A Thousand Cranes was written in 1951.

From my relationships with Japanese people, and Japanese men in particular, I recognize the deeply amazed Japanese generation just after the war. A generation wounded, maimed by the terrible way in which the Second World War ended for Japan.
The men are no longer able to be "masculine", lost love, an insecure attitude between husband and wife.

Something that even now continues to affect the current Japanese generation.

During my visit to Kyoto I noticed it everywhere, felt it in my interactions with the man in the street, the woman at the temple, my friend at home. Something has been lost that will never come back.
Also in this book, where, unlike others, I hardly detect any love, but I do experience loss, loss that no one knows how to deal with. In the meantime, they are constantly hurting each other, and not only Chikako does that because of her meddling and desire for revenge.
Kikuji also does it constantly, with words, in thoughts.

For a moment, in his last meeting with Fumiko, everything seems different. But even then everything ends in deep misery. And Kikuji is left alone ( )

A good deal of Thousand Cranes takes place in the context of tea ceremonies and tea dishes, so I must rant for a bit about tea.I'll admit it: probably my favorite thing to do with friends is have tea. It's important to set the scene just right. I have no education whatsoever on what is considered proper conduct when having tea formally, but at my house there are a few rules that cannot be broken: we must sit on the floor, we must use a proper kettle and/or pot and tea cups, and you are not allowed to pour tea for yourself at any point. Tea is a great setting to talk about everything you've been forgetting to tell each other because life is so busy. Tea is NOT a great setting to brag about the tea bowl that you have acquired that was once your dead affair partner's other mistress's dead husband's in front of said other mistress and her daughter. Really not your best moment, Chikako. Maybe that's why no one every wanted to marry you (I refuse to believe it is because of the reason put forth by the narrator). ( )

Yasunari Kawabata's novels hark back to a lost period of decorum and suppressing culture. The short novel contrasts the fleeting with what remains, the shortness of a lifetime with the longevity of objects, culture and ceremony. This is brought to the forefront in the tea ceremony and the use of age-old teaware, tea cups and other ceramics which have had a long history and were used by different people in the family. The stark contrast between the cherished heritage also highlights the pettiness of strive between people.

Kawabata is one of Japan's Nobel Prize winners, and the high quality of his writing, while transcending the specific Japanese cultural background to embrace universal life experience is proved by this short novel. ( )

Absolutely perfect. The psychological landscape was captivating. I would have read it in one sitting, but I unfortunately fell asleep. ( )

Now that I've decided to try to 'review' each book that I have cataloged, there will be books( like this one) where I may recall reading it some years ago, may or may not remember how or why I liked it, but still can recall only a few or maybe no details about the experience. ( )