text: A character in one of this man's novels breaks a lipstick-stained white bowl shortly before disappearing, possibly to follow her mother in committing suicide.
full_question: A character in one of this man's novels breaks a lipstick-stained white bowl shortly before disappearing, possibly to follow her mother in committing suicide. A huge black birthmark mars the breast of Chikako, who attempts to interfere with the protagonist's plan to marry Yukiko, whose handkerchief bore the title pattern of a novel by this man. This creator of Kikuji Mitani wrote a novel in which a (*) fire at a former silkworm cocoon warehouse results in the death of Yoko. A self-made expert on Western ballet created by this author engages in a liaison with the geisha Komako while visiting the hot springs in the novel's title region. For 10 points, name this first Japanese winner of the literature Nobel, the author of Thousand Cranes and Snow Country.
first_sentence: A character in one of this man's novels breaks a lipstick-stained white bowl shortly before disappearing, possibly to follow her mother in committing suicide.
raw_answer: Yasunari Kawabata [accept names in either order]