The Old Capital

Kawabata Yasunari / 高詹燦Shandong Publishing House of Literature and Art · ChinaFeb 2023

Rating 4.6
Word count
84K words
Chapters
10
ISBN
9787532960866

Tags

Foreign Literature Fate and FortuneTwin SistersFamily BondsDelicate StyleKyoto SceneryTraditional AestheticsAncient Capital CharmJapanese LiteratureFemale PerspectiveNobel Prize

Summary

The Old Capital is one of the three novels cited when Yasunari Kawabata was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature and one of his most highly regarded full-length novels. It depicts the joys and sorrows, separations and reunions of twin sisters while also presenting the customs and scenery of Kyoto. Chieko, adopted by a kimono wholesaler, grows into a beautiful young woman. On the night of the Gion Festival she meets a mountain village girl named Naeko and is astonished to learn that they are twin sisters. They long for each other yet cannot acknowledge their bond because of the gulf in their stations. The sisters' faint sorrow is woven into the beauty of Kyoto's four seasons. With a plain, delicate touch, Kawabata narrates the story of Chieko and Naeko and a sense of the loneliness of the world, drawing readers into a gentle, poetic melancholy. He writes of the sisters' hard origins and pure love, of their longing for a better life, and also reveals people's simple and kind feelings.

Editor's review

The Old Capital is the most limpidly graceful of Kawabata's full-length novels. It centers on Chieko, adopted by a kimono wholesaler, and Naeko, a mountain village girl—twin sisters who meet on the night of the Gion Festival, long for each other, yet cannot acknowledge their bond because of the gulf in their stations. Kawabata does not turn the reunion into dramatic conflict; instead he lets a faint sorrow seep into Kyoto's seasons, festivals, and fabrics, so that the book reads like a slowly unrolling scroll of local life. His rendering of Kyoto's scenery is solid and restrained: the Kitayama cedars, kimono sashes, and traditional seasonal observances are not decoration but the ground tone of the characters' fates. The novel writes of hard origins, but also of pure love and simple goodwill—there is warmth within the loneliness. Best read slowly in quiet surroundings, attending to how the changing seasons echo the characters' moods; read only as a story of sisters reunited, one easily misses the mono no aware beneath the words.

Who it's for

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Reading tips

  1. Read chapter by chapter with the seasons, noting how Kyoto's seasonal observances correspond to the characters' moods
  2. In the passages of the sisters' meeting and time together, note the restraint and distance created by differences of station
  3. A little background on the Gion Festival and the Kitayama cedars beforehand makes the relevant chapters richer
  4. After finishing, revisit the opening street scenes and fabric descriptions to appreciate the foreshadowing and overall structure

About the publisher

Shandong Publishing House of Literature and Art China · Founded in 1984

Shandong Publishing House of Literature and Art is a professional publisher focused on literature and art, with publications spanning foreign literature, classical literature, Western philosophy, and social sciences. Judging from the books in the database, it offers foreign classics such as The Brothers Karamazov, The Count of Monte Cristo, and Resurrection, classical Chinese literature including Dream of the Red Chamber: Complete in 2 Volumes, and Japanese literary works by Yasunari Kawabata such as Snow Country, The Old Capital, and Thousand Cranes. Its translator resources include Geng Jizhi and Zhou Kexi, while its author resources cover Chinese and foreign masters such as Cao Xueqin, Dostoevsky, Dumas, and Leo Tolstoy. In terms of publishing features, the house emphasizes the translation and popularization of classic works, balancing academic value and readability. Public information is limited; the above introduction is based mainly on the publishing directions reflected in the books in the database.

Contents

  1. 版权信息
  2. 春花
  3. 尼庵与格子门
  4. 和服町
  5. 北山杉
  6. 祇园祭
  7. 秋色
  8. 松木苍翠
  9. 深秋姐妹
  10. 冬日之花

FAQ

What is The Old Capital mainly about? It is about the joys and sorrows, separations and reunions of twin sisters: Chieko, adopted by a kimono wholesaler, and Naeko, a mountain village girl. Chieko meets Naeko on the night of the Gion Festival and learns they are twins; they long for each other but cannot acknowledge their bond because of the gulf in their stations. Beyond the sisters' origins and emotions, the novel presents a great deal of Kyoto's customs and seasonal scenery.
How does this book differ from Kawabata's other works? The Old Capital is a full-length novel, more expansive in structure than the short stories, but it is not strongly dramatic. It weaves the sisters' story into Kyoto's festivals, fabrics, and seasons; scenery occupies a large share, emotion is restrained, and the overall tone is light and melancholy. Unlike the transgressive love of Thousand Cranes, this book leans more toward lament for origins and human goodwill.
Will it be hard to read without knowing Kyoto? No. Although there is much Kyoto scenery, it all serves character and atmosphere, and the story is understandable without specialist knowledge. A little familiarity with the Gion Festival, the Kitayama cedars, and kimono sashes helps you appreciate the meaning in the descriptions; complete unfamiliarity does not prevent you from understanding the sisters' feelings and situation.
Is it suitable for reading in one sitting? Not really. The book is slow-paced, dense with scenery and psychological description; reading it in one go makes it easy to focus on plot and miss the atmosphere. Better to read it in several sessions, a chapter or two at a time, leaving room for reflection; revisiting the opening street and fabric passages afterward will make the structural echoes clearer.

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About the author

Kawabata Yasunari Author · Japan · 1899–1972

Kawabata Yasunari (1899–1972) was a Japanese novelist and a leading figure of the New Sensationist school, born in Osaka. A prolific writer, he is represented on this site by 147 works, spanning essays and miscellaneous prose as well as foreign literature. His representative works include The Izu Dancer, Snow Country, Thousand Cranes, and The Old Capital; Snow Country in particular exists in multiple editions and translations, a sign of its wide circulation. Kawabata is known for his delicate prose, which interweaves human emotion with natural scenery to express the spiritual character of the Japanese people, and often conveys a sense of the beauty of impermanence in life and death. In 1968 he received the Nobel Prize in Literature, an important landmark in the global recognition of Japanese literature; he died in 1972. Beyond his novels, his essays and miscellaneous writings also deserve attention.

高詹燦 Author

Public information about Gao Zhancan is limited, and his profile can currently be understood only through the eight works he has been involved in translating or editing. He appears mainly as a translator or compiler, and the titles he has handled span Japanese literature, science fiction, classics, and management. These include translations of Japanese literary classics such as The Old Capital, Lemon, and No Longer Human, as well as a collection titled Kawabata Yasunari's Representative Works (3 volumes), showing a sustained interest in modern and contemporary Japanese classics. The Uchoten Kazoku series and I Only Work Three Hours a Day: Mamoru Oshii's Character Theory touch on popular anime source novels and on management and creative commentary respectively, indicating that his range is not confined to pure literature. Overall, his work leans toward introducing Japanese literature and related books to Chinese-language readers, with varied subjects and styles; its influence lies mainly in how these translations and selections guide reading choices.