Kawabata, Yasunari, kah wuh BAH tuh, yah soo NAHR ee (1899-1972), was the first Japanese author to win the Nobel Prize for literature. Kawabata won the prize in 1968 for his novels. Much of his best writing reflects feelings of loneliness and a preoccupation with death. His fiction shows the influence of both Japanese and Western poetry. His novels utilize symbols and images as much as characterization and plot to tell their stories.