Introduction

This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book deals with the period of 'experiment and expansion', naturally takes a more comparative and analytical approach in trying to evaluate what Yasunari Kawabata learned from his encounter with European modernism. It analyses the masterpiece of Kawabata's period of 'early maturity', Snow Country, as a product of his 'return to tradition' but also as an excellent example of how he integrated modernist and traditional styles and techniques to create a powerful new mode of expressing his own distinctive world view. The book also deals with three works representative of Kawabata's postwar period of 'late maturity' and aims to explores the two difficult but fascinating stories which seem best to represent the darker mood of Kawabata's 'post-maturity', the novella Sleeping Beauties and the short story 'One Arm'.