SENBAZURU

Senbazuru (1949–51; tr. Thousand Cranes, 1958) was one of the three representative novels cited by the Nobel Prize Committee when author Kawabata Yasunari was announced as the winner of the 1968 literary prize. The story centers on a young man who finds himself attracted to his late father’s mistress. Following the death of the mistress, the young man’s affections transfer to her daughter, who runs away from his advances. The tea ceremony, with its timeless rituals and traditional implements, is used throughout the novel to highlight the theme of death and the impermanence of human life.

See also WOMEN IN LITERATURE.