Two chapters focus on Kawabata. The first is a rapprochement study which compares - The Sound of the Mountain to Henry James's The Ambassadors and draws out the major theme to be "a sense of loss." The second chapter describes how James and Kawabata limit literary perspective to an individual rather than an omnipresent author. These conclusions are drawn from Kawabata's two books on literary theory as well as his novels.

A good summary of Snow Country, as well as an affirmation of Seidensticker's job as the translator, although Araki points out that some Japanese critics have criticized this translation.

Araki, James T. "Kawabata: Achievements of the Nobel Laureate [1969]." World Literature Today 63, 2 (1989): 209-212.

A leisurely stroll through Kawabata's many works, highlighting the main points.

Bargen, Doris G. "Ancestral to None --Mizuko in Kawabata--." Japanese Journal of Religious Studies 19, 4 (1992): 337-377.

Bargen's article looks at the issues raised by child loss, both societal and religious. As she explains, the concept of Mizuko "has undergone considerable historical change, and covers a wide spectrum of fetus and child loss." (339) This loss ranges from abortion to still birth. To focus on this issue, Kawabata's novel Beauty and Sadness was chosen since it deals directly with the topic. By analyzing this novel, Bargen explores both the rituals of mourning in Japanese culture, and also how Japanese religious elements find expression in its literature.

Barry, Peter. "Citizens of a Lost Country: Kawabata's The Master of Go and James's "The Lesson of the Master."" Comparative Literature Studies 20,1 (1983): 77-93.

Barry's article looks at how these two works examine the question "about the relationship between life and art." A detailed look at how the two main characters relate to art, along with an examination of the narrator Otaké's role. The article concludes with the admonishment for deep reading of both stories to gain a better understanding.

Boardman, Gwenn R. "Kawabata Yasunari: A Critical Introduction." Journal of Modern Literature 2 (1971): 86-104.

A description of Kawabata's style, symbols and themes. Succinctly describes the difficulties both in translation and understanding Kawabata outside the Japanese language, specifically his use of sound and reminiscent images as well as the nature of ideograms with their visual qualities. Boardman further argues that Kawabata is steeped in Heian literature, with little influence seen from his knowledge of European writers. Specifically, she mentions many of his allusions to traditional Japanese works and Buddhist passages.

Using Snow Country as the basis, Boardman expresses the difficulties inherent in understanding Kawabata's writings. Not only is it the sensual, visualization of language, but Kawabata also relies on traditional Japanese imagery and allusions. For example, the reference to the "pillow of fire" which the character Komako provides refers to sexuality and sexual images.

An interesting comparison of this novel to the tragedies of ancient Greece. The Master, much like Oedipus, is a tragic figure, in that the outcome of this match is foreordained for the audience. Bourque shows how this tragedy occurs, since this story represents the shift between world views of traditional Japan with a rational and Westernized Japan.

Brownstein, Michael C. "Kawabata Yasunari's Snow Country." In Masterworks of Asian Literature in Comparative Perspective, ed. Barbara Stoler Miller, 481-492. Armonk, NY: M.E. Sharpe, 1994.

Provides a brief outline of Kawabata's life prior to Snow Country, including a couple of useful paragraphs about the neo-perceptionists. Brownstein has a fairly standard take on Snow Country, emphasizing the nature of Shimamura's character. A list of questions for students is included, with a focus on comparision to Western literature.

Buckley, Sandra. Kawabata Yasunari's Poetics of Fragmentation: Now You See Her Now You Don't." Discours social / Social Discourse 1, 4 (Winter, 1988): 441-455.

This feminist look at Kawabata discusses why Buckley finds him "unpleasurable". She states that only the masculine subjectivity is represented, while women are fragmented into particular body parts which serve as a representation of the whole. These representations then pose no threat to the dominant male and become sources of sexual gratification.

This examination discusses how aesthetic art and life are intertwined, with art being a representation of human existance. In order to best represent life, the artist must draw upon their own intuition and those traditions of the past which enhance the artwork and understanding of nature. According to Buckstead, the artists represented in Beauty and Sadness fail to understand and represent nature, which lead to unfortunate consquences. Likewise, Kawabata shows that the role of art is to enhance the artist's perception of the aesthetic beauty, while recognizing the impermanence of this beauty.

Buckstead's study is based on Seidensticker's English translations of Snow Country and Thousand Cranes, and it is an examination of these novels through Kawabata's use of symbol and allegory. Further, it is through specific symbols in the text that Kawabata forms an allegorical structure which underlie the novels.

An examination of the symbolism found in One Arm as well as Kawabata's development of Christian, Buddhist, and Taoist philosophical ideas. Buckstead attempts to show that this story is a pessimistic dream sequence, in which the male protagonist awakens with his neuroses and frustrations still intact, while burdening his subconscious with a guilt complex.

Buckstead seeks to demonstrate how the use of mirrors in this story as a reflection of how individuals see themselves and of their relationship in the world. For instance, the murkiness mentioned in the hand mirror held by Kyoko's first husband represents both his infirmary and the fact that not as individuals they are not pure and ideal.

Buckstead's interpretation of this novel is that Shimamura, the narrator, is a "dual personality", at one time both withdrawn and aesthetic, while his other side earthly and worldly. Thus, his conflict is over his interest in Yoko and Komako. Shimamura, who is unable to accept life as it exits, seeks a way to reconcile these two halves of his personality. In the end, as expressed in the symbolism of the Milky Way, he rejects both women and thus rejects his own humanity.

Cabell, Charles Richard. "Maiden Dreams: Kawabata Yasunari's Beautiful Japanese Empire, 1930-1945." Ph.D. diss., Harvard University, 1999.

*not seen* From the abstract it "explores the relationship of culture, gender, nationalism and imperialism in the writings of Kawabata Yasunari." It deals with Kawabata's critics in Japan and the West, portrayal of women, Snow Country, the wartime version of Master of Go, and other elements of Kawabata's writing. The appendix contains some translated materials.

Carriere, Peter M. "Writing as Tea Ceremony: Kawabata's Geido Aesthetics." International Fiction Review 29, 1-2 (2002): 52-61

Geido is defined as the 'Tao' or Way of aesthetics. Carriere argues that Kawabata speaks through his use of deep cultural references about the vulgar intrusion of modernity into Japanese life. Beauty and Sadness is briefly discussed, but a Snow Country receives the longest analysis, including an interesting look at the ending.

Cassegard, Carl. "Shock and Modernity in Walter Benjamin and Kawabata Yasunari." Japanese Studies 19,3 (Dec 1999): 237-251.

A very interesting look at the philosophical make-up of Kawabata's work. Cassegard looks atht the idea of how shock affects identity and lays out the basic arguements provided by Benjamin. Kawabata, however, provides a critique of Benjamin due to the strong resonance of Zen Buddhist thought throughout his work. Cassegard predominately uses Snow Country and Thousand Cranes in his analysis.

Childs, Iraphne R.W. "Japanese Perception of Nature in the Novel Snow Country." Journal of Cultural Geography 11, 2 (Spring-Summer 1991): 1-19.

Childs states that an institutionalized part of Japanese culture is the appreciation of the natural environment. (1) Childs shows how Kawabata uses the region of the snow country to effect emotional changes in his characters and develop a spiritual framework based on Buddhism and Shintoism. Further, a central theme to this novel is the alienation of the Japanese people from nature, due to city life. Finally, this article concludes by examining current Japanese views toward the environment to see if these views match those of Kawabata.

This article looks at three Asian novelists, Yasunari Kawabata, Lu Xun, and Kamala Markandaya for the schools of existentialism which affected them, particularly during and after World War II. In the case of Kawabata, de Manuel argues that he assimilates Western ideas, particularly the nihilism of Nietzsche, into Japanese and Buddhist concepts.

According to Dearing, the use of Kawabata's novel Snow Country in this study of translation is due to his "Haiku" style writing, reliance on symbolism and images, use of indirect and euphemistic expressions, and the reliance on traditional Japanese themes. Some knowledge of Japanese or German would be useful when looking at this thesis.

This article argues that while Kawabata was apparently honored for being a modern Japanese writer, when in reality he focused on the traditional. DeVere Brown also gives a brief survey of a number of Kawabata's major works.

A comparative analysis between The Sound of the Mountain and Max Frisch's Der Mensch Erscheint im Holozan. Both novels deal with aged protagonists, and Donahue adroitly shows the parallels between these novels. Specifically, the novels work on two levels, the first defining the main characters' isolation, the second a look at the anxiety expressed on a societal level.

Brief commentary from a contemporary Western critic in 1969. He considers Kawabata generally lacking in a story line, especially in the case of Thousand Cranes, although he does consider Snow Country an excellent novel. He personally feels that the Nobel prize should have been awarded to Junichiro Tanizaki, but concludes that the prize did go to a well established literary figure, who was rewarded for the richness of literature from Japan as much as for his own writing.

Fiala, Karel. "Sentence Delimitation and Sentence Order in Japanese." Proceedings of the XIIIth International Congress of Linguists 13(1982): 1008-1012.

This article simply uses Kawabata's Beauty and Sadness as a reference. Not really about Kawabata, but if you're a linguist you might find this article interesting.

Feenberg, Andrew. "Alternative Modernity: Playing the Japanese Game of Culture." Cultural Critque 29 (1994-1995): 107-138.

A very fine article discussing The Master of Go. It provides a nice description of the game, looks at Kawabata's use of Go to critique modernity, and discusses how this critique applies toward Japan.

Fernandez, Jaime. "The Unreality of Love: Time and Death in Kawabata's Lyric Poem." Monumenta Nipponica 26, 3-4 (1971): 307-317.

Fernandez sees the basic, underlying theme of Jojoka as one of solitude caused by the loss of the main character's lover, first to another woman, and then to death. The love she feels is a depersonalized expression removed from the reality of human existence. Through the use of memories, Kawabata shows this expression of Tatsue's love by denying the actual present and exalting the beauty of memory, and thus, an aesthetic unreality.

Fowler, Edward. "Rendering Words, Traversing Cultures: On the Art and Politics of Translating Modern Japanese Fiction." Journal of Japanese Studies 18,1 (1992): 1-44.

Only tangentially about Kawabata, it is nevertheless interesting to look at the political and economic issue of translating. There is a rebuttal to this article published in 1993.

Freese, Wolfgang and Angela B. Moorjani. "The Esoteric and the Trivial: Chess and Go in the Novels of Beckett and Kawabata." Perspectives on Contemporary Literature 6 (1980): 37-48.

Freese and Moorjani show how Beckett's Murphy and Kawabata's The Master of Go reflect a displacement and upheaval within the society of each novel. Specifically regarding Kawabata's novel, they state that not only is the old, traditional overcome by the new, modern, but that it was the trivial rule making of the modern which defeats the esoteric beauty of art by not giving the old order the honor "to die in a beautiful manner and at the "right" moment." (46)

An examination of The Sound of the Mountain which explores the basis and roots of Kawabata's writing. Fukasawa states that "Western literature has left him all but untouched."(36) Instead, Kawabata's influences can be seen not only in The Tale of Genji, which he studied extensively, but also in other periods from Japanese literature, considering Kawabata's quotes from haiku and No plays, as evidenced in The Sound of the Mountain. Finally, it is also Kawabata's use of language which gives his writing a particular quality, since he rarely used Chinese loan words and relied on native diction.

A thorough analysis of an often neglected aspect of Kawabata's art, his connection to film. Gerow argues that Kawabata's flirtation with cinema"(p. 77) was not simply a product of his youth, but greatly affected his later literature.

Another excellent source published by Kodansha, this work by Gessel fully describes the life of Kawabata, including some background on his parents and family. Meant for a general reader, it follows the progression of Kawabata's life and ties his literary output and style into this context.

A contemporary view of Seidensticker's translation of this novel. Goody gives an enthusiastic review, and sees Kawabata as "a reflector of artistic traditions of international character."(220) Goody was also the first writer in print to draw a comparison between Henry James and Kawabata.

Demonstrates how Kawabata's female characters relate to concepts of Japanese Buddhism, especially the idea of emptiness, as well as impermanence and interdependence. Gorman relies on English translations for this work, specifically Snow Country, Beauty and Sadness, Thousand Cranes, and The Old Capital.