Kawabata, Yasunari 1899–1972

Kawabata, a novelist, short story writer, and critic, was the first Japanese author to receive the Nobel Prize for Literature. Numerous deaths in his family left Kawabata virtually alone at a young age and impressed upon him the loneliness and impermanence of life, a view often reflected in his work. He is important both for his own fiction and for his support of such younger Japanese writers as Yukio Mishima. (See also CLC, Vols. 2, 5, 9, and Contemporary Authors, Vols. 13-14; obituary, Vols. 33-36, rev. ed.)