Yasunari Kawabata

Yasunari Kawabata (1899–1972) was a Japanese writer. Born in Osaka as the son of a physician, he studied English and Japanese literature. He became known in 1926 with his novella The Izu Dancer. His works include Snow Country, Thousand Cranes, and Kyoto, or The Young Lovers in the Ancient Imperial City. In 1968, he received the Nobel Prize in Literature. Kawabata served as president of the Japan PEN Center from 1948 to 1965 and played a significant role in the development of Japan’s literary scene after the Second World War. He died by suicide in 1972.