He was the first Japanese to win the Novel Prize, so his feat excited the Japanese nation which had lost its confidence through its defeat in the Second World War and subsequent occupation.
これは日本人として初めてのノーベル賞受賞であり、このニュースは敗戦・占領下で自信を失っていた日本国民に大きな力を与えたとされ、フィーバーを巻き起こした。