Biểu tượng văn hóa truyền thống Nhật Bản trong tiểu thuyết Y. Kawabata.Biểu tượng văn hóa truyền thống Nhật Bản trong tiểu thuyết Y. Kawabata.Biểu tượng văn hóa truyền thống Nhật Bản trong tiểu thuyết Y. Kawabata.Biểu tượng văn hóa truyền thống Nhật Bản trong tiểu thuyết Y. Kawabata.Biểu tượng văn hóa truyền thống Nhật Bản trong tiểu thuyết Y. Kawabata.Biểu tượng văn hóa truyền thống Nhật Bản trong tiểu thuyết Y. Kawabata.Biểu tượng văn hóa truyền thống Nhật Bản trong tiểu thuyết Y. Kawabata.Biểu tượng văn hóa truyền thống Nhật Bản trong tiểu thuyết Y. Kawabata.Biểu tượng văn hóa truyền thống Nhật Bản trong tiểu thuyết Y. Kawabata.Biểu tượng văn hóa truyền thống Nhật Bản trong tiểu thuyết Y. Kawabata.
MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING HANOI UNIVERSITY OF EDUCATION NGUYEN THI THANH NGA TRADITIONAL CULTURAL SYMBOLS IN Y KAWABATA'S NOVELS Major: Foreign literature Code: 22 02 42 SUMMARY OF PORT GRADUATE DISSERTATION HA NOI - 2022 THE CONSTRUCTION IS COMPLETED IN HANOI PEDAGOGICAL UNIVERSITY SCIENTIFIC INSTRUCTORS: Scientific supervisor: PhD Dao Thi Thu Hang Assoc.Prof Nguyen Thi Mai Chanh Reviewers 1: Assoc.Prof PHUNG NGOC KIEN Institute of Literature Reviewers 2: Assoc.Prof NGUYỄN THU HIEN Hanoi University of Social Sciences and Humanities Reviewers 3: Assoc.Prof NGUYEN LINH CHI Hanoi National University of Education The dissertation is defensed in the presence of the university-level dissertation committee, in Hanoi Pedagogical at .on (date) (month) (year) The Thesis can be found at: - National Library of Hanoi, - Library of Hanoi University of Education University, INTRODUCTION Reasons for selecting subject 1.1 Yasunary Kawabata (1899 - 1972) is one of the greatest writers of modern Japanese literature He is the first author of the Cherry Blossoms Land, who won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1968 Kawabata's talent, wisdom, and thought has been crystallized and reflected in the works capturing the culture of Japan 1.2 A literary work is like a mirror reflecting the culture of a country Kawabata's strangely talented pen represents the quintessence of Japanese aesthetic thinking and soul: aesthetic, sentimental but still full of philosophy Its bridge is symbolic This is also the most characteristic way to express the writer's thoughts, feelings, and artistic views 1.3 We found that throughout Kawabata's works, images, phenomena, and objects are all derived from Japanese traditional culture They have capable of perfectly expressing the meanings and conceptions of life Therefore, through this search, we hope to contribute an approach and research on Kawabata's works 1.4 In Vietnam, there have been various studies about the author Kawabata as well as his works from the perspective of decoding symbols But in fact, there has not been any in-depth research on traditional cultural symbols in Kawabata novels Therefore, implementing this research, we believe in suggesting various interesting things for the readers loving Japanese literature and Kawabata All of the above reasons are the scientific basis allowing us to choose the research: Traditional cultural symbols in Y Kawabata's novels Research objectives and tasks 2.1 Research objectives The dissertation aims for three purposes: Explain the origin of traditional cultural values in Kawabata's novels; analyze the relationship between traditional Japanese and modern Western culture in his works; thereby clarifying the ideas and aesthetic concepts governing Kawabata's creativity Select and decipher the most typical symbols that appear with high frequency in Kawabata’s novels The thesis points out the good, the beauty, the uniqueness, and the novelty It is the result of the process including absorbing the quintessence of Western literature, inheriting and innovating cultural traditions imbued with Japanese national identity 2.2 Research tasks The thesis focuses on three main tasks: Firstly, introduce symbols, and cultural - literary symbols; explain the basis of formation, and using the traditional cultural symbol system in Kawabata novels Secondly, we make systematic statistics of traditional cultural symbols in Kawabata's novels Next, classify symbols, and clarify the role and the meaning of cultural-literary symbols in Kawabata's works, contribute creating other layers of meaning of the symbolic system in traditional Japanese culture Thirdly, surveying Kawabata's major novels from the perspective of cultural symbols, we evaluate and affirm the writer's great successes and contributions to modern Japanese literature Objects and Scope of Research 3.1 Research Objects The thesis explores traditional Japanese cultural symbols in Y Kawabata's novels We focus on two typical aspects: religious and belief symbols (Shinto, Zen Buddhism) and traditional artistic symbols 3.2 Research Scope - Scope of the survey: The thesis studies the symbols of traditional Japanese culture in Y Kawabata’s great novels translated and published in Vietnam in The anthology of works of Y Kawabata (2005), Labour Publishing House (East-West Cultural and Language Center) includes: Snow Country (1935 - 1947), Thousand Cranes (1951), The Old Capital (1961), The Sound of the Mountain (1952), House of the Sleeping Beauties (1969), Lake (1954), Ho Chi Minh City Literature Publishing House - Research scope of the subject: Exploring cultural meanings from a symbolic perspective as one of the best aspects of expressing the characteristics of traditional Japanese culture Through the interpretation and analysis of the meanings of typical symbols in Kawabata's novels, the thesis aims to interpret the combination of East-West culture, tradition, and modernity in his novels Research Methodology Methodological basis: researching this subject, we choose two approaches: The Semiotic Approach and Cultural Approach Specific methods and operations: Interdisciplinary methods, Structural-systematic method, Biographical Criticism method Specific operations: historical typology, compare - contrast; Survey – statistics – classification New contributions of the thesis The thesis detects and classifies cultural symbols in Kawabata novels It explains and analyzes the symbols from various angles to evaluate the role, and the meaning of symbols in Kawabata's works and affirms the author's talent in creating unique and creative symbols The thesis points out the close connection between traditional Japanese and Westen modern culture It also shows the close relationship between literature and culture Thesis structure In addition to the Introduction, Conclusion, References, and Appendix, the thesis is structured into four chapters: Chapter Research Issues Overview Chapter Symbols and Traditional Culture in Y Kawabata's Novels Chapter Religion Beliefs Symbols Chapter Traditional Art Symbols Chapter RESEARCH ISSUES OVERVIEW The task of this chapter is to summarize the research situation of Kawabata’s novels and cultural symbols in his novels; determine the point of view and approach of the thesis 1.1 Research on Y Kawabata’s novels and traditional cultural symbols in Y Kawabata’s novels in the world Immediately after Kawabata won the Nobel Prize for literature, various researches on Kawabata novels appeared in the following aspects: Biographical Approach (works of Anders Osterling, Mary Jo Moran, and Donald Keene), Interdisciplinary research (the works of Edward G Seidensticker, Anders Osterling, Francis Mathy, Katsuhito Takeda, Setsuko Tsutsumi, Peter M Carriere, Nawang Sari, and Yuli Christiana Yoedo); Poetics (works of Reiko Tsukimura, Gwenn R Boardman, Mishima Yokio, Makoto Ueda, Itasaka, J Thomas Rimer, Sidney DeVere Brown, Shuichi Kato, Fedorenko, Peter M Carriere, Masaki Mori, Mitsuyoshi, Numano, Yuli Christiana, and Laura Ricca) After reviewing, we find that Kawabata's novels are works attracting special attention and the love of readers Regarding the symbolism, researchers have mentioned, but there is not any work researching the subject that we exploit 1.2 Research on Y Kawabata’s novels and traditional cultural symbols in Y.Kawabata’s novels in Vietnam After winning the Nobel Prize in Literature, Kawabata's name and works are loved by Vietnamese readers His works come to readers in a rich quantity with many quality translations, especially the trilogy of Thousand Cranes, Snow Country, and The Old Capital At the same time, there are researches on Kawabata in various different aspects: Biographical Approach (the works of Vu Thu Thanh, Luu Duc Trung, Nguyen Nam Tran, Huu Ngoc), Poetics (the works of Nhat Chieu, Dao Thi Thu Hang, Luu Duc Trung, Le Thi Bich Thuy, Nguyen Thi Huan, Nguyen Duc Ninh, Nguyen Nam Tran, Nguyen Tuan Khanh, Nguyen Thi Mai Lien, Vu Thi Thanh Hoai, Thuy Khue, and Khuong Viet Ha), Psychoanalytic (the works of Doan Le Giang, Dao Thi Thu Hang, Ha Van Luong, Hoang Thi My Nhi), Cultural (the works of Tran To Loan, Ha Van Luong, Doan Le Giang, Nhat Chieu, Dao Thi Thu Hang, Nguyen Thi Mai Lien, Tran To Loan, Thuy Khue, Khuong Viet Ha, Huu Ngoc, Hoang Thi My Nhi) These studies show that Kawabata has received great attention from Vietnamese scientists Sub-conclusion Through the survey, we found that there are various ways to understand and interpret cultural symbols and point out some typical expressions from the works of various previous researchers This will be an important clue and a basis for us during the researching project The systematic view in the thesis helps us to rearrange and explore more deeply the symbols in Kawabata’s novels Chapter SYMBOLS AND TRADITIONAL CULTURE IN Y.KAWABATA'S NOVELS In this chapter, the main task is to study the concept of symbols, cultural symbols, traditional cultural symbols; to explore the relationship between culture and symbols in literary works; to explain the basis of formation of symbols in Kawabata’s novels; to survey and classify the system of traditional cultural symbols as the basis for developing the thesis in the next chapters 2.1 Symbols 2.1.1 Symbols definition A symbol can be defined as an image, a character, a thing, or an action, etc It can represent an idea or establish a certain relationship that is known by the majority, and recognized by the community It can open new layers of meaning Symbols are highly concise, associative, conventional, and generalizable So they can express and convey values and ideas quickly and easily 2.1.2 Distinguishing symbols from some other concepts To clarify the "difficult to define and live" characteristics of symbol so that the analysis and interpretation of the symbol in the next chapters of the thesis are accurate and scientific, we make a distinction: symbols and signs; symbols and images; symbols and icons 2.2 Cultural Symbols and Traditional Cultural Symbols Symbol is the basic unit of a culture The identity of a culture is determined by its system of symbols Therefore, to understand the concept of cultural symbols, we must understand what culture is 2.2.1 Cultural Symbols We choose the cultural definition of UNESCO: the set of distinctive spiritual, material, intellectual and emotional features of society or a social group, that encompasses, not only art and literature but lifestyles, ways of living together, value systems, traditions, and beliefs (2001) From the concept of the symbol and the definition of culture, we can understand the Traditional Cultural Symbol as follows: Cultural symbols first are symbols (objects, meanings, concepts, etc) gathered in a system of material and spiritual values, which are specific to a certain culture In other words, they are symbols having special meaning to identify unique cultural values of a community or nation Compared with ordinary symbols, cultural symbols must have distinct features: they are products having material and spiritual values that are distilled and handed down over time They bear the cultural identity of the community, and nation 2.2.2 Traditional Cultural Symbols Understanding in the simplest sense of the word, “Tradition” is the inheritance of valuable social heritage passed from generation to generation Tradition is not only a relic of the past but also a bridge connecting new values From the research process, in our opinion, traditional cultural symbols are signs, signals, and representatives of positive material and spiritual values They represent the national cultural identity They are preserved and have the ability to pass on, transform through space, time, from generation to generation 2.3 The relationship between culture and symbols in literary composition 2.3.1 Symbols in cultural life In cultural life, symbols exist in the following forms : The first is the object symbol, it exists in material life as specific images The second is the intangible symbol, they include symbols expressing the concept of the universe, human life, all kinds of ideas, religious aesthetics, and customs of nations as well as the whole of humanity The third is art symbols Existing in this form, cultural symbols often include both material and spiritual values 2.3.2 Symbols in literary works In literary works, symbols are usually constructed according to the following mechanisms: Firstly, literary symbols are taken from the treasures of cultural symbols of humanity and the nation - of their communities to reshape and add new layers of meaning Second, writers can also combine their artistic senses with the "collective unconscious" part hidden deep in the subconscious to create symbols in literary works Third, from practical observation, the writer chooses an inherent symbol of a nation to build into a character in his work To discover the meaning of symbols in literary works, we must penetrate the style of writing and the entire artistic world of writers 2.4 The basis of the cultural symbols formation in Y Kawabata’s novels Through the survey, we found that the symbols in Kawabata's novels are formed from the following basic sources: 2.4.1 Traditional Japanese Culture Symbols derived from religious beliefs, customs, and traditions, the mixture of Shinto and Buddhism, have brought a unique spirit to the Japanese throughout history Therefore, their aesthetic is also located in nature, voids, and epiphany - discovering the infinite in the finite Traditional literature is also a unique area of Japanese culture, which has a great influence on Kawabata's compositions Traditional Japanese art is expressed by the ability to delicately perceive the beauty of nature, society, and people 2.4.2 Western Culture The element creating Kawabata’s difference is that his works were imbued with the thought and artistic spirit of the times - an era in which the values of each nation were fostered and tested through friction with universal human values Western literature had certain influences on Kawabata's works, especially the novels of James Joyce, and Marcel Proust, and the psychoanalysis of S.Freud 2.4.3 The domination of aesthetic point of view, the imprint of Kawabata - the "melancholy traveler" in looking for beauty Aesthetic conceptions of Beauty and Sadness – the important factor that governs the symbolic meaning in Y Kawabata's novels Beauty and sadness always go hand in hand, perfect for each other Beauty must be associated with sadness This is a traditional aesthetic concept that influences Kawabata's works Social reality – influences Y Kawabata's thoughts and views on composition Kawabata composed during the period Japan had various changes before the invasion risk of Western culture and lifestyle The traditional culture of the nation is in danger of fading away Imprints of life, governing the creative path of Kawabata Various researchers believe that the life imprinting "Lonely nature and orphan identity" is also deeply embedded in Kawabata's works Therefore, each work is a story of his own life 2.5 Survey and classification of cultural symbols in Y Kawabata's novels 2.5.1 Classification Criteria Based on the aspects of cultural expression in literary works, we divide symbols in Kawabata's novels into two main groups: the first group is religious and belief symbols and the second group is traditional artistic symbols 2.5.2 Statistical table of traditional cultural symbols in Y Kawabata's novels Traditional Frequency Symbol group cultural Work appear symbols (times) Snow Country 132 The Old Capital 15 Religion Shinto Snow Sleeping Beauty Beliefs Symbol Beautiful and Sad Symbols Lake Cherry The Old Capital 67 blossom The Sound of the 23 Mountains Lake 20 Traditional Symbol group cultural Work symbols Hot Snow Country waterfall The Sound of the Mountains Crane Thousand Cranes wings Snow Country Mirror Thousand Cranes Beautiful and Sad Lake Meditation The Old Capital symbols Tea Thousand Cranes Beautiful and Sad Snow Country The Old Capital Traveler Thousand Cranes The Sound of the Mountains Sleeping Beauty Beautiful and Sad Snow Country Traditional The Old Capital Art Textile art Thousand Cranes Symbols symbols Kimono The Sound of the Mountains Sleeping Beauty Beautiful and Sad chijimi Snow Country woven fabric Symbols of Snow Country performing Geisha Sleeping Beauty arts, theater Samisen Snow Country Noh mask The Sound of the Mountains Frequency appear (times) 18 13 81 28 21 73 329 13 Shimamura Takichiro Kikuji Shingo Eguchi Oki Toshio 41 232 17 20 30 28 68 37 45 11 Snow – the symbol of pure space, and fanciful world of beauty The snow in Kawabata's works has a truly different beauty of nature It is a vast space filled with white White is not only a symbol of purity but also a color of vanity Snow – The symbol of illuminating and purifying the soul From the richness of white’s meaning in different cultures, Kawabata aims for a noble meaning in artistic creation Snow Country becomes a symbol of purity and chastity in the soul, and deep spirituality This is also the value that people always aim for, and find in the journey finding the true value of truth - goodness - beauty Snow is also a symbol of the journey back to the pure and pristine depths of the soul The momentary existence and instant dissolution of white snowflakes is the expression of eternal beauty in the spiritual world, beyond the concept of life - pure survival The Japanese love pristine, and defective beauty, because nothing is perfect Therefore, Kawabata's stories not have an end, they all point toward the infinity of the spiritual world 3.2.3 Mirror symbol 3.2.3.1 Mirror symbol in traditional culture In traditional Japanese literature, the mirror is associated with an old story about the girl Phu Tang Every time looking in the mirror, she sees not only her shadow but also another figure being like her That is her mother from whom she inherits both beauty and soul It is the shadow of the eternal woman and traditional beauty in ancient Japanese literature The myth of the Japanese Sun Goddess giving birth to humans also partly shows the femininity in their aesthetic conception Mirror has also become a familiar symbol in the works of various modern twentieth-century writers such as Murakami, Tanizaki, and Kawabata In particular, the mirror has a symbolic meaning for the character's self-reflection journey This helps the character to reorient his gaze inward, as well as a way to find his true self 3.2.3.2 Mirror and its variations in Y Kawabata's novels Mirror - a symbol of truth, authenticity Looking in the mirror helps people identify themselves The usual joy - anger - love - hate on the face that cannot be recognized by themselves Characters in Kawabata's works, whether male or female, like to look in the mirror and look at themselves This is an action repeated many times in his works 12 Through the mirror, Kawabata conveys philosophies and aesthetic conceptions about the beauty of life and people All images in Kawabata's works are projected by the mirror technique, even when the writer did not directly use the mirror anymore, reflected light still appeared Mirror – a symbol of the deep inner world and eternal feminine beauty Looking into the mirror is the way people turn inward, return to their own Buddha nature, and reach a state of peace and serenity The mirror carries the mission of reflecting oneself, but more importantly, it is a mirror of the soul, bringing people closer together, as well as closer to beauty The beauty in Kawabata literature is the eternal universe and femininity But there is always a fragile, and illusory beauty reflected in a mirror It's a world of beauty and sadness rooted in the classical Japanese literary tradition Variants of mirrors in Kawabata's novels In Kawabata's works, the mirror has a life of its own It is used widely and flexibly It has high frequency, and almost appears throughout the works, with quite diverse variations In the novel Snow Country, the mirror appears 81 times, and its variations appear various times: the glass of a train (24 times); The Milky Way (19 times) In novel Lake, the glass of the train appears 12 times, and the lake appears 32 times The glass panel - The symbol of the opposite of two worlds: reality - fantasy The world of reality and fantasy appeared in Shimamura's feelings on the train that passed through "a long tunnel between two lands" The train passed through the darkness like through a mirror to the snow country He vaguely felt like being in another world “Because he is fascinated by the picture that is both unreal and supernatural”, “the sole universe, a kind of supernatural and symbolic world which does not belong to this time” The Milky Way - the path that separates the two worlds, is the fragmentation of happy dreams and illusory beauty The Japanese consider the Milky Way to be a river, and Kawabata has inherited that meaning in the most haunting image at the end of Snow Country It is the Milky Way - the path that Shimamura finds himself caught up in In the last pages of the novel, the Milky Way appears nineteen times, becoming a painful obsession of the writer's characters Shimamura stood rooted to the ground in the middle of the Milky Way in a fierce roar That "fierce" sound resounded in Shimamura's heart, it was the sound of a broken heart, when people were enlightened, out of their bodies, and found the truth of life Lake - The symbol of sad memories and lonely obsession 13 Reading Lake with various reflections, it is the social reality, the lonely and unhappy human heart, Gimpei So it became a memory with hauntings and torments that followed him throughout his life The lake is also a fantasy world, the boundary between reality and dream has been erased "His mother's village lake" resounds like a chorus, lingering in the memory, like the hauntings of sadness, and loneliness that have no way out, like a connecting thread throughout the work Lake Biwa - the abyss haunting endless pain The blue lake Biwa became the abyss that took the life of the young Taichiro, and also buried the happiness and hope of Oki Toshio's family It left an empty body for Keiko and endless pain for the two women Fumiko and Otoko The beauty in the work is associated with the destruction, and the endless pain of the characters Therefore, lake Biwa also becomes a profoundly beautiful and illusory realm of Kawabata's literary world Thus, it can be said that the mirror is one of the artistic images throughout, having an important meaning in Kawabata’s art world Like all fantasy in his novels, the Lake also ends up in suspended space, like stars, and moonlight, or the Milky Way floating in Snows Country The sense that the boundaries between beauty and ugliness, reality and fantasy are blurred 3.2.4 Crane symbol 3.2.4.1 Crane in traditional culture The Eastern people imagine that the crane is a sacred bird, which cannot be calculated age The Japanese have a belief that cranes can live thousands of years Cranes are often shown with white feathers, symbolizing innocence and purity In addition, in folklore, there are various fairy tales about the good luck that this bird brings to people Therefore, the Japanese also believe that cranes are birds symbolizing good luck and good fortune Despite the differences in culture, and era, poets still find similarities in the meaning of the crane image in human culture, but there are still creations that we can find in the work of Y Kawabata 3.2.4.2 Crane in Y Kawabata’s novel Crane wings are the spiritual fulcrum, and the strength of belief in the permanence and immortality of beauty The Thousand cranes embroidered handkerchief is an extremely poetic image that constantly dominates Kikuji's soul in Thousand Cranes It symbolizes the ethereal, chastity in the soul, the pure tea fragrance, and 14 the eternal beauty that people are always aiming for It is a beauty having the ability to save the human soul Crane - the opposite of the mundane and the noble, ugliness and beauty The image of thousand cranes, appearing 13 times in the novel Thousand cranes in different spaces and times, are always in a position of comparison between the mundane and the noble, between the petty - selfish and pure - holy Readers can see the shaking at the root of the traditional features bearing the soul of the nation, the fragility, and the fading of beauty Kawabata’s message is about preserving the beauty, and traditional cultural values of the Land of Cherry Blossoms 3.2.5 Hot Springs Symbol 3.2.5.1 Hot springs in traditional culture Hot spring is considered a variation of the water symbol in human culture It has the nature of purifying the soul, and shows the culture of the Shinto religion in the Japanese spiritual life The meeting of religions in the meaning of bathing is cleansing and restorative Water can purify, and make the human soul clean and pure 3.2.5.2 Hot springs in Kawabata’s novels Hot spring is a prominent symbol appearing in various Kawabata’s works such as Lake, The Sound of Mountain, and repeated most often in the novel Snow Country (18 times) A symbol for the source of life, nourishment, and purification of the soul Kawabata emphasizes the meaning of hot spring as the source of life, the source of nourishment for the soul in Snow Country while discussing about Komako's frequent bathing in springs, and admiring the enduring penetrating effects of hot water A symbol for the boundary of two mental worlds: real and imaginary Shimamura crossed the long tunnel between the two lands At the same time, he crossed the boundary of two worlds: the real world of prosperous Tokyo and the dreamy surreal world of snow country The hot spring symbol appears with a boundary between the two spiritual worlds meaning is expressed through the opposition of the two characters Komako and Yoko 3.3 Meditation symbols Zen influences the cultural life and aesthetic conception of the Japanese very strongly Zen in Japan is not only enlightened by sitting Zen, but also by the way of art, such as tea ceremony, flower ceremony, landscape garden, painting, and especially poetry 15 As can be seen, most art forms and cultures are influenced by Zen This influence is so strong that it has become the quintessence and characteristic of Japanese culture In addition, Zen Buddhism is deeply integrated into Japanese life In Kawabata's work, it is rare to see a clear division of the protagonists and villains, good and bad, the ladder of moral and ethical values Is this the non-discriminatory spirit of Zen? We selected the symbols of the tea ceremony, the symbol of the traveler to discover the spiritual meaning of Zen in Y Kawabata’s compositions 3.3.1 The tea ceremony symbols 3.3.1.1 The tea ceremony symbols in traditional culture The tea ceremony is a unique beauty of the Japanese The tea ceremony is a vehicle for Zen and even a path to enlightenment This follows the Zen teaching that everyday action, no matter how mundane, can lead to enlightenment if it is done in the right spirit The tea ceremony, being the way back to the original self, brings people to a peaceful realm, and eliminates worries and sorrows to focus on the selflessness of nature 3.3.1.2 The tea ceremony symbols in Y Kawabata's novels Kawabata's novel is "based on tea whose roots have been shaken" to express the unrelenting regret for the traditional artistic beauty of Japanese culture Symbols of the tea ceremony are mentioned many times in Kawabata's works, times in The Old Capital, 13 times in The Sound of Mountain, and 329 times in Thousand Cranes Through the survey, we found that the traditional tea ceremony is considered the main context in the novel Thousand Cranes The concern about the risk of decline and disappearance of Japanese cultural traditions is described through the fate of teapots, tea cups, and tea-drinking rituals that are changing in the context of modern society Tea room symbol Tea room - Memory space haunting loneliness Tea room space is inherently a space to remember, and preserve the fine cultural traditions of the nation In Kawabata's work, it becomes a symbol of Kikuji’s sad, and lonely haunting memory The story in Thousand Cranes is told according to Kikuji's memory stream It is a sad memory of the short life of the late father, and the image of a mother suffering various disadvantages Therefore, Kikuji's life also seems to be surrounded by troubles Tea-room - a moldy and unclean space - represents the decline of beauty 16 The space of the "musty" tea room, and "the door is closed" described in the work are signs and expressions of the stain, decline of the tea ceremony, and the decay of beauty Kawabata has skillfully focused on describing the refuge of the tea ceremony, from the tea room to the tea utensils, ritual, and the person practicing the ritual in a complex relationship The tea room is now just a corpse without a soul “Poor" thatched roofs, water-color paintings, simple flower vases, etc are existing but the spirit of tea has flown away Tea Tool symbols: Teacup, Shino teapot Teacup - store and connect beauty values from the past to the present The Shino tea cup represents a famous traditional art of Japan Although the Shino cup was broken, the spirit of the tea and the figure of Mrs Ota are still present Kikuji's reflection shows the appreciation and cherishing of the remnants of the past He wants to immortalize the Shino cup containing various meanings of life It is also the aspiration and belief in beauty, and traditional values that will last Teacup - symbolizing the fading and staining of traditional culture or the destiny of beauty The Shino vase is precious antiquity, and a masterpiece of art, with a long history It is the desire of everyone Building an image of historical value associated with the traditional cultural beauty of the nation, Kawabata not only shows a thorough understanding of the cultural roots of his country but also regrets the values of a bygone era Thus, the tea ceremony art as well as various other traditional art forms of Japan is in danger of fading away The damp tea room space is forgotten in the dark Tea and tea utensils are also neglected But the scent of tea and the spirit of tea exist forever in people's souls The traditional cultural value, and the eternity of beauty and love preserved in the images has become symbols in Kawabata's works 3.3.2 Traveler symbol 3.3.2.1 Traveler symbol in traditional culture The traveler has been familiar with Japanese culture and literature After the journeys, the traveler can "enlighten" the truth and acquire the values of emotion, and spirit 3.3.2.2 The Traveler in Kawabata's Novels Symbol of the hopeless searching for beauty Kawabata has inherited and created the traveler images from the Japanese literary tradition In his work, he portrays images of people of the 17 new era, but their souls still echo "old voices” They always worry about the traditional values of the nation Those travelers are the reincarnation of Kawabata - "the traveler in searching of beauty" The symbol of the journey back to the pure spiritual domain in the depths of the soul Kawabata's journey to find traditional beauty is the journey of discovering self, self-enlightenment, and the desire to enlighten various people through unique representative works So, going is to return After the dusty life journey, people realize the value, and truth of life They know that there is an eternal pure world lurking beside the ephemeral world That world can only be found when people appreciate, desire to seek, and preserve the pristine, and virginal beauty of this life Sub-conclusion, Through decoding and understanding the religious meanings of typical symbols, we found that the main source of Kawabata's novels is traditional cultural values rooted in the local religion: Shinto and the spirit of Zen Buddhism The most prominent feature of Kawabata's artistic creation path is the sense of continuing traditional values and the spirit of enriching the beautiful values of the past of that nation Chapter TRADITIONAL ART SYMBOLS In Kawabata’s works, Japanese unique art forms have become special symbols Traditional Japanese culture is so closely linked that by reading each of his works, readers will be exposed to each aspect of the art of Japan 4.1 The relationship between symbols and traditional art in Y Kawabata's novels Kawabata's aesthetic view is that profound beauty is born from the roots of Eastern philosophy, the beauty of nature, and the sweet woman of Japan That is the characteristic of traditional arts, the aesthetic, and idealistic literary, etc Most of all, the soul of all things in Shintoism has blended with the love of Zen Buddhism to create the aesthetic philosophy of Kawabata The beauty of Japanese art expressed in Kawabata's novels has demonstrated the subtle perception of nature’s graceful beauty, human gentleness, and purity 4.2 Textile art symbols 4.2.1 Kimono symbol 4.2.1.1 Kimono in traditional Japanese art 18 The Japanese is famous for their high level of silk weaving Talking about Japan, people immediately think of kimonos with images of beautiful and charming women Kimono is the product of the most famous traditional weaving, becoming the symbol of Japan It can be said that kimono is a typical cultural feature, a national asset, and Japanese pride 4.2.1.2 Kimono in Y Kawabata’s novels Kimono is present in nearly all Kawabata's works with high frequency: Thousand cranes (17 times), The Sound of Mountains (20 times), Snow Country (41 times), Beautiful and sad (30 times), and The Old Capital (232 times) Through these results, we found that in The Old Capital, the writer pays special attention to the traditional arts of the nation The Old Capital - Kyoto is the cultural space preserving national cultural values that have been cherished for thousands of generations In Kawabata's work, the kimono becomes one of the most prominent symbols in his rich symbolic world Kimono - A shirt preserving the ancient beauty Kyoto - the old capital of Japan, is a cultural space, converging of traditional values, has appeared vividly, and is full of pride But it also contains sadness and regrets about the kimono The obi belt and the decline of a traditional profession manifest in every page of Kawabata's writing Kimono – the symbol for the whole feminine beauty Kawabata’s literature highlights the beauty of traditional art The beauty in his work is fragility, quickly fading But it is pure beauty and has saving people ability Throughout Kawabata's works, images with female characteristics have become unique symbols that convey various meaningful messages to readers, in which kimono is a symbol of the whole girly beauty Kimono – regret at the fragile, fading fate of beauty, or the decline of traditional art The old capital is becoming noisy, bustling, and commercialized It is tinged with the colors of Western cities, with the decline of traditional industries But in the hearts of the old culture's children, it is still a beautiful, quiet, and peaceful cultural space in a clear memory region 4.2.2 Chijimi woven fabric 4.2.2.1 Chijimi in traditional Japanese culture This is an elegant traditional craft that bleaches the kimono fabric by snow in Japan So, the resulting product is called a snow cloth Craftsmen weave kimonos out of traditional chijimi fabric This is the snow cloth, born and perfected the beauty in the cold snow 19 4.2.2.2 Chijimi in Kawabata's novels Chijimi appears 28 times in Snow Country Chijimi fabric is made in the snow from beginning to ending It brings pure beauty to traditional trades having Japanese cultural values Chijimi , The pure cloak of snow having purification ability Pure white snow is the source, creating a unique beauty that only the land of snow has The snow pulls out strands, the snow weaves the yarn into cloth, and the snow washes it again to make it clean It can be said that all the creation, beginning, and ending of the chimiji fabric takes place in the snow Indeed, snow is the mother of chijimi fabric The pure beauty of snow has truly become a symbol of virginal beauty that has purifying ability and the power to save people's souls Chijimi, a snow coat symbolizing pure and feminine beauty Chijimi weaving is also associated with the soft, and skillful hands of the women They are diligent workers creating each chijimi snow cloth So, Chijimi fabric is the one of the soul, and feminine beauty Chijimi – cloth carrying memories and nostalgia Kawabata not only celebrates traditional beauty but also discovers the fading of beauty Beauty is calling for help Although the chijimi snow cloth is beautiful, it is a story of the old days, and that traditional beauty is only in the past, and regret However, Kawabata still sows hope in the bright future, and the eternal beauty of Japanese life and soul 4.3 Symbols of performing arts, theater 4.3.1 Geisha symbol 4.3.1.1 Geisha in traditional Japanese culture Japanese cultural tradition embodies Japanese beauty worship Geisha is considered a symbol of feminine beauty In the Japanese literary tradition, one has seen features that express the aesthetic conception of femininity through this image Geisha – preserve and revive feminine beauty Kawabata is the person understanding women's psychology The pages written about women always show his special respectful attitude Chieko and Naeko in The Old Capital, Yoko and Komako in Snow Country, Yukiko and Fumiko in Thousand Cranes, etc are the prominent characters showing the most feminine beauty in his works They are a typical image, becoming a symbol of eternal femininity, and pure beauty This beauty appears again and again in Kawabata's compositions 20 Geisha – preserving the traditional values of Japanese beauty The Beauty of Geisha in Kawabata's works is always associated with the sense of preserving traditional cultural values, such as tea ceremonies, kimono, customs, beliefs, and national literature following Japanese standards Kawabata also wants to convey a noble meaning message to readers That is to actively seek and discover the beauty deep in the soul of each person 4.3.2 Samisen symbol 4.3.2.1 Samisen in traditional culture This is considered the most famous traditional musical instrument in Japan It is used to accompany various genres of traditional folk songs because it can produce different timbres Samisen is like the taste of Sake, it memorizes geishas, and the kimono is slightly rumpled and erotic 4.3.2.2 Samisen in Y Kawabata’s novels Samise, Clear reverberation from the pure memory domain In Snow Country, the beauty of folk music and the sound of the Samisen was discovered by Shimamura through studying Western art Feeling and enjoying the talent of geisha Komako is also the way to realize the truth and true value of beauty It is the process of getting the way, after various doubts, bewildering, and searching of the traveler Shimamura Samisen, The sound awakens the pure Buddha-nature in the depth of the human soul The sound of the samisen in Snows Country is like the haunting echo of the Milky Way, or the flickering image of a thousand cranes They have an awakening meaning, and affect the pure Buddha-nature in the depths of the human soul They are all symbols of magical power purifying the human soul ability Kawabata saw this beauty in happiness because of the boundless and wondrous power of beauty, It can dissolve all 4.3.3 Noh mask symbol 4.3.3.1 Noh mask in traditional culture Masks have a long tradition in Japan According to researchers, it is possible that Noh masks were born nearly 2,000 years ago The Noh mask is said to be one of the most artistic masks of Japanese The occultism is expressed on the Noh mask in a dense and pure way The common emotions such as joy, anger, love, and sadness are never allowed on the mask The mask of Noh drama has a mysterious, romantic look It seems to belong to a different realm from the realm of mortals 4.3.3.2 Noh mask in Y Kawabata's novels The Noh mask symbol is repeated various times It contributes to clearly express the thought and art of the works In The Sound of the 21 Mountain, the Noh mask is mentioned 45 times, associated with the main character Singo It has an important meaning in highlighting the fantasy dreams of youth, passion for beauty, along with character's obsession with old age and death Noh mask is the symbol of fantasy dreams of youth, happiness, and beauty One highlight is, most of the dreams depicted in the writer's works belong to old men In the life under the mask, old man Shingo at the age of sixty-two dreams about a trip that he and a young girl take to a deserted island He also has various other haunting dreams carrying "reminders of death” Thus, only in dreams and nostalgia, people can satisfy their own desires This deepens the regret of youth and the desire for youthful vitality of the character Singo Emphasizing the mask and fantasy dreams in the work, Kawabata wants to send readers meaningful messages about youth, happiness and beauty Noh mask - obsession with old age and death Facing with the problems of old age, and death, Mr Singo deepens his pain and helplessness about his family's life old man Singo wants to "hide", to hide all those extreme obsessions of himself It can be said that the crisis of old age and the psychological processes of the main character depicted through the symbol of Noh mask becomes the central theme in the novel The Sound of the Mountain The Noh mask of Japanese culture does not represent eternal youth, but in Kawabata's works, it becomes symbol of eternal youth The unique thing of this work is the fanciful, ambiguous elements pushed up through dreams and masks This makes the life of Singo also full of illusions, ambiguity, and weakness These elements make up the unique qualities of Kawabata's works They convey to readers various meaningful messages about life Sub-Conclusion Reading Kawabata, the emotion is wistfulness because of the overwhelming sadness before the desire to save the damned beauty Under the boundless light of the universe, all the beauty of the samisen, the singing of the geishas, the chijimi fabric, and the kimono skirts then melted away like surreal images printed on the snow, and wagon glass It is like most of the endings in Kawabata's works: vague, slightly tragic, and deep in the pure beauty of nature, festivals, art, and traditional crafts, etc However, we still see the hope of the eternal beauty of Japanese life and soul 22 CONCLUSION Accessing and interpreting symbols is not easy The symbol always exists and contains a large world with the beauty of reality and spirituality The symbol reflects the peak abstract thinking, which is constructed and perceived by human intelligence Through the symbols to find the "true being", readers can love more the homeland, nature, and people, cherish humanity, and at the same time, have a sense of preserving and protecting noble values in life Therefore, finding the meaning of the symbolic system in Kawabata’s novels is the way we decipher the unique symbols to reach the beautiful traditional cultural values of the land of Cherry Blossom During the process of analyzing and understanding the unique features of Kawabata’s novels by deciphering traditional cultural symbols, we found that he has created a diverse symbol system Looking at the rich meanings of the symbols, it can be seen that the interweaving, and harmonious combination of elements of Eastern and Western cultures, tradition and modernity, folk and erudition Readers can easily see in those symbols the original meaning, which is its inherent origin On the other hand, the writer introduces new, and epochal meanings, and the Japanese soul identity of the symbols The main symbols in Kawabata’s novels are classified into two large groups (1) religious symbols and (2) traditional artistic symbols In the first group (1), cherry blossoms - through Kawabata's expression represent pure beauty, which is imbued with melancholy and bored the fragile, and short life White snow - a symbol of pure, and clean space, and a magical world – which can enlighten and purify the soul It is the journey back to the deep, and pristine region of man Being a bold Shinto symbol – the mirror (and its variations) shows us a Kawabata always aiming for truth, authenticity, a deep inner world, and eternal feminine beauty Cranes are too This is the spiritual fulcrum, and the strength of belief in the permanence, and immortality of beauty Such purifying symbols can also include hot springs, and tea ceremony (tea rooms, tea tools, etc) They show the aspirations to preserve and connect beauty values from the past to the present In this group, the image traveler, with a hopeless journey to seek beauty, has a religious meaning because that journey is back to the pure, infinite spiritual realm of the soul The second group (2) is traditional art symbols Thanks to the pen of cultural emissary Kawabata, readers can understand better the kimono, an extremely famous traditional costume of Japan Kimono is a shirt that preserves ancient beauty It is a symbol of the whole of feminine beauty At the same time, it regrets the fragile, and fading fate of beauty and the 23 decline of traditional art Kawabata also directs readers to the craft of weaving chijimi - a sophisticated woven fabric that encapsulates the emotions of its maker It expresses the pure, and natural lifestyle of the Japanese Other symbols such as the geisha, and the Samisen preserve, and revive not only the feminine beauty, but also the traditional values of Japanese beauty Noh mask is both the symbol of fantasy dreams of youth, happiness and beauty and obsession with old age and death Despite various changes in the world, Kawabata still firmly clings to his homeland, the roots of the national culture to create his character at the same time imbued with Japanese style and thinking Kawabata's symbolic world can generalize important issues of society From the existing cultural traditions, through his unique creative pen, they have become symbols having high aesthetic effects, and easily entering people's hearts with deep sympathy Kawabata has spread his personal feelings, emotions, and compassion for the good values of his nation to readers Kawabata has created the translation of each symbol with ingenuity He oriented the reader's association according to his intentions The writer is especially interested in describing the most characteristic expressions of the symbol to prompt the reader to move towards an emotional flow in the comparison and struggle between good and bad, loss and survival in each thing or people and society Although each symbol is expressed differently, it is still unified in the common source of the work, which reflects the beauty of the national culture that is gradually being lost and degraded With vivid symbols of Japanese culture and character, Kawabata brings a new emotion, evoking national pride and compassion for beauty in the hearts of readers from all over the world Another highlight is that Kawabata's novels are simple in terms of plot They have few events, and a slow tempo All focus only on the character's mood and the depiction of natural scenes as well as traditional Japanese cultural activities But they are not easy to read, because they have various symbols, suggesting various things in the world of ambiguity, fantasy, emptiness, and the gentle sadness permeated in the landscape and the human soul The outstanding motif of the plot is the journey of travelers (usually male characters) in searching beauty They yearn to find and preserve the beauty of the Japanese national origin They also have the contemplation of floating life, melancholy nostalgia, and endless love and nothingness By the sense of a sentimental, delicate, and profound artist, the beauty of the Japanese cultural tradition and people is reflected with all fondness and regret In the flow of character psychology, the symbols in 24 Kawabata's novels carved more intense emotions about people and Japan's era after World War II Japanese society has become deeply traumatized and immersed in the melancholy emotions of the entire composition Kawabata silently sends a message about the need to preserve and promote the beautiful values of the cultural identity The absolutization, which pushes beauty into a creed like an eternal sense of creation, shows that Kawabata is an esthetician in his fictional world It can be said that the journey of discovering beauty, crying for help, and warning about the fate and danger of beauty's destruction is Kawabata's greatest contribution to Japanese literature and to the whole world, where beauty is always in danger of extinction During the research on this subject, we realized that there are various prospects for other research directions on this subject It is to deepen the achievements of traditional Japanese cultural symbols in all of Y Kawabata's works, including short stories and novels 25 PUBLISHED SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH RELATED TO THE STUDY Vietnamese Nguyen Thi Thanh Nga (2017), “Compassion (Aware) in The Old Capital of Kawabata” Journal of Science, Hanoi National University of Education, No.7, p.26-33 Nguyen Thi Thanh Nga (2020), "Deciphering Japanese culture through some symbols in Snow Country of Y Kawabata", Journal of Science of Hanoi National University of Education, No.5, p.24-32 Nguyen Thi Thanh Nga (2020), "Femininity in Y Kawabata's compositions: a case study of the Snow Country", Journal of Culture and Arts, No 429, p 92-95 Nguyen Thi Thanh Nga (2021), "Cultural influence in literature through symbols in the novel The Old Capital of Kawabata", Journal of Science of Hong Duc University, No 52 p 71-80 Nguyen Thi Thanh Nga, (2022), “Approaching Literary Works from a Cultural Perspective: the Case of the Novel The Old Capital of Kawabata Yasunary", Proceedings of the International Scientific Conference TED-2022, Financial Publishing House, p.101-107 English Nguyen Thi Thanh Nga (2020), “A survey on the research of traditional cultural symbols appeared in the Y Kawabata’s novels in Viet Nam”, Journal of Science, Hanoi National University of Education, No.11, p 54-63 ... Tran, Nguyen Tuan Khanh, Nguyen Thi Mai Lien, Vu Thi Thanh Hoai, Thuy Khue, and Khuong Viet Ha), Psychoanalytic (the works of Doan Le Giang, Dao Thi Thu Hang, Ha Van Luong, Hoang Thi My Nhi),... Sound of the Mountains Crane Thousand Cranes wings Snow Country Mirror Thousand Cranes Beautiful and Sad Lake Meditation The Old Capital symbols Tea Thousand Cranes Beautiful and Sad Snow Country... Cultural (the works of Tran To Loan, Ha Van Luong, Doan Le Giang, Nhat Chieu, Dao Thi Thu Hang, Nguyen Thi Mai Lien, Tran To Loan, Thuy Khue, Khuong Viet Ha, Huu Ngoc, Hoang Thi My Nhi) These studies