The Izu DancerThe Izu Dancer, Yasunari Kawabata's first work to bring him recognition as a writer, is a novella about six Izu Peninsula travellers. As the six travellers journey together, intimacy develops and friendship overcomes class differences. Capturing the shy eroticism of adolescence, The Izu Dancer is a charming picture of the times. Yasushi Inoue's The Counterfeiter, although set in modern times, poses universal questions that transcend culture and era.