A Criticism on Kawabata Yasunari's Life and Works as a Resident of Makai

A Criticism on Kawabata Yasunari's Life and Works as a Resident of Makai
　　 OSAMU Morimoto（森本　穫）
Keywords："Kawabata Yasunari" "Makai" "the world of the devil" "a resident of Makai" "Japan the Beautiful and Myself" "The lake" "orphan" "The Tale of Genji" "sadness"

Abstract

This book is written for those people all over the world who are interested in Kawabata Yasunari's life and his works. He lived 72 years from 1899 to 1972. So it is now 42 years since his quiet suicide. However, today his works are more important by evaluating by the theme of Makai.

After the second war his works suddenly deepened and grew a profound brightness of beauty. I think just then he entered the gate of Makai.
Later, in 1968, as he received the Novel Literature Prize, he gave the address "Japan the Beautiful and Myself". In this speech, he presented Japanese traditional beauty and spirit. However, the most important words was the quote "It is easy to enter the world of the Buddha, it is hard to enter the world of the devil." by IKKYU of Zen. And the world of the devil means Makai(魔界).

Kawabata continued, "The fact that for an artist, seeking truth, good, and beauty, the fear and petition even as a prayer in those words about the world of the devil ……speaks with the inevitability of fate. And the devil's world is the world difficult of entry. It is not for the weak of heart."
These words tell his determination that he himself has entered the Makai, and his works are created from that eternal idea. He is just a resident of the Makai.

Now, what is the Makai in Kawabata Yasunari's works?
On "The lake"(1954), the hero Ginpei of this story is a shabby middle-aged man. He has no job now. But he usually pursues after a beautiful girl or a young woman. And at that mere moment, he feels ecstasy with her, and then goes away.
He is a vagabond and goes to the bottom of the world.
　Ginpei has been feeling sad and lonely from his childhood, because he lost his father when he was very young. He often has an inferiority complex because he thinks his leg is ugly and that it looks like a monkey's leg. He also repents his actions against morality. Besides, he always yearns for a celestial beautiful girl from the bottom of hell.

This is the essential structure of Kawabata's Makai works.

"Sumiyoshi-series"(1949-71),"The thousand cranes"(1949-54), "The sound of the mountain"(1949-54),"The sleeping beauty(1960-61)" "One arm"(1963) and "The dandelion"(1964-68) are works which take place in the Makai world.

Through this book I have tried to solve each work of Kawabata, and to solve the tracks of his inner spirit or soul.
I hope to readers of this book that you will know Kawabata's fate as an orphan; his sad first love with Itoh Hatsuyo; encounters and farewells to familiar blood relatives, girls or friends; his deep scars from the war; his profound awareness of Japanese traditional culture or spirit, especially from The Tale of Genji; and his challenge of using avant-garde literary techniques.

Finally I hope you enjoy the abundant Makai world works of Kawabata.

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　Bensei Publisher September 2014
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