The Old Capital

published	February 9th 2006 by Shoemaker & Hoard
first published	1962
binding	Paperback
isbn	1593760329 (isbn13: 9781593760328)
ebook
pages	160
characters	Chieko, Takichiro, Shige
setting	Japan
description	The Old Capital is one of the three novels cited specifically by the Nobel Committee when they awarded Kawabata the Nobel Prize for Literature ...more [close] 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. [close]
date added	12-19-06 edit book

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Antonius added it

09/14/07

bookshelves: japanese-literature

Read in June, 2007

The Old Capital – the true title should simply be “Kyoto,” but to a non-Japanese, that city might not register as Japan’s previous capital, hence the English title which spells it out – was one of three novels cited when Kawabata received the Nobel Prize for Literature. At the time, he stated that he sought harmony in his work between man, nature, and emptiness, and that theme really comes through in this book.

Kyoto is not merely the old capital of Japan but the center of i...more The Old Capital – the true title should simply be “Kyoto,” but to a non-Japanese, that city might not register as Japan’s previous capital, hence the English title which spells it out – was one of three novels cited when Kawabata received the Nobel Prize for Literature. At the time, he stated that he sought harmony in his work between man, nature, and emptiness, and that theme really comes through in this book.

Kyoto is not merely the old capital of Japan but the center of its old traditions and culture, which in this postwar world is threatened to be transformed if not lost altogether. Family run stores are becoming incorporated, festivals are being altered, traditional inns have been converted into inns for western tourists, and an entire way of life seems to be falling between the cracks of modernity.

It’s in this world that Kawabata sets his story about a 20-year old girl, Chieko, reconciling the abundant love her parents have shown her and which she has always reciprocated, with the newfound knowledge that she was an abandoned child, found and raised by her foster parents who, in order to ease the burdensome knowledge of having been abandoned by one’s real parents, insist that they kidnapped her as a baby. Her father is an obi designer who has long lost his touch, and much of the drama revolves around whether he should close up his shop, which is struggling financially, or continue to operate.

One day, in what is something of a dreamlike moment, Chieko meets a girl at a festival who turns out to be her twin sister, Naeko, who was not abandoned, and who lives a comparatively harsh life up in the mountains doing manual labor among large cedar trees. Both Chieko and Naeko are of a gentle, delicate sensibility, and they become mirror images of one another, confusing a number of secondary characters who mistake the one for the other. But to dwell too much on “plot” would be a mistake, since Kawabata is much more attuned to imagery and metaphor and most of all an elegiac tone that is as quietly passionate as in any of his novels.

Kawabata’s characters are always reflected in their environment, with trees and flowers paralleling the experiences or sensibilities that define them. The Old Capital begins with a description of a tree harboring twin sets of violets in bloom, one higher in the tree and one lower, which cause Chieko to wonder: Will these two sets of violets ever grow together? They reflect not only Chieko and Naeko, destined to meet but melancholically unable to ‘grow together,’ but also the many potential suitors for Chieko, one of whom develops a fondness for Naeko upon realizing his love for Chieko is impossible, which reflects how Naeko perceives herself to be a mere illusion of her sister. Chieko, meanwhile, perhaps loves a boy whom she remembers fondly for his important role in a festival many years ago. She is, in a sense, as much in love with the illusion of that festival boy she holds in her memory as the other loves Naeko as an illusion of Chieko. Going further, one can read these illusory loves as reflecting Kawabata’s own love with an old capital, an idea of a city that only remains in his memory. I can think of few better examples than this of the concept of ‘mono no aware,’ that particularly Japanese sadness toward the ephemerality of life.

Unlike Snow Country or The Sound of the Mountain, The Old Capital doesn’t limit itself to a single viewpoint character, but switches between several as the book progresses, perhaps broadening the scope but limiting the depth of character. Nevertheless, the essentialist style, the attention to aesthetic beauty and nature as reflecting the internal transformations or experiences of its characters, the subtlety with which interactions are hinged – a glance, an intimation, a word – imbues the book with Kawabata’s distinctive signature.
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