The first Japanese author to do this was Yasunari Kawabata in 1968.

Kawabata was born in Osaka in 1899. He lost his parents at an early age and was mainly brought up by his grandmother. He later studied English at Tokyo University; while still a student he began to write short stories and journal articles, becoming a reporter after he graduated in 1920. He also went on writing fiction, such as his 1926 short story, 'The Dancing Girl of Izu'.

Kawabata gradually became a famous author. In 1937 he published Snow Country, a love story about a geisha and a wealthy Tokyo man, which is still probably his best known work.

He went on writing through and after World War II, though he wasn't much involved in the politics of the time. After writing several more novels he won the Goethe Medal in 1959, before going on to receive the Nobel Prize.

He died in 1972 - he seems to have committed suicide, though there are different theories as to why.