KAWABATA CLOSE TO NOBEL IN 1966川端康成 ノーベル賞選考の舞台裏

Declassified records from the body that chooses the Nobel Prize in Literature have revealed an early interest in Japanese writing. The first author from Japan to win the prize was Yasunari Kawabata in 1968. But it's now known that he and fellow Japanese writers landed on the short list much earlier.
The Swedish Academy keeps records of the nomination and selection process under wraps for 50 years. NHK requested minutes of a 1966 meeting, when nominations were made for the literature prize.
The document shows that 72 writers were on the list. Among them were two Japanese ― the poet Junzaburo Nishiwaki and novelist Yasunari Kawabata.
The record shows that one member of the selection committee regarded Kawabata as the most worthy. The member noted that Kawabata had an elegant writing style and depicted aesthetics of Japan not found in Western novels.

◆declassified 機密扱いを解かれた
◆short list 最終候補者名簿
◆depict 描く
◆aesthetic 美学