This is a translation of four Kawabata palm of the hand stories, Twenty Years, Snow, Thank You, and Grasshoppers and Crickets. The latter can only be found in this translation. It involves the sexual license of K and Sumiko as they grow up together, as well as K's love for his fellow class mate Umemura. For his indiscretions with Sumiko, K is sent away to school and looses touch with both friends, and when he again meets Umemura later in life, K finds that all was not as it seemed during their youth.

*not seen*

A summary of this serialized, incomplete novel set in the Asakusa Park district of Tokyo. This summary describes the dilapidated nature and poverty of this district, while briefly commenting on the work's style.

Kawabata, Yasunari. "At the Pawn Shop." Translated by Lane Dunlop. Boston Review (1988): 14.

This story is also found in the Palm-of-the-Hand collection and was probably published to build interest in that book. This is the story of three individuals going into, you guessed it, the pawn shop. Kawabata manages to quickly set an atmosphere of a dark and shady place.

Kawabata, Yasunari. Beauty and Sadness. Translated by Howard Hibbett. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1975.

One of Kawabata's last novels, this story centers upon Oko Toshio, who returns to Kyoto to hear the New Year's bells and see his former mistress, Otoko after twenty four years. Otoko has become an artist of some notoriety, besides being known as the central character in Oko's best received novel about a tragic love affair between a young girl of sixteen and a married man. With his return to Otoko's life, Oko comes into contact with the beautiful, young Keiko, Otoko's understudy and lover. Keiko seeks revenge upon Oko for the pain he caused Otoko through seducing Oko or his son.

Kawabata, Yasunari. "The Boat-Women: A Dance Drama." Translated by Michael Emmerlich.  Conjunctions 31 (Fall 1998): ? or see:

Kawabata, Yasunari. "The Boat-Women: A Dance-Drama." In First Snow on Fuji. pgs 200-227. Translated by Michael Emmerich. Washington D.C.: Counterpoint, 1999.

According to Conjunction's web site, "The Boat-Women was a departure for Kawabata:the first of only two works for the stage he ever created." Strong Buddhist themes set among the Heike and Genji clans.

Kawabata, Yasunari. "The Cereus" Translated by Edward Seidensticker In Contemporary Literature of Asia ed. Arthur W. Biddle, 372-373. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1996.

An impromptu viewing of the flowering cereus cactus. The blooms only come out a few times each year, only at night. Entertwined in the viewing are snapshots of a larger story.

Kawabata, Yasunari. Dancing Girl of Izu and Other Stories. Translated by J. Martin Holman. Washington D.C.: Counterpoint, 1998.

This work includes twenty three of Kawabata's early short stories, including the well known Dancing Girl of Izu previously translated by Edward G. Seidensticker. Holman's translation has received strong reviews for this work.

Kawabata, Yasunari. "The Death Mask" Translated by George Saito. Japan P.E.N. News 23 (1970): 1-3.

A short biography of Kawabata preludes the story. The death mask refers to the final hours of a beautiful woman filled with tragic joy. After her death, her many lovers try to recapture her image. This story was also translated by J. Martin Holman and appears in the Palm-of-the-Hand Stories.

Kawabata, Yasunari. The Existence and Discovery of Beauty. Translated by V.H. Viglielmo. Tokyo: The Mainichi Newspapers, 1969.

Two public lectures presented by Kawabata at the University of Hawai'i in May 1969. His discussion centered on the experience of beauty, how one comes to understand that beauty, when found, is often under particular, individual circumstances. During his first lecture, he describes his image of beauty in Hawai'i as a row of glasses sparkling in the tropical sun. His lectures also explore both The Tale of Genji and The Pillow Book.

First published in 1958, this work includes nine short stories and one play.  The story "Silence" and the play "The Boat-Women" appeared previously in the journal Conjunctions.  New stories include "This Country, That Country," "A Row of Trees," "Nature," "Raindrops," "Chrysanthemum in the Rock," "First Snow on Fuji," and "Silence," "Her Husband Didn't," and "Yumiura."   Emmerich mentions in the Translator's Notes that Kawabata was at the height of his powers when this was published.  These stories are evidence of that statement.  The title story and "Yumiura" are particularly good.

Kawabata, Yasunari. "Four Short Stories." Translated by P. Metevelis. Japan Quarterly 31, 4 (1984): 429-433.

Kawabata is introduced by the translator, who then discusses two of the stories. The translated stories are; "The Harbor," "The Child's Standpoint," "The Dead-Face Affair," and "The Hat Incident."

Kawabata, Yasunari. "Goldfish on the Roof." Translated by J. Martin Holman. The Threepenny Review 34 (1988): 13.

This story is included in the Dunlop collection of Kawabata's Palm-of-the-Hand stories. A strange little tale of Chiyoko, the daughter of a Peking concubine, and her relationship to her parents and half-sister.

Kawabata, Yasunari. "The Happiness of One Person." Translated by Kiyoaki Nakao. Eigo Kenkyu 55, 8-9 (1966): 8 pages.

*not seen*

Kawabata, Yasunari. "A Hat Incident and The Sunny Place" Translated by Shohei Shimada. The Reeds 6 (1960): 59-67.

Incident, indeed, as a young man drops his hat into a pond and is prompted to retrieve it by a thin, stern man. The thin man turns out to be mad, or a detective, or a criminal, or something altogether different. "The Sunny Place" draws upon Kawabata's youth. A young man is accustomed to staring hard at people he is close to, which he feels is an annoying habit. It is a sunny place that reminds him how he developed this habit. Both of these stories have also been translated by J. Martin Holman and appear in the Palm-of-the-Hand Stories.

Kawabata, Yasunari. House of Sleeping Beauties. Translated by Edward G. Seidensticker. Tokyo: Kodansha International, 1969. or see:

Kawabata, Yasunari. "The Sleeping Beauty" Translated by Joyce I. Ackroyd and Hiro Mukai. Eastern Horizon 4 (March 1965): 53-64. (Note: Ackroyd & Mukai only translated the first chapter.)

This translation also includes the stories One Arm and Of Birds and Beasts. Also, an introduction to the stories is provided by Yukio Mishima. A vivid and gripping work, House of Sleeping Beauties involves an elderly protagonist, Eguchi, who visits a brothel for elderly men where the young virgins are drugged into a deep sleep. One Arm is a short novella in which the male narrator takes home the arm of a female companion. Of Birds and Beasts is also a short novella where the protagonist finds more peace with small animals then interacting with the people around him.

Kawabata, Yasunari. "Immortality" In Return Trip Tango. Translated by Makoto Ueda, 63-66. New York: Columbia University Presss, 1992. or see:

Kawabata, Yasunari. "Immortality" Translated by J. Martin Holman In Contemporary Literature of Asia ed. Arthur W. Biddle, 369-371. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1996.

Story of two ghosts, one old and one young that have found each other again after many years. This story has strong Shinto elements.

Kawabata, Yasunari. The Izu Dancer and Others. Translated by Edward Seidensticker and others. Tokyo, 1968.

This collection also includes "Reencounter", "The Mole", and "The Moon on the Water". The Izu Dancer is one of the first works by Kawabata which brought him notoriety as a literary figure. This story revolves around a high school student journeying up the Izu Peninsula, where he befriends a group of traveling performers. Amongst this group is a young woman whom he finds sexually alluring, until realizing that she is a young girl. In the end, he is brought the greatest joy when she expresses that he is "nice". This work demonstrates Kawabata's talent at richly displaying and creating landscapes as well as developing a story based on themes central to Kawabata's work, beauty, purity, and love.

Kawabata's acceptance speech as the 1968 winner of the Nobel Laureate in literature. He discusses the influence of Buddhism and the traditions of Japan on his writing.

Kawabata, Yasunari. "Jojoka, Lyric Poem." Translated by Francis Mathy. Monumenta Nipponica 26, 3-4 (1971): 287-305.

An affectionate and wistful monologue declared to a lover separated from the narrator by death. She laments the "sad custom of speaking to the dead",(305) but speaks about the nature of death and the after world both in the East and West, as well as her desire to be with his loved one in the next world, even as two plum flowers.

Kawabata, Yasunari. "Kid Ume, the Silver Cat." Translated by Lawrence Rogers. In Tokyo Stories, 69-78. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2002.

This is a section of The Crimson Gang of Asakusa published between 1929-1930. This early writing has a different feel from other works by Kawabata. It has a narrator that addresses the audience as "Dear Reader" and provides a social commentary about a destitute youth.

Kawabata, Yasunari. The Lake. Translated by Reiko Tsukimura. Tokyo: Kodansha International, 1974.

This novel, first published in 1955, follows the obsessions of a homeless man who's own deformity drives him to search for the perfection of youthful beauty in the women he follows. The Lake is noted for its use of stream of consciousness devices and use of free association to create this dark novel.

Kawabata, Yasunari. "The Little Girl on the Tsubame." Translated by Ruth W. Adler. Fiction 6,3 (11981): 106-116.

Written in 1940, this is the story of newlyweds returning to Tokyo by train. While travelling, they encounter a young girl of mixed-heritage.

Kawabata, Yasunari. "Magpies."Translated by Steve Bradbury. Manoa 9,1 (1997): 213-214.

A lovely reflective story, almost like a journal entry about, obviously enough, magpies. It is a reflection on nature as it is immediately present, outside the house, and magpies in Japanese tradition.

Kawabata, Yasunari. The Master of Go. Translated by Edward Seidensticker. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1972.

Based on an actual Go match covered for a Tokyo and Osaka newspaper by Kawabata in 1938, this event is presented as a match between the old master, Shusai, and a young challenger. Shusai, in his defeat, is a noble character who represents the traditions of Japan, suffering defeat from the new world. Apparently, Kawabata considered this one of his favorite novels.

Kawabata, Yasunari. Minature Masterpieces of Kawabata Yasunari. Translated by James Kirkup and Tsutomu Fukuda. Japan: Eichosha-Shinsha, 198-?.

An odd, hard to find collection of Kawabata's short stories. Some are unique to this collection and show Kawabata's usual style. Yet the stories are almost overwhelmed by the translator's notes about each story. His observations about translation and the story are sometimes interesting, sometimes questionable and sometimes irritating.

Kawabata, Yasunari. "Moonlight in Water." Translated by Lane Dunlop. Michigan Quarterly Review 31 (Spring 1992): 181-191. or see:

Kawabata, Yasunari. "The Moon on the Water." Translated by George Saito. In Other Voices, Other Vistas, 348-359. New York: Signet Classic, 2002. Or see:

Kawabata, Yasunari. "The Moon on the Water." Translated by George Saito. In Modern Japanese Stories, An Anthology, 245-257. ed. Ivan Morris. Rutland, VT: Tuttle, 1962.

This story involves the marriages of Kyoko. After becoming critically ill, her first husband could only discover the world outside the bedroom using a hand mirror, then a cosmetic mirror provided by Kyoko. The story relates how these mirrors related and connected Kyoko to her first husband, even in memories after his demise.

A beautiful young woman becomes the new Japanese Literature teacherat an all-girls school. Miyako, one of her students, first becomes infatuated then falls in love with her teacher. After graduation Miyako expresses her love through a series of letters but does not receive any response. Unlike many of Kawabata's stories, "Morning Clouds" does conclude.

Written after World War II, this novel takes place in the ancient capital of Kyoto. The central characters of the book are beautiful twin sisters who grow up apart, and meet for the first time in Kyoto. Although both characters share a sense of loneliness and present an underlying nihilism throughout the novel, the central purpose of Kawabata's writing may have been to express the ancient beauty and traditions found within this city.

Kawabata, Yasunari. "A Page of Madness." Translated by Hiroaki Sato. Prism International 26,1 (1987): 31-47.

Script for a 1926 movie with the same title, directed by Kinugasa Teinosuke. A silent movie, this is the story of a handyman at an insane asylum who wants to free his wife from the asylum, after he realizes that his wife's illness prevents their daughter from marrying.

Kawabata, Yasunari. Palm-of-the-Hand Stories. Translated by Lane Dunlop and J. Martin Holman. San Francisco: North Point Press, 1988.

These stories perhaps represent the true essence of Kawabata's work. Many of these were written in his youth and resemble a linked-verse poetry. These stories usually have no "endings" but are beautiful, descriptive whisps of great perception and memorable, intriguing plots.

Kawabata, Yasunari. "Rediscovery." Translated by Leon Picon. Orient/West 8,4 (1963): 37-47. or see:

Kawabata, Yasunari."Reencounter." In The Izu Dancer and Others. Translated by Leon Picon. Tokyo, 1968. (Note the 2001 reprint of Seidensticker's translation of The Izu Dancer does not include this story.)

This story is set soon after the end of the war when the narrator, Yuko, meets his former lover Fujiko. His intention had been to abandon her, but in seeing her again he feels reawakened, as if he has been reconnected with his past. The story includes a brief description of Korean travellers. Fujiko may have been a geisha, based on K's description, but I am unsure on this point.

Kawabata, Yasunari. The Scarlet Gang of Asakusa. Translated by Alisa Freedman. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2005.

Parts of this have been previously published, but this is the first full length translation. This is an early Kawabata work, inspired by Joyce, and it has a different feel from his later work. I have not read this yet (new Kawabata translations are rare, so I am savoring this like a fine wine) so I will shamelessly steal from Amazon: "...captures the decadent allure of this entertainment district, where beggars and teenage prostitutes mixed with revue dancers and famous authors. Originally serialized in a Tokyo daily newspaper in 1929 and 1930, this vibrant novel uses unorthodox, kinetic literary techniques to reflect the raw energy of Asakusa, seen through the eyes of a wandering narrator and the cast of mostly female juvenile delinquents who show him their way of life."

Kawabata, Yasunari. "Setting Sun."Translated by Steve Bradbury. Manoa 9,1 (1997): 214-215.

An attempt to capture one brief moment on a busy street. It moves quickly from person to person, capturing their thoughts and actions.

Kawabata, Yasunari. "Seven Very Short Stories." In Contemporary Japanese Literature, ed. Howard Hibbett, 292-309. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1977.

These stories translated by Edward Seidensticker were referred to by Kawabata as "stories that could be held in your palm." Includes "The Pomegranate," "The Camellia," "The Plum," "The Jay," "Summer and Winter," "The Bamboo Leaves," and "The Cereus." Some of these stories can only be found translated in this collection.

Kawabata, Yasunari. "Silence." Translated by Michael Emmerlich. Conjunctions 31 (Fall 1998): ? or see:

Kawabata, Yasunari. First Snow on Fuji.  pgs 153-173. Translated by Michael Emmerich. Washington D.C.: Counterpoint, 1999.

According to Conjunctions, " The short story "Silence" strongly echoes Kawabata's masterpiece The Master of Go." An older writer is left incapacitated from a stroke and the narrator visits him and his daughter, who cares for his needs.

A young couple that has married over the disapproval of the girl's parents experience a difficult childbirth which threatens Yoshiko's life and sanity.

One of Kawabata's most famous novels, published in various installments between 1935-37, but not "completed" until 1947. The main character, Shimamura, is a wealthy, cynical yet wishful dilettante, who is an expert on Occidental ballet without having seen a ballet. He is involved in a love affair with Komako, a hot spring geisha who has remained clean amongst the corruption in the snow country . Mixed into all of this is the intense young woman Yoko, whom Shimamura finds captivating. However, neither women can bring Shimamura out of his detachment from humanity, and love, given freely on all sides, proves to be a "wasted effort".

Kawabata, Yasunari. "Socks." In Return Trip Tango. Translated by Makoto Ueda, 60-62. New York: Columbia University Presss, 1992.

A sad, innocent little story told from the perspective of a young child remembering the death of his sister and a favorite teacher.

Kawabata, Yasunari. The Sound of the Mountain. Translated by Edward Seidensticker. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1970.

Considered one of his best novels, this tells the story of the aged protagonist Shingo as he deals with problems faced and created by his children as he reflects on his life through memories of the past. At one level this is a self analysis of Shingo's life during his twilight years, yet it also shows the dynamics of a family in post war Japan.

Kawabata, Yasunari. The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter. Translated by Donald Keene. Tokyo: Kodansha International, 1998.

Okay, so this one actually does not fit the criteria because Kawabata provides a translation into modern Japanese of this "oldest surviving Japanese work of fiction." But, it is an interesting story and it includes exquisite paper-cut pictures by Masayuki Miyata.

Kawabata, Yasunari. Thousand Cranes. Translated by Edward Seidensticker. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1959.

Set against the backdrop of the traditional tea ceremony, this story centers on unrealized love. Mitani Kikuji, the young protagonist of this story, while attracted to the young woman wearing a kimono with a thousand crane pattern, cannot find the will to act due to his animosity towards the go-between Chikako, his deceased father's lover. Instead, he has a sexual relationship with another of his father's ex-lovers, Mrs. Ota, which fails to bring him happiness.

Matsuo is successful in business as a man whose tastes gravitate towards items of value. It is this innate ability which leads him to discover a magnificent titmouse while travelling in a distant town with one of his many mistresses. Matsuo quickly forgets these brief affairs, but Haruko, his wife, remembers them all.

Kawabata, Yasunari. "Two Stories." Translated by Steve Bradbury. Manoa 6,2 (Winter 1994): 33-37.

Both stories are from the twenties, and as the translator mentions, both are unusual because they deal with foreigners. The first is Japanese Anna, about a high school boy's fascination with a young Russian pickpocket. The second is The Sea, about a young Korean girl who waits for help from the last man leaving the mountain construction area.

Kawabata, Yasunari. "Undying Beauty." This is Japan 17 (1969): 56-58.

A discussion of Japan's literary traditions, as viewed through Kawabata during his readings of the war years. He pointedly notes the long development of Japanese literature, rooted in The Tale of Genji.

Kawabata, Yasunari. "Up in the Tree" Translated by Lane Dunlop In Contemporary Literature of Asia ed. Arthur W. Biddle, 367-369. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1996.

Also found in Dunlop's translation of Palm-of-the-Hand Stories. Two fourth-graders share a special relationship and a special secret, that helps Keisuke rise above his parent's arguments.

Kawabata, Yasunari. "Waterfall." Translated by Leon Zolbrod. The East 2, 1 (1965): 62-64.

A "palm of the hand" story first published in 1950, the narrator comments upon the travails of his distant relative Naoji. Specifically, it looks at Naoji first as a college graduate and his contempt for his elder brother's marriages to lower class girls, then it examines how Naoji comes to learn how his elder siblings unusual stories that led to their marriages may have been true. Zolbrod also provides an interpretation of this story, along with a brief biographical sketch of Kawabata.

A brief poem by Kawabata, which dwells on how his index finger alone recalls the woman he is traveling to meet. It seems to be an early version of the famous section in Snow Country where Shimamura is going to meet Komako, but when draws a line across the window, he sees the eye of Yoko.

Kohda, Minoru. "Another Three Short Short Stories of Yasunari Kawabata." The Reeds 14 (1976): 20-27.

Kohda chose "The Hair," "The Umbrella," and "Grasshopper and Bell-ring" to translate. The Hair is about a hairdresser who becomes quiet busy due to soldiers stationed in her village. The Umbrella looks at one simple item and how it changes how a man and woman see each other. Grasshopper and Bell-ring is a lovely story narrated by a young man who happens upon the adventures of 20 children who are holding homemade lantrens looking for crickets. All three of these stories have also been translated by either J. Martin Holman or Lande Dunlop and appear in the Palm-of-the-Hand Stories.

Kohda, Minoru. "Three Short Short Stories of Yasunari Kawabata." The Reeds 13 (1972): 45-52.

Kohda chose three stories about dreams, "A Weak Vessel," "A Girl who goes Towards the Fire," and "A Saw and Childbirth," to translate. In "A Weak Vessel," a man dreams about a porcelin statue of the goddess of mercy which shatters, and yet she is left to pick up the pieces. The second story is about a man's self analysis of his dream about a woman who no longer loves him. "A Saw and Childbirth" is presented as a stream of dream conciousness, following a woman through different roles and interactions with the man. All three of these stories have also been translated by J. Martin Holman and appear in the Palm-of-the-Hand Stories.

Mizenko, Matthew. "Bamboo Voice Peach Blossom." Monumenta Nipponica 54,3 (1999): 305-331.

Kawabata's story appears on pages 324-328. It is the story of an old man and his association with an old, withered pine tree that towers above all of the other trees on his property. This association changes when a lone hawk perches on the tree, filling Miyagawa with a sense of awe. There are some exquisite visual scenes in this story, one of Kawbata's last.

Ueda, Makoto. The Mother of Dreams. Tokyo: Kondasha, 1986.

This includes Kawabata's Palm of the Hand Stories "Autumn Rain," "Socks," and "Beyond Death." From the author's forward, "Autumn Rain" is the story of a girl living next door to death, her fragility and her mistrust of grown men contributing to her unique beauty. "Socks" is about the female narrator's longing for two people who died prematurely. "Beyond Death" is the meeting of two lovers upon the death of an old man, who enters a tree with the spirit of his young lover.