Description
Set in the timeless streets of Kyoto, this lyrical novel follows Chieko, the adopted daughter of a kimono designer and his wife, as she begins to uncover the hidden contours of her own past. As her discoveries awaken a restless longing, Chieko’s search for meaning unfolds against the city’s fading rituals and enduring beauty, turning personal history into a meditation on identity. With Kawabata’s signature ethereal, aesthetically precise prose, the story explores memory, desire, and the quiet power of tradition to both shelter and unsettle the heart. Part coming-of-age and part elegy, it captures how the past can feel both intimate and unreachable—especially in a world where beauty and secrecy often share the same silk thread.
Available Editions
paperback
Counterpoint Press
Published Jan 1, 2006
160 pages
ISBN: 9781582439082
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Details
First Published
1962
Language
jpn
Translation
From: jpn
Content Warnings
Content and trigger warnings for The Old Capital by Yasunari Kawabata.