The capital of the country

Yasunari Kawabata is the first Japanese author to be awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature. Initially a painter, Kawabata began writing at the age of 12 and has since become one of the leading voices in Japanese literature.

“The Old Capital” is considered the author’s most lyrical and poetic novel. Kawabata uses delicate, almost musical language to describe the gradual disappearance of tradition and natural harmony in modern Japan—a painful process that each character deals with with great sensitivity and deep sadness.

In Kyoto, the old capital, lives a young woman, Chieko, who was found abandoned near a temple as a child and adopted. Her life, at first glance, is harmonious, but everything changes when Chieko suddenly meets her twin. This encounter forces Chieko to reevaluate her past, her identity, and her entire world.