I have read a novel written by a Nobel Prize winner Yasunari Kawabata, “The Old Capital”. This capital is Kyoto in Japan. This story is for people who would like to get in touch with strengths of female twins who have their own believes. Although this story is based on customs in Kyoto in the mid-Showa period, the fluent and graceful style of Yasunari Kawabata invests to the story a certain core that exists in female human beings. Socio-politically the novel is good for learning sceneries, festivals and customs in Kyoto. Literary-historically it was cited by the Nobel Committee in their decision to award Kawabata the 1968 Prize for Literature. It is also notable that this novel is written during Kawabata’s mental illness by taking up too many sleeping pills, and the style is a bit different from other works by Kawabata because he himself did not memorize the content of this novel so well afterwards. The individuality and existence of human beings are well described by the main characters, Chieko and Naeko. Human values are enhanced by what they did confronting their cultural differences despite of being a twin. The emotions of the two are not explicitly shown and silent showing of their flow of emotions invests the story graceful style of the story telling.
From the viewpoint of the structuralism four seasons, festivals and customs in Kyoto are incorporated to the story with well-balanced amounts. From the viewpoint of post-structuralism there is not so much to say. From narratology the recognition of the twin’s difference invests the story with the strength of human beings, especially related to feminism.
Overall, this is the story good for learning the style of Kawabata and why he is rewarded Nobel Prize. Everybody wants to go to Kyoto after reading this literature.
