Geography of a novel. Yasunari Kawabata´s Kioto

Abstract

The novel´s geography emphasizes the role of space in constructing a literary plot. The first part of this article explains Franco Moretti and James Kneale´s theses in order to highlight the role of human experience and their representations of the world in literary fiction. The second part of the text analyzes Yasunari Kawabata´s novel about Kioto, set in post-war Japan . The main characters interact with a city steeped in centuries-old traditions, filled with temples, sanctuaries and gardens; surrounded by forests and crossed by rivers. The conclusions recover the main aspects linked to literary subjectivity, the textures of imagined space, and a possible kinetics of the text.