IN-PERSON EVENT - The Japan Society Book Club: The Rainbow by Yasunari Kawabata

Date
Monday 12 August 2024
Time
7.00pm

Venue
The Japan Society
13 / 14 Cornwall Terrace
London NW1 4QP

Booking Details
Free for members of The Japan Society

Book available from Bookshop.org, Amazon, and Waterstones (translated by Haydn Trowell)
Japanese version available here

Please help us to keep this event free and open to all! The activities of The Japan Society are made possible thanks to the support of its members. If you are planning to attend this event and are not a member (as an individual or through your employer), please consider becoming a member or making a donation if you can - the recommended donation is £5. Thank you!

In the aftermath of World War II's shadows, two sisters, born of the same father but different mothers, navigate a turbulent post-war Japan. Asako, the younger, driven by an obsession to find a long-lost sibling, grapples with the complexities of love. Meanwhile, Momoko, haunted by the memory of her kamikaze lover and their haunting final days, seeks solace in unhealthy relationships. The weight of their late mothers' legacies shadows both sisters, revealing the enduring traumas of war, the indelible family ties, and the inescapable pull of history. The Rainbow is a poignant exploration by one of Japan's eminent writers, delving into the melancholic echoes of the past and the unyielding resilience of familial bonds.

Yasunari Kawabata (1899-1972) was born in Osaka but after the early death of his parents he was raised in the countryside. He studied at the Tokyo Imperial University and was one of the founders of the publication Bungei Jidai, the medium of a new movement in modern Japanese literature. Kawabata made his debut as a writer with the short story, Izu dancer, published in 1927. After several distinguished works, the novel Snow Country in 1937 secured Kawabata’s position as one of the leading authors in Japan. In 1968, Yasunari Kawabata became the first Japanese novelist to win the Nobel Prize for Literature.

If you have any questions, please call The Japan Society office on 020 3075 1996 or email events@japansociety.org.uk.

Booking Info