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    Lonely Boy: a biography of Yasunari Kawabata
    Lonely Boy: a biography of Yasunari Kawabata
    Lonely Boy: a biography of Yasunari Kawabata
    Ebook45 pages40 minutes

    Lonely Boy: a biography of Yasunari Kawabata

    By Christina St Clair

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    About this ebook

    This biography about the life of Japanese literary master, Yasunari Kawabata, who wrote Snow Country and many other books, is full of facts, and yet is also a work of imagination.
    "One night, after Grandfather relieved himself, Yasunari wrote in his diary, "I hear in the depths of the urine bottle the rushing sound of a pure mountain stream.""
    Yasunari Kawabata lost his mother, his father, and his sister when he was very young. Then, his grandfather, who took care of him, also got sick and Yasunari looked after him until he died. His lonely early days did not limit him: Yasunari became a famous writer who won a Nobel prize in literature.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherChristina St Clair
    Release dateDec 29, 2015
    ISBN9781310320712
    Lonely Boy: a biography of Yasunari Kawabata
    Author

    Christina St Clair

    Christina St Clair, born and raised in England, has been a shop girl in London, an au-pair in Paris, a chemist in Pittsburgh, a pastor/spiritual director in Kentucky. She is the writer of several published novels that include supernatural fantasies and multicultural biographies.

    Read more from Christina St Clair

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      Book preview

      Lonely Boy - Christina St Clair

      Lonely Boy

      a Biography of Yasunari Kawabata

      Copyright © 2013 Christina St. Clair

      All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions.

      No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping, or by any information storage or retrieval system without the permission in writing from Christina St. Clair.

      This book is biography with many facts and quotations, but is also a work of imagination about how Yasunari thought and felt as he grew up.

      Dedication

      for those who are different

      Chapter One

      Silk and Soap

      Grandfather told Yasunari the legend of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, a famous samurai. His Grandfather’s nickname for him, Toyomasa, made him feel kinship to this warrior, who though born a peasant later became very important. Yasunari heard the story that Hideyoshi was a child of the sun. He wondered if he too was a child of the sun. After all, he had no living father or mother. He wished he were divine. He dreamed that he would grow up to become a warrior or a ruler of the people. Still, Yasunari did not like to be called monkey or bald rat as Hideyoshi had been called. He preferred to think of himself slashing a sword against imaginary enemies.

      Grandfather told him how important their house was, the one he had spent a lot of time building and rebuilding. He longed to take his grandson on trips to visit important places, especially traditional Japanese houses. He remembered a time when most Japanese houses were built from wood, clay, paper and straw. His house was a fine one built in the Meiji fashion, borrowing from Western engineering, using bricks and boards. Yet, it reflected the artistry of a Japanese mind and Japanese quality.

      Grandfather’s aging eyes were losing sight, and to have the company of his grandson comforted him. Yet, after Grandmother died, he was unable to care for the boy on his own. Fortunately, they could afford a housekeeper to take care of them. Her name was Omiyo.

      Yasunari relied upon Omiyo to cook and clean for them. He liked her, and did not think much about how her life differed from his. She was an ordinary peasant. He was born into a higher class. Everyone accepted their place. Thanks to the Meiji reforms that brought in Western ideas, Omiyo’s children got to go to school for six years. Of course, none of them would have any chance to go to a university. They’d be lucky to make it through a middle school like the one he was now attending. He was twelve years old. Still, everyone got to learn how to read and write. Omiyo’s family also understood the importance of loyalty to the Emperor. They knew, too, how to take care of themselves by working together.

      Yasunari did not really understand the importance of family. He did not

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