

the s h e l t e r , s h e gave h e r s e l f freely t o any man who d e s i r e d h e r .

She was p l e a s e d w i t h h e r s e l f - i m a g e a s a l i b e r a t e d woman. The r e d

lines o f the towels a r e here explicitly said t o have evoked i n

Ohana a s e n s e of rejuvenation. A new w o r l d h a d opened up f o r t h e

girl a n d Ohana i s s a i d t o have b e e n made aware t h a t she had

"obtained a p a i r o f young wings w i t h which she c o u l d t a k e flight."

(p.114)

W i t h Ohana r e c e i v i n g h e r m e t a p h o r i c a l w i n g s , t h e author has

established a l i n k with t h e opening and f i n a l passages i n "Sora."

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The l i n e which began t h e s h o r t story, "The autumn s k y was clear

to t h e h e i g h t s , " g a v e t h e work an upward d i r e c t i o n . The l o c a t i o n

of the f i n a l scene i n "Sora" i s i d e n t i c a l t o the beginning of the

work. There a r e however two i m p o r t a n t fundamental differences:

it i s night and n o t t h e daytime o f the opening scene; and, t h e

two c h a r a c t e r s here a r e s i l e n t l y l o o k i n g up t o t h e s k y and n o t

garrulously l o o k i n g down on h u m a n i t y a s t h e two men a r e i n t h e

opening scene.

As I've p o i n t e d out s e v e r a l times a l r e a d y , m a n i f e s t a t i o n s

of fire have i n d i c a t e d s i n g u l a r moments o f a e s t h e t i c appreciation

of a d i v i n e n a t u r e i n t h e e a r l y w o r k s o f Kawabata. The m a n i f e s t a -

tions of f i r e found i n t h e ending o f "Sora" a r e unique. They a r e

the two l i g h t s o f an a i r s h i p w h i c h flies twenty-four hours a day

o v e r Tokyo. A sound i n t h e s k y announces t h e appearance of the

airship. The two l i g h t s o f t h e a i r s h i p a r e r e d and b l u e . Within

this ethereal setting, the p r i s t i n e beauty o f Ohana s h i n e s forth:

As i f h e r e y e s were washed i n c l e a r w a t e r ,
Ohana f u l l y s t r e t c h e d t h e l i n e o f h e r b e a u t i f u l
t h r o a t a n d l o o k e d up a t t h e l i g h t s . Her eyes
i n s t a n t l y looked f a r o f f t o the east. At that
moment, t h e b l u e l i g h t s u d d e n l y f e l l and d i s -
appeared from t h e n i g h t sky. In t h e midst o f
t h i s s u r p r i s e , t h e r e d l i g h t was h i d d e n b y a
r a i n c l o u d a n d t h e sound was gone f r o m t h e
night turned cloudy.

Ohana f e l t t h a t s h e was a l o n e on t o p o f
the t a l l t o w e r , a n d i t seemed t o h e r t h a t h e r
h e a r t h a d gone a n d j o i n e d t h e l i g h t s t h a t move
i n t h e s k y . A p p a r e n t l y remembering f o r t h e
f i r s t t i m e t h a t a man was n e x t t o h e r , s h e
dropped h e r head (kushi o o t o s h i t e % y& L
l i t e r a l l y , " d r o p p e d h e r comb") t o h i s c h e s t
and c r i e d , (p.115)

The underlying pristine n a t u r e o f Ohana h a s been metaphori-

cally i d e n t i f i e d when " h e r h e a r t h a d gone a n d j o i n e d the l i g h t s

t h a t move i n t h e s k y . " I n t h e end though, the author finishes

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off " S o r a " i n t h e same "downbeat" manner he showed i n " S h o k o n s a i

ikkei" and "Kagaribi."

It's probably just coincidence, but i t ' s an intriguing

t h o u g h t t h a t Kawabata's word c h o i c e o f Ohana's k u s h i (comb) dropp-

i n g t o t h e man's c h e s t i n t h e downward movement w h i c h ends "Sora"

was s e l e c t e d a s an a l l u s i o n t o the S h i n t o term kushi-mitama.

Kushi-mitama i s t h e waning s i d e and s a k i - m i t a m a t h e waxing side

of a d i a l e c t i c a l pairing s e e n as a s p e c t s o f musubi, a synthesizing

power w h i c h h a r m o n i z e s t h e w a x i n g and w a n i n g of cosmic forces/

When h e r h e a d fell t o t h e man's c h e s t , Ohana c r i e d . Her spiritual

p u r i t y may remain unstained, but her p h y s i c a l p u r i t y has gone

forever.

About a year after " S o r a n i ugoku h i , " Kawabata h a d h i s s h o r t

story " K a e r u 5 j 5 j£l 1"i % ("Frog Paradise'9 published i n the March,

1925 i s s u e o f Bunqei jidai. The m a t e r i a l f o r the short story

comes f r o m a B u d d h i s t f o l k tale. The t o n e o f t h e work i s s a t i r i c a l .

Why Kawabata c h o s e t o w r i t e h i s own satirical version of the tale

is q u i t e u n d e r s t a n d a b l e when one k e e p s " S o r a " i n mind. "Kaeru" i s

the t a l e o f how a mother's self-serving belief i n the "moral"

retribution side o f B u d d h i s t metempsychosis contributes t o the

tragic, y e t humorous, e n d o f h e r s o n Jizaemon.

Jizaemon's f a t h e r was t h e headman o f h i s v i l l a g e , and t h e s o n

s u c c e e d s t o t h e p o s i t i o n when h i s f a t h e r d i e s . One day two orphan-

ed s i s t e r s p a s s by t h e h o u s e on a p i l g r i m a g e . The sixteen-year-

old sister Oshizu i s eventually t a k e n i n by J i z a e m o n t o do work i n

t h e house. H e r w i l l i n g n e s s t o a c c e p t t h e blame f o r t r o u b l e she

didn't actually cause t o u c h e s t h e h e a r t o f J i z a e m o n and h i s s e n i l e

mother. Her goodness would seem t o be a m a t c h f o r J i z a e m o n who

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shows g r e a t filial d e v o t i o n t o h i s mother.

T h i n g s b e g i n t o go w r o n g a t t h e home when t h e m o t h e r discovers

t h a t O s h i z u i s f i v e months p r e g n a n t . Through a misunderstanding

on J i z a e m o n ' s part, t h e m o t h e r comes t o b e l i e v e t h a t h e r s o n i s

t h e f a t h e r o f O s h i z u ' s baby and t h e two are married. The real

f a t h e r o f t h e boy Oshizu gives b i r t h t o i s a n e ' e r - d o - w e l l named

S h i n s u k e who i s constantly on t h e move as a g a r d e n e r . When he

returns t o the v i l l a g e the f o l l o w i n g year, Oshizu i s unable to

resist h i s advances. She hands o v e r t h e baby t o a m e s s e n g e r t o

t a k e t o S h i n s u k e i n h o p e s t h a t he w i l l t a k e c a r e o f t h e boy, and

t h e n she asks f o r g i v e n e s s f o r her s i n s b e f o r e drowning herself in

a well.

The tale jumps a h e a d t o obon s e a s o n e i g h t e e n y e a r s later.

Jizaemon i s nearing f i f t y and t h e m o t h e r e i g h t y . On the fifteenth,

t h e m o t h e r had d r e a m t o f d y i n g and g o i n g t o p a r a d i s e . I t was a

welcome dream. She had r i d d e n on a l a r g e lotus flower to heaven.

Excitedly she had told Jizaemon that the rope t o the l o t u s f l o w e r

was p u l l e d by frogs. P a r a d i s e was filled with frogs. The mother

gets Jizaemon t o g a t h e r up a l l t h e f r o g s i n the v i l l a g e and s e t

them f r e e i n t h e i r g a r d e n pond; however, t h e s o u n d of the frogs

c r o a k i n g on t h e n i g h t of the s i x t e e n t h i s more t h a n t h e m o t h e r can

stand. She asks Jizaemon t o go o u t and q u i e t e n t h e n o i s y frogs so

she c a n sleep.

F o l l o w i n g h i s mother's wishes this t i m e p r o v e s t o be the

dutiful son's undoing. The s o n o f O s h i z u and S h i n s u k e comes on

the scene, accuses Jizaemon of k i l l i n g h i s mother; and c a s t s him

i n t o t h e pond. Festival d a n c e r s p a s s n e a r t h e p o n d and discover

Jizaemon's dead body i n t h e w a t e r . The following quotation comes

after the dancers c a r r y t h e o l d mother t o t h e pond:

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One o f t h e y o u n g men s p o k e .
"What h a p p e n e d ? It's f u l l of frogs! "
" I t ' s j u s t l i k e F r o g P a r a d i s e 1"
"Frog Paradise!"
"Frog Paradise!"
The y o u n g men a n d women c h a n t e d i n u n i s o n .
J i z a e m o n was f l o a t i n g on t o p o f a wave o f
frogs. E v e n on t o p o f t h e d e a d body c o u n t l e s s -
f r o g s s a t l i n e d up t r i u m p h a n t l y i n a row. (p.130)

Preceded and f o l l o w e d by s e v e r a l s h o u t s o f " o i " ("hey") a r e

the o l d woman's w o r d s e x c l a i m i n g t h a t h e r dream h a d come t r u e .

"Kaeru 5 j 5 " i s a lightweight s t o r y when compared w i t h other

Kawabata l i t e r a r y w o r k s , b u t an e f f e c t i v e use o f t e r s e l i n e s and

spoken c o u n t r y dialect make t h i s humorous t a l e of Buddhist metem-

psychosis enjoyable reading.

A short s t o r y o f Kawabata's p u b l i s h e d later i n 1925 i s a n y t h i n g

but lightweight. "Shiroi mangetsu" o >^ $ ("A W h i t e Full

Moon") i s a b u s y work f i l l e d with internal and e x t e r n a l literary

reverberations.

It i s written i n the first-person n a r r a t i v e , and t h e " I " o f

the s t o r y r e m i n d s one o f t h e c h i e f m a l e c h a r a c t e r s i n both earlier

and l a t e r Kawabata l i t e r a t u r e . Several times i n t h e second part

of the f i v e parts w h i c h make up t h e s t o r y h i s s e n s e o f l o n e l i n e s s

is directly expressed. This sense o f l o n e l i n e s s i n t h e male

protagonist r e a c h e s b a c k t o t h e " I " o f Kawabata's "nikki." The

vocation of the " I " i n "Shiroi" i s n o t made c l e a r . This i s

similar t o male h e r o e s f o u n d i n l a t e r Kawabata l i t e r a t u r e where

e i t h e r t h e man's v o c a t i o n i s not given o r i t ' s o f no r e l e v a n c e to

the work anyway. What t h e male h e r o does t o e a r n a l i v i n g holds

little f i c t i o n a l interest f o r the author.

The "I" of "Shiroi" h a s come t o a h o t s p r i n g s resort to

 92

recuperate from tuberculosis. The n a t u r a l surroundings of the

region a r e i n s t r u m e n t a l i n h i s hopes f o r p h y s i c a l recovery. There

is c e r t a i n l y more t h a n just physical r e c o v e r y a t work h e r e though.

Just as we find i n Plater Kawabata s t o r i e s such as " I z u no odoriko"

and Yukiquni, a travel or s o j o u r n i n the country i s taken for

spiritual rejuvenation. Indeed, the focus of "Shiroi" i s more

spiritual than physical.

As we also find i n " I z u no o d o r i k o " and Yukiquni, nature alone

is not sufficient t o b r i n g about s p i r i t u a l r e j u v e n a t i o n f o r the

male c h a r a c t e r . He must come i n c o n t a c t w i t h a girl of p u r i t y to

h e l p c l e a n s e him of h i s p h y s i c a l or s p i r i t u a l pollution. In "Izu

no odoriko" i t i s the dancer who performs this s e r v i c e and in

Yukiquni i t i s Komako and Yoko. In "Shiroi," the g i r l who plays

this role i s the seventeen-year-old Onatsu, a girl the approximate

age o f most o f t h e girls we've come a c r o s s i n e a r l i e r stories.

She belongs t o the line of characters i n the author's literature

that I outlined i n the first chapter. Employed as a nurse by the

"I," she i s one more example o f t h e p u r e and self-sacrificing

"nurses" who devote themselves t o s e r v i n g the needs o f a i l i n g or

d y i n g men i n Kawabata's w o r k s . The first example i s "Bonbon" i n

the "nikki" and a l a t e r example i s Yoko i n Y u k i q u n i who acts as

a nurse t o the dying Yukio. The e t h e r e a l nature of the mysterious

Y5ko i s a d e p t l y h a n d l e d by Kawabata i n how he limits his des-

cription of her: the only p h y s i c a l f e a t u r e d e s c r i b e d by the author

is her strangely beautiful eyes. Onatsu i s e q u a l l y mysterious and

ethereal; and l i k e Yoko, t h e a u t h o r limits his physical descrip-

tion o f her t o her eyes. In the c e l e b r a t e d t r a i n window m i r r o r

scene at the beginning of Yukiquni, one o f t h e e y e s o f Y5ko a c t s

 93

like a mirror within a mirror. I t h i n k t h a t Kawabata has the eye

o f YSko's o p e r a t e i n much t h e same manner K i n y a T s u r u t a suggests

the t r a i n window d o e s . Her eye i s a "translucent mirror" which

7

merges t h e snow c o u n t r y world with the c e l e s t i a l world. Super-

i m p o s e d on the "translucent mirror" that i s Y o k o ' s eye (her face

is s a i d t o appear t r a n s l u c e n t as w e l l ) i s a ray of light graph-

ically symbolizing the f i r e - w o r l d of heaven.

Onatsu's eyes are e v e n more m y s t e r i o u s t h a n Y 5 k o ' s . In fact,

they are the subject of the opening l i n e o f t h e work: "The older

sister's eyes are c l e a r , but the younger s i s t e r ' s eyes are muddy

(niqotte iru)." (p.135) An explanation f o r the younger sister

Onatsu's m i s f o r t u n e i s t h a t she has inherited the malady from

her father. As I've often pointed out, things of beauty have a

habit of being i n contact with mud i n Kawabata's l i t e r a t u r e . The

significance o f mud i n the work as epitomized by the girl's muddy

eyes i s a l l encompassing. The fact that her muddy e y e s a r e said

t o h a v e b e e n c a u s e d by heredity i s a concrete representation in

microcosm of the theme o f t h e short s t o r y : i n both "major and

minor chords" i n the story, the unpleasant consequences of a

parent's p h y s i c a l or s p i r i t u a l legacy i s t h e work's thematic

concern.

I think i f one were t o name t h e c o l o r o f mud, one would say

it was light brown o r y e l l o w . Yellow i s the dominant c o l o r of

the "natural" world found i n the first three parts of "Shiroi."

The muddy c o l o r i n O m i t s u ' s e y e s i s a r e f l e c t i o n of t h i s . The

emblematic o b j e c t which g i v e s t h e work i t s t i t l e , a full moon,

is i n J a p a n e s e c u l t u r e and in this short s t o r y not the color of

white (shiroi) that modifies the full moon i n t h e title but the
 94

c o l o r o f y e l l o w (pp.144, 157). A full moon seems t o be a universal

sign of mysterious happenings, and certainly "Shiroi" is filled

w i t h such happenings. Yellow i s a l s o the c o l o r of s i c k n e s s i n the

work. I n a f l a s h b a c k t o two or three years e a r l i e r found i n p a r t

two, t h e " I " f e a r s p a p e r money he h a s r e c e i v e d from the w i f e of a

friend suffering from t u b e r c u l o s i s might cause him t o c a t c h the

disease. The bills t u r n y e l l o w as he b u r n s them i n h i s h i b a c h i .

The " I " utters an a p o l o g y t o t h e woman, b u t he s a y s he b u r n t t h e

money b e c a u s e h i s f a t h e r h a d d i e d o f t u b e r c u l o s i s . Reverberations

abound i n t h e s t o r y : t h e dead father, the f r i e n d ' s wife, and the

"I" himself a l l suffering from t u b e r c u l o s i s i s one o f t h e more

a c c e p t a b l e examples o f a t e d i o u s number o f r e - e c h o e d images of

characters and e v e n t s i n "Shiroi."

The "translucent mirror" eye o f Onatsu's, l i k e Yoko's, has

the c e l e s t i a l world superimposed over the "natural" world. At

the end o f p a r t two, the " I , " h i s s i s t e r Yaeko, and O n a t s u are

walking i n t h e woods when t h e " I " r e f e r s t o the f u l l moon. The

comment c a u s e s t h e g i r l s t o l o o k up t o t h e e v e n i n g s k y . An

amazing thing takes place:

A t t h a t moment, t h e e y e s o f O n a t s u whose e y e l i d s
p r e s e n t e d a m o r b i d l i n e were m i r a c u l o u s l y s h i n i n g
clearly. The w h i t e f u l l moon o f t h e summer s k y
i n t h e m o u n t a i n d e p t h s was l i g h t l y s u p e r i m p o s e d
on h e r b l a c k p u p i l s , (p.147)

The full moon s u p e r i m p o s e d on O n a t s u ' s eyes i s not the c o l o r of

yellow but the c o l o r o f white, the c o l o r o f purity.

The second l i n e q u o t e d above r e s e m b l e s a line from the train

window m i r r o r s c e n e i n Y u k i q u n i a t t h e moment Y o k o ' s "translucent

m i r r o r eye has a celestial light superimposed on i t w h i c h simult-

a n e o u s l y merges w i t h t h e e v e n i n g m o u n t a i n s o f t h e snow c o u n t r y :
 95

"As i t sent i t s small r a y through the p u p i l o f the g i r l ' s e y e , as

the e y e a n d t h e l i g h t were s u p e r i m p o s e d one on t h e o t h e r , t h e

eye became a w e i r d l y b e a u t i f u l b i t o f p h o s p h o r e s c e n c e on t h e s e a

of e v e n i n g mountains.'^

One f i n d s a correspondence i n Western a p o c a l y p t i c symbolism

and native Japanese b e l i e f s a n d l i t e r a t u r e w i t h t h e moon w h i c h fits

i n t o t h e common o v e r a l l meaning o f f i r e and water found i n their

respective traditions. Northrop Frye says t h a t innocence i n anal-

ogical imagery i s o f t e n associated with chastity. Among t h e f i e r y

b o d i e s o f heaven, i t i s t h e moon w h i c h he s a y s i s most c l o s e l y

associated with the innocent world: "The moon, t h e c o o l e s t a n d

h e n c e most c h a s t e of a l l the fiery heavenly bodies, has a s p e c i a l

9

importance f o r t h i s world." I n h i s book N i h o n j i n no s h i n j o ronri

Q ^/C (T) 'CJ '\% I r o (The S e n t i m e n t L o g i c o f t h e Japanese, 1975)

which centers on t h e r e l a t i o n s h i p between c l e a n n e s s and t h e J a p a n e s e

sense o f beauty, Araki Hiroyuki t a k e s up t h e t r a d i t i o n a l Japanese

adoration o f t h e moon: "The moon was 'clean,' a n d t h e moon was a

symbol o f s p o t l e s s 'clearness'." ^ 1
Araki r e f e r s t o t h e f i r s t few

p a g e s o f Kawabata's N o b e l P r i z e a c c e p t a n c e s p e e c h w h i c h include

the a u t h o r ' s own f e e l i n g s f o r t h e moon. In h i s speech, Kawabata

q u o t e s s e v e r a l poems on t h e moon w r i t t e n by famous J a p a n e s e poet-

priests. The f o l l o w i n g i s K a w a b a t a s i n t e r p r e t a t i o n o f some moon

1

poems w r i t t e n b y Myoe (1173-1232):

S e e i n g t h e moon, he becomes t h e moon, t h e moon
s e e n b y h i m becomes h i m . He s i n k s i n t o n a t u r e ,
becomes one w i t h n a t u r e . The l i g h t o f t h e " c l e a r
heart" o f the p r i e s t , seated i n the meditation
h a l l i n t h e d a r k n e s s b e f o r e t h e dawn, becomes
f o r t h e dawn moon i t s own l i g h t . H

The w h i t e f u l l moon s u p e r i m p o s e d on O n a t s u ' s b l a c k pupils

carries t h e same a n a l o g i c a l i m a g e r y t o be f o u n d i n Kawabata's words

that the "light of the 'clear heart' of the priest...becomes for

t h e dawn moon i t s own light." The pristine beauty of Onatsu has

been c l e a r l y identified a t t h e end o f p a r t two in "Shiroi." She

possesses the p u r i t y the " I " n e e d s t o h e l p c l e a n s e him of h i s

spiritual pollution.

The spiritual pollution he must c l e a n s e h i m s e l f o f r e l a t e s to

unclean thoughts he s h a r e s w i t h h i s s i s t e r Yaeko on t h e t r u t h be-

hind their births. The dramatic t e n s i o n found in "Shiroi" springs

f r o m t h e u n c e r t a i n t y o f who i t was that f a t h e r e d t h e two o f them.

It s h o u l d be recalled that i n Kawabata's e a r l i e r work " S o s h i k i no

meijin," a precedent i s found f o r t h e ambiguous n a t u r e o f human

relationships seen in "Shiroi" and l a t e r works. I t i s part three

of "Shiroi" which e s p e c i a l l y deals with t h i s traumatic uncertainty.

Y a e k o and the " I " a r e j o i n e d by one other s i s t e r born from the

same m o t h e r ; however, h e r father i s probably n e i t h e r the father of

the " I " nor the f a t h e r o f Yaeko. She i s S h i z u e who i s three years

y o u n g e r t h a n Y a e k o who, i n turn, i s t h r e e years younger than the

"I". Shizue i s unaware o f t h e u n c e r t a i n t h o u g h t s the " I " and

Yaeko share about the b i r t h s o f t h e t h r e e o f them. In perhaps

the worst example o f what I f i n d t o be an o v e r u s e of motifs i n

" S h i r o i , " we later learn that Onatsu shares a similar fate with

t h e "Ii.'..' She has two b r o t h e r s born t o the. same f a t h e r as herself,

but the boys a r e c h i l d r e n of a d i f f e r e n t mother than h e r own.

Y a e k o i s an e x t e n s i o n o f t h e free s p i r i t e d woman Ohana i n

"Sora." She s h a r e s w i t h Ohana an "expansive and free" attitude

t o w a r d s s e x u a l r e l a t i o n s w h i c h c a n be inferred from her pet say-

ing: "Wipe away t h e n o t i o n o f i n d i v i d u a l e x i s t e n c e . " (p.148) The

philosophical import of t h i s s a y i n g as i t i s e x p l a i n e d by t h e " I "

 97

comes down t o t h e i d e a o f t h e o n e n e s s o f a l l c r e a t i o n expressed

in "Sora." Yaeko's p r e s e n c e i n t h e work a c t s a t t i m e s as a

painful reminder to the " I " o f the immoral n a t u r e o f their

b r o t h e r and s i s t e r background. Moreover, h e r amoral sexual atti-

tude l e a v e s open t h e p o s s i b i l i t y o f an incestuous relationship

b e t w e e n them. One f e a t u r e of Yaeko s p e r s o n a l i t y not r e a l l y

1
seen

i n Ohana o f " S o r a " i s a sense o f j e a l o u s y t o w a r d s o t h e r women. She

makes r u d e comments a b o u t Onatsu behind the g i r l ' s b a c k , and she

has d e v i o u s l y o r c h e s t r a t e d the l i f e o f her younger s i s t e r Shizue.

F o r example, Yaeko managed t o b r i n g about the marriage of Shizue

t o a former b o y f r i e n d she had decided to discard.

There i s one more u n i q u e a s p e c t o f Y a e k o t h a t makes one recall

the ghost of "Chiyo" i n Kawabata's e a r l y work o f t h e same name.

The " I " i s c o n v i n c e d t h a t Yaeko has s i n i s t e r powers t h r o u g h which

she unwittingly o r n o t has inflicted g r i e v o u s harm t o h i m s e l f and

Shizue. The " I " b e l i e v e s t h a t b o t h t h e s u i c i d e o f S h i zue and h i s

subsequent necessary admission t o t h e h o s p i t a l were a r e s u l t of

Yaeko's powers: "The u n s e e n power o f Y a e k o d i d t h i s t o me. It

was this same u n s e e n power t h a t l e d Shizue t o s u i c i d e . It's

f r i g h t e n i n g because Y a e k o p o s s e s s e s t h i s power and w o r k s these

deeds w i t h o u t h e r b e i n g aware o f i t . " (p.170)

The c l o s e r one analyzes " S h i r o i , " t h e more a p p a r e n t i t becomes

that t h e work r e a d s like something of a b l u e p r i n t f o r Kawabata's

l a t e r n o v e l Sembazuru. Sembazuru, like "Shiroi," i s the story of

the s p i r i t u a l quest o f a y o u n g man to cleanse himself of the

legacy of a parent's i l l i c i t sexual relationships. A pristine

figure i n both, Mrs. O t a i n Sembazuru and S h i z u e i n " S h i r o i , " is

i n d u c e d t o commit s u i c i d e t h r o u g h the machinations of a j e a l o u s

 98

woman. T h a t j e a l o u s woman, C h i k a k o i n Sembazuru a n d Y a e k o i n

"Shiroi," has a v e n g e f u l s p i r i t capable o f taking possession o f

p e o p l e r e m i n i s c e n t o f Lady RokujS i n The T a l e o f G e n j i . Another

pristine figure, Fumiko i n Sembazuru a n d O n a t s u i n "Shiroi,"

h e l p s t h e y o u n g man c l e a n s e h i m s e l f o f t h e s p i r i t u a l pollution

originally caused by h i s p a r e n t .

It i s i n the f i f t h and f i n a l part of "Shiroi" that Shizue

succeeds i n spiritually c l e a n s i n g t h e " I . " Throughout the f i n a l

part, life i s b a l a n c e d w i t h death and p u r i t y . Images o f l i f e

i n c l u d e t h e nanten from which a tree frog, a symbol o f renewed

life with i t s bright green c o l o r , jumps a n d l a n d s on t h e s h o u l d e r

of the " I . " The " I " l a t e r i n part five describes Shizue being

"like t h e b e r r i e s o f t h e r e d nanten which had f a l l e n on t h e autumn

of his illness." (p.167) In the midst o f Onatsu's recollections

of h e r dream o f h e r d e a t h , she t r i e s t o relate the sighting of

pure redirises i n h e r dream t o r e a l i t y . F o l l o w i n g t h e nanten

and t r e e f r o g images o f l i f e i n the opening lines of part five,

Kawabata d e s c r i b e s t h e s t o n e s o f t h e r i v e r b e d as h a v i n g t u r n e d

the "luster o f autumn," t h e c o l o r w h i t e . W h i t e i s t h e c o l o r we

h a v e come t o a s s o c i a t e w i t h d e a t h a n d p u r i t y i n Kawabata's litera-

ture. I n Onatsu's dream, t h e l e a v e s o f t h e n a n t e n and t h e white

of snow a r e merged: "Then t h e snow o f t h e t r e e ' s l e a v e s began

falling." (p.172)

The final lines of "Shiroi" g i v e t o t h e work an u n q u a l i f i e d

positive ending which e l u d e d t h e c h a r a c t e r s i n "Shokonsai

ikkei," "Kagaribi," a n d " S o r a n i ugoku h i . " The r e a s o n f o r t h e

positive ending i s easy t o e x p l a i n : through t o the f i n a l lines

of the f i f t h and l a s t part of "Shiroi," life on one s i d e a n d

 99

death and purity on t h e o t h e r have been i n p e r f e c t balance;

reality and dream h a v e merged. Here are those final lines:

W h i l e f r i g h t e n e d by t h e p r e s e n t i m e n t o f two
d e a t h s , I h e l d O n a t s u i n an a t t e m p t t o b r i n g
b a c k X ^ h e w o r l d o f r e a l i t y t h i s g i r l who d i d n ' t
a p p e a r t o be l i v i n g i n a w o r l d o f r e a l i t y .
I was l i s t e n i n g t o s o u n d s f l o w i n g t o t h e
b o t t o m o f t h e s i l e n c e , (p.174)

In " S o r a , " when t h e d i v i n e lights d i s a p p e a r from the sky, the

sound o f t h e s e lights c e a s e s t o be h e a r d . Sound and silence are

separate. In the l a s t line of " S h i r o i , " s o u n d and silence merge.

In c l o s i n g my analysis o f t h e work, i t w o u l d be remiss of me

to f a i l t o mention two Japanese s c h o l a r s who have, i n the scope

of special studies they've done on Kawabata's l i t e r a t u r e , analyzed

"Shiroi." One o f them i s H a d o r i T e t s u y a . I n an article on the

i n f l u e n c e o f s p i r i t u a l i s m on Kawabata, he classifies "Shiroi" as

the first literary p i e c e i n w h i c h t h e a u t h o r has clearly borrowed

ideas from r e a d i n g s he h a d begun d o i n g on spiritualism in 1925.^

Kawabata endows O n a t s u w i t h powers o f t e l e s t h e s i a and presentiment;

and, as I p o i n t e d out, t h e a u t h o r g i v e s Yaeko t h e a b i l i t y to take

spirit possession of others. The other scholar i s Takeda Katsuhiko.

In a book w h i c h e x a m i n e s Kawabata's use of b i b l i c a l quotations i n

his literature, T a k e d a l o o k s a t one of the f i r s t times the author

13

has introduced a b i b l i c a l quotation i n his f i c t i o n . The quota-

tion i s actually an " a m a l g a m a t i o n " o f two q u o t a t i o n s from Proverbs:

"My son, f o r s a k e n o t t h y mother, f o r thou w i l t lose the l i g h t of

the lamp i n t h e m i d s t o f a deep d a r k n e s s . " (p.149) Onatsu uses the

quotation f a c e t i o u s l y when r e f e r r i n g t o h e r m o t h e r ' s wanton ways.

A year before the p u b l i c a t i o n o f " S h i r o i m a n g e t s u , " Kawabata

had h i s main c o n t r i b u t i o n t o t h e p l a t f o r m o f t h e l i t e r a r y school

he h a d become a member o f , t h e S h i n k a n k a k u h a ("Neo-Perceptionist

 100

School"), p u b l i s h e d i n the January, 1925 i s s u e of Bunqei jidai.

It was an e s s a y t i t l e d " S h i n s h i n s a k k a no shinkeiko kaisetsu"

%*T IP l£ O % ^ tVS ft) %%t*t ("The New Tendency o f t h e Avant-

Garde W r i t e r s " ) . I n t h e e s s a y , Kawabata c a l l e d f o r new expression

and style i n the Japanese n o v e l , and he e m p h a s i z e d the importance

of sense p e r c e p t i o n f o r the n o v e l i s t . As w i t h t h e s c h o o l itself,

the author r e l i e d on i m p o r t e d concepts. F o r example, t h e final

section o f t h e e s s a y i s d e v o t e d t o Kawabata's i n t e r p r e t a t i o n of

Dadaism. Masao M i y o s h i h a s s u m m a r i z e d t h e m e a n i n g o f a new lang-

uage Kawabata o u t l i n e s i n the essay:

He w o u l d h a v e a l a n g u a g e f o r t h e n o v e l t h a t
would r e f l e c t immediately the i n c h o a t e s t a t e
o f a man's t h o u g h t s , f e e l i n g s , and s e n s o r y
e x p e r i e n c e . . . . I n such a language, the s e e r i s
not y e t s e p a r a t e d from t h e seen, t h e s p e a k e r
from t h e spoken. To i l l u s t r a t e h i s p o i n t ,
Kawabata p r o v i d e s a sample s e n t e n c e o r two
("My e y e s were r e d r o s e s " as p r e f e r a b l e t o
"My e y e s saw r e d r o s e s " ) , b u t u n f o r t u n a t e l y
t h i s t e n d s t o muddle t h e d i s c u s s i o n more t h a n
clarify it.14

As f i r s t best exemplified i n Kawabata's s h o r t story " A o i umi kuroi

umi" % ^ \.> Of ("Blue Sea, B l a c k Sea") p u b l i s h e d i n the

August, 1925 issue of Bunqei jidai, the i n f l u e n c e o f Neo-Percep-

t i o n i s m on Kawabata's l i t e r a t u r e w o u l d be clearly recognizable

for the f o l l o w i n g ten years.

"Aoi" i s pure fantasy. The work i s d i v i d e d i n t o two sections

given the t i t l e s "The First Testament" and "The Second Testament."

It i s written i n the f i r s t - p e r s o n n a r r a t i v e , a first-person who

successfully commits s u i c i d e w i t h a y o u n g woman named

Rikako. The first section deals with events p r i o r t o the double

suicide, and the second section f o c u s e s on t h e s u i c i d e itself.

 101

Most o f t h e e a r l i e r Kawabata m o t i f s , images, and characters

are b o u n t i f u l l y found i n "Aoi." In f a c t , so much so t h a t i t is

beyond the scope of t h i s t h e s i s t o attempt a comprehensive analysis

of the work. Floral symbols o f metempsychosis a r e abundant i n "Aoi."

The following is a list of the f l o r a mentioned i n the work; i n

parentheses i s the number o f t i m e s t h e flora appears: a reed (10),

peony (2), w i s t e r i a (1), d a n d e l i o n (4), banana p l a n t (3), maple

(1), dahlia (2), w i l d chrysanthemum (2). I t i s with the image of

the wild chrysanthemum t h a t "Aoi" comes t o a c l o s e . As I discussed

in the first chapter, the chrysanthemum o c c u p i e s a s p e c i a l p o s i t i o n

in the works o f Kawabata. I t seems t o be the flower that the author

especially likes to associate w i t h s p i r i t u a l i s m and reincarnation.

The following i s the final line i n "Aoi": "In loving a wild

chrysanthemum, I think i t w o u l d be unnecessary to rewrite this

t e s t a m e n t e v e n t h o u g h one was dead atop the waves o f a wild

chrysanthemum f a n t a s y . " (p.195) The wild chrysanthemum represents

the b e a u t y and h a p p i n e s s w h i c h comes w i t h a t r u s t i n m e t e m p s y c h o s i s

and the oneness of creation.

Life i s c e r t a i n l y mixed w i t h death i n " A o i " ; however, no

m a t t e r how much o f t h e life force f i n d s i t s way i n t o the pages

of the testaments, the theme o f "Aoi" i s b a s i c a l l y a theme of

death. Kawabata i s t r u e to form: white, the c o l o r he used to

symbolize d e a t h and purity, i s the c o l o r most o f t e n found i n the

work.

The motifs, images, and characters deviate only slightly

f r o m e a r l i e r Kawabata w o r k s , b u t the kind of experimenting with

l a n g u a g e a d v o c a t e d by the author i n h i s essay i s c l e a r l y being

attempted i n "Aoi." The following l i n e s i n the work resemble

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the
c l o s e l y Kawabata's "My eyes
A
were r e d r o s e s " s a m p l e s e n t e n c e i n the

essay:"'Look at the black sea. B e c a u s e I'm looking at the black

sea, I am the black sea.(p.189)

Besides t h i s e x p e r i m e n t i n g w i t h language, Kawabata f i l l s "Aoi"

w i t h sudden t r a n s i t i o n s of time and space (and c h a r a c t e r s ) d e t e c t e d

as w e l l i n the e a r l i e r "Sora n i ugoku h i . " The transitions fre-

quently f o l l o w so r a p i d l y and a r e so s t a r t l i n g that one i s tempted

t o accuse Kawabata o f r e l y i n g t o o much on n o v e l t y i n " A o i " and not

enough on a traditional "renqa technique of writing" which would

have brought the t r a n s i t i o n s about i n a more " o r g a n i c " way.

An important consideration t o k e e p i n mind a b o u t why the Neo-

Perceptionist S c h o o l came i n t o e x i s t e n c e i s t o s e e i t as a reaction

to other l i t e r a r y movements t h a t were i n vogue i n J a p a n a t the

time. The purpose of the formation of the school, p a r t i c u l a r l y

in Kawabata's c a s e , c a n be t h o u g h t o f more a s a means o f protect-

i n g Japanese literary traditions from imported European models

s u c h a s n a t u r a l i s m and p r o l e t a r i a n literature than i t was a means

o f b r i n g i n g i n n o v a t i o n i n t o modern J a p a n e s e literature. Although

members o f t h e movement t h e m s e l v e s l o o k e d t o European models such

as s u r r e a l i s m for their "new" language o f t h e n o v e l , what they

were a d v o c a t i n g was a language not very d i f f e r e n t from traditional

haiku. The next chapter, i n fact, compares Kawabata w i t h Japan',s

most famous h a i k u p o e t , Matsuo Bash5.

 I03
A TRAVEL DIARY: "IZU NO ODORIKO"

CHAPTER IV

It i s perhaps a l i t t l e ironic t h a t K a w a b a t a s r e p u t a t i o n as
1
a

w r i t e r was firmly established with " I z u no odoriko"

("The Izu Dancer"), a work p u b l i s h e d i n t h e J a n u a r y and February,

1926 i s s u e s of Bunqei jidai. Kawabata's c a l l f o r new expression

and style i n the Japanese n o v e l i n h i s " S h i n s h i n sakka no

s h i n k e i k o k a i s e t s u " was already a year o l d when " I z u " was publish-

ed, y e t t h e n o v e l e t t e a t b e s t shows o n l y a m a r g i n a l degree of new

e x p r e s s i o n and style. In f a c t , i t ' s obvious t h a t " I z u " owes much

more t o J a p a n e s e l i t e r a r y forms from the p a s t ; f o r i n s t a n c e , the

very nature o f t h e work c a l l s t o mind t h e g e n r e o f t h e literary

diary (nikki).

The literary d i a r y has a long t r a d i t i o n i n Japanese literature.

Although b e a r i n g some r e s e m b l a n c e t o what a c t u a l l y takes place,

the contents of the d i a r y are o f t e n a f i c t i o n a l i z e d vers^of fact.

The diaries are, a s one might expect, mostly w r i t t e n i n the first

person, and the reader i s given a v i v i d account of the inner

emotional world of the w r i t e r . The earliest literary diary was

Tosa nikki ( Tosa Diary, 935) w r i t t e n by the poet Ki

no T s u r a y u k i %L (869-945). It is a travel diary and as we

a l s o f i n d much l a t e r i n Basho's accounts of h i s journeys, truth i s

altered to s a t i s f y artistic ends. With Basho's t r a v e l diaries,

the t r a d i t i o n i s s a i d t o have r e a c h e d i t s zenith.

The " I " o f Basho's t r a v e l d i a r i e s may have a q u a l i t y of self-

confession a b o u t him, b u t BashS t h e a r t i s t has s e t down h i s

experiences w i t h t h e aim of achieving a kind of o b j e c t i v i t y of the

self. The experiences a r e made t o t a k e on a universal aspect; the

"I" i s a universal " I " ; and the persona of the " I " merges w i t h that
 104

of the traveler.

Nakamura M i t s u o ' s comments on "Izu" i n c l u d e almost identical

r e m a r k s on t h e format Kawabata u s e s in his novelette. He says

that although " I z u " may be called a watakushi-shosetsu ("I-novel ), 1

a form of f i c t i o n which c o n s i s t s of the p e r s o n a l accounts of an

author's experiences written normally i n the first-person and

much m a l i g n e d by critics such as Nakamura, as an a r t i s t Kawabata

worked towards o b j e c t i f y i n g h i s " I . " Nakamura s a y s the fact that

t h e s t o r y has become so p o p u l a r i s testimony t o the success

Kawabata has had in realizing objectivity in his " I . " 1

The univer-

sal i s t o be found i n the " I " and, as i n Basho's t r a v e l diaries,

this universal " I " has taken on the persona of the traveler.

Although not t e c h n i c a l l y a travel diary, Kawabata's " I z u " none-

theless shares a great d e a l with the f o r m as e p i t o m i z e d by Basho.

Kawabata's n o v e l e t t e i s a f i c t i o n a l i z e d account of the author's

own w a l k down t h e I z u P e n i n s u l a when he was a First Higher School

student. The a c t u a l experience precedes the p u b l i c a t i o n of "Izu"

by eight years. Through the a u t h o r ' s own p u b l i s h e d comments on

the s t o r y ' s background, including autobiographical information, i t

has been p o s s i b l e f o r Japanese s c h o l a r s t o e n d l e s s l y produce pieces

on what went i n t o t h e m a k i n g o f t h e work. A l s o , i n the earlier

Kawabata s t o r y " C h i y o " we find a section dealing with h i s Izu

e x p e r i e n c e ; and t h e r e was an "Izu" prototype o r i g i n a l l y found in

"Yugashima de no omoide" a n d then p a r t i a l l y reproduced i n "Shonen".

"Yugashima de no omoide" i s no longer available s i n c e the author

subsequently burned the manuscript. The following is a chron-

ological list o f the making o f "Izu" r e l a t i n g to the preceding

information:
 105

1918 years o l d ) : Kawabata t r a v e l s through I z u with the

dancer's group of s t r o l l i n g performers.

1919 (20 years o l d ) : "Chiyo" i s p u b l i s h e d . It includes a section

based on Kawabata's Izu e x p e r i e n c e .

1922 (23 y e a r s o l d ) : Kawabata produces a manuscript t i t l e d

"Yugashima de no omoide." The f i r s t h a l f of the d r a f t i s
the p r o t o t y p e of "Izu." I t i s l a t e r p a r t i a l l y reproduced
i n "Shonen" which i s p u b l i s h e d s e r i a l l y i n 1948 and 1949.

1926 ( 2 ^ years o l d ) : "Izu" i s p u b l i s h e d .

The f o l l o w i n g passage d e a l i n g with the author's Izu t r i p i s

taken from "Shonen":

Wandering performers who t r a v e l from hot s p r i n g

r e s o r t t o hot s p r i n g r e s o r t are p a s s i n g from
s i g h t w i t h the y e a r s . My r e c o l l e c t i o n s of
Yugashima b e g i n w i t h these wandering performers.
Memories of my f i r s t I z u t r a v e l flow i n the
l i g h t of the t a i l of the comet l e f t by the
b e a u t i f u l dancer i n the scenery between S h u z e n j i
and Shimoda. Autumn was h a l f over and I had
j u s t e n t e r e d second y e a r of h i g h e r s c h o o l . I t
was the f i r s t r e a l t r a v e l i n g I'd done s i n c e
coming t o Tokyo. Having stayed a n i g h t i n
S h u z e n j i , I was walking a l o n g the Shimoda Road
to Yugashima ana had j u s t c r o s s e d Yugawa Bridge
when I came a c r o s s t h r e e g i r l s who were wandering
performers. They were going t o S h u z e n j i . The
dancer c a r r i e d a b i g drum; she stood out from
a l o n g way o f f . I looked back again and again,
t h i n k i n g t h a t 1 d now a c q u i r e d the h e a r t of a
1

traveler.2

In the l i n e from "Yugashima de no omoide" reproduced i n

"Shonen" which reads," Wandering performers who t r a v e l from hot

s p r i n g r e s o r t t o hot s p r i n g r e s o r t are p a s s i n g from s i g h t with the

y e a r s , " we f i n d expressed a p o e t i c sentiment t h a t resembles the

c e l e b r a t e d opening l i n e s o f Basho's most famous t r a v e l diary,

Oku no hosomichi ( The Narrow Road Through the

Provinces , C.1693):

The months and days are the wayfarers of the

c e n t u r i e s , and as y e t another y e a r comes round, i t ,
too, turns t r a v e l e r . S a i l o r s whose l i v e s f l o a t
away as they l a b o r on boats, horsemen who
 106

e n c o u n t e r o l d age as t h e y draw t h e h o r s e a r o u n d
o n c e more by t h e b i t , t h e y a l s o s p e n d t h e i r ^
d a y s i n t r a v e l and make t h e i r home i n w a y f a r i n g .

Although Kawabata's l i n e from "Yugashima de no omoide"

does not appear i n "Izu," the last lines f r o m t h e same p a s s a g e were

reproduced a l m o s t word f o r word i n t h e n o v e l e t t e :

I had seen t h e l i t t l e dancer t w i c e . Once I

p a s s e d h e r and t h e o t h e r two y o u n g women on a
l o n g b r i d g e h a l f way down t h e p e n i n s u l a . She
was c a r r y i n g a b i g drum. I l o o k e d b a c k and
l o o k e d back a g a i n , c o n g r a t u l a t i n g myself t h a t
h e r e f i n a l l y I had t h e f l a v o r o f t r a v e l . ^

The key phrase "here finally I had the f l a v o r of t r a v e l " has

the " I " u n d e r g o p r e c i s e l y t h e same p r o c e s s Bash5's " I " g o e s through.

The persona of the " I " merges w i t h t h a t o f t h e traveler.

Another example o f common g r o u n d s h a r e d between t h e works

can be seen by t h e k i n d o f p e o p l e Kawabata's " I " j o i n s up with

in his travel. By b e c o m i n g a f e l l o w t r a v e l e r w i t h t h e touring

performers, h i s persona assumes t h e same t y p e o f r o l e the sailors

and h o r s e m e n do i n Basho's o p e n i n g l i n e s o f Oku no h o s o m i c h i . The

vocation of i t i n e r a t e entertainer ties one "to t h e s e a s o n a l p a s s a g e

They were f r o m Oshima i n t h e l e u I s l a n d s ,

t h e man t o l d me. In the s p r i n g they l e f t t o
wander o v e r t h e p e n i n s u l a , b u t now i t was g e t t i n g
c o l d and t h e y had no w i n t e r c l o t h e s w i t h them.
A f t e r t e n d a y s o r s o a t Shimoda i n t h e s o u t h
t h e y would s a i l back t o the i s l a n d s . ^

One f u r t h e r s t e p Kawabata t a k e s t o h i n t at t h e i r l i n k with a

seasonal flow of time i s found near the beginning of chapter s i x .

He l i k e n s the g a t h e r i n g of troupes of wandering performers and

p e d d l e r s i n Shimoda t o m i g r a t o r y b i r d s r e t u r n i n g t o t h e nest.

Incidentally, i n t h e same way Basho goes t o t h e e x t e n t of

u s i n g p r o p e r nouns s u c h as p l a c e names t o c o n t r i b u t e t o t h e total

 107

effect o f t h e work, Kawabata i n a l i k e manner f i l l s "Izu" with

names w h i c h a c h i e v e a s i m i l a r e f f e c t . The storybook the dancer

has r e a d f o r h e r i s Mi t o Komon M a n y u k i F 1^1$ 12.

(Travel Sketches o f M i t o Komon), t h e p o p u l a r s t o r y o f another

group o f famous t r a v e l e r s i n Japan, Tokugawa M i t s u k u n i and h i s

retinue.

In the y e a r s immediately p r e c e d i n g BashS's t r a v e l s , he had

i n c r e a s i n g l y begun t o f e e l alienated from the w o r l d around him.

In h i s p o e t r y c o u l d be seen a tremendous s p i r i t u a l suffering which

a t t e s t e d t o h i s estrangement. I n a s i m i l a r way, Kawabata's " I "

had a l s o been g o i n g t h r o u g h painful stages of s e l f - s c r u t i n y i n the

years p r i o r to h i s journey. I t i s as i f t h e r e were no alternative

for their respective selves other than t o take t o the road. In the

climactic scene f o u n d a t t h e end o f c h a p t e r f i v e we l e a r n what the

personal a n g u i s h o f Kawabata's " I " h a d been: " I had come a t n i n e -

teen t o t h i n k of myself as a m i s a n t h r o p e , a lonely misfit, and i t

was my depression at the thought that had d r i v e n me to this Izu

trip." 6

Miki K i y o s h i w r o t e some i n t e r e s t i n g thoughts on loneliness.

He says i n a rather paradoxical fashion that i t i s t o escape from

loneliness that people live a l o n e o r become r e c l u s e s . Miki further

says t h a t loneliness doesn't mean t h a t p e o p l e shut themselves off

from the o u t s i d e w o r l d . He says t h a t p e o p l e g e t out and experience

the f e e l i n g of loneliness. To do s o , he suggests that Westerners

enter the c i t y , whereas E a s t e r n e r s e n t e r n a t u r e . Miki finds an

attractive side to loneliness: "There i s an a e s t h e t i c allurement

in loneliness. There i s pleasure. I f someone l i k e s loneliness,

its because of t h i s pleasure. Young g i r l s understand the aesthetic

 108

7
allurement in loneliness."

Kawabata, who was c a p t i v a t e d by the hearts of b e a u t i f u l young

girls, w o u l d seem t o be a person that fits i n p e r f e c t l y with Miki's

words on loneliness.

The j o u r n e y Basho t a k e s i n Oku no h o s o m i c h i to revitalize

himself i s representative of l i f e itself. His t r a v e l through the

North becomes a m i c r o c o s m o f t h e t r a v e l man makes d u r i n g h i s s h o r t

span o f l i f e . Within that life, the t r a v e l e r achieves a v i s i o n of

eternity through recognition that t h i n g s by t h e i f v e r y n a t u r e are

destined to perish. The effect o f Basho's s t u d y o f e t e r n i t y i s to

p r o d u c e a l i t e r a r y work w h i c h t r a n s c e n d s time and place. The

t r a v e l Kawabata's " I " makes t h r o u g h I z u works much t h e same way.

When one a n a l y z e s t h e e x p e r i e n c e s d e s c r i b e d i n Oku no hosomichi,

it seems t h a t Basho c o n s c i o u s l y b u i l t i n a circular pattern to the

order of the events. Events on one s i d e o f t h e c i r c l e have corres-

ponding events on t h e o t h e r s i d e . As w i t h B a s h o ' s " I " , t h e

traveler i n "Izu" never r e t u r n s t h e way he has come; his journey

t o o comes f u l l circle and nothing i s repeated exactly as b e f o r e .

Nevertheless, there i s a c y c l i c a l sequence o f events t o be found

in " I z u " as w e l l . The effect i s t o g i v e the r e a d e r a sense of

life's cycle with i t s eternal transient nature.

The mutability of l i f e as i t particularly a p p l i e s t o man's

mortality i s b e s t e x e m p l i f i e d i n " I z u " by two i n c i d e n t s which take

p l a c e a t o p p o s i t e ends o f i t s c i r c l e . At the beginning of the " I ' s "

trip as w e l l as a t t h e end, he i s confronted with images o f death.

They a r e i n c i d e n t s involving o l d people. The first occasion takes

p l a c e i n t h e t e a - h o u s e n e a r Amagi Pass:
 109

An o l d man w i t h t h e p a l e c o m p l e x i o n o f a drowned
p e r s o n was s i t t i n g c r o s s - l e g g e d n e a r t h e f i r e s i d e .
His eyes, y e l l o w and decayed t o t h e p u p i l s , w e a r i l y
t u r n e d i n my d i r e c t i o n . With a mountain o f o l d
l e t t e r s and p a p e r bags b u i l t up a r o u n d him, y o u
c o u l d s a y he was b u r i e d i n w a s t e p a p e r . The s i g h t
of t h i s man who c o u l d h a r d l y be t h o u g h t o f a s l i v i n g
s t o p p e d me i n my t r a c k s . . . A p p a r e n t l y h e h a d come t o
l i v e a l i f e o f s t a r i n g a t t h e l e t t e r s and p a p e r bags
t h a t s u r r o u n d e d h i m w i t h o u t t h r o w i n g one o f them
away. The m o u n t a i n o f o l d w a s t e p a p e r h a d been b u i l t
up o v e r a p e r i o d o f many y e a r s . I l o o k e d a t t h e open
f i r e , n o t r e p l y i n g t o t h e o l d woman. A c a r c r o s s i n g
t h e m o u n t a i n shook t h e h o u s e . With i t b e i n g t h i s
c o l d f o r autumn and snow a b o u t t o f a l l on t h e p a s s ,
I w o n d e r e d why t h e o l d man h a d n t come down f r o m t h e
1

m o u n t a i n s . tpp-Aoo -01)

Suffering f r o m d r o p s y , t h e o l d man h a s t h e a p p e a r a n c e o f some-

one who h a s drowned. The " I " p e r c e i v e s t h e o l d man's e y e s t o be

yellow, the color symbolic of impurity and d e c a y i n "Shiroi mangetsu"

and i n " I z u " a s w e l l . Later i n "Izu", the creek near the " I ' s " inn

in Yugano becomes y e l l o w and muddy f r o m t h e h e a v y r a i n which began

to fall about sunset. I n t h e d a r k n e s s o f h i s room, t h e image o f

the y e l l o w , muddy c r e e k t o g e t h e r w i t h t h e s o u n d o f t h e heavy rain

heralds t h e d i s t a n t b e a t i n g o f a t a i k o w i t h i t s ominous m e a n i n g

for the dancer's purity.

Kawabata's d e s c r i p t i o n o f t h e o l d man s t a r i n g a t t h e mountain

of o l dletters a n d p a p e r bags a c t s on b o t h a c o n c r e t e a n d s y m b o l i c
he proviJes

level. As a l o n g - t i m e s u f f e r e r of paralysis/a contrast t o those

t r a v e l e r s who a c t i v e l y make t h e i r way t h r o u g h t h e m o u n t a i n s out-

side the tea-house. The o n l y m o u n t a i n o f r e l e v a n c e t o hira i s t h e

one he s t a r e s a t day i n a n d day o u t ; h i s m o u n t a i n o f waste paper i s

a token o f t h e passage o f time and o f h i s s u f f e r i n g , increasingly

so as i t g a i n s i n h e i g h t . The " I " p o n d e r s o v e r why t h e o l d man

has n o t come down f r o m t h e m o u n t a i n s ; surely i f we t a k e i t a

symbolic step f u r t h e r we m i g h t a l s o q u e s t i o n what k e e p s this

 110-

lifeless, motionless o l d man i n t h e m i d s t of the cyclic flow o f

the mountain's t r a v e l e r s of l i f e .

The image o f d e a t h a t t h e o t h e r end o f t h e " I ' s " c y c l i c a l

journey o c c u r s when he i s a b o u t t o d e p a r t from Shimoda. A harbor

w o r k e r comes up t o a s k a f a v o r o f t h e " I " :

"Say, y o u ' r e g o i n g t o Tokyo, a r e n ' t y o u . How a b o u t

l o o k i n g a f t e r t h i s o l d woman who's on h e r way t o
Tokyo, t o o . S h e ' s r e a l l y u n l u c k y . H e r s o n was
w o r k i n g i n t h e s i l v e r mine a t R e n d a i j i , b u t b o t h
he a n d h i s w i f e d i e d i n t h e e p i d e m i c o f i n f l u e n z a .
T h e y l e f t t h r e e g r a n d c h i l d r e n . We t o l d h e r s h e ' d
b e t t e r go b a c k w i t h them t o t h e p r o v i n c e s h e comes
from. She's f r o m M i t o a n d doesn'tkhowwhat's g o i n g
on, s o a f t e r y o u a r r i v e a t R e i g a n j i m a c o u l d y o u
s e e t h a t s h e g e t s on t h e t r a i n t o Uenb. ..." (f.<22*0

The unfortunate o l d woman h a s l o s t h e r son and daughter-in-law

to influenza. A w o r k e r on t h e w a t e r f r o n t h a s s o l i c i t e d the "I's"

h e l p t o p u t h e r on t h e t r a i n b o u n d f o r Ueno o n c e t h e y arrive at

Reiganjima ("the i s l a n d o f t h e s h o r e of s p i r i t s " ) . T h e o l d woman

and h e r g r a n d c h i l d r e n , a r e on t h e i r way t o h e r hometown o f M i t o ,

the same hometown a s t h e t r a v e l e r s i n t h e dancer's storybook.

Aren't we t o assume t h a t t h e o r p h a n e d g r a n d c h i l d r e n a r e f a t e d t o

make t h e i r own " I z u j o u r n e y " just as t h e " I , " a s u f f e r e r o f "orphan

complex" (koji k o n j S ) , has had t o ?

Kawabata e n h a n c e s t h e c y c l i c a l p a t t e r n found i n "Izu" with h i s

treatment o f t h e weather. In s p i t e o f t h e season being i n reality

r e s t r i c t e d t o autumn i n t h e s t o r y , Kawabata pens a v a r i e t y o f

weather c o n d i t i o n s which v i r t u a l l y span t h e seasons. T h e two

scenes involving the o l d people share features b e f i t t i n g the cycle

of the " I ' s " journey a n d t h e w e a t h e r seems t y p i c a l o f t h e season we

would n a t u r a l l y a s s i g n f o r them, w i n t e r . There i s a c o l d wind

blowing through Shimoda when we a r e i n t r o d u c e d t o t h e o l d woman,

and t h e scene w i t h t h e o l d man t a k e s p l a c e w i t h t h e w e a t h e r abnorm-

 Ill

ally cold f o r autumn.

A summary o f how the "I's" travel relates to a figurative

t u r n o f the seasons would b e g i n w i t h the opening lines of the

novelette. In the second paragraph of the story, we f i n d the kind

o f i n f o r m a t i o n one might expect from a t r a v e l d i a r y : background on

the " I , " where h i s t r a v e l has so f a r t a k e n him, where he presently

is, and t h e d i r e c t i o n he i s taking. Also, mention i s made f o r t h e

first time t h a t the season i s autumn. Autumn i s , o f c o u r s e , a

seasonal c o n s t a n t i n the s t o r y but, as I ' v e indicated, there i s a

cyclical p a t t e r n t o t h e .events i n " I z u " a n d they are supported by

c o n d i t i o n s which suggest a t u r n of the seasons. Chapter one, which

includes the scene o f t h e o l d man a t the tea-house, i s winter-

like: i t ' s cold and the pass w i l l soon be c o v e r e d i n snow. When

the " I " e n t e r s t h e t u n n e l o f Amagi P a s s at the beginning of chapter

two, i t proves t o be a transitional b o u n d a r y between winter-like

and spring-like conditions. We find at the beginning of chapter

t h r e e t h e day d e s c r i b e d as K o h a r u b i y o r i /j' ^ 0 4® . The expres-

sion i s translateable i n t e r m s s u c h as "a balmy autumn day" or "an

Indian summer day" but from the o r i g i n a l Japanese i s r e v e a l e d an

affinity with spring. When t h e " I " and t h e w a n d e r i n g performers

leave f o r Shimoda i n c h a p t e r f i v e , t h e i r walk through the mountains

affords them a v i s t a of the sea. The sight i s reminiscent of

spring: " F o r some r e a s o n — w a s i t t h e c l e a r n e s s o f t h e autumn sky

t h a t made i t seem s o ? — t h e s e a where t h e sun r o s e o v e r i t was

veiled i n a s p r i n g l i k e mist." Their arrival i n Shimoda b r i n g s w i t h

it weather which has a touch of winter i n i t , and i t i s where the

"I" i s i n t r o d u c e d t o t h e o l d woman; a n d we also find that a cycle

has come t o an end.

 I wonder i f i t ' s n o t t o o o u t r a g e o u s t o f i n d i n t h e dancer

qualities of a similar n a t u r e t o t h e t u n n e l a t Amagi P a s s . She

too i s at a point of transition, a transition from g i r l t o woman.

The tunnel represents a confluence of winter-like and s p r i n g - l i k e

attributes; t h e d a n c e r r e p r e s e n t s a c o n f l u e n c e o f g i r l i s h and

womanly a t t r i b u t e s . I n a c o n v e r s a t i o n between t h e d a n c e r a n d t h e

"I" once through the tunnel, Kawabata seems t o m i r r o r t h i s fusion

by showing h e r i n c a p a b l e o f d e l i n e a t i n g t h e boundary b e t w e e n two

contrasting seasons. The " I " h a s b e e n a s k i n g q u e s t i o n s a b o u t

Oshima:

" S t u d e n t s come t o Oshima t o swim, y o u know," t h e

g i r l r e m a r k e d t o t h e y o u n g woman b e s i d e h e r .

"In t h e summer, I s u p p o s e . " I looked back.

She was f l u s t e r e d . " I n t h e w i n t e r t o o , " s h e a n s w e r e d

i n an a l m o s t i n a u d i b l e l i t t l e v o i c e .

"Even i n thewinter?"
She l o o k e d a t t h e o t h e r woman a n d l a u g h e d uncer-
tainly.

"Do t h e y swim e v e n i n the winter?" I asked a g a i n .

She f l u s h e d a n d n o d d e d v e r y s l i g h t l y , a serious expres-

s i o n on h e r f a c e .

"The child i s crazy," t h e o l d e r woman l a u g h e d . 1 0

It i s t h e ambivalent nature o f t h e dancer's s e x u a l i t y which

is responsible f o r much o f t h e d r a m a t i c t e n s i o n i n "Izu." There

seem t o be t h r e e d i v e r g e n t ways o f v i e w i n g t h i s ambivalence:

through t h e eyes o f t h e dancer h e r s e l f , t h e eyes o f t h e f o r t y - y e a r

old woman, a n d t h e e y e s o f t h e " I . " To r e p e a t a g a i n , t h e d a n c e r

is i n t h e midst o f changing from a g i r l t o a woman a n d a p p e a r s t o

not yet fully comprehend t h e s i g n i f i c a n c e of her state of transi-

tion. She i n d i s c r i m i n a t e l y a c t s a t one t i m e like a girl and a t

 other times l i k e a woman. T h e f o r t y - y e a r o l d woman, however, i s

startled into recognition of the situation from t h e b e h a v i o r t h e

d a n c e r e x h i b i t s when t h e g i r l b r i n g s t e a up t o them a t t h e i n n i n

Yugano:

We went up t o t h e s e c o n d f l o o r a n d l a i d down o u r
baggage. The s t r a w c a r p e t i n g a n d t h e d o o r s were worn
and d i r t y . The l i t t l e d a n c e r b r o u g h t up t e a f r o m b e l o w .
As s h e came t o me t h e t e a c u p c l a t t e r e d i n i t s s a u c e r .
She s e t i t down s h a r p l y i n an e f f o r t t o s a v e h e r s e l f ,
but she succeeded o n l y i n s p i l l i n g i t . I was h a r d l y
p r e p a r e d f o r c o n f u s i o n so extreme.

"Dear me. The c h i l d ' s come t o d d a n g e r o u s a g e , " t h e

o l d e r woman s a i d , a r c h i n g h e r e y e b r o w s a s s h e t o s s e d
over a c l o t h . The g i r l wiped t e n s e l y a t t h e t e a . "

The r e a d e r comes t o f i n d that after this awakening t o t h e

girl's budding sexuality, t h e woman t a k e s i t upon h e r s e l f t o

protect t h e dancer's p u r i t y . She t a k e s t h e r e s p o n s i b i l i t y o f

seeing t o i t that t h e precarious balance o f the dancer's girl/

woman " s c a l e " doesn't s u d d e n l y make a s h a r p s w i n g i n t h e womanly

direction. Revealed i s a sense o f anguish s h o u l d t h e dancer's

p u r i t y be s t a i n e d . I t ' s a matter o f course then t o conceive o f

the woman's d e e p e n i n g concern f o r the dancer's p u r i t y t o be b a s e d

on t h e woman's p e r c e p t i o n of the g i r l turning i n t o a woman.

Of critical importance t o the r e v i t a l i z a t i o n of the " I " in

"Izu" i s quite the opposite direction h i s perception o f t h e dancer

takes. He i s r e l i e v e d o f a s e n s e o f a n g u i s h when s h e i s s u d d e n l y

"transformed" b e f o r e h i s v e r y eyes f r o m a woman t o a g i r l . The

girl he h a d o r i g i n a l l y mistaken f o r about sixteen i s i n reality

thirteen. The s c e n e where t h e " t r a n s f o r m a t i o n " takes place con-

tains one o f t h e most famous p a s s a g e s found i n t h e story- The " I "

and t h e d a n c e r ' s b r o t h e r a r e l o o k i n g o v e r a t t h e p u b l i c b a t h from

the other side of the river:

 114

"One s m a l l f i g u r e r a n o u t i n t o t h e s u n l i g h t
and s t o o d f o r a moment a t t h e edge o f t h e p l a t -
f o r m c a l l i n g s o m e t h i n g t o u s , arms r a i s e d a s
though f o r a plunge i n t o t h e r i v e r . I t was t h e
l i t t l e dancer. I looked a t her, a t t h e young
l e g s , a t t h e s c u l p t u r e d w h i t e body, a n d s u d d e n l y
a d r a u g h t o f f r e s h w a t e r seemed to; wash o v e r my
heart. I laughed h a p p i l y . She was a c h i l d , a
mere c h i l d , a c h i l d who c o u l d r u n o u t n a k e d i n t o
t h e s u n a n d s t a n d t h e r e on h e r t i p t o e s i n h e r
delight at seeing a friend. I l a u g h e d on, a
s o f t , happy l a u g h . I t was a s t h o u g h a l a y e r o f
d u s t h a d been c l e a r e d f r o m my h e a d . And I l a u g h e d
on a n d o n . I t was b e c a u s e o f h e r t o o - r i c h h a i r
t h a t s h e h a d seemed o l d e r , a n d b e c a u s e s h e was
dressed l i k e a g i r l of f i f t e e n or sixteen. I had
made an e x t r a o r d i n a r y m i s t a k e i n d e e d . '^-2

Lustful ideas t h e " I " h a d h a r b o r e d f o r t h e "woman" i n t h e

dancer and t h e anguish he h a d f e l t over f e a r t h a t her p u r i t y had

b e e n s t a i n e d b y someone f r o m t h e p a r t y she attended the night

before are q u i c k l y erased from h i s c o n s c i o u s n e s s . I t i s as i f

these spiritual p o l l u t i o n s had been "wiped c l e a r f r o m h i s head."

Looking a t h e r innocent, white nakedness, the " I " experiences a

sensation a k i n t o c l e a r water washing h i s h e a r t . His inner sense

of p u r i f i c a t i o n by w a t e r a c k n o w l e d g e s an u n d e r c u r r e n t of Shinto

i d e a s w h i c h p e r m e a t e t h e work. The s i g h t o f t h e n a k e d d a n c e r i s

able t o accomplish what t h e " I " h a d b e e n u n s u c c e s s f u l i n achieving

the night before. I n a f i t o f a g i t a t i o n , he h a d s p l a s h e d about i n

t h e b a t h i n what c o u l d e a s i l y be t a k e n f o ra Shinto s t y l e method o f

purification by b a t h i n g c a l l e d misoqi. A measure o f t h e s u c c e s s

of the "I's" p u r i f i c a t i o n n e a r t h e p u b l i c b a t h c a n be construed

from t h e f a c t t h a t we f i n d no f u r t h e r e x a m p l e s i n "Izu" o f mental

anguish r e l a t e d t o the dancer's s e x u a l i t y . In fact, so s u c c e s s f u l

has the p u r i f i c a t i o n b e e n t h a t he becomes i n c a p a b l e of understand-

ing why anyone w o u l d s e e h i m r e p r e s e n t i n g a t h r e a t t o the dancer's

purity, a t h r e a t he v e r y much p o s e d e a r l i e r i n the story. The

 115

verity of t h i s reversal i s a t t e s t e d t o i n Shimoda when t h e " I "

is p u z z l e d by t h e o l d e r woman's r e f u s a l t o allow the dancer and

h i m s e l f t o go by themselves t o the movies:"'I don't see anything

wrong. Why c a n ' t she go w i t h h i m by h e r s e l f ? ' Eikichi argued.

I found i t hard t o understand myself, but t h e woman was unbend-

«13
ing.

It was the "I's" depressing self-awareness of h i s so-called

"orphan complex" w h i c h p r o m p t e d h i m t o make t h e Izu t r i p . In

this c o n n e c t i o n , t h e p u r g a t i o n o f h i s impure t h o u g h t s as he

witnesses the dancer a t t h e p u b l i c b a t h have had immense import-

ance t h e m a t i c a l l y : i f his spirit wasn't p u r i f i e d , he w o u l d n ' t earn

t h e c a t h a r t i c e x p e r i e n c e f o u n d n e a r t h e end of the s t o r y . The

following i s the c e l e b r a t e d passage where h i s complex i s o s t e n -

sibly eliminated:

"But a l l he w o u l d have t o do w o u l d be t o g e t
a gold tooth. Then y o u ' d n e v e r n o t i c e , " t h e
d a n c e r ' s v o i c e come t o me s u d d e n l y . I looked
back.
T h e y were o b v i o u s l y t a l k i n g a b o u t my c r o o k e d
teeth. C h i y o k o must h a v e b r o u g h t t h e m a t t e r up,
and t h e l i t t l e d a n c e r s u g g e s t e d a g o l d t o o t h f o r
me. I f e l t no r e s e n t m e n t a t b e i n g t a l k e d a b o u t
and no p a r t i c u l a r n e e d t o h e a r more. The c o n -
v e r s a t i o n was s u b d u e d f o r a t i m e .
"He's n i c e , i s n ' t he," t h e g i r l ' s v o i c e came
again.
"He seems t o be v e r y n i c e . "
"He r e a l l y i s n i c e . I l i k e h a v i n g someone s o
nice."
She had an open way o f s p e a k i n g , a y o u t h f u l ,
h o n e s t way o f s a y i n g e x a c t l y what came t o h e r
t h a t made i t p o s s i b l e f o r me t o t h i n k o f m y s e l f
as, frankly, "nice." I l o o k e d up anew a t t h e
m o u n t a i n s , s o b r i g h t t h a t t h e y made my e y e s a c h e
a little. I had come a t n i n e t e e n t o t h i n k o f
m y s e l f as a m i s a n t h r o p e , a l o n e l y m i s f i t , and i t
was my d e p r e s s i o n a t t h e t h o u g h t t h a t h a d d r i v e n
me t o t h i s I z u t r i p . And now I was a b l e t o l o o k
upon m y s e l f as "a n i c e p e r s o n " i n t h e e v e r y d a y
s e n s e o f t h e e x p r e s s i o n . I f i n d no way t o
d e s c r i b e what t h i s meant t o me. The m o u n t a i n s
grew b r i g h t e r - we were g e t t i n g n e a r Shimoda a n d
t h e s e a . 1^
 1 1 6

After saying that h i s sense of p u r i f i c a t i o n has had important

repercussions thematically, I nonetheless find the scene relevant

stylistically as w e l l . I t has the e f f e c t of d e p e r s o n a l i z i n g the

"I" since his "active" p u r s u i t of the d a n c e r r e t r e a t s i n t o a more

"passive" position. One way of looking at the " I ' s " r o l e has been

t o see him as Nakamura M i t s u o d o e s , much l i k e the waki (supporting

player) of the N5 drama, and the d a n c e r as the shite (protagonist).

A n o t h e r way of looking at the "I's" role i s to return to a

c o m p a r i s o n w i t h Basho. On this p a r t i c u l a r point, I think a review

of some o f the c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s o f BashS's a r t o f w r i t i n g h a i k u will

.. . 15
prove revealing.

Bash5 c h o s e t o look at the things of the world from an

aesthetic distance. For him, the haiku poet's a t t i t u d e toward

life i s to function as a by-stander. Haiku c a l l s for a passive,

leisurely personality. T h e r e i s no room f o r p a s s i o n a t e emotion

or strong sentiment i n haiku; rather, one denotes only a shadow of

an emotion or a vague mood.

T h e r e may be t i m e s when t h e " I " i n "Izu" displays a passionate

emotion, but, f o r the most p a r t , I think Basho would f i n d a "poetic

spirit" i n Kawabata's " I " n o t out of s t e p w i t h what he would have

for the haiku poet.

To accomplish the kind of"poetic spirit" Basho sought f o r i n

his poems, he t a l k e d about c e r t a i n f e a t u r e s they might possess.

Included were t h e concepts of sabi, "fragrance," "reverberation,"

"reflection," and "lightness." Sabi and "lightness" refer to

certain a t t i t u d e s toward l i f e . "Fragrance," "reverberation," and

"reflection" deal with the technique of haiku composition.

Sabi derives from the adjective sabishi ("lonely" or "desolate").

 117

In Basho's p o e t i c context, loneliness represents an impersonal

mood i n c o n t r a s t t o the p e r s o n a l emotion of sorrow. One of Basho's

followers, Kyorai, argued t h a t sabi lies not i n the substance or

technique of a poem b u t in i t s "color." "Color" refers to the

quality of the mood f o u n d i n t h e poem.

As I indicated earlier, I believe that the "I's" thematic

purification i n "Izu" has stylistic r e l e v a n c e as well. In a

r e v e r s e manner t o t h e p o e t who seeks a p u r i f i c a t i o n of h i s soul

through t r a n s f o r m i n g the personal i n t o the impersonal, the "I"

undergoes a t r a n s f e r from the p e r s o n a l t o the impersonal through

purification. I d o n ' t mean t o i m p l y t h a t we dramatically notice

a shift i n Kawabata's " I " f r o m t h e personal to the impersonal after

the p u b l i c bath scene. What I mean i s t h a t the impersonal tone the

artist Kawabata s o u g h t f o r from h i s " I " has been a f f o r d e d textual

validity.

T h e r e i s more a mood p e r v a d i n g "Izu" of sabi, not s o much an

emotion of sorrow. Much o f the description i n the novelette has

a c o l o r i n g of loneliness about i t , and Kawabata r e s t r a i n s t h e "I's"

e m o t i o n s so that loneliness i s seldom r e l e g a t e d to a personal

level of sorrow.

The predominant c o l o r found i n "Izu" i s white. It appears

seven t i m e s . Besides symbolizing q u a l i t i e s of p u r i t y and innocence,

w h i t e i s s a i d t o be also suggestive of universal loneliness. The

"I's" final, distant view of the dancer from the ship finds her

making a t r a d i t i o n a l Japanese gesture at a time of p a r t i n g which

has overtones of loneliness: "The lighter pulled off. Eikichi

waved t h e hunting cap, and as the town r e t r e a t e d i n t o the distance

the girl began t o wave s o m e t h i n g w h i t e .

 113

The p r i n c i p l e s of "fragrance," "reverberation," and " r e f l e c -

tion" a l l h a v e t h e same o b j e c t i n m i n d : t o p r o d u c e i n a poem an

a t m o s p h e r i c harmony d i v o r c e d from l o g i c a l c o h e r e n c e as a whole.

The b a s i c d i f f e r e n c e s i n t h e t e r m s may be summed up a s f o l l o w s :

"fragrance" accompanies a calm, e l e g a n t mood, "reverberation" i s

f o u n d when t h e mood i s o f t e n s i o n , excitement, grandeur, o r

magnitude, and " r e f l e c t i o n " i s used with any mood, q u i e t o r v i o l e n t .

The result of these concepts i s the b r i n g i n g together o f two

widely different things and y e t c r e a t i n g a h a r m o n i o u s mood a s a

whole.

In l i n e with Basho's view o f t h e u n i v e r s e t o be a u n i t y between

man and n a t u r e , we f i n d i n the s p i r i t and t e c h n i q u e o f h i s h a i k u a

p o e t i c u n i o n o r harmony o f t h e two. When t h e t e c h n i q u e s I've

o u t l i n e d were p u t i n t o p r a c t i c e , t h e y o f t e n juxtaposed man with

nature.

I t h i n k a l e s s o n t o be l e a r n e d f r o m Kawabata's "Izu" i s that

p a r t o f i t s a p p e a l i s due t o a number o f h a i k u - l i k e p a s s a g e s , a n d

that i n reality, critics who m i g h t d e t e c t Neo-Perceptionist influ-

e n c e s i n some o f t h e s e p a s s a g e s c o u l d be a c c u s e d o f m a k i n g t o o

much o f l a t e r , r a t h e r than e a r l i e r , i n f l u e n c e s on Kawabata's style.

For instance, a f t e r acknowledging t h a t there i s n ' t much i n

t h e way o f N e o - P e r c e p t i o n i s t elements i n "Izu," Hasegawa I z u m i

still q u o t e s a few l i n e s w h i c h he s a y s c o n t a i n a germ o f an i n f l u -

17
e n c e i n them. H e r e i s one o f t h e e x a m p l e s he g i v e s : " L i n e d on one

s i d e by a w h i t e fence, t h e road twisted down f r o m t h e mouth o f t h e

IF
tunnel like a streak of lightning."

Since the l i n e reflects a mood o f " g r a n d e u r o r m a g n i t u d e , "

I d o n ' t s e e why we c a n ' t consider i t an a p p l i c a t i o n o f "reverbera-

 119.

tion" i n a h a i k u - l i k e way. To say t h a t such a l i n e doesn't contain

much i n t h e way of Neo-Perceptionism might indirectly confirm my

point.

When Bash5 t a l k s of " l i g h t n e s s , " he is basically referring to

an a t t i t u d e toward life. " L i g h t n e s s " i s t o f i n d beauty i n common,

everyday things; i t implies a n a i v e t e and familiarity in style as

well as i n s u b j e c t matter. The h a i k u a c c e p t s human l i f e as a

whole. Although as an a r t i s t he i s expected t o behave l i k e a by-

stander, he lives and travels t o g e t h e r w i t h o r d i n a r y men and under-

stands and shares t h e i r feelings.

In Bash5's Oku no h o s o m i c h i i s t o be found a sense of compas-

sion f o r t h o s e whose l i v e s were h a r d e s t . Arising o u t o f h i s com-

p a s s i o n was a feeling o f u n i t y w i t h them and an e s s e n t i a l mutual

oneness w i t h n a t u r e . The following i s a h a i k u found i n Bash5's

Oku no h o s o m i c h i w h i c h e x h i b i t s this attitude:

P r o s t i t u t e s and p r i e s t
S l e p t under a r o o f l e n t a beauty
By b u s h c l o v e r a n d moon. ^

With Kawabata's " I " we find a similar sense of compassion

for t h e t r o u p e o f e n t e r t a i n e r s whose s t a t u s ranked as one of the

lowest i n the s o c i e t y of h i s time:

I was n o t h e l d t o them by c u r i o s i t y , and I

f e l t no c o n d e s c e n s i o n t o w a r d thera. Indeed I
was no l o n g e r c o n s c i o u s t h a t t h e y b e l o n g e d
t o t h a t low o r d e r , t r a v e l i n g p e r f o r m e r s . They
seemed t o know i t and t o be moved by i t . Before
l o n g t h e v d e c i d e d t h a t I must v i s i t them on
Oshima.^ 0

They a l s o p o s s e s s a fundamental spirit i n harmony w i t h nature

akin to h i s own:

I came t o s e e t h a t t h e l i f e o f t h e t r a v e l i n g
p e r f o r m e r was n o t t h e f o r b i d d i n g one I h a d
imagined. R a t h e r i t was e a s y - g o i n g , r e l a x e d ,
c a r r y i n g w i t h i t t h e s c e n t o f meadows and
m o u n t a i n s . ^*
 120

T h r o u g h an a c t o f c l e a r symbolic significance to himself, he

s h e d s h i s s c h o o l cap i n f a v o r o f a h u n t i n g cap. The cap which

symbolizes h i s b e l o n g i n g t o t h e o t h e r end of the s o c i a l scale from

themselves i s r e p l a c e d by one which has a leveling effect on their

disparate statuses.

The " I " hands o v e r the h u n t i n g cap t o the dancer's brother

as he i s about t o board ship. Besides a simple gesture of friend-

ship, i t ' s certainly possible t o see i t i n symbolic light as well.

The hunting cap has represented a f e e l i n g o f oneness w i t h the

t r a v e l i n g performers, a oneness w i t h fellow travelers on the road,

and now that h i s journey through I z u i s o v e r he must r e l i n q u i s h his

persona of the traveler.

In B a s h S ' s p o e t r y as w e l l as in his travel diaries, his

"poetic s p i r i t " d o e s n o t deny t h e v a l u e s o f t h e p r e s e n t w o r l d for

t h e sake of l i f e i n a world after death. I t c o u l d be said that

for. a Buddhist, life e x i s t s because t h e r e i s death. Basho w o u l d

embrace s u c h a concept, b u t he w o u l d a l s o p o i n t o u t t h a t t h e r e i s

equal v a l i d i t y i n saying t h a t death e x i s t s because there i s life.

In Oku no h o s o m i c h i and " I z u " we f i n d both life and death.

As in life itself, the microcosm o f l i f e with i t s mutability found

in t h e r e s p e c t i v e works has made us aware o f t h i s ; but b e i n g aware

of t h i s has not brought a feeling o f sorrow, r a t h e r i t seems that

we the readers are i n v i t e d to partake i n a mutual experience of

"purification" with the " I " o f each work.

In Kawabata's " I z u , " " p u r i f i c a t i o n " operates at both a

stylistic and thematic level. At i t s thematic level, Kawabata has

used r e c u r r i n g w a t e r images w h i c h p o i n t t o an implicit acknowledge-

ment o f t h e r o l e w a t e r p l a y s i n S h i n t o i s m . Just one example o f an

 121

incident i n t h e s t o r y which has overtones of Shinto concepts

occurs i n the f i n a l chapter. One o f t h e g i f t s t h e dancer's brother

gives the " I " at the pier i s kochuseiryozai

(breath freshener t a b l e t s ) . The b r o t h e r says he b o u g h t t h e t a b l e t s

f o r him because they are called " K a o r u , " t h e same name a s t h e

dancer. Kawabata seems t o s u g g e s t more t h a n just a sentimental

meaning, however; t a k i n g i n t o c o n s i d e r a t i o n t h a t one o f t h e

characters i n the expression i s t h e term f o r p u r i t y , i t ' s possible

to a s s o c i a t e t h e purpose o f t h e present with t h e S h i n t o practice

of ablution.

Behind Basho's a r t i s t i c d e t a c h m e n t was a v i e w o f t h e cosmos

being a u n i t y between man a n d n a t u r e . I t i s a concept found i n

Buddhism and S h i n t o as w e l l . With t h i s essential i d e a i n common,

t h e r e w o u l d seem t o be n o r e a s o n a synthesis of their unique

characteristics could not find expression. A feeling of being

dissolved i n the world outside oneself, a Buddhist tinged reference

t o t h e v o i d , and a S h i n t o i n s p i r e d association with the purifying

nature o f w a t e r might be i n t e g r a t e d . In the l a s t lines of "Izu'

that i s p r e c i s e l y what Kawabata h a s done:

I floated i n a beautiful emptiness...Everything

s a n k i n t o a n e n f o l d i n g harmony.
The. l i g h t s went o u t , t h e s m e l l o f t h e s e a a n d o f
t h e f i s h i n t h e h o l d grew s t r o n g e r . I n t h e darkness,
warmed b y t h e b o y b e s i d e me, I gave m y s e l f up t o my
tears. I t was a s t h o u g h my h e a d h a d t u r n e d t o c l e a r
w a t e r , i t was f a l l i n g p l e a s a n t l y away d r o p b y d r o p ;
soon n o t h i n g would remain.(emphasis a d d e d ) ^
 A2.Z

CONCLUSION

The final l i n e s of "Izu no odoriko" indicate that the "I" has

a t t a i n e d what many o f the characters i n Kawabata's e a r l i e s t liter-

ary pieces seem t o h a v e u l t i m a t e l y b e e n s e e k i n g : he has returned

to a state o f harmony w i t h n a t u r e , a state akin to nirvana i n which

he i s found " f l o a t i n g i n a b e a u t i f u l emptiness," and he^had his

original state of innocence r e s t o r e d i n a manner metaphorically

r e l a t e d t o S h i n t o when h i s "head h a d turned to c l e a r water." The

final line i n "Izu" i s almost i d e n t i c a l t o the two l i n e s from

"Kagaribi" I quoted e a r l i e r . Here are t h o s e two lines: "Then with

everything p e r f e c t l y quiet, my heart turned i n t o quiet, c l e a r water

s p r e a d i n g out lapping against some d i s t a n t s h o r e . I t was as i f I

wanted t o fall completely into sleep."

As e a r l y as "Jurokusai no n i k k i , " the image o f " c l e a r water"

has been u s e d by Kawabata t o d e n o t e p u r i t y and a return to a

primordial oneness. C o n n e c t e d t o p u r i t y and a return to the

original unity i s a longing f o r emptiness or death. Death i s as

natural as life; and i n death, one returns t o an original state of

harmony w i t h n a t u r e . In "Sora n i ugoku h i , " the "old friend" in

the work r e j e c t s t h e notion of the "finality" of death. He looks

t o metempsychosis t o f i n d man's s a l v a t i o n : t h e example o f man be-

ing r e b o r n as an evening primrose, man and the evening primrose

b e i n g one, lends p o e t i c credence t o the idea.

W a t e r has been the vehicle t h r o u g h w h i c h man i n Kawabata's

e a r l y works e i t h e r " a c t u a l l y " or metaphorically will float away to

rebirth. Most o f the instances of death or death-like states in

the e a r l y works o f Kawabata and c o v e r e d i n t h i s t h e s i s have b e e n

 123

associated with water. The list reaches from the g r a n d f a t h e r in

"Jurokusai no nikki" who talks about f a l l i n g i n t o a p o n d and dying

there t o the o l d man i n " I z u " who looks like a drowned person.

The main c h a r a c t e r s i n the e a r l y works o f Kawabata h a v e been

in need of the spiritual r e j u v e n a t i o n w h i c h comes w i t h a return to

a pristine, pre-rational state. At the heart of the need f o r

spiritual renewal i n the t y p i c a l c h a r a c t e r found i n Kawabata's

e a r l y works has b e e n a s e n s e o f l o n e l i n e s s and sadness. I f Kawabata

came by this s e n s e o f l o n e l i n e s s and s a d n e s s n a t u r a l l y as a result

of h i s orphaned u p b r i n g i n g , then one w o u l d have t o a g r e e with

Kawashima I t a r u t h a t t h e author had b e s t o w e d on h i m "a heaven-sent

b l e s s i n g which other creative artists c o u l d o n l y hope f o r . "

As perhaps best e x e m p l i f i e d i n the "nikki" and "Izu,"

Kawabata as a literary artist aimed a t the objectification of the

"I" (or male h e r o e s ) i n h i s works t o a c h i e v e an infinite, aesthetic

"I." In c h a p t e r s one and four, I e x a m i n e d how this infinite,

aesthetic " I " c o u l d be seen i n terms of the p a s s i v e o r detached

h e r o one f i n d s i n the lyric and i n the travel diaries o f Basho. In

chapter one, I used quotations f r o m R a l p h Freedman's The Lyrical

Novel t o e x p l a i n the r e l a t i o n s h i p between t h e "perceiving self" and

the "perceived o b j e c t " i n the lyrical novel. The " o b j e c t " becomes

the embodiment o f t h e self's own experience just as t h e grandfather

and the dancer represented manifestations of the " I ' s " own loneli-

n e s s and sadness.

In the p r e f a c e t o h i s book, Freedraan gives a b r i e f summary

of the h i s t o r y of the lyrical novel. He says, "Dante's La Vita

Nuova s u g g e s t e d features of l y r i c a l narrative before there had

been a n o v e l i n the c u r r e n t sense a t a l l . " 1

Kawabata's n o v e l s and
 124

short stories share t h i s lyrical feature with La V i t a Nuova.

They a l s o s h a r e something o f perhaps equal importance: t h e male

hero o f La V i t a Nuova i s a b l e t o t r a n s c e n d e a r t h l y sorrows and

attain a kind of salvation t h r o u g h t h e h e l p o f t h e woman Beatrice;

Kawabata's m a l e h e r o e s i n works such as " S h i r o i mangetsu" and

"Izu" transcend t h e i r sadness and a t t a i n spiritual rebirth through

the h e l p o f young girls.

B e a t r i c e and t h e g i r l s i n Kawabata's works a r e women who

represent t h e f u s i o n o f a maternal and v i r g i n a l figure. Watsuji

T e t s u r S ' s words on t h e f i g u r e o f t h e C h u g u - j i M i r o k u ( t h e Buddha

of t h e F u t u r e ) d e p i c t t h e image i n p r e c i s e l y t h e same terms:

"...the 'woman' i s t h e c r y s t a l l i z a t i o n o f t h e l o v e o f a mother and

2

the cleanness o f a v i r g i n . . . "

T h i s image o f "/woman" i s j u s t one o f many e x a m p l e s o f t h e

universality o f Western and E a s t e r n t r a d i t i o n s I found i n a n a l y z -

ing t h e works i n t h i s thesis. They a r e t e s t i m o n y t o t h e u n i v e r -

sality o f one o f J a p a n ' s greatest writers.

 NOTES

Chapter I

^Kawabata Yasunari, Kawabata Yasunari zenshu,Vol. I (Tokyo:

Shinchosha, 1969), p.15. For my thesis, I have used Kawabata
Yasunari zenshu (19 vols.; Tokyo: Shinchosha, 1969-74) and Vol.XXI
of Kawabata Yasunari zenshu (Tokyo: Shinchosha, 1980). Figures
in parentheses following quotations refer to the page numbers of
Vol. I of the 1969-74 zenshu.
2
Kawabata, Kawabata Yasunari senshu, Vol. VI (Kaiz5sha,
1968) , appendix, as quoted i n Hasegawa Izumi, Kawabata Yasunari
ronko (Tokyo: M e i j i Shoin, 1965), pp. 96-97.
3
Kawashima Itaru, Kawabata Yasunari no sekai (Tokyo: Kodansha,
1969) , p. 57.

^Yoshimura T e i j i , Kawabata Yasunari.bi to dento (Tokyo:

Tairyusha, 1979), p.276.

^Isogai Hideo, "Jurokusai no n i k k i " i n Kawabata Yasunari no

ningen to geijutsu, eds. Kawabata Bungaku Kenkyukai (Tokyo:
Kyoiku Shuppan Senta, 1971), p.33.

Senuma Shigeki, "Kawabata Yasunari ron," Kodo, Sept. 1934

in Kawabata Yasunari, eds. Nihon Bungaku Kenkyu Shiryo Kankokai
(Tokyo: Yuseidd, 1973), p.25.

^Isogai, "Kawabata Yasunari no h i t o to bungaku," Kokubungaku,

Aug. 1966, as quoted i n Shokon no seishun eds. Kawabata Bungaku
Kenkyukai (Tokyo: Kyoiku Shuppan Senta, 1976), p.220.
g
Kawashima, p.36.
q
Yamamoto Kenkichi, ed. Kawabata Yasunari (Tokyo: Kadokawa
Shoten, 1959), p.12.

10
Yoshimura, p. 28.

^Yamamoto, p. 21.
1

12
Yamamoto, p.58.
13
Nakamura Mitsuo, "Kawabata Yasunari" i n Kawabata Yasunari,
ed. Sato K5zo (Tokyo: Chikuma Shobo, 1977).
"^Kobayashi Hideo, "Kawabata Yasunari" i n Kawabata Yasunari,
ed. Sato K6z5 (Tokyo: Chikuma Shobo, 1977), p.57.
 126

^Hasegawa Izumi, Kawabata Y a s u n a r i r o n k o , (Tokyo: Meiji Shoin,

1965), p. 110.

16
Saeki Sh5ichi, "Kawabata Y a s u n a r i no b u n t a i " in Chikuma
Shobo's Kawabata, p. 140.
1 7
Saeki, pp.140-141.

18
Tsunetsugu Muraoka, S t u d i e s i n S h i n t o Thought, t r a n s . Delmer
Brown a n d James T . A r a k i ( T o k y o : M i n i s t r y o f E d u c a t i o n , 1 9 6 4 ) , p . 1 1 5 .

^ R a l p h F r e e d m a n , The L y r i c a l Novel (Princeton: Princeton Univ.

Press, 1963), p.6.

20
Freedman, pp.2-3.

~ Nakamura M i t s u o , Kawabata Y a s u n a r i (Tokyo: Chikuma Shobo,

1978.

22 - -
Isogai, " ' J u r o k u s a i no n i k k i 1
t o sofu" i n Shokon no s e i s h u n ,

e d s . Kawabata Bungaku K e n k y u k a i (Tokyo: K y S i k u Shuppan S e n t a , 1976).

23
Freedman, p.18.
24
Freedman, p.20.
25
The t r a n s l a t i o n i s by F r a n c i s Mathy, "Kawabata Y a s u n a r i ,
B r i d g e - B u i l d e r t o t h e West," Monumenta N i p p o n i c a , XXIV ( 1 9 6 9 ) , p . 2 1 2 .
26
B o t h t h e p a r a p h r a s i n g o f t h e p a s s a g e f r o m "Bunsho n i t s u i t e "
and t h e q u o t a t i o n f r o m S h i n b u n t o k u h o n a r e t a k e n f r o m Yamamoto s1

Kawabata Y a s u n a r i , p p . 1 4 - 1 5 .
27
Hasegawa I z u m i , Kawabata Y a s u n a r i . Y o k o m i t s u R i i c h i I s s h u
(Tokyo: Kadokawa S h o t e n , 1 9 7 2 ) , s u p p l e m e n t a r y n o t e , a s q u o t e d i n
Shokon no s e i s h u n , p . 2 2 1 .
28 —
S a s a b u c h i T o m o i c h i , "Kawabata b u n g a k u t o s h u r u r e a r i z u m u , "
Seiki, A p r i l , 1969 i n Kawabata Y a s u n a r i , e d s . N i h o n Bungaku K e n k y u
S h i r y o K a n k o k a i (Tokyo: Y u s e i d o , 1 9 7 3 ) .
29
T s u r u t a K i n y a and Hasegawa I z u m i i n c o n v e r s a t i o n , " ' J u r o k u s a i
n o n i k k i ' n o k a n s a t s u t o k i r o k u , " K o t e n t o q e n d a i , May 1 9 7 3 , p . 2 1 4 .
30
Hasegawa, Kawabata Y a s u n a r i r o n k o , pp.116-121.
 127

31
See Makoto Ueda, L i t e r a r y and A r t T h e o r i e s i n J a p a n ,
( C l e v e l a n d : P r e s s o f W e s t e r n R e s e r v e U n i v . , 1967) pp.196-213.

32
Kitaro Nishida, I n t e l l i g i b i l i t y and t h e P h i l o s o p h y o f
Nothingness, trans. R o b e r t S c h i n z i n g e r (Tokyo: Maruzen, 1 9 5 8 ) ,
p. 1 6 .

33
See Tsunetsugu, S t u d i e s i n S h i n t o Thought, p.31.
 128

CHAPTER I I

1. Kawabata K a o r i , "Kawabata Y a s u n a r i no s e i s h u n , "Bunqakkai,

Aug. 1979, p. 145.

2. F y o d o r D o s t o y e v s k y , The House o f The Dead, t r a n s . H.

S u t h e r l a n d Edwards (London: Dent, 1962), pp.62-63.

3. Kawabata Y a s u n a r i , Kawabata Y a s u n a r i z e n s h u , V o l . IX
(Tokyo: S h i n c h o s h a , 1969), p.283.

4. Kawabata, p . 313.

5. N o r t h r o p F r y e , Anatomy o f C r i t i c i s m : Four Essays (Princeton:

P r i n c e t o n U n i v . P r e s s , 1957), p . 1 4 5 .

6. J e a n H e r b e r t , S h i n t o : A t t h e F o u n t a i n - H e a d o f J a p a n
(London: G e o r g e A l l e n & Unwin L t d . , 1967), pp.67-68.

7. Kawabata, Kawabata Y a s u n a r i z e n s h u , V o l . XXI (Tokyo:

S h i n c h o s h a , 1980), p.23.

8. The q u o t a t i o n and t r a n s l a t i o n i s f o u n d i n Edward S e i d e n s t i c k e r

T h i s C o u n t r y J a p a n , ( T o k y o : K o d a n s h a I n t e r n a t i o n a l L t d . , 1979), p.169.

9. Kawabata, Kawabata Y a s u n a r i jsenshu, V o l . X I I I (Tokyo:

S h i n c h o s h a , 1969) pp.105-06.

10. Edward S e i d e n s t i c k e r , T h i s Country, Japan (Tokyo: K o d a n s h a

I n t e r n a t i o n a l L t d . , 1979) p . 118.

11. The q u o t a t i o n comes f r o m S e i d e n s t i c k e r s " I n t r o d u c t i o n " t o

1

h i s t r a n s l a t i o n o f Kawabata's Snow C o u n t r y , (New Y o r k : B e r k l e y

P u b l i s h i n g C o r p . , 1960), p . 7 .

12. Kawabata, Kawabata Y a s u n a r i z e n s h u , V o l . XXI (Tokyo:

S h i n c h o s h a , 1980), p.44.

13. Muramatsu T a k e s h i , S h i no N i h o n bungaku s h i .(Tokyo:

S h i n c h o s h a , 1975), pp.7-29.

14. Kawabata, Kawabata Y a s u n a r i z e n s h u , V o l . XXI (Tokyo:

S h i n c h o s h a , 1980), p.48.

15. Kawabata, Kawabata Y a s u n a r i z e n s h u , V o l . V I I I (Tokyo:

S h i n c h o s h a , 1969), p.139.

16. F r y e , p.203.

17. H o r i I c h i r o , F o l k R e l i g i o n i n J a p a n : C o n t i n u i t y and Change,

e d . J o s e p h M. K i t a g a w a and A l a n L. M i l l e r ( C h i c a g o : The U n i v e r s i t y
o f C h i c a g o P r e s s , 1968), p.177.
 129

18. D a n i e l Crump Buchanan, J a p a n e s e P r o v e r b s and S a v i n g s ,

(Norman: U n i v e r s i t y o f Oklahoma P r e s s , 1965), p.164.

19. Hasegawa Izumi, "'Shinsei' to 'Kagaribi'," Kaishaku,

Nov., 1972.
 130

Chapter I I I

'''The q u o t a t i o n comes f r o m Kawabata's p r e f a c e t o h i s b a c h e l o r ' s

t h e s i s f o u n d i n Ryjudo, June, 1979, p . 314.

^ H a d o r i T e t s u y a h a s p r o d u c e d a f i n e p i e c e o f s c h o l a r s h i p on
t h e s e two c o n c e p t s i n Kawabata's l i t e r a t u r e i n h i s "Kawabata
Y a s u n a r i t o b a n b u t s u i c h i n y o . r i n n e t e n s e i s h i s o , " Kokuqo t o
Kokubunqaku, March, 1966.

"^Masao M i y o s h i , A c c o m p l i c e s o f S i l e n c e : The Modern J a p a n e s e

Novel ( B e r k e l e y : U n i v e r s i t y o f C a l i f o r n i a P r e s s , 1974), p . x v .

4
U e d a , p.212

^Kawabata, " L y r i c Poem," t r a n s . F r a n c i s Mathy, Monumenta

N i p p o n i c a , XXVI (1971), p . 296.

6
Herbert, pp.67-68.

7
K i n y a T s u r u t a , "The F l o w - D y n a m i c s i n Kawabata Y a s u n a r i ' s
Snow C o u n t r y , " Monumenta N i p p o n i c a , XXVI, p.253.
8
Kawabata, Snow C o u n t r y , t r a n s . Edward S e i d e n s t i c k e r (New
Y o r k : B e r k l e y P u b l i s h i n g C o r p . , 1960), p . 16.
9
Frye, p.152.

"^Hiroyuki Araki, N i h o n i i n no s h i n i o r o n r i (Tokyo: K5dansha,

1975), p . 4 7 .

1 1
K a w a b a t a , J a p a n t h e B e a u t i f u l and M y s e l f (Tokyo: Kodansha
I n t e r n a t i o n a l L t d . , 1969), pp.71-72.

H a < J o r i T e t s u y a , "Kawabata Y a s u n a r i t o s h i n r e i g a k u , "

12
Kokuqo
t o Kokubunqaku, May, 1970.

13
T a k e d a K a t s u h i k o , Kawabata bungaku t o s e i s h o (Tokyo: KySiku
Shuppan S e n t a , 1971).

1 4
Miyoshi, p . 9 7.
 131

C h a p t e r IV

Nakamura M i t s u o , Kawabata Y a s u n a r i (Tokyo: Chikuma Shobo,

1978), pp.60-61.

^Kawabata Y a s u n a r i , Kawabata Y a s u n a r i zenshu, V o l . I X (Tokyo:

S h i n c h o s h a , 1969), p.289.

3
M a t s u o Basho, The Narrow Road T h r o u g h t h e P r o v i n c e s , t r a n s .
E a r l M i n e r i n J a p a n e s e P o e t i c D i a r i e s , comp. E a r l M i n e r ( B e r k e l e y
and L o s A n g e l e s : U n i v e r s i t y o f C a l i f o r n i a P r e s s , 1 9 6 9 ) , p . 1 5 7 .
4
Kawabata, "The I z u D a n c e r , " t r a n s . Edward S e i d e n s t i c k e r i n
The I z u D a n c e r and O t h e r S t o r i e s (Tokyo: T u t t l e , 1974), p.10.

^ibid, p.12.

6
ibid., p.25.

7
M i k i K i y o s h i , "Kodoku n i t s u i t e " i n T e t s u g a k u t o jinsei
(Tokyo: K o d a n s h a Bunko, 1971), pp.463-64.

"The i d e a o f t h e c i r c u l a r p a t t e r n a s w e l l a s much o f t h e
p r e v i o u s commentary on Bash5's Oku no h o s o m i c h i was g l e a n e d f r o m
N o b u y u k i Y u a s a ' s i n t r o d u c t i o n t o h i s t r a n s l a t i o n s o f BashS t r a v e l
d i a r i e s i n The N a r r o w Road t o t h e Deep N o r t h a n d O t h e r T r a v e l
S k e t c h e s (Harmondsworth, E n g l a n d : P e n g u i n Books, 1 9 6 6 ) .
q
Kawabata, "The I z u D a n c e r , " p.22.

1 0
ibid., pp.12-13.
11
ibid., p.13.
12
ibid., p.16,

13
ibid., p.27.
14
i b i - d . , pp. 25-26.

1 5
T h e f o l l o w i n g s e c t i o n d e a l i n g w i t h Basho's a r t o f w r i t i n g
h a i k u i s b a s e d on m a t e r i a l I g a t h e r e d f r o m two b o o k s by Makoto
Ueda: Zeami, Basho, Y e a t s , Pound: A S t u d y i n J a p a n e s e a n d E n g l i s h
P o e t i c s (The Hague: Mouton and Co., 1965) and L i t e r a r y and A r t
Theories i n Japan (Cleveland: Press o f Western Reserve U n i v e r s i t y
1967).
 132

1 6
Kawabata / "The I z u D a n c e r , " pp.28-29.

17 —
Hasegawa I z u m i , Kawabata Y a s u n a r i r o n k o (Tokyo: M e i j i Shoin,
1965), p.275.
I Q
Kawabata, "The I z u D a n c e r , " p.12.

1 9
Matsuo, p.188.

if).

Kawabata, "The I z u D a n c e r , " p . 2 1 .

2 1
ibid, pp.21-22.

2 2
ibid., p.29.
Conclusion

"'"Freedman, p.vii.

2
Watsuji Tetsuro, Koji junrei (Tokyo: Iwanami Bunko,
1979), p.264.
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