The Old Capital

The Old Capital

Yasunari Kawabata

Language: English

Pages: 160

ISBN: 1593760329

Format: PDF / Kindle (mobi) / ePub


The Old Capital is one of the three novels cited specifically by the Nobel Committee when they awarded Kawabata the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1968. With the ethereal tone and aesthetic styling characteristic of Kawabata's prose, The Old Capital tells the story of Chieko, the adopted daughter of a Kyoto kimono designer, Takichiro, and his wife, Shige.

Set in the traditional city of Kyoto, Japan, this deeply poetic story revolves around Chieko who becomes bewildered and troubled as she discovers the true facets of her past. With the harmony and time-honored customs of a Japanese backdrop, the story becomes poignant as Chieko’s longing and confusion develops.

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suggestions—general and specific, welcome and resented—for improving the work. These voices, along with my deepened understanding of Kawabata as an author, encouraged me to undertake a complete revision of my translation of The Old Capital when Jack Shoemaker suggested the possibility of bringing the novel back into print. I wish to acknowledge the debt I owe to the many who have taught and advised me over the years. Thanks to them, my revisions to The Old Capital reflect what I hope is my

Gion band drifted in from the town. The guest downstairs seemed to be a crepe dealer from somewhere near Nagahama in Omi. The sake had made several rounds, so their voices were rather loud. Snatches of the conversation reached Chieko where she lay in the rear of the second floor. The guest stubbornly insisted that it was for the sake of tourism that the float procession now began at Shijo, went down the broad, very modern Kawaramachi, turned down Oike, which was a wide street designed for

lighted: the Left Daimonji on Okitayama near Kinkakuji, the Myoho on Mount Matsugasaki, the Funagata on Mount Myoken in Nishigamo, and the Toriigata on a mountain in Kamisaga. These five “sending fires” were lighted to direct the spirits of the dead back to the netherworld. For the forty minutes of the events all the neon lighting and advertising in the city was turned off. Chieko could sense the color of early autumn in the sending fires and the glow of the night sky. About two weeks earlier

there, could we go over toward Shoren’in Temple?” Chieko asked in the car. “Just in front of the entrance.” “The camphor trees. It’s the camphor trees that you want to see, isn’t it?” “That’s right.” Chieko was surprised at her father’s perception. “The camphor trees.” “All right. Let’s go,” Takichiro said. “When I was young I used to sit in the shade of the big camphor trees there and talk with my friends…. None of them are in Kyoto anymore.” Chieko was silent. “That whole area brings back

mother rested her forehead on her hand. “I was sitting here at the desk thinking about your father.” “Mother, you know what’s happening, don’t you?” “What do you mean?” Mother and daughter were silent for a while. Then Chieko spoke, as if she could not keep still. “Shall I go to Nishiki market to get something for dinner?” “Yes, please.” Chieko stood up and went toward the shop, stepping down into the entry. Originally, the entry room had been narrow, extending far to the back of the house.

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