Kawabata, or the ultimate vision: About Senbazuru [Thousand Cranes]

Abstract

This text gives some evocations of the ways an image appears in a Japanese fictional novel based on categories such as substitution, analogy, permanence or else absence of place. The question of a confused desire slides frequently into the pages of Senbazuru [Thousand Cranes] by Kawabata. That is the reason why this work would like to be a humble exploration of some captivating patterns that can be found in this novel. How does an overpowering and forbidden desire get embodied in a unclear lipstick mark on an object? How does the male vision of the main protagonist get drowned in such traces?