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The Sea of Fertility #1
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648 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1967
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About the author
Yukio Mishima
467?books8,766?followersYukio Mishima (三島 由紀夫) was born in Tokyo in 1925. He graduated from Tokyo Imperial University’s School of Jurisprudence in 1947. His first published book, The Forest in Full Bloom, appeared in 1944 and he established himself as a major author with Confessions of a Mask (1949). From then until his death he continued to publish novels, short stories, and plays each year. His crowning achievement, the Sea of Fertility tetralogy—which contains the novels Spring Snow (1969), Runaway Horses (1969), The Temple of Dawn (1970), and The Decay of the Angel (1971)—is considered one of the definitive works of twentieth-century Japanese fiction. In 1970, at the age of forty-five and the day after completing the last novel in the Fertility series, Mishima committed seppuku (ritual suicide)—a spectacular death that attracted worldwide attention.
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February 27, 2019
Mishima (1925-1970) was a classic Japanese author. He was a fierce anti-communist who led a band of rebels trying to restore the Emperor. He committed ritual suicide when the plot failed. His best-known work is a tetralogy, The Sea of Fertility, of which this book is the first volume.
Class divisions and changing values in Japan due to western influence aree major themes. The main character is the son of a very wealthy family. How wealthy? They have 40 servants and the boy doesn’t know all their names even though some of them who have worked there for years. The family lives in a multi-house compound which includes a western-style home in which they entertain and occasionally have western meals. The boy’s own room is in a Japanese-style house but it’s decorated with western furniture. His mother often dresses and wears her hair in western style. And yet, he has a friend at school whose family, he feels is, more ‘western in outlook’ than his, despite their family’s lack of western trappings in furniture, food and dress.
The boy is very good-looking, dreamy, melancholy, lazy and ambition-less. He’s bright but he figures he’ll get into a university for rich kids because he’s not wasting time studying for exams to get into an academically prestigious school. He’s 18 when the story opens. The end of the Russo-Japanese War, 7 years ago, is a key backdrop to the story. So we know it’s around 1912.
So the boy’s family has money, but it’s not one of Japan’s traditional 28 noble families, like the one next door. So his father creates an alliance between those two families and the boy spends much time at the neighboring residence absorbing the noble ambiance. His father supplies the money; the other family supplies the prestige.
The plot revolves around a love story between this boy and the daughter of the neighboring household. They have known each other all their lives and she has loved him since they were children. But his feelings toward her are on-again, off-again; he mistreats her and pretends he doesn’t care for her. Finally she gives up on him and becomes engaged to a son of a noble family, actually a member of the Emperor’s household.
At this point (she’s is 21; he’s 19), and after the engagement has been approved by the Emperor himself, finally he decides he loves her and begins to pursue her. They begin a sexual relationship and she becomes pregnant. If word of any of this gets out, it would be the equivalent of a national scandal! When the boy’s father learns what is going on, after spending his whole life ass-kissing the emperor and the nobles, to say he is apoplectic is putting it mildly. Never having lifted a hand to his son before, he beats him with a pool cue.
The difficult romance gives the author a chance to discuss the theme of ‘the light of reason vs. the darkness of passions.’ There’s also quite a bit of discussion about Buddhism and reincarnation. But we know all this can only end in tragedy. His friend counsels him that he is throwing his life away almost as if he wants to commit suicide.
There is good writing, such as this passage that I liked: “On a warm spring day, a galloping horse was only too clearly a sweating animal of flesh and blood. But a horse racing through a snowstorm became one with the very elements; wrapped in the whirling blast of the north wind, the beast embodied the icy breath of winter.”
It's a good story. I don’t know if it entices me to read the whole tetralogy, but the second volume is the series, Runaway Horses, is equally highly rated as Spring Snow. (The other two are The temple of Dawn and The Decay of the Angel.) Probably the author’s best-known work in English is not part of the tetralogy, it’s The Sailor Who Fell from Grace with the Sea.
Photo of the Great Buddha of Kamakura featured in the novel from onmarkproductions.com
Photo of the newly restored Marunouchi Building, part of the Shimbasi railroad station featured in the novel.
Photo of the author from 欧宝娱乐
Class divisions and changing values in Japan due to western influence aree major themes. The main character is the son of a very wealthy family. How wealthy? They have 40 servants and the boy doesn’t know all their names even though some of them who have worked there for years. The family lives in a multi-house compound which includes a western-style home in which they entertain and occasionally have western meals. The boy’s own room is in a Japanese-style house but it’s decorated with western furniture. His mother often dresses and wears her hair in western style. And yet, he has a friend at school whose family, he feels is, more ‘western in outlook’ than his, despite their family’s lack of western trappings in furniture, food and dress.
The boy is very good-looking, dreamy, melancholy, lazy and ambition-less. He’s bright but he figures he’ll get into a university for rich kids because he’s not wasting time studying for exams to get into an academically prestigious school. He’s 18 when the story opens. The end of the Russo-Japanese War, 7 years ago, is a key backdrop to the story. So we know it’s around 1912.
So the boy’s family has money, but it’s not one of Japan’s traditional 28 noble families, like the one next door. So his father creates an alliance between those two families and the boy spends much time at the neighboring residence absorbing the noble ambiance. His father supplies the money; the other family supplies the prestige.
The plot revolves around a love story between this boy and the daughter of the neighboring household. They have known each other all their lives and she has loved him since they were children. But his feelings toward her are on-again, off-again; he mistreats her and pretends he doesn’t care for her. Finally she gives up on him and becomes engaged to a son of a noble family, actually a member of the Emperor’s household.
At this point (she’s is 21; he’s 19), and after the engagement has been approved by the Emperor himself, finally he decides he loves her and begins to pursue her. They begin a sexual relationship and she becomes pregnant. If word of any of this gets out, it would be the equivalent of a national scandal! When the boy’s father learns what is going on, after spending his whole life ass-kissing the emperor and the nobles, to say he is apoplectic is putting it mildly. Never having lifted a hand to his son before, he beats him with a pool cue.
The difficult romance gives the author a chance to discuss the theme of ‘the light of reason vs. the darkness of passions.’ There’s also quite a bit of discussion about Buddhism and reincarnation. But we know all this can only end in tragedy. His friend counsels him that he is throwing his life away almost as if he wants to commit suicide.
There is good writing, such as this passage that I liked: “On a warm spring day, a galloping horse was only too clearly a sweating animal of flesh and blood. But a horse racing through a snowstorm became one with the very elements; wrapped in the whirling blast of the north wind, the beast embodied the icy breath of winter.”
It's a good story. I don’t know if it entices me to read the whole tetralogy, but the second volume is the series, Runaway Horses, is equally highly rated as Spring Snow. (The other two are The temple of Dawn and The Decay of the Angel.) Probably the author’s best-known work in English is not part of the tetralogy, it’s The Sailor Who Fell from Grace with the Sea.
Photo of the Great Buddha of Kamakura featured in the novel from onmarkproductions.com
Photo of the newly restored Marunouchi Building, part of the Shimbasi railroad station featured in the novel.
Photo of the author from 欧宝娱乐
September 23, 2018
Yukio Mishima felt the Japanese government needed to return to a system based on the samurai code. He was descended from samarais and believed that this code, advocating complete command of one's body and soul combined with a complete loyalty to the emperor, was necessary for Japan to return to prominence. He formed his own army in 1970 and attempted a coup d'état. With a few friends he overpowered the commandant of the Ichigaya Camp — the Tokyo headquarters of the Eastern Command of Japan's Self-Defense Forces and tied the commandant to a chair. Mishima then stepped onto a balcony outside the commandant's office and gave an impassioned speech to the government troops to join his cause. He was jeered and mocked off the balcony.
He returned to the commandant's office and committed seppuku, a ritual suicide. The friend he had chosen to slice his head from his body at the end of the ritual could not complete his responsibilities and another friend stepped in to end his pain. Mishima had been planning his suicide for almost a year. For those with a more gruesome bent you can find pictures of his severed head on the internet.
Mishima was only 45 on November 25th, 1970. He had been a successful actor, kendo master, and of course writer. Mishima wrote 40 novels, 18 plays, 20 books of short stories, and at least 20 books of essays, one libretto, as well as one film. Like Fitzgerald, he dashed off a lot of work for quick cash, but even if those inferior works are discarded, he still had an impressive body of work for a man who died so young. He had just finished the final volume in The Sea of Fertility tetralogy, of which Spring Snow is the first, before his suicide.
Spring Snow is a novel of pride, misplaced loyalty, blackmail, intrigue, lust, selfishness, sacrifice, and misery. It is the story of star crossed lovers, steadfast friends, political mishaps, and conniving servants. The setting is 1912 Tokyo in the inner circle of imperial court. Our hero is Kiyoaki, who was born so beautiful he stirred the blood of women from 8 to 80. He was a young man of 19 whom women wanted and men wanted to be like. Those people too enamored with him soon found themselves rebuffed. Honda, a fellow classmate of Kiyoaki observed this tendency and modified his approach to Kiyoaki forsaking fawning for aloofness. "He knew only too well how Kiyoaki reserved his keenest displeasure for any excessive show of friendship." Now his name is HONDA not HONDO.
It must be the fact that Hondo was one of my favorite John Wayne movies when I was a kid combined with the fact that I really liked Honda, by far my favorite character in the book, that I kept changing his name in my head to Hondo.
Kiyoaki as a young lad of 13 was asked to participate in a ritual ceremony that brought him in close proximity to the princess. He missteps and disrupts the trail of her ermine coat.
"Princess Kasuga's lavish use of French perfume extended to her train, and its fragrance overpowered the musky odor of incense. Some way down the corridor, Kiyoaki stumbled for a moment, inadvertently tugging at the train. The princess turned her head slightly, and, as a sign that she was not at all annoyed, smiled gently at the youthful offender. Her gesture went unnoticed; body perfectly erect in that fractional turn, she had allowed Kiyoaki a glimpse of a corner of her mouth. At that moment, a single wisp of hair slipped over her clear white cheek, and out of the fine-drawn corner of an eye a smile flashed in a spark of black fire. But the pure line of her nose did not move. It as as if nothing had happened...this fleeting angle of the Princess's face--too slight to be called a profile--made Kiyoaki feel as if he had seen a rainbow flicker for a bare instant through a prism of pure crystal."
This scene stays with Kiyoaki for the rest of his life. He considered it one of the most defining moments of his life, which makes it all the more inexplicable why it takes him so long to realize the extraordinary beauty of his life time friend Satoko. Only after his friends at school see her and react extravagantly to her charms does Kiyoaki for the first time see her as a woman and not as an annoying child. She is acerbic, sarcastic, intelligent, and head over heels in love with Kiyoaki. Her wit and his pride contribute to the continued cross purposes of their relationship. Honda proves himself time and time again helping Kiyoaki with insane plans to get unsupervised time with Satoko. He rejects her and then wants her more than ever. "His own heart seemed to him to be much like an arrow stripped of the flashing white feathers that gave it direction."
The minor characters provide twisty plot turns that add inspiring flavor to the plot. Jaw dropping, unexpected moments of blackmail with a dash of spicy intrigue keep the pages turning even when the main characters are off the stage. Beautiful descriptive passages, bits of Zen, and an ending that Shakespeare would certainly approve of lead me to say HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
He returned to the commandant's office and committed seppuku, a ritual suicide. The friend he had chosen to slice his head from his body at the end of the ritual could not complete his responsibilities and another friend stepped in to end his pain. Mishima had been planning his suicide for almost a year. For those with a more gruesome bent you can find pictures of his severed head on the internet.
Mishima was only 45 on November 25th, 1970. He had been a successful actor, kendo master, and of course writer. Mishima wrote 40 novels, 18 plays, 20 books of short stories, and at least 20 books of essays, one libretto, as well as one film. Like Fitzgerald, he dashed off a lot of work for quick cash, but even if those inferior works are discarded, he still had an impressive body of work for a man who died so young. He had just finished the final volume in The Sea of Fertility tetralogy, of which Spring Snow is the first, before his suicide.
Spring Snow is a novel of pride, misplaced loyalty, blackmail, intrigue, lust, selfishness, sacrifice, and misery. It is the story of star crossed lovers, steadfast friends, political mishaps, and conniving servants. The setting is 1912 Tokyo in the inner circle of imperial court. Our hero is Kiyoaki, who was born so beautiful he stirred the blood of women from 8 to 80. He was a young man of 19 whom women wanted and men wanted to be like. Those people too enamored with him soon found themselves rebuffed. Honda, a fellow classmate of Kiyoaki observed this tendency and modified his approach to Kiyoaki forsaking fawning for aloofness. "He knew only too well how Kiyoaki reserved his keenest displeasure for any excessive show of friendship." Now his name is HONDA not HONDO.
It must be the fact that Hondo was one of my favorite John Wayne movies when I was a kid combined with the fact that I really liked Honda, by far my favorite character in the book, that I kept changing his name in my head to Hondo.
Kiyoaki as a young lad of 13 was asked to participate in a ritual ceremony that brought him in close proximity to the princess. He missteps and disrupts the trail of her ermine coat.
"Princess Kasuga's lavish use of French perfume extended to her train, and its fragrance overpowered the musky odor of incense. Some way down the corridor, Kiyoaki stumbled for a moment, inadvertently tugging at the train. The princess turned her head slightly, and, as a sign that she was not at all annoyed, smiled gently at the youthful offender. Her gesture went unnoticed; body perfectly erect in that fractional turn, she had allowed Kiyoaki a glimpse of a corner of her mouth. At that moment, a single wisp of hair slipped over her clear white cheek, and out of the fine-drawn corner of an eye a smile flashed in a spark of black fire. But the pure line of her nose did not move. It as as if nothing had happened...this fleeting angle of the Princess's face--too slight to be called a profile--made Kiyoaki feel as if he had seen a rainbow flicker for a bare instant through a prism of pure crystal."
This scene stays with Kiyoaki for the rest of his life. He considered it one of the most defining moments of his life, which makes it all the more inexplicable why it takes him so long to realize the extraordinary beauty of his life time friend Satoko. Only after his friends at school see her and react extravagantly to her charms does Kiyoaki for the first time see her as a woman and not as an annoying child. She is acerbic, sarcastic, intelligent, and head over heels in love with Kiyoaki. Her wit and his pride contribute to the continued cross purposes of their relationship. Honda proves himself time and time again helping Kiyoaki with insane plans to get unsupervised time with Satoko. He rejects her and then wants her more than ever. "His own heart seemed to him to be much like an arrow stripped of the flashing white feathers that gave it direction."
The minor characters provide twisty plot turns that add inspiring flavor to the plot. Jaw dropping, unexpected moments of blackmail with a dash of spicy intrigue keep the pages turning even when the main characters are off the stage. Beautiful descriptive passages, bits of Zen, and an ending that Shakespeare would certainly approve of lead me to say HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
October 8, 2017
Set near Tokyo in 1912. In Spring Snow Kiyoaki Matsugae is sent as a child be raised on the estate of a Count where he learns all the worst habits of a decadent court. He is slothful, he preens in the knowledge of his superior looks. When 18 years of age he is so self-involved—the familiar disaffectedness of many Mishima protagonists—that even when kissing the woman who loves him he thinks only of how he feels. He's an affected asshole who takes a conscious pleasure in cruelty.
Kioyaki's friend is the upstanding Shigekuni Honda. He adores Kiyoaki. A hard-working young man who loses himself in thoughts of the niceties of European Natural Law and the Laws of Manu, which at the time of the action, the author tells us, were the foundation of Indian law. He also has an abiding interest in historiography, particularly how he and his peers will be viewed by future generations. This dovetails with the theme of reincarnation which links the four books of cycle.
The vast Matsugae estate is imposing. It is still the period of mourning for the late emperor who was called Meiji in life. So the cherry blossom festival as it turns out will be observed, though on a smaller scale than usual. An imperial prince attends with his wife and other visitors. Their route through the blossoms is girded by a red and white curtain, presumably for purposes of privacy. The Western house is filled with geishas. A platform for their cherry blossom dances is built in the garden. Later, there will be a banquet and a film shown based on a Dickens novel.
Amid it all Kiyoaki is adrift. Satoko is there in all her finery but it's somehow not enough. What is he waiting for? In thrall to his own beauty, his pride, Kiyoaki is at odds with himself, contradictory in his impulses. He is lost, no decisiveness—aside from a snowy rickshaw ride with Satoko, which was her idea—comes from him. His is a rapt passivity. Meanwhile, he stubbornly let's go of Satoko when she is courted by an imperial prince, and thinks good riddance.
But he isn't. Unable to read his own emotions, he takes grief for delight; his "strength of will," as he terms it, when tearing up a letter from Satoko unread, he begins to sense may be cowardice, for she is just about to marry the imperial prince. What a muddle he's in. Though an aristocrat he has known social isolation much of his life. Thus, his misreading of people and situations always in a manner that plays to his own falsely elevated sense of self worth.
I won't go into Kiyoaki and Satoko's love affair or the novel's tragic denouement. Suffice it to say that Kiyoaki's comeuppance is quite a spectacle and Honda is there to puzzle over it. The book has a very long fuse. The last 200 pages are far better than the first 200. Despite this uneven start, this is the strongest Mishima novel I have ever read.
This . . . was further proof of the hidden, savage essence of the elegance he had cultivated for so long. (p. 257)
Kioyaki's friend is the upstanding Shigekuni Honda. He adores Kiyoaki. A hard-working young man who loses himself in thoughts of the niceties of European Natural Law and the Laws of Manu, which at the time of the action, the author tells us, were the foundation of Indian law. He also has an abiding interest in historiography, particularly how he and his peers will be viewed by future generations. This dovetails with the theme of reincarnation which links the four books of cycle.
The vast Matsugae estate is imposing. It is still the period of mourning for the late emperor who was called Meiji in life. So the cherry blossom festival as it turns out will be observed, though on a smaller scale than usual. An imperial prince attends with his wife and other visitors. Their route through the blossoms is girded by a red and white curtain, presumably for purposes of privacy. The Western house is filled with geishas. A platform for their cherry blossom dances is built in the garden. Later, there will be a banquet and a film shown based on a Dickens novel.
Amid it all Kiyoaki is adrift. Satoko is there in all her finery but it's somehow not enough. What is he waiting for? In thrall to his own beauty, his pride, Kiyoaki is at odds with himself, contradictory in his impulses. He is lost, no decisiveness—aside from a snowy rickshaw ride with Satoko, which was her idea—comes from him. His is a rapt passivity. Meanwhile, he stubbornly let's go of Satoko when she is courted by an imperial prince, and thinks good riddance.
Devoid of worry or annoyance, free of all anxiety, Kiyoaki at nineteen liked to see himself as a cold and supremely capable young man. He felt that he was now past some watershed in the course of his life. (p. 163)
But he isn't. Unable to read his own emotions, he takes grief for delight; his "strength of will," as he terms it, when tearing up a letter from Satoko unread, he begins to sense may be cowardice, for she is just about to marry the imperial prince. What a muddle he's in. Though an aristocrat he has known social isolation much of his life. Thus, his misreading of people and situations always in a manner that plays to his own falsely elevated sense of self worth.
Long ago he had resolved to recognize his emotions as his only guiding truth and to live his life accordingly, even if meant a deliberate aimlessness. That principle had now brought him to his present sinister feelings of joy, which seemed to be the brink of a racing plunging whirlpool. There seemed to be nothing left but to throw himself into it. (p. 177)
I won't go into Kiyoaki and Satoko's love affair or the novel's tragic denouement. Suffice it to say that Kiyoaki's comeuppance is quite a spectacle and Honda is there to puzzle over it. The book has a very long fuse. The last 200 pages are far better than the first 200. Despite this uneven start, this is the strongest Mishima novel I have ever read.
February 19, 2025
In Yukio Mishima's famous tetralogy, "Spring Snow," the first novel is about Kiyoaki, the only son of the new noble Marquis and Marquise Matsugae, owners of a magnificent forty-hectare estate not far from Tokyo.
The Marquis raised his son early on in an aristocratic family, the Ayakura. He was raised in an atmosphere of court nobility near the whimsical and beautiful Satoko Ayakura, who was two years his senior.
Not yet a principal and now at his parents' house, Kiyoaki was 18 years old in 1912 when the Meiji era, marked by the end of Japan's policy of voluntary isolation, ended, and the Taisho era permeable to Western culture began.
Without being effeminate, Kiyoaki is of exceptional beauty, but neither studies nor sports activities interest him. Instead, he would rather be adept at idle musings and keep the details of his night dreams in a diary.
His tutor for six years, the manly Iinuma, is sorry for his lack of spirit and poor academic performance; even his best friend from a less fortunate background, the studious Honda, is often perplexed by such moods.
Although madly in love, Kiyoaki and Satoko have an unfortunate tendency to complicate things. Planned with the help of the matchmaker Tadeshina, Satoko's next, the slightest flirtation is so unspontaneous that it becomes laughable.
The childishness of the two young men is evident, and a misunderstanding one day takes on disproportionate proportions, amplified in time by Kiyoaki's pride.
With his customary skill, Mishima transforms an idyllic relationship with great potential in a few short chapters, which so felt to the reader, into a passionate drama fanned over the weeks by the weight of the conveniences specific to this aristocratic environment.
Friends, let Yukio Mishima take you by the hand to discover the magnificence of the Matsugae estate!
In the fall, you will see the majestic maple trees in their fragrant color.
Perhaps you prefer to wait until spring and take a short boat ride on the lake to the islet in the center of the property while "the first buds grow vertically so that the entire garden seems to stand on the tiptoe"?
You will enjoy "the blossoming cherry trees that intersperse between the pine trees in the long rows of trees on either side of the avenue that leads to the gate for almost a kilometre."
Each fifty-five chapter is a poetic diamond finely crafted by a writer at the top of his art. Together, they form a novelistic work whose beauty, like no other, has upset and satisfied the old reader that I am.
If my library had a small place in the shape of a tabernacle, I would undoubtedly store "Spring Snow," not without having previously decorated it with the eight stars of the barrier of Orion, a famous constellation whose central asterism slumped under a radiant moon.
The Marquis raised his son early on in an aristocratic family, the Ayakura. He was raised in an atmosphere of court nobility near the whimsical and beautiful Satoko Ayakura, who was two years his senior.
Not yet a principal and now at his parents' house, Kiyoaki was 18 years old in 1912 when the Meiji era, marked by the end of Japan's policy of voluntary isolation, ended, and the Taisho era permeable to Western culture began.
Without being effeminate, Kiyoaki is of exceptional beauty, but neither studies nor sports activities interest him. Instead, he would rather be adept at idle musings and keep the details of his night dreams in a diary.
His tutor for six years, the manly Iinuma, is sorry for his lack of spirit and poor academic performance; even his best friend from a less fortunate background, the studious Honda, is often perplexed by such moods.
Although madly in love, Kiyoaki and Satoko have an unfortunate tendency to complicate things. Planned with the help of the matchmaker Tadeshina, Satoko's next, the slightest flirtation is so unspontaneous that it becomes laughable.
The childishness of the two young men is evident, and a misunderstanding one day takes on disproportionate proportions, amplified in time by Kiyoaki's pride.
With his customary skill, Mishima transforms an idyllic relationship with great potential in a few short chapters, which so felt to the reader, into a passionate drama fanned over the weeks by the weight of the conveniences specific to this aristocratic environment.
Friends, let Yukio Mishima take you by the hand to discover the magnificence of the Matsugae estate!
In the fall, you will see the majestic maple trees in their fragrant color.
Perhaps you prefer to wait until spring and take a short boat ride on the lake to the islet in the center of the property while "the first buds grow vertically so that the entire garden seems to stand on the tiptoe"?
You will enjoy "the blossoming cherry trees that intersperse between the pine trees in the long rows of trees on either side of the avenue that leads to the gate for almost a kilometre."
Each fifty-five chapter is a poetic diamond finely crafted by a writer at the top of his art. Together, they form a novelistic work whose beauty, like no other, has upset and satisfied the old reader that I am.
If my library had a small place in the shape of a tabernacle, I would undoubtedly store "Spring Snow," not without having previously decorated it with the eight stars of the barrier of Orion, a famous constellation whose central asterism slumped under a radiant moon.
April 30, 2020
A brilliant first salvo in the Sea of Fertility tetralogy, setting up questions of reincarnation, cultural continuity, and faith while working as a stand-alone novel. I'm curious to continue my journey through these books - they are an odd mixture of the researched nostalgia of the Ferrante series and the self-sufficient decade spanning approach of the Rabbits or the Zuckermans. I always enjoy reading Mishima, but the gentleness and frequent, Austenian (!) humor of Spring Snow surprised me. It's a love story, a hate story, simple in its conceit (a 19 year old man drives away a woman two years older, then realizes he may love her once she's engaged), but full of Mishima floruishes (dead animals, lengthy Mann-like discourses on Buddhism, turbulent longing, constant risk of death.) Most interesting, perhaps, is the fact that the book's supporting character, Honda, is barely in the action, yet will take on the mantle of the series going forward. Ambitious, and a pleasure. It's also a brilliantly researched look at the practices and customs of 1910s Japan.
February 27, 2017
It is hard to put words to the beauty and melancholy that Mishima pours into this first of his great tetralogy. The symbolism, the imagery, the characters - everything here is drawn with a fine pencil and eye for detail. The characters reappear in the following books but not as you might expect. This is one of the great monuments of Japanese literature in the 20th C (my other favourite is Soseki's I am a Cat) and it is truly a pleasure to read and savour.
June 21, 2018
“Spring Snow” is volume one of Yukio Mishima’s tetralogy ‘The Sea of Fertility”. When the book opens the year is 1912 and the setting Meiji Japan, which has given way to "Taisho democracy", an environment is that of a fading Japanese aristocracy resigned to accept into its midst the creep of a westernization of it’s culture.
Adolescent law student Shigekuni Honda is an impassive friend to Kiyoaki Matsugae, a baron's son of distant samurai descent. Honda's future seems preordained. Kiyoaki is a dreamer who is gripped by the sense that life's slippery fineness is running through his fingers and away from him second by second. He longs to chase the impossible, to ‘bend the world’ into the shape of his ideals.
Kiyoaki's desires eventually encounter the beautiful Satoko Ayakura. Although they have been friends since early childhood, they have grown into a mutual indifference of each other. When Satoko gets engaged to a prince, Kiyoaki is suddenly consumed by an inspired passion for her, and the two fall into an illicit affair that proves the undoing of them both. She get pregnant and then gets an abortion. Honda accepts the job of go-between for the lovers, but can only watch as Satoko renounces the world and exiles herself to a remote, wintry nunnery. Kiyoaki drives himself to pneumonia in a hopeless effort to retrieve her. Dying, clutching Honda's hand, Kiyoaki murmurs that they will meet again someday, ‘beneath the falls’.
Although it sounds a bit melodramatic, in truth the book is amazingly well written, with subtleties, implications, and consequences of environment both human and cultural that cause the reader to marvel at Yukio Mishima’s abilities. A master at work.
The closest equivalent I could suggest for compaison is the love story of ‘Romeo an Juliet’ also a story of star crossed lovers. The story is filled with symbolism, imagery and melancholy.
This Knopf hardcover edition was printed in 1972 and is the first American Edition issued as part of a set of all four books. The cycle consisting of:
Vol 1. - Spring Snow
Vol 2 - Runaway Horses
Vol 3 - The Temple Of Dawn
Vol 4 - Five Signs Of A Gods Decay
The series, which Mishima began writing in 1964 and which was his final work, is usually thought of as his masterpiece. Mishima's ritualistic suicide in 1970 will always overshadow his work.
Adolescent law student Shigekuni Honda is an impassive friend to Kiyoaki Matsugae, a baron's son of distant samurai descent. Honda's future seems preordained. Kiyoaki is a dreamer who is gripped by the sense that life's slippery fineness is running through his fingers and away from him second by second. He longs to chase the impossible, to ‘bend the world’ into the shape of his ideals.
Kiyoaki's desires eventually encounter the beautiful Satoko Ayakura. Although they have been friends since early childhood, they have grown into a mutual indifference of each other. When Satoko gets engaged to a prince, Kiyoaki is suddenly consumed by an inspired passion for her, and the two fall into an illicit affair that proves the undoing of them both. She get pregnant and then gets an abortion. Honda accepts the job of go-between for the lovers, but can only watch as Satoko renounces the world and exiles herself to a remote, wintry nunnery. Kiyoaki drives himself to pneumonia in a hopeless effort to retrieve her. Dying, clutching Honda's hand, Kiyoaki murmurs that they will meet again someday, ‘beneath the falls’.
Although it sounds a bit melodramatic, in truth the book is amazingly well written, with subtleties, implications, and consequences of environment both human and cultural that cause the reader to marvel at Yukio Mishima’s abilities. A master at work.
The closest equivalent I could suggest for compaison is the love story of ‘Romeo an Juliet’ also a story of star crossed lovers. The story is filled with symbolism, imagery and melancholy.
This Knopf hardcover edition was printed in 1972 and is the first American Edition issued as part of a set of all four books. The cycle consisting of:
Vol 1. - Spring Snow
Vol 2 - Runaway Horses
Vol 3 - The Temple Of Dawn
Vol 4 - Five Signs Of A Gods Decay
The series, which Mishima began writing in 1964 and which was his final work, is usually thought of as his masterpiece. Mishima's ritualistic suicide in 1970 will always overshadow his work.
January 1, 2018
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June 2, 2025
Spring Snow by Yukio Mishima is a beautifully written, melancholic novel that captures the fleeting nature of youth, love, and destiny. Set in early 20th-century Japan, it tells the tragic story of Kiyoaki Matsugae and his forbidden love for Satoko Ayakura. Mishima’s prose is elegant and poetic, immersing the reader in a world of aristocratic traditions, emotional intensity, and the inevitability of fate. The novel’s rich symbolism and deep philosophical undertones make it a captivating read, perfect for those who appreciate lyrical storytelling and profound themes.
September 10, 2016
A book can be either of two things: a key to open locked doors which lead to unique experiences we have not encountered or are impossible for us to attain; while the other is a mirror to show us who we are or remind us of ourselves and the past we have not forgotten. One stirs excitement, the other nostalgia. This time it took the shape of the latter. The book served as a mirror to me, reminding me of a befuddled young man blind to the workings of his heart, prone to exaggerating the simple nuances in the actions of a woman devoted to him, a woman he doubted because of childish fears. But I am not here to talk of myself, I am here because the pain it stirred in me forces me to write.
Kiyoaki, a beautiful yet lethargic young man, is at odds with his equally beautiful childhood friend Satoko. An inexperienced boy when it comes to the desire inside him, he constantly misinterprets and confuses the actions of the young woman who is thoroughly taken with him. His melancholy attitude doesn’t help his cause and he loathes balefully in the estranged pool of his own work. That is until he learns of Satoko’s engagement with a prince, thus the object of his hatred and bewilderment is snatched from him, suddenly out of reach. It is such a curious thing that when something we have ignored for so long is suddenly unavailable to us, we find it infinitely more desirable. The fickle human heart with its itinerant impulses shifts its gear and so the idea of unattainability forces us to acknowledge the taken for granted, the sudden spotlight makes the dull suddenly novel. And it is in this manner that young Kiyoaki realizes the gravity of his passion for Satoko. Doomed from the very start, an affair begins between the childhood friends. In this shared consciousness of tragedy, their love flourishes.
At the very core of this tragic romance Spring Snow serves as Yukio Mishima’s statement against elegance. Being a military man of action, he felt that the Japanese strayed from the righteous way of the Samurai and have alarmingly become slaves of pleasure, smitten with exterior beauty, apathetic to the real world, too taken by the West, too modern. He envisioned a traditional Japan with its graceful simplicity, austere values, and unceasing nationalism and love for the Emperor. The character Kiyoaki is a warning to the people of Japan, a cautionary tale to show the rottenness that elegance is bound to instill in the indolent souls of its time. This very idea is what prompted Mishima to stage a coup d’état in 1970 to restore power to the Emperor. But he failed and thus committed ritual seppuku. However before his death, he was able to complete his tetralogy, the Sea of Fertility, which features Spring Snow as the first of four books. With this in mind, I believe it to be quite irresponsible to fully interpret an incomplete picture. To understand his real intentions, I have to complete the journey by reading the other three works. Yet as a standalone it is rather fascinating to see something that was meant to alarm, instead take one’s breath away with sheer elegance. And so by embodying the object of his scorn, Mishima ironically succeeds in mirroring the very relationship of Kiyoaki and Satoko.
“The path we’re taking is not a road, Kiyo, it’s a pier, and it ends someplace where the sea begins.”
All at once subtle, tender, and painful, this novel manages to evoke a somber tinge of passion in the otherwise luscious backdrop of Taisho Japan. Indeed, like spring snow, a furtive loveliness envelops the landscape of its pages but intertwined with this beauty is a faint cry of desolation, a quiet deadliness that can only enhance its icy elegance.
Kiyoaki, a beautiful yet lethargic young man, is at odds with his equally beautiful childhood friend Satoko. An inexperienced boy when it comes to the desire inside him, he constantly misinterprets and confuses the actions of the young woman who is thoroughly taken with him. His melancholy attitude doesn’t help his cause and he loathes balefully in the estranged pool of his own work. That is until he learns of Satoko’s engagement with a prince, thus the object of his hatred and bewilderment is snatched from him, suddenly out of reach. It is such a curious thing that when something we have ignored for so long is suddenly unavailable to us, we find it infinitely more desirable. The fickle human heart with its itinerant impulses shifts its gear and so the idea of unattainability forces us to acknowledge the taken for granted, the sudden spotlight makes the dull suddenly novel. And it is in this manner that young Kiyoaki realizes the gravity of his passion for Satoko. Doomed from the very start, an affair begins between the childhood friends. In this shared consciousness of tragedy, their love flourishes.
At the very core of this tragic romance Spring Snow serves as Yukio Mishima’s statement against elegance. Being a military man of action, he felt that the Japanese strayed from the righteous way of the Samurai and have alarmingly become slaves of pleasure, smitten with exterior beauty, apathetic to the real world, too taken by the West, too modern. He envisioned a traditional Japan with its graceful simplicity, austere values, and unceasing nationalism and love for the Emperor. The character Kiyoaki is a warning to the people of Japan, a cautionary tale to show the rottenness that elegance is bound to instill in the indolent souls of its time. This very idea is what prompted Mishima to stage a coup d’état in 1970 to restore power to the Emperor. But he failed and thus committed ritual seppuku. However before his death, he was able to complete his tetralogy, the Sea of Fertility, which features Spring Snow as the first of four books. With this in mind, I believe it to be quite irresponsible to fully interpret an incomplete picture. To understand his real intentions, I have to complete the journey by reading the other three works. Yet as a standalone it is rather fascinating to see something that was meant to alarm, instead take one’s breath away with sheer elegance. And so by embodying the object of his scorn, Mishima ironically succeeds in mirroring the very relationship of Kiyoaki and Satoko.
“The path we’re taking is not a road, Kiyo, it’s a pier, and it ends someplace where the sea begins.”
All at once subtle, tender, and painful, this novel manages to evoke a somber tinge of passion in the otherwise luscious backdrop of Taisho Japan. Indeed, like spring snow, a furtive loveliness envelops the landscape of its pages but intertwined with this beauty is a faint cry of desolation, a quiet deadliness that can only enhance its icy elegance.
April 24, 2018
4 and a half stars.
When I read a translated book, I'm always very conscious that what I'm reading is not necessarily what the author meant to write: I'm reading a book that's very much like what the author wrote but not really the same. I have no idea what Mishima's book is like in the original Japanese, but if this translation is anything like it, the beauty of the prose in Japanese must be devastating.
The story of Kioyaki and Satoko is, in and of itself, not remarkable: forbidden loves, especially in highly hierarchical and ritualized society, such as Imperial Japan on the cusp of modernization is nothing new, nor are bildungsroman about the often painful transition between boy and man. But the prose! The delicate, poetic and incredibly evocative prose turns this story into a dream-like journey in 1912 Japan, a world fascinated with the West but still holding on to deeply rooted traditions.
It has to be read slowly, to really let oneself bask into the elegant melancholy of Mishima's writing. It is dense at times, but so sensual and crisp that you forget how silly Kioyaki and Satoko are. They are both so beautiful and so spoiled, selfish and conceited that you wish someone would give them a good slap or two until they snapped out of ruining each others' lives. But Mishima writes them in a way that makes it impossible not to want to know what happens to them. It comes as no surprise that there is tragedy at the end of the path they follow. But what an interesting path!
And as gorgeous as the writing is, it reminded me of a really pleasant but too liberally applied perfume: it could get a bit overwhelming, and then I'd have to read the passage again to make sure I knew what was going on.
I will be looking for the rest of the "Sea of Fertility" tetralogy, which follows Kioyaki's friend Honda. The deep friendship between the two young men leads Honda to believe he meets successive reincarnations of Kioyaki and tries to save him from his karma. If the other three books are as good as "Spring Snow", they are more than worth the time!
When I read a translated book, I'm always very conscious that what I'm reading is not necessarily what the author meant to write: I'm reading a book that's very much like what the author wrote but not really the same. I have no idea what Mishima's book is like in the original Japanese, but if this translation is anything like it, the beauty of the prose in Japanese must be devastating.
The story of Kioyaki and Satoko is, in and of itself, not remarkable: forbidden loves, especially in highly hierarchical and ritualized society, such as Imperial Japan on the cusp of modernization is nothing new, nor are bildungsroman about the often painful transition between boy and man. But the prose! The delicate, poetic and incredibly evocative prose turns this story into a dream-like journey in 1912 Japan, a world fascinated with the West but still holding on to deeply rooted traditions.
It has to be read slowly, to really let oneself bask into the elegant melancholy of Mishima's writing. It is dense at times, but so sensual and crisp that you forget how silly Kioyaki and Satoko are. They are both so beautiful and so spoiled, selfish and conceited that you wish someone would give them a good slap or two until they snapped out of ruining each others' lives. But Mishima writes them in a way that makes it impossible not to want to know what happens to them. It comes as no surprise that there is tragedy at the end of the path they follow. But what an interesting path!
And as gorgeous as the writing is, it reminded me of a really pleasant but too liberally applied perfume: it could get a bit overwhelming, and then I'd have to read the passage again to make sure I knew what was going on.
I will be looking for the rest of the "Sea of Fertility" tetralogy, which follows Kioyaki's friend Honda. The deep friendship between the two young men leads Honda to believe he meets successive reincarnations of Kioyaki and tries to save him from his karma. If the other three books are as good as "Spring Snow", they are more than worth the time!
March 27, 2012
Mishima, like other great writers, has a way of implanting memories in our heads, echoes of other lives. How this magic happens is a mystery but when it does, you feel somehow denser inside, more solid. Spring Snow left me with that feeling, of having increased my gravity and weight, with the lyrical descriptions, history, characters, ceremonies, letters, political intrigue, birds and emerald rings and emerald snakes, and silk kimonos, and more.
At its heart, this is a doomed love story, about two beautiful people - Kiyoaki Matsugae, and Satoko Ayakura - whose outward beauty match their inner turmoil.
This excerpt from Kiyoaki’s dream diary is an allegory of the story...which is an allegory…within allegory,
And Satoko,
There is a movie, but from the preview it seems to have only caught the surface. But still...
Spring Snow is a masterpiece - or at least the beginning of one, as it is the first in a cycle of four novels called the Sea of Fertility. I hope that the other books are as good as this one, but it’s going to be a hard act to follow.
At its heart, this is a doomed love story, about two beautiful people - Kiyoaki Matsugae, and Satoko Ayakura - whose outward beauty match their inner turmoil.
This excerpt from Kiyoaki’s dream diary is an allegory of the story...which is an allegory…within allegory,
The very night before, he had dreamed of his own coffin, made of unpainted wood. It stood in the middle of an empty room with large windows, and outside, the pre-dawn darkness was shading to a deep blue; it was filled with the sound of birdsong.
A young woman clung to the coffin, her long black hair trailing from her drooping head, her slender shoulders wracked with sobs. He wanted to see her face but could make out no more than her pale, graceful forehead with its delicate peak of black hair.
The coffin was half covered with a leopard-skin bordered in pearls. The first muted glow of the dawn flickered on the row of jewels. Instead of funeral incense, a scent of Western perfume hung over the room with the fragrance of sun-ripened fruit. Kiyoaki seemed to be watching this from a great height, though he was convinced that his body lay inside the coffin.
But sure as he was, he still felt the need to see it there by way of confirmation. However, like a mosquito in the morning light, his wings lost all power and ceased beating in mid-air; he was utterly incapable of looking inside the nailed-down coffin lid. And then, as his frustration grew more and more intense, he woke up.
And Satoko,
...her words had a cold, proud glitter that could not tolerate the intrusion of a third party. In her own mind, she had fashioned their sin into a tiny, brilliant, crystal palace in which she and Kiyoaki could live free from the world around them. A crystal palace so tiny that it would balance on the palm of one’s hand, so tiny that no one else could fit in. Transformed for a fleetingly brief instant, she and Kiyoaki had been able to enter it and now they were spending their last few moments there, observed with extraordinary clarity in all their minute detail by someone standing just outside.
There is a movie, but from the preview it seems to have only caught the surface. But still...
春の雪
Spring Snow is a masterpiece - or at least the beginning of one, as it is the first in a cycle of four novels called the Sea of Fertility. I hope that the other books are as good as this one, but it’s going to be a hard act to follow.
December 31, 2021
A love story that reflects the struggles within Japanese culture brought about by the westernization at the beginning of the 20th century – Mishima, you’re a genius. On the surface, the content of the book could be summed up like this: The young Kiyoaki, born into a family that has recently come to accumulate considerable wealth, grew up with Satoko, the daughter of an old aristocratic family struggling with monetary problems. It is only when Satoko gets engaged to an Imperial prince that Kiyoaki realizes that he truly loves her, and they begin a secret love affair that ends tragically.
Of course, that is only the top layer of this intricate poetic work. The author biography at the beginning of the book states that after completing his tetralogy “The Sea of Fertility” (of which “Spring Snow” is the first part) in 1970, Mishima committed ritual suicide. Whoever wrote this is guilty of misleading readers by omission: Before Mishima ritually cut open his stomach and let himself be beheaded by a friend, he tried to stage a coup d’état because he wanted to restore the power of the Emperor. This poet was also a martial artist and bodybuilder who had his own private army, and he wanted to protect traditional Japanese values against westernization. Accordingly, this is not a harmless love story, but a meditation on the differences between Eastern and Western thought, law, culture, and religion.
Kiyoaki’s ancestors used to be samurai, but there is not much warrior spirit left: His parents indulge in Western movies, fashion, and style, and Kiyoaki declares that he will never spill blood. At the same time, the family is still attached to Japanese cultural traditions: They entertain guests with Geishas, they are very proud of their contacts to the Imperial family and, if conflict arises, they mention how this would have been resolved in “the old times”. This tension between East and West is also reflected in the relationship between Kiyoaki and Satoko. Kiyoaki admires her whenever she behaves like a demure, traditional woman, he is intrigued by her physical beauty, her colorful kimonos, her face and neck under her white make-up. But whenever Satoko acts confidently and speaks her mind, Kiyoaki feels insulted and gets angry. When Kiyoaki finally begins a relationship with Satoko after her engagement, he knowingly breaks the rules of Japanese society - well, any society, actually, but here the situation is worsened by the fact that the Emperor sanctioned the marriage to an Imperial prince. Nevertheless, Kiyoaki tells his friend Honda that he would be willing to comply with the rules when forced to face consequences for his transgression, including death. Just as Japanese society as a whole, Kiyoaki and Satoko are torn between the old and the new.
Beyond exploring the impact of westernization by looking at individual and family relationships, Mishima also discusses the change within societal institutions that shape Japan as a whole, namely law and religion. Kiyoaki’s friend Honda is the son of a judge and aims to become one, too. He is fascinated by the differing principles of law that might be applied in different societies, and through his eyes, Mishima displays philosophical tensions such as the imperative of Western law that is based on man’s power of reason and Hindu/Buddhist cosmic law with its doctrine of the transmigration of souls. This becomes crucial as the “Sea of Fertility” tetralogy depicts Kiyoaki being reincarnated in every installment, while Honda grows old and witnesses Kiyoaki’s reincarnations. Adding to that, one could mention that the then-valid Meiji Constitution was based on Prusso-German law and by that was heavily influenced by the West.
And they are more fields in which the theme of the book is played out: Siamese princes who come to Japan and experience culture shock, loyal servants in moral distress, and a reactionary student wrapped up in his own ideas. So although “Spring Snow” might not be as obviously political as “Confessions of a Mask” or “Sun and Steel”, it still is a very typical Mishima book, as it ponders the question what direction Japan should take, and how the decline of tradition and the rise of westernization should be handled. Beautiful prose, fascinating ideas, and must probably be read many times in order to understand the text’s whole genius.
Of course, that is only the top layer of this intricate poetic work. The author biography at the beginning of the book states that after completing his tetralogy “The Sea of Fertility” (of which “Spring Snow” is the first part) in 1970, Mishima committed ritual suicide. Whoever wrote this is guilty of misleading readers by omission: Before Mishima ritually cut open his stomach and let himself be beheaded by a friend, he tried to stage a coup d’état because he wanted to restore the power of the Emperor. This poet was also a martial artist and bodybuilder who had his own private army, and he wanted to protect traditional Japanese values against westernization. Accordingly, this is not a harmless love story, but a meditation on the differences between Eastern and Western thought, law, culture, and religion.
Kiyoaki’s ancestors used to be samurai, but there is not much warrior spirit left: His parents indulge in Western movies, fashion, and style, and Kiyoaki declares that he will never spill blood. At the same time, the family is still attached to Japanese cultural traditions: They entertain guests with Geishas, they are very proud of their contacts to the Imperial family and, if conflict arises, they mention how this would have been resolved in “the old times”. This tension between East and West is also reflected in the relationship between Kiyoaki and Satoko. Kiyoaki admires her whenever she behaves like a demure, traditional woman, he is intrigued by her physical beauty, her colorful kimonos, her face and neck under her white make-up. But whenever Satoko acts confidently and speaks her mind, Kiyoaki feels insulted and gets angry. When Kiyoaki finally begins a relationship with Satoko after her engagement, he knowingly breaks the rules of Japanese society - well, any society, actually, but here the situation is worsened by the fact that the Emperor sanctioned the marriage to an Imperial prince. Nevertheless, Kiyoaki tells his friend Honda that he would be willing to comply with the rules when forced to face consequences for his transgression, including death. Just as Japanese society as a whole, Kiyoaki and Satoko are torn between the old and the new.
Beyond exploring the impact of westernization by looking at individual and family relationships, Mishima also discusses the change within societal institutions that shape Japan as a whole, namely law and religion. Kiyoaki’s friend Honda is the son of a judge and aims to become one, too. He is fascinated by the differing principles of law that might be applied in different societies, and through his eyes, Mishima displays philosophical tensions such as the imperative of Western law that is based on man’s power of reason and Hindu/Buddhist cosmic law with its doctrine of the transmigration of souls. This becomes crucial as the “Sea of Fertility” tetralogy depicts Kiyoaki being reincarnated in every installment, while Honda grows old and witnesses Kiyoaki’s reincarnations. Adding to that, one could mention that the then-valid Meiji Constitution was based on Prusso-German law and by that was heavily influenced by the West.
And they are more fields in which the theme of the book is played out: Siamese princes who come to Japan and experience culture shock, loyal servants in moral distress, and a reactionary student wrapped up in his own ideas. So although “Spring Snow” might not be as obviously political as “Confessions of a Mask” or “Sun and Steel”, it still is a very typical Mishima book, as it ponders the question what direction Japan should take, and how the decline of tradition and the rise of westernization should be handled. Beautiful prose, fascinating ideas, and must probably be read many times in order to understand the text’s whole genius.
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July 24, 2015
Has there ever been a stranger novelist than Yukio Mishima? On the one hand, he was a body-building Nationalist, who advocated bushido, the samurai code; he also, as many know, committed seppuku, which is a ritual form of suicide involving disembowelling and beheading. You don’t, it is fair to say, get that kind of thing with Julian Barnes and Karl Ove Knausgaard.
On the other hand, Mishima was undeniably a cultured man, who spoke English and dressed in the English fashion; he was a bisexual who acted in films and wrote plays as well as novels and short stories. It is almost as though he embodied the conflict – that of the traditional and reserved vs. the modern and progressive – that until very recently so dominated most of the great Japanese literature, and about which his own work, especially Spring Snow, is also concerned.
In what is perhaps a nod to Murasaki Shikibu’s monumental Tale of Genji, Spring Snow is primarily focussed on a preternaturally beautiful young man. As with the shining prince, everyone who meets the central character, Kiyoaki Matsugae, is struck by his attractiveness; and the awareness of his good-looks and the effect it has on other people makes him somewhat spoiled and conceited. Furthermore, although he is the son of a nouveau riche couple, who dress in Western clothes, he was actually raised by a once-prosperous aristocratic family, in order to ensure that he is well versed in traditional Japanese ways and has an elegant bearing. This upbringing means that Kiyoaki is, in a sense, caught between two different eras; he isn’t fully a traditionalist [he doesn’t revere the Emperor, for example], nor is he entirely modern; he is elegant, as his parents desired, but his elegance, and decadence, means that he is unfit for the modern world [for instance, out of indolence he neglects his schooling].
I imagine that it is clear already that my opinion of Kiyoaki is not especially positive. He is not bad per se, but he is tremendously arrogant and self-obsessed. Of course, you could excuse some of his flaws on the basis of his age. Kiyoaki is a teenager and so arrogance and self-obsession are pretty much part of the deal, but, even so, the behaviour of most teenagers does not lead to the ruin of numerous people. I should point out, however, that I do not think that the reader is meant to like him; I believe that, as a product of two conflicting eras, or ways of life, the effete and ineffectual Kiyoaki is, for Mishima, a necessary failure as a human being. For me, it is telling that his servant Iinuma, the one character whose attitude would have, I think, most closely resembled Mishima’s own [in terms of his feelings about loyalty, duty, etc], is disappointed in him, and even, at times, disgusted by him.
As I read the novel for the second time, I was baffled by the popular opinion that it is a moving love story, or even the greatest of all love stories. Yes, it details a troubled relationship between two young people – the aforementioned Kiyoaki and the equally beautiful Satoko, the daughter of the noble family who raised the boy – but it is a strange kind of love that continually rejects someone and then suddenly wants that person at the point at which it has become impossible to have them. Perhaps Satoko does love Kiyoaki, but there is abundant evidence that the same is not true for the young man. For example, the first thing he says to his friend Honda, when an ill-looking Satoko is unresponsive towards him, is “I don’t think Satoko will sleep with me anymore”. Does that sound like love to you? No, it sounds like someone who is a bit of a dick. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve not always been a nice guy where girls are concerned, so you could say I’m in no position to judge. But on the basis of the principle of it takes one to know one I’m calling Kiyoaki out.
Moreover, although there are seemingly insurmountable obstacles to their relationship, I don’t necessarily buy the star-crossed lovers interpretation of the story because the couple, Kiyoaki in particular, cause their own problems and create those obstacles themselves. Having said that, I guess you could argue that fate or destiny is also an obstacle to the couple’s love, and this is certainly not something that Kiyoaki and Satoko can control. As you may know, Spring Snow is part of a tetralogy called The Sea of Fertility. Each book in the series deals with reincarnation and predestination. In Spring Snow, the first volume, there are numerous hints and suggestions that what is happening, specifically to Kiyoaki, is, in a sense, meant to be. For example, he keeps a dream journal, and one of his dreams involves Satoko clinging to his coffin; there are repeated references to his demise, and a general sense of foreboding hangs over the novel.
In this way, Satoko and Kiyoaki’s relationship is tragic, because they never had a chance. However, if you want to appeal to predestination then you can’t really talk about Kiyoaki at all, because without free will he becomes a non-entity. As a reviewer, in order for discussion to be possible, I want to take him on face value.
One may ask then, if Kiyoaki is so unpleasant, and Spring Snow is not the tragic or tear-jerking tale of adolescent love it is billed as, why should you read the book? Well, first of all, it is always engrossing; whether one sympathises with Satoko and Kiyoaki or not, one is, crucially, still interested in their fate. Furthermore, although the narrative isn’t exactly full of high-octane action, Mishima, unlike many of the other historically important Japanese novelists, does serve up a steady amount of excitement and surprise and tension. In contrast, something like Tanizaki’s acclaimed novel The Makioka Sisters may be wonderful, but it is at times interminably slow and uneventful; I can’t imagine that, when reading that book, there are people that have stayed up late into the night, desperate to reach the end of a chapter, so as to find out what happens next, but I can certainly see that being the case with Spring Snow.
I wrote at the beginning of this review that Mishima to some extent embodied the conflict that he wrote about, that of the traditional and the modern ways of life; what is most interesting about Spring Snow is that this conflict, this tension, is not only apparent thematically, it is in the style too. So, while the prose is undeniably graceful, as you would expect from a great Japanese novel, it lacks simplicity; indeed, Mishima’s style, with its extended metaphors, extreme emoting, and psychological depth, is, I would say, closer to Western writers, like Flaubert, Proust, and Dostoevsky, than Kawabata or Tanizaki. I would also argue that Mishima’s characters are easier to understand and relate to for a Western audience; again, one may not like their behaviour, or admire their motivations, but they are more familiar to us; Kiyoaki is a brat, for example, but we all have known brats. Satoko is perhaps more a mystery, more like the enigmatic women you find in Kawabata, but even her actions can be viewed in terms of a young girl having the hots for a great-looking guy.
Yet for all that, the biggest selling point is just how beautiful Spring Snow is; it really is breathtaking at times. As with Flaubert’s Madame Bovary, the prose is actually so beautiful that it is, in a sense, diverting, so that, like when in the company of a beautiful woman one becomes incapable of judging her behaviour, readers tend not to pick up on how unsavoury the behaviour of the characters actually is. Also like Flaubert, Mishima’s prose is sensual, and highly detailed. In my review of Madame Bovary I called the Frenchman a hyperrealist, by which I mean he makes the real or ordinary seem extraordinary, and I would apply the same term to Mishima. There are numerous passages in the text that one could highlight as evidence, but one that particularly struck me was Kiyoaki holding the train of the princess’ dress:
I love that. It isn’t a one-off either, Mishima throws this kind of stuff out by the page. Mad, bad, and dangerous to know he may have been, but he was a wonderful, sensitive writer.
----
THE SEA OF FERTILITY
Volume 2: Runaway Horses /review/show...
On the other hand, Mishima was undeniably a cultured man, who spoke English and dressed in the English fashion; he was a bisexual who acted in films and wrote plays as well as novels and short stories. It is almost as though he embodied the conflict – that of the traditional and reserved vs. the modern and progressive – that until very recently so dominated most of the great Japanese literature, and about which his own work, especially Spring Snow, is also concerned.
In what is perhaps a nod to Murasaki Shikibu’s monumental Tale of Genji, Spring Snow is primarily focussed on a preternaturally beautiful young man. As with the shining prince, everyone who meets the central character, Kiyoaki Matsugae, is struck by his attractiveness; and the awareness of his good-looks and the effect it has on other people makes him somewhat spoiled and conceited. Furthermore, although he is the son of a nouveau riche couple, who dress in Western clothes, he was actually raised by a once-prosperous aristocratic family, in order to ensure that he is well versed in traditional Japanese ways and has an elegant bearing. This upbringing means that Kiyoaki is, in a sense, caught between two different eras; he isn’t fully a traditionalist [he doesn’t revere the Emperor, for example], nor is he entirely modern; he is elegant, as his parents desired, but his elegance, and decadence, means that he is unfit for the modern world [for instance, out of indolence he neglects his schooling].
I imagine that it is clear already that my opinion of Kiyoaki is not especially positive. He is not bad per se, but he is tremendously arrogant and self-obsessed. Of course, you could excuse some of his flaws on the basis of his age. Kiyoaki is a teenager and so arrogance and self-obsession are pretty much part of the deal, but, even so, the behaviour of most teenagers does not lead to the ruin of numerous people. I should point out, however, that I do not think that the reader is meant to like him; I believe that, as a product of two conflicting eras, or ways of life, the effete and ineffectual Kiyoaki is, for Mishima, a necessary failure as a human being. For me, it is telling that his servant Iinuma, the one character whose attitude would have, I think, most closely resembled Mishima’s own [in terms of his feelings about loyalty, duty, etc], is disappointed in him, and even, at times, disgusted by him.
“Iinuma looked down at his face, at the sensitive darting eyes with their long lashes – the eyes of an otter – and he knew that it was hopeless to expect him to swear the enthusiastic oaths of loyalty to the Emperor that a night like this would have invoked in any normal young Japanese boy.”
“Kiyoaki’s eyes were now wide open as he lay on his back staring at the ceiling, and they were filled with tears. And when this glistening gaze turned on him, Iinuma’s distaste deepened.”
As I read the novel for the second time, I was baffled by the popular opinion that it is a moving love story, or even the greatest of all love stories. Yes, it details a troubled relationship between two young people – the aforementioned Kiyoaki and the equally beautiful Satoko, the daughter of the noble family who raised the boy – but it is a strange kind of love that continually rejects someone and then suddenly wants that person at the point at which it has become impossible to have them. Perhaps Satoko does love Kiyoaki, but there is abundant evidence that the same is not true for the young man. For example, the first thing he says to his friend Honda, when an ill-looking Satoko is unresponsive towards him, is “I don’t think Satoko will sleep with me anymore”. Does that sound like love to you? No, it sounds like someone who is a bit of a dick. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve not always been a nice guy where girls are concerned, so you could say I’m in no position to judge. But on the basis of the principle of it takes one to know one I’m calling Kiyoaki out.
Moreover, although there are seemingly insurmountable obstacles to their relationship, I don’t necessarily buy the star-crossed lovers interpretation of the story because the couple, Kiyoaki in particular, cause their own problems and create those obstacles themselves. Having said that, I guess you could argue that fate or destiny is also an obstacle to the couple’s love, and this is certainly not something that Kiyoaki and Satoko can control. As you may know, Spring Snow is part of a tetralogy called The Sea of Fertility. Each book in the series deals with reincarnation and predestination. In Spring Snow, the first volume, there are numerous hints and suggestions that what is happening, specifically to Kiyoaki, is, in a sense, meant to be. For example, he keeps a dream journal, and one of his dreams involves Satoko clinging to his coffin; there are repeated references to his demise, and a general sense of foreboding hangs over the novel.
“There’s no doubt that he’s heading straight for tragedy…I’ve got to use every ounce of my strength to stop him fulfilling his destiny.”
In this way, Satoko and Kiyoaki’s relationship is tragic, because they never had a chance. However, if you want to appeal to predestination then you can’t really talk about Kiyoaki at all, because without free will he becomes a non-entity. As a reviewer, in order for discussion to be possible, I want to take him on face value.
One may ask then, if Kiyoaki is so unpleasant, and Spring Snow is not the tragic or tear-jerking tale of adolescent love it is billed as, why should you read the book? Well, first of all, it is always engrossing; whether one sympathises with Satoko and Kiyoaki or not, one is, crucially, still interested in their fate. Furthermore, although the narrative isn’t exactly full of high-octane action, Mishima, unlike many of the other historically important Japanese novelists, does serve up a steady amount of excitement and surprise and tension. In contrast, something like Tanizaki’s acclaimed novel The Makioka Sisters may be wonderful, but it is at times interminably slow and uneventful; I can’t imagine that, when reading that book, there are people that have stayed up late into the night, desperate to reach the end of a chapter, so as to find out what happens next, but I can certainly see that being the case with Spring Snow.
I wrote at the beginning of this review that Mishima to some extent embodied the conflict that he wrote about, that of the traditional and the modern ways of life; what is most interesting about Spring Snow is that this conflict, this tension, is not only apparent thematically, it is in the style too. So, while the prose is undeniably graceful, as you would expect from a great Japanese novel, it lacks simplicity; indeed, Mishima’s style, with its extended metaphors, extreme emoting, and psychological depth, is, I would say, closer to Western writers, like Flaubert, Proust, and Dostoevsky, than Kawabata or Tanizaki. I would also argue that Mishima’s characters are easier to understand and relate to for a Western audience; again, one may not like their behaviour, or admire their motivations, but they are more familiar to us; Kiyoaki is a brat, for example, but we all have known brats. Satoko is perhaps more a mystery, more like the enigmatic women you find in Kawabata, but even her actions can be viewed in terms of a young girl having the hots for a great-looking guy.
Yet for all that, the biggest selling point is just how beautiful Spring Snow is; it really is breathtaking at times. As with Flaubert’s Madame Bovary, the prose is actually so beautiful that it is, in a sense, diverting, so that, like when in the company of a beautiful woman one becomes incapable of judging her behaviour, readers tend not to pick up on how unsavoury the behaviour of the characters actually is. Also like Flaubert, Mishima’s prose is sensual, and highly detailed. In my review of Madame Bovary I called the Frenchman a hyperrealist, by which I mean he makes the real or ordinary seem extraordinary, and I would apply the same term to Mishima. There are numerous passages in the text that one could highlight as evidence, but one that particularly struck me was Kiyoaki holding the train of the princess’ dress:
“Beautiful, elegant, imposing, she was like a flower at the moment of its perfection…Princess Kasuga’s hair had the blackness and sheen of fine lacquer. Seen from behind her elaborate coiffure seemed to dissolve into the rich white skin-textures of the nape of her neck, leaving single strands against her bare shoulders whose faint sheen was set off by her décolleté…she held herself erect and walked ahead with a firm step, betraying no tremor to her trainbearers, but in Kiyoaki’s eyes that great fan of white fur seemed to glow and fade to the sound of music, like the snow covered peak first hidden, then exposed by a fluid pattern of clouds.”
I love that. It isn’t a one-off either, Mishima throws this kind of stuff out by the page. Mad, bad, and dangerous to know he may have been, but he was a wonderful, sensitive writer.
----
THE SEA OF FERTILITY
Volume 2: Runaway Horses /review/show...
September 4, 2023
4.5/5
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?? ????? ???? ??? ?????? ??????? ??? ?? ????? ?????? ????? ?? ???? ?? ?? ???? ??????? ? ????? ?????? ????? ??????? ??? ???? ? ????? ???? ??? ?????? ? ????????.
February 7, 2025
"De ce traim in aceasta degradare morala? De ce lumea dispretuieste vigoarea si tineretea, ambitiile respectabile si sinceritatea?"
"Haru no yuki" este primul roman din tetralogia "Marea fertilitatii" si este considerat ca fiind capodopera lui Mishima. Sunt foarte fericita ca in sfarsit am reusit sa gasesc cartea si citind-o am reusit sa-mi intregesc imaginea asupra povestii.
Cartea infatiseaza o poveste de iubire interzisa, narata la modul cel mai bland si duios - lucru surprinzator pentru Mishima, care se apleaca cu o neobisnuita blandete asupra acestei idile intre doi iubiti inocenti, prinsi intre o Japonie traditionalista si una influentata de Occident. Este o dragoste aidoma zapezii de primavara, suficient de puternica pentru a prelungi si arata prezenta si forta iernii dar si suficient de fragila pentru a se topi la prima raza de soare.
In ceea ce priveste actiunea, il avem in prim-plan pe Kiyoaki Matsugae, care are 18 ani si este fiu de marchiz cu o educatie aleasa si apartinand unei familii de vechi samurai. Educatia sa a fost desavarsita la curtea imperiala, alaturi de frumoasa aristocrata Satoko. Fata, cu doi ani mai mare este indragostita de el, insa, el o refuza ironic si dispretuitor considerand ca ar fi vulnerabil daca ar fi atras de ea.
Satoko il intriga si il tachineaza ori de cate ori are ocazia iar Kiyoaki infuriat vrea s-o pedepseasca si s-o invete minte. Din acest joc al orgoliilor se va naste cea mai frumoasa poveste de dragoste, mai ales atunci cand fata este ceruta in casatorie de catre fiul imparatului si Kiyoaki realizeaza ca este indragostit de ea si nu vrea s-o piarda.
Santajand-o cu o scrisoare de dragoste pe care i-a trimis-o dupa logodna cu printul, Kiyoaki reuseste pana la urma sa o seduca. Cei doi vor cadea in pacat, intr-una din cele mai sensibile si duioase scene de dragoste pe care Mishima o descrie suav si intelegator fata de tineretea lor. Insa, fata pacatuieste astfel impotriva imparatului si asta reprezinta o ofensa capitala, ea trebuind sa actioneze apoi precum un samurai.
Romanul nu infatiseaza doar o poveste de dragoste imposibila si tragica, a la Romeo si Julieta, ci, introducandu-l pe prietenul lui Kiyoaki, Shigekuni Honda, avem parte de numeroase cugetari morale despre viata, reincarnare, Drept, fiindu-ne descrise multe traditii, ritualuri si obiceiuri japoneze.
Putem sa tragem invataminte din istorisirea lui Honda pe care am denumit-o "pilda cu prostituata": daca un baiat e naiv, el poate venera o prostituata cu toata inocenta. Dar, dupa ce intelege cum e ea si ca de fapt traise cu o iluzie care reflecta propria lui puritate, va mai putea oare s-o iubeasca cu aceeasi intensitate? Honda considera ca da si ca e un lucru minunat sa-ti iei propriul ideal si sa modelezi lumea dupa el.
As aminti aici si de ritualul Otachimachi pe care Kiyoaki il face la 15 ani si in care se aseaza un vas cu apa in gradina pentru a reflecta lumina lunii. Daca cerul este innorat baiatul avea s-o duca prost toata viata. Daca luna se va reflecta, atunci va avea o viata frumoasa. La Kiyoaki luna se arata si el considera ca a reusit sa capteze astrul in interiorul sau: "Captase astrul. Stralucea ca un fluture auriu prins in mrejele sufletului sau."
Mi-a placut de asemenea si scrisoarea de dragoste pe care o scrie Satoko pentru Kiyoaki si care suna asa: "Ma simt de parca m-ar fi fermecat si rapit spiritul zapezii - ma topesc in frumusetea ta si inghet cu totul in zapada. Nu exista soarta mai placuta."
In incheiere va recomand intreaga tetralogie "Marea fertilitatii" care va continua cu soarta lui Shigekuni Honda. Acesta va dori mereu sa se intalneasca cu spiritul prietenului sau in memoria acestei frumoase povesti de dragoste dintre el si Satoko, ce a inflorit pe ascuns si a fost strivita de asteptarile societatii.
Atasez mai multe citate pe care le-am selectat din carte, pentru ca textul este remarcabil de frumos si Mishima exceleaza la capitolul figuri de stil, aforisme, metafore, stil etc:
"Eleganta ingradeste sentimentele... chiar si pe cele mai puternice."
"E destul de greu sa convingi un om printr-un argument rational, dar e usor sa-l pacalesti dezvaluindu-i o pasiune, fie ea si inventata."
" Cei fara imaginatie nu fac decat sa-si bazeze concluziile pe realitatea din jurul lor. Pe de alta parte insa, cei cu imaginatie au tendinta sa construiasca fortarete proiectate de ei insisi, ca apoi sa sigileze toate ferestrele."
"Istoria poarta cu ea distrugerea... ca sa faca loc altor clipe de clestar. Si tot asa. Pentru istorie, a cladi si a ruina e totuna."
"Colac peste pupaza, era femeia care-l iubea fara sa-l intrebe si pe el daca-i permite asemenea sentimente. Asta nu putea suferi Kiyoaki."
"Se convinsese ca dreptul era o disciplina stranie - o plasa cu ochiuri atat de fine, incat si cele mai triviale incidente ale vietii de zi cu zi s-ar fi prins in ea. "
"Studentul la Drept e mai avid de informatie chiar si decat pescarul ce-si doreste o captura mare. "
"Gheisa sau printesa, virgina sau prostituata, muncitoare in fabrica sau artista - nici o deosebire intre ele! Orice femeie este, fara exceptie, o mincinoasa si 'un animal mic, dolofan si lasciv'. Si trebuie sa-ti spun ca te vad si pe tine ca pe one of them." (Kiyoaki, cand e suparat pe femei) :)
"In inima mea, zapada nu incetase, fulgii continuau sa cada luand forma chipului tau, Kiyo. Cat mi-as fi dorit sa locuiesc undeva unde ninge mereu, tot anul, ca sa ma pot gandi la tine fara oprire."
"Odata ce suntem despartiti de ceea ce putem atinge chiar si intamplator, obiectul devine sacru, capatand frumusetea intangibilului, calitatea miraculosului. "
"Kiyoaki parea convins ca undeva, la capatul acestei lumi, care se putea asemui cu un sac din piele umplut cu apa, exista o gaura prin care se scurgea, picatura cu picatura, timpul. Parca-l si auzea."
"Satoko scutura nisipul din pantoful pe care si-l scosese. Lui Honda i-a rasunat precum o clepsidra, cea mai incantatoare din lume."
"Haru no yuki" este primul roman din tetralogia "Marea fertilitatii" si este considerat ca fiind capodopera lui Mishima. Sunt foarte fericita ca in sfarsit am reusit sa gasesc cartea si citind-o am reusit sa-mi intregesc imaginea asupra povestii.
Cartea infatiseaza o poveste de iubire interzisa, narata la modul cel mai bland si duios - lucru surprinzator pentru Mishima, care se apleaca cu o neobisnuita blandete asupra acestei idile intre doi iubiti inocenti, prinsi intre o Japonie traditionalista si una influentata de Occident. Este o dragoste aidoma zapezii de primavara, suficient de puternica pentru a prelungi si arata prezenta si forta iernii dar si suficient de fragila pentru a se topi la prima raza de soare.
In ceea ce priveste actiunea, il avem in prim-plan pe Kiyoaki Matsugae, care are 18 ani si este fiu de marchiz cu o educatie aleasa si apartinand unei familii de vechi samurai. Educatia sa a fost desavarsita la curtea imperiala, alaturi de frumoasa aristocrata Satoko. Fata, cu doi ani mai mare este indragostita de el, insa, el o refuza ironic si dispretuitor considerand ca ar fi vulnerabil daca ar fi atras de ea.
Satoko il intriga si il tachineaza ori de cate ori are ocazia iar Kiyoaki infuriat vrea s-o pedepseasca si s-o invete minte. Din acest joc al orgoliilor se va naste cea mai frumoasa poveste de dragoste, mai ales atunci cand fata este ceruta in casatorie de catre fiul imparatului si Kiyoaki realizeaza ca este indragostit de ea si nu vrea s-o piarda.
Santajand-o cu o scrisoare de dragoste pe care i-a trimis-o dupa logodna cu printul, Kiyoaki reuseste pana la urma sa o seduca. Cei doi vor cadea in pacat, intr-una din cele mai sensibile si duioase scene de dragoste pe care Mishima o descrie suav si intelegator fata de tineretea lor. Insa, fata pacatuieste astfel impotriva imparatului si asta reprezinta o ofensa capitala, ea trebuind sa actioneze apoi precum un samurai.
Romanul nu infatiseaza doar o poveste de dragoste imposibila si tragica, a la Romeo si Julieta, ci, introducandu-l pe prietenul lui Kiyoaki, Shigekuni Honda, avem parte de numeroase cugetari morale despre viata, reincarnare, Drept, fiindu-ne descrise multe traditii, ritualuri si obiceiuri japoneze.
Putem sa tragem invataminte din istorisirea lui Honda pe care am denumit-o "pilda cu prostituata": daca un baiat e naiv, el poate venera o prostituata cu toata inocenta. Dar, dupa ce intelege cum e ea si ca de fapt traise cu o iluzie care reflecta propria lui puritate, va mai putea oare s-o iubeasca cu aceeasi intensitate? Honda considera ca da si ca e un lucru minunat sa-ti iei propriul ideal si sa modelezi lumea dupa el.
As aminti aici si de ritualul Otachimachi pe care Kiyoaki il face la 15 ani si in care se aseaza un vas cu apa in gradina pentru a reflecta lumina lunii. Daca cerul este innorat baiatul avea s-o duca prost toata viata. Daca luna se va reflecta, atunci va avea o viata frumoasa. La Kiyoaki luna se arata si el considera ca a reusit sa capteze astrul in interiorul sau: "Captase astrul. Stralucea ca un fluture auriu prins in mrejele sufletului sau."
Mi-a placut de asemenea si scrisoarea de dragoste pe care o scrie Satoko pentru Kiyoaki si care suna asa: "Ma simt de parca m-ar fi fermecat si rapit spiritul zapezii - ma topesc in frumusetea ta si inghet cu totul in zapada. Nu exista soarta mai placuta."
In incheiere va recomand intreaga tetralogie "Marea fertilitatii" care va continua cu soarta lui Shigekuni Honda. Acesta va dori mereu sa se intalneasca cu spiritul prietenului sau in memoria acestei frumoase povesti de dragoste dintre el si Satoko, ce a inflorit pe ascuns si a fost strivita de asteptarile societatii.
Atasez mai multe citate pe care le-am selectat din carte, pentru ca textul este remarcabil de frumos si Mishima exceleaza la capitolul figuri de stil, aforisme, metafore, stil etc:
"Eleganta ingradeste sentimentele... chiar si pe cele mai puternice."
"E destul de greu sa convingi un om printr-un argument rational, dar e usor sa-l pacalesti dezvaluindu-i o pasiune, fie ea si inventata."
" Cei fara imaginatie nu fac decat sa-si bazeze concluziile pe realitatea din jurul lor. Pe de alta parte insa, cei cu imaginatie au tendinta sa construiasca fortarete proiectate de ei insisi, ca apoi sa sigileze toate ferestrele."
"Istoria poarta cu ea distrugerea... ca sa faca loc altor clipe de clestar. Si tot asa. Pentru istorie, a cladi si a ruina e totuna."
"Colac peste pupaza, era femeia care-l iubea fara sa-l intrebe si pe el daca-i permite asemenea sentimente. Asta nu putea suferi Kiyoaki."
"Se convinsese ca dreptul era o disciplina stranie - o plasa cu ochiuri atat de fine, incat si cele mai triviale incidente ale vietii de zi cu zi s-ar fi prins in ea. "
"Studentul la Drept e mai avid de informatie chiar si decat pescarul ce-si doreste o captura mare. "
"Gheisa sau printesa, virgina sau prostituata, muncitoare in fabrica sau artista - nici o deosebire intre ele! Orice femeie este, fara exceptie, o mincinoasa si 'un animal mic, dolofan si lasciv'. Si trebuie sa-ti spun ca te vad si pe tine ca pe one of them." (Kiyoaki, cand e suparat pe femei) :)
"In inima mea, zapada nu incetase, fulgii continuau sa cada luand forma chipului tau, Kiyo. Cat mi-as fi dorit sa locuiesc undeva unde ninge mereu, tot anul, ca sa ma pot gandi la tine fara oprire."
"Odata ce suntem despartiti de ceea ce putem atinge chiar si intamplator, obiectul devine sacru, capatand frumusetea intangibilului, calitatea miraculosului. "
"Kiyoaki parea convins ca undeva, la capatul acestei lumi, care se putea asemui cu un sac din piele umplut cu apa, exista o gaura prin care se scurgea, picatura cu picatura, timpul. Parca-l si auzea."
"Satoko scutura nisipul din pantoful pe care si-l scosese. Lui Honda i-a rasunat precum o clepsidra, cea mai incantatoare din lume."
Read
August 11, 2024I did not like the writing style at all. His poetic phrases did not inspire me and I skimmed through the book just to get over with it.
February 19, 2022
??????? ??? ??? ???? ?? ???? ??? ???? ?????? ??? ??? ???? ?????????? ????? ?????? ???? ?????? ??? ??? ???? ?????? ????? ?????? ??????.??? ???? ??? ???? ???? ??????? ???? ???? ??????? ??? ???? ??? ???? ??????.
?????? ????? ?????? ?????? ????? ??
?????? ????? ?????? ?????? ????? ??
February 19, 2016
Ba?yap?t!!!
Uzun zamand?r okurken bu kadar etkilendi?im bir kitap hat?rlam?yorum. Yukio Mi?ima benim i?in en ?zel yazarlardan bir tanesi. O yüzden eserleri yava??a ve üzerinde ?ok dü?ünerek okumay? seviyorum. Buna ra?men tekrar okumak i?in yerinmeyece?im isimlerin ba??nda geliyor. Kawabata'n?n lirizmi Japon Edebiyat?n?n zirvesi gibi lans edilse de; bence Japon Edebiyat?n?n zirvesi Mi?ima'd?r. ?lk kitap Bahar Karlar?'ndan anlad???m üzere de, yazar?nda en iyi i?leri olarak g?rdü?ü Bereket Denizi D?rtlemesi, bu zirvenin tepe noktas?n? olu?turuyor.
Mi?ima sadece yazd?klar? ile de?il, insan olarak yapt?klar? ve dü?ündükleri ile de halen tart???lan bir yazar. Ancak bununla yazd?klar?n? sentezlemesi ola?anüstü. "Bahar Karlar?" yazar?n bir?ok ?eye bak?? a??s?n? g?zler ?nüne seriyor. Asl?nda hayat?n?n son d?neminde olgunla?t?rd??? intihar?n?n tasar?s?n? bir nevi romanda alttan alttan belli ediyor. ?ok keskin dü?ünceleri olan yazarlar?n, karakterleri ile; ?lümünden sonra ?zde?le?tirilmesi, bence yazar?n ya?arken fark edilmemi? gü?lü karakterine i?aret ediyor. Mi?ima bunun en büyük ?rne?i.
Kitap Meiji D?nemi sonras?, Taisho D?nemin de ge?en bir a?k ?yküsünü anlat?yor. ?n planda a?k ?yküsü olsa da arka planda Japon halk?na sert ele?tiriler getiriliyor. Binlerce y?ll?k bir kültür uygarl???n?n, bat? etkisindeki yozla?mas? en gü?lü olarak kendini Taisho D?neminde g?stermi?ti. Bu da 1911 -1926 y?llar? civar?n? kaps?yor. ?yküde bu aral?kta ge?iyor. Mi?ima toplumun daha ?ok üst kesimindeki yozlu?u ve sayg?s?zl??? ayr?nt?lar? ile ortaya koyuyor. Mi?ima'nin bat? ele?tirisi Cuni?iro Tanizaki'nin gibi de?il. Ate?li bir ?ekilde Japon k?klerine ve siyasal ideolojisine ba?l? olan Mi?ima, kültürel ve üstünk?rü bir endi?eden ?ok t?zsel, tinsel bir endi?e duyuyor. Endi?e de?il anksiyetik bir saplant? dememiz daha do?ru olabilir. Bunu edebiyat d???ndaki yaz?nlar? ve filmlerinde de g?rmek mümkün. Fa?i?tlikle su?lanan yazar?n; ideolojini alg?layabilmek i?in japon geleneklerine ve tarihine g?re bir empati kurmak laz?m. Buda ülkenin bütün kodlar?na hakim olmadan ?ok zor.
Karakter Honda'n?n baz? diyaloglar?nda Mi?ima'n?n filozof taraf?n? g?rmekte mümkün. Doktrinlere bak?? a??s? ve bunu ?znelle?tirmesi beni ?zellikle en ?ok etkileyen k?s?mlar oldu. Sheaskpearevari bir merkezi olan ?ykünün, trajik bi?imde sonland?r?ld???; okuyucuya g?sterilirken, asl?nda arkada yok olan bir uygarl???n can ?eki?mesini anlat?r gibidir Mi?ima.
?zerine ?ok ?ey s?ylenebilecek bir roman. Kesinlikle geleneksel Japon romanc?l???n?n bana g?re zirvesi!
5/5
Uzun zamand?r okurken bu kadar etkilendi?im bir kitap hat?rlam?yorum. Yukio Mi?ima benim i?in en ?zel yazarlardan bir tanesi. O yüzden eserleri yava??a ve üzerinde ?ok dü?ünerek okumay? seviyorum. Buna ra?men tekrar okumak i?in yerinmeyece?im isimlerin ba??nda geliyor. Kawabata'n?n lirizmi Japon Edebiyat?n?n zirvesi gibi lans edilse de; bence Japon Edebiyat?n?n zirvesi Mi?ima'd?r. ?lk kitap Bahar Karlar?'ndan anlad???m üzere de, yazar?nda en iyi i?leri olarak g?rdü?ü Bereket Denizi D?rtlemesi, bu zirvenin tepe noktas?n? olu?turuyor.
Mi?ima sadece yazd?klar? ile de?il, insan olarak yapt?klar? ve dü?ündükleri ile de halen tart???lan bir yazar. Ancak bununla yazd?klar?n? sentezlemesi ola?anüstü. "Bahar Karlar?" yazar?n bir?ok ?eye bak?? a??s?n? g?zler ?nüne seriyor. Asl?nda hayat?n?n son d?neminde olgunla?t?rd??? intihar?n?n tasar?s?n? bir nevi romanda alttan alttan belli ediyor. ?ok keskin dü?ünceleri olan yazarlar?n, karakterleri ile; ?lümünden sonra ?zde?le?tirilmesi, bence yazar?n ya?arken fark edilmemi? gü?lü karakterine i?aret ediyor. Mi?ima bunun en büyük ?rne?i.
Kitap Meiji D?nemi sonras?, Taisho D?nemin de ge?en bir a?k ?yküsünü anlat?yor. ?n planda a?k ?yküsü olsa da arka planda Japon halk?na sert ele?tiriler getiriliyor. Binlerce y?ll?k bir kültür uygarl???n?n, bat? etkisindeki yozla?mas? en gü?lü olarak kendini Taisho D?neminde g?stermi?ti. Bu da 1911 -1926 y?llar? civar?n? kaps?yor. ?yküde bu aral?kta ge?iyor. Mi?ima toplumun daha ?ok üst kesimindeki yozlu?u ve sayg?s?zl??? ayr?nt?lar? ile ortaya koyuyor. Mi?ima'nin bat? ele?tirisi Cuni?iro Tanizaki'nin gibi de?il. Ate?li bir ?ekilde Japon k?klerine ve siyasal ideolojisine ba?l? olan Mi?ima, kültürel ve üstünk?rü bir endi?eden ?ok t?zsel, tinsel bir endi?e duyuyor. Endi?e de?il anksiyetik bir saplant? dememiz daha do?ru olabilir. Bunu edebiyat d???ndaki yaz?nlar? ve filmlerinde de g?rmek mümkün. Fa?i?tlikle su?lanan yazar?n; ideolojini alg?layabilmek i?in japon geleneklerine ve tarihine g?re bir empati kurmak laz?m. Buda ülkenin bütün kodlar?na hakim olmadan ?ok zor.
Karakter Honda'n?n baz? diyaloglar?nda Mi?ima'n?n filozof taraf?n? g?rmekte mümkün. Doktrinlere bak?? a??s? ve bunu ?znelle?tirmesi beni ?zellikle en ?ok etkileyen k?s?mlar oldu. Sheaskpearevari bir merkezi olan ?ykünün, trajik bi?imde sonland?r?ld???; okuyucuya g?sterilirken, asl?nda arkada yok olan bir uygarl???n can ?eki?mesini anlat?r gibidir Mi?ima.
?zerine ?ok ?ey s?ylenebilecek bir roman. Kesinlikle geleneksel Japon romanc?l???n?n bana g?re zirvesi!
5/5
October 4, 2016
“Oddly enough, living only for one’s emotions, like a flag obedient to the breeze, demands a way of life that makes one balk at the natural course of events, for this implies being altogether subservient to nature. The life of the emotions detests all constraints, whatever their origin, and thus, ironically enough, is apt eventually to fetter its own instinctive sense of freedom.”
- Yukio Mishima, Spring Snow
After finishing this supreme piece of fiction (the first of the tetralogy The Sea of Fertility ), I had the irresistible urge to revisit Gore Vidal's 1971 essay The Death of Mishima published about 8 months after the Japanese author had performed seppuku following a failed coup d'état attempt. It was this essay which prompted me to seek out the work of Mishima. A certain passage greatly struck me, and succinctly explained just what it is about Mishima's sensibility that manages to evoke such a strong reaction in me :
"Yet Mishima wanted a life of the flesh, of action, divorced from words. Some interpreted this to mean that he dreamed of becoming a sort of warlord, restoring to Japan its ancient military virtues. But I think Mishima was after something much simpler: the exhaustion of the flesh in physical exercise, in bouts of love, in such adventures as becoming a private soldier for a few weeks in his middle age or breaking the sound barrier with a military jet. Certainly Mishima did not have a political mind. He was a Romantic Artist in a very fin de siècle French way. But instead of deranging the senses through drugs, Mishima tried to lose his conscious mind (his art) through the use and worship of his own flesh and that of others. Finally, rather than face the slow bitter dissolution of the incarnate self, he chose to die."
It is this desperate longing for a renewed sense of -and respect for- masculinity in all its facets that makes Mishima such an intriguing cultural figure. After Japan's humiliating defeat in WW II the country was forced to metaphorically castrate itself, and over the last couple of decades the Western powers in a lesser degree have as well, but in that case it came about through a series of sociocultural shifts.
Spring Snow of course has a lot more themes on offer. In that respect it is quite a dense read, but one that is greatly aided by Mishima's richly lyrical, sensuous prose. Michael Gallagher must be commended for this brilliant translation, for I felt deprived of none of its intricacies. I was constantly taken aback by Mishima's flawless portrayals of distinctive, unforgettable characters and their emotional states. While quite a traditional writer, he is incredibly meticulous, like a Japanese Nabokov.
Part historical document, part philosophical/spiritual meditation, part love story (in fact two love stories, if you count Kyoaki and Honda's incredibly moving friendship), it is difficult not to find something to derive pleasure from in Spring Snow. In this regard I consider it a nigh perfect springboard for further exploration of Japanese culture during this era. It is simply fascinating, and almost challenges its foreign reader to delve deeper.
If I'd have to hazard a guess, I predict me finishing the entire tetralogy will enhance this first, immensely gratifying tasting even more. How fortunate a discovery, this. Pure joy.
- Yukio Mishima, Spring Snow
After finishing this supreme piece of fiction (the first of the tetralogy The Sea of Fertility ), I had the irresistible urge to revisit Gore Vidal's 1971 essay The Death of Mishima published about 8 months after the Japanese author had performed seppuku following a failed coup d'état attempt. It was this essay which prompted me to seek out the work of Mishima. A certain passage greatly struck me, and succinctly explained just what it is about Mishima's sensibility that manages to evoke such a strong reaction in me :
"Yet Mishima wanted a life of the flesh, of action, divorced from words. Some interpreted this to mean that he dreamed of becoming a sort of warlord, restoring to Japan its ancient military virtues. But I think Mishima was after something much simpler: the exhaustion of the flesh in physical exercise, in bouts of love, in such adventures as becoming a private soldier for a few weeks in his middle age or breaking the sound barrier with a military jet. Certainly Mishima did not have a political mind. He was a Romantic Artist in a very fin de siècle French way. But instead of deranging the senses through drugs, Mishima tried to lose his conscious mind (his art) through the use and worship of his own flesh and that of others. Finally, rather than face the slow bitter dissolution of the incarnate self, he chose to die."
It is this desperate longing for a renewed sense of -and respect for- masculinity in all its facets that makes Mishima such an intriguing cultural figure. After Japan's humiliating defeat in WW II the country was forced to metaphorically castrate itself, and over the last couple of decades the Western powers in a lesser degree have as well, but in that case it came about through a series of sociocultural shifts.
Spring Snow of course has a lot more themes on offer. In that respect it is quite a dense read, but one that is greatly aided by Mishima's richly lyrical, sensuous prose. Michael Gallagher must be commended for this brilliant translation, for I felt deprived of none of its intricacies. I was constantly taken aback by Mishima's flawless portrayals of distinctive, unforgettable characters and their emotional states. While quite a traditional writer, he is incredibly meticulous, like a Japanese Nabokov.
Part historical document, part philosophical/spiritual meditation, part love story (in fact two love stories, if you count Kyoaki and Honda's incredibly moving friendship), it is difficult not to find something to derive pleasure from in Spring Snow. In this regard I consider it a nigh perfect springboard for further exploration of Japanese culture during this era. It is simply fascinating, and almost challenges its foreign reader to delve deeper.
If I'd have to hazard a guess, I predict me finishing the entire tetralogy will enhance this first, immensely gratifying tasting even more. How fortunate a discovery, this. Pure joy.
March 1, 2021
???? ???? ??? ????? ????? ????? ?? ???? ?? ????? ?? ????? ?????? ?? ???? ???? ? ????? ? ??? ??? ?? ?????? ????? ? ?? ?????? ?? ??? ? ???? ?? ?????? ?????.
?????? ???? ?? ????? ??? ????? ? ?????? 50 ???? ??? ?? ???????? ???? ? ??????????? ???? ?? ???? ? ??? ???? ?? ???? ???? ????? ?????? ?? ???? ???? ????? ? ?? ????? ????? ?????? ????? ???? ? ???? ??? ???? ???? ? ?? ?? ??? ??? ? ?????? ????? ? ?? ??? ????? ?????? ? ?? ?????? ????? ?? ??? ???? ?? ?????? ?? ???? ?? ?? ?? ??? ????? ?? ???? ? ???? ? ??? ??? ??? ?? ???? . ??????? ????? ????? ??? ?????? ???? ? ?? ?????? ??? ????? ? ???? ?? ????? ????? ?? ?? ????? ???? ????? ?? ??? ? ?? ??? ??????? ?? ?? ???? ? ?? ?? ?? ??? ?? ???? ?????? ???? ?? ?????? ?? ??? ? ??????? ?? ?? ??? ???????? ? ????? ?? ???? ?? ????? ? ?????? ??? ???? ???????? ?? ????? ??? ? ????? ??? ? ???? ??? ? ???? ?? ?? ?? ??? ??? ?????? ?? ???? ????? ????? ? ???? ?????? ????? .
?? ???? ???? ? ?????? ??? ???? ??? ? ?????? ?? ?? ????? ?????? ?????? ??? ???? ? ?????? ?? ???????? ? ???????? ??? ?? ????? ?? ???? ? ?? ?? ???? ?? ???? ?? ??? ??? ? ??????? ? ??? ????? ????? ??? . ?? ???? ??? ?? ????? ?? ??? ? ??? ?????? ??? ????? ?? ????? ????? ?? ???? ?? ???? ?? ?? ??????? ???? ??? ?? ??? ??? ????? ? ????? ???? ??? ? ??? ??????? ?? ???? ???? ?? ?? ????? ???? ?? ??? ?? ??? ?? ???? ???? ???? ??? ???? ???? .
?????? ???? ?? ????? ??? ????? ? ?????? 50 ???? ??? ?? ???????? ???? ? ??????????? ???? ?? ???? ? ??? ???? ?? ???? ???? ????? ?????? ?? ???? ???? ????? ? ?? ????? ????? ?????? ????? ???? ? ???? ??? ???? ???? ? ?? ?? ??? ??? ? ?????? ????? ? ?? ??? ????? ?????? ? ?? ?????? ????? ?? ??? ???? ?? ?????? ?? ???? ?? ?? ?? ??? ????? ?? ???? ? ???? ? ??? ??? ??? ?? ???? . ??????? ????? ????? ??? ?????? ???? ? ?? ?????? ??? ????? ? ???? ?? ????? ????? ?? ?? ????? ???? ????? ?? ??? ? ?? ??? ??????? ?? ?? ???? ? ?? ?? ?? ??? ?? ???? ?????? ???? ?? ?????? ?? ??? ? ??????? ?? ?? ??? ???????? ? ????? ?? ???? ?? ????? ? ?????? ??? ???? ???????? ?? ????? ??? ? ????? ??? ? ???? ??? ? ???? ?? ?? ?? ??? ??? ?????? ?? ???? ????? ????? ? ???? ?????? ????? .
?? ???? ???? ? ?????? ??? ???? ??? ? ?????? ?? ?? ????? ?????? ?????? ??? ???? ? ?????? ?? ???????? ? ???????? ??? ?? ????? ?? ???? ? ?? ?? ???? ?? ???? ?? ??? ??? ? ??????? ? ??? ????? ????? ??? . ?? ???? ??? ?? ????? ?? ??? ? ??? ?????? ??? ????? ?? ????? ????? ?? ???? ?? ???? ?? ?? ??????? ???? ??? ?? ??? ??? ????? ? ????? ???? ??? ? ??? ??????? ?? ???? ???? ?? ?? ????? ???? ?? ??? ?? ??? ?? ???? ???? ???? ??? ???? ???? .
June 11, 2018
'L'età a cui s'addice la primavera'
"Neve di primavera" è il primo volume della tetralogia chiamata 'Il mare della fertilità', ciclo che comprende le ultime opere dello scrittore giapponese Mishima.
Si tratta di un romanzo bellissimo, un capolavoro letterario di grande lievità e splendore. Tutto pare essere stato lasciato decantare e, ora, riflesso in cristallo purissimo.
Siamo nel 1910/12, ovviamente in Giappone, nel raffinato ambiente aristocratico. Protagonisti due diciottenni/ventenni (Kiyoaki e Honda) e una ragazza (Sotoko).
La realtà vissuta si carica progressivamente di tensione, ma sempre in una dimensione di contenuta malinconia, quasi se anche le emozioni più forti e le situazioni più drammatiche fossero filtrate attraverso un'atmosfera di composto equilibrio interiore.
La relazione con la natura è costantemente presente a riflettere, come in acque trasparenti, gli stati d'animo, a farci scorgere uno spiraglio sulle emozioni che altrimenti resterebbero celate ; in tanta lievità anche i moti del cuore paiono non passare inosservati : sotto la pergola di glicini, sul volto delle donne "si stagliava, al pari di un elegante riflesso di morte, l'ombra color lilla dei fiori" ; "quando poi la madre (...) aprì il ventaglio d'oro, questo, sotto i riflessi rossi delle foglie d'acero, si ammantò di scarlatto" ; "...sentì un debole rumore, simile a quello prodotto dal bocciolo di un susino nel momento in cui si schiude".
Dettagli come questi conferiscono alla narrazione un tono di leggiadria che ben si addice alla ventata di giovinezza che in ogni pagina si avverte.
Il lettore, al termine del romanzo in cui non mancano dolore e morte, si sente avvolto dall'uniforme seppur variegata atmosfera della tenue malinconia che si distende sull'opera intera.
Molte le belle immagini che qui Mishima dispensa a piene mani. Una per tutte, che si espande per un intero capitolo : la corsa senza meta in risciò, durante la quale Sotoko e Kiyoaki si scambiano i primi baci (per lui i primi in assoluto), avvolti in una bufera di neve, i cui fiocchi turbinano nell'aria e si posano sui loro corpi , quando essi, in un'esaltazione anche estetica, aprono il telo che li riparava.
"Neve di primavera" è il primo volume della tetralogia chiamata 'Il mare della fertilità', ciclo che comprende le ultime opere dello scrittore giapponese Mishima.
Si tratta di un romanzo bellissimo, un capolavoro letterario di grande lievità e splendore. Tutto pare essere stato lasciato decantare e, ora, riflesso in cristallo purissimo.
Siamo nel 1910/12, ovviamente in Giappone, nel raffinato ambiente aristocratico. Protagonisti due diciottenni/ventenni (Kiyoaki e Honda) e una ragazza (Sotoko).
La realtà vissuta si carica progressivamente di tensione, ma sempre in una dimensione di contenuta malinconia, quasi se anche le emozioni più forti e le situazioni più drammatiche fossero filtrate attraverso un'atmosfera di composto equilibrio interiore.
La relazione con la natura è costantemente presente a riflettere, come in acque trasparenti, gli stati d'animo, a farci scorgere uno spiraglio sulle emozioni che altrimenti resterebbero celate ; in tanta lievità anche i moti del cuore paiono non passare inosservati : sotto la pergola di glicini, sul volto delle donne "si stagliava, al pari di un elegante riflesso di morte, l'ombra color lilla dei fiori" ; "quando poi la madre (...) aprì il ventaglio d'oro, questo, sotto i riflessi rossi delle foglie d'acero, si ammantò di scarlatto" ; "...sentì un debole rumore, simile a quello prodotto dal bocciolo di un susino nel momento in cui si schiude".
Dettagli come questi conferiscono alla narrazione un tono di leggiadria che ben si addice alla ventata di giovinezza che in ogni pagina si avverte.
Il lettore, al termine del romanzo in cui non mancano dolore e morte, si sente avvolto dall'uniforme seppur variegata atmosfera della tenue malinconia che si distende sull'opera intera.
Molte le belle immagini che qui Mishima dispensa a piene mani. Una per tutte, che si espande per un intero capitolo : la corsa senza meta in risciò, durante la quale Sotoko e Kiyoaki si scambiano i primi baci (per lui i primi in assoluto), avvolti in una bufera di neve, i cui fiocchi turbinano nell'aria e si posano sui loro corpi , quando essi, in un'esaltazione anche estetica, aprono il telo che li riparava.
May 16, 2020
The world is your oyster, or is it?
Overhead the albatross
Hangs motionless upon the air
And deep beneath the rolling waves
In labyrinths of coral caves
An echo of a distant time
Comes willowing across the sand
And everything is green and submarine
Echoes - Pink Floyd
-------
Spring Snow = Neige de printemps
First novel in the Sea of fertility tetralogy, Spring Snow tells the story of the love between young marquis Kiyoaki Matsugae and young countess Satoko Ayakura. However, this is not your typical impossible love story as the marriage is possible between them .
Also, the book explores the path taken by law student Shigekuni Honda, following the intricacies of Roman law on the one hand, Hinduist and Buddhist cosmogony on the other hand.
-------
Themes :
This book feels to me as though Mishima was paying a tribute to the novel as a genre, as Spring Snow contains many threads at once, following many characters arcs and literary traditions :
- An ill-fated love-story.
- Something akin to a comedy by Molière or Beaumarchais, filled with subplots involving letters, crafty valets or housekeepers, schemes and revenge...
- A vivid portrayal of post-Meiji, Taisho era Japan, less than a decade after the Russian-Japanese war (1904-5). Its new social hierarchy, materialized by the frayed relationship between Marquis Matsugae (Kiyoaki's father) and Count Ayakura (Satoko's father, a member of the ancient aristocracy), and embodied by conflicted Kiyoaki, raised by both families.
- The swift, mimetic occidentalization of the elite.
- Memories, representation and self-image.
- Fate, dreams, desire and Kiyoaki's fascination for death, present throughout the story via symbols and echoes, taken as omens and prophetic signs throughout the story.
- Changing times. How to have a significant part in the history of a new era? Devote oneself to passions not to be a mere plaything in the tide of History? Merge, Coalesce into beauty not to merge into the commonplace and kitsch?
- Dialogues tackling the subject of will, fate and the illusion of chance, expounding ideas from Hosso Buddhism, some about transmigration.
- Stylistically, Yukio Mishima achieves a sort of tightly knit tapestry, a consistent network of echoing reflections.
------
My opinion on the story :
As far as I am concerned, this is a fairly outstanding book, offering some endearing characters, convincing conflictual relationships, fascinating thoughts and contemplations.
One drawback for me : Kiyoaki seems a bit too unflinchingly determined not to answer Satoko's calls and letters for a significant length of time. Again, that certainly serves the story as it gives a telling example of how self-absorbed and obsessed he can be. Still, I didn't felt attached to Kiyoaki as much as I did concerning Honda.
Kōfuku-ji Temple, Nara
----
Suggested books :
For their common oblique treatment of the story, subjectivity...
Regarding the character of proud, self-absorbed Kiyoaki, his contrariness/waywardness, his masochism:
As to Honda's philosophical musings and spiritual journey :
See part 2, introductory discussion about history, free will and determinism in
About the occidentalization of Japan :
= The School of Flesh - Yukio Mishima
= Death in Midsummer - Yukio Mishima
About the occidentalization of other cultures :
About how our misconceptions model how we imagine ourselves and others,
How no to merge into the commonplace and kitsch :
On another secluded hero :
Speaking of incestual-like relationships :
About passion and convents :
Soundtrack :
The Ocean - Mesopelagic: Into the Uncanny
Overhead the albatross
Hangs motionless upon the air
And deep beneath the rolling waves
In labyrinths of coral caves
An echo of a distant time
Comes willowing across the sand
And everything is green and submarine
Echoes - Pink Floyd
-------
Spring Snow = Neige de printemps
First novel in the Sea of fertility tetralogy, Spring Snow tells the story of the love between young marquis Kiyoaki Matsugae and young countess Satoko Ayakura. However, this is not your typical impossible love story as the marriage is possible between them .
Also, the book explores the path taken by law student Shigekuni Honda, following the intricacies of Roman law on the one hand, Hinduist and Buddhist cosmogony on the other hand.
-------
Themes :
This book feels to me as though Mishima was paying a tribute to the novel as a genre, as Spring Snow contains many threads at once, following many characters arcs and literary traditions :
- An ill-fated love-story.
- Something akin to a comedy by Molière or Beaumarchais, filled with subplots involving letters, crafty valets or housekeepers, schemes and revenge...
- A vivid portrayal of post-Meiji, Taisho era Japan, less than a decade after the Russian-Japanese war (1904-5). Its new social hierarchy, materialized by the frayed relationship between Marquis Matsugae (Kiyoaki's father) and Count Ayakura (Satoko's father, a member of the ancient aristocracy), and embodied by conflicted Kiyoaki, raised by both families.
- The swift, mimetic occidentalization of the elite.
- Memories, representation and self-image.
- Fate, dreams, desire and Kiyoaki's fascination for death, present throughout the story via symbols and echoes, taken as omens and prophetic signs throughout the story.
- Changing times. How to have a significant part in the history of a new era? Devote oneself to passions not to be a mere plaything in the tide of History? Merge, Coalesce into beauty not to merge into the commonplace and kitsch?
- Dialogues tackling the subject of will, fate and the illusion of chance, expounding ideas from Hosso Buddhism, some about transmigration.
- Stylistically, Yukio Mishima achieves a sort of tightly knit tapestry, a consistent network of echoing reflections.
------
My opinion on the story :
As far as I am concerned, this is a fairly outstanding book, offering some endearing characters, convincing conflictual relationships, fascinating thoughts and contemplations.
One drawback for me : Kiyoaki seems a bit too unflinchingly determined not to answer Satoko's calls and letters for a significant length of time. Again, that certainly serves the story as it gives a telling example of how self-absorbed and obsessed he can be. Still, I didn't felt attached to Kiyoaki as much as I did concerning Honda.
Kōfuku-ji Temple, Nara
----
Suggested books :
For their common oblique treatment of the story, subjectivity...
Regarding the character of proud, self-absorbed Kiyoaki, his contrariness/waywardness, his masochism:
As to Honda's philosophical musings and spiritual journey :
See part 2, introductory discussion about history, free will and determinism in
About the occidentalization of Japan :
= The School of Flesh - Yukio Mishima
= Death in Midsummer - Yukio Mishima
About the occidentalization of other cultures :
About how our misconceptions model how we imagine ourselves and others,
How no to merge into the commonplace and kitsch :
On another secluded hero :
Speaking of incestual-like relationships :
About passion and convents :
Soundtrack :
The Ocean - Mesopelagic: Into the Uncanny
December 8, 2016
bahar karlar?, japonya’n?n yirminci yüzy?l?n? anlatan bereket denizi d?rtlemesinin ilk roman?. 1912 y?l?nda ba?l?yor: 45 y?ll?k imparator meiji d?neminin bitti?i, geleneksel de?erlere ba?l? soylulara kar?? yeni bir zengin s?n?f?n?n yükseldi?i, bat?l?la?man?n h?z kazand??? bir d?nem. bu d?nemi bir a?k hikayesi etraf?nda okuyoruz ve fakat herhangi bir tarihi roman okuma deneyiminden farkl? bir taraf? var bu okuman?n. roman?n yazar? mi?ima’n?n bat?l?la?maya kar?? radikal muhalefet yürüttü?ünü ve bereket denizi d?rtlemesini tamamlar tamamlamaz arkada?lar?yla birlikte bir askeri birli?i i?gal edip japonya’n?n geleneksel de?erlerine d?nmesi i?in haz?rlad??? manifestoyu okuduktan sonra seppuku yaparak intihar etti?ini biliyoruz. roman?n meselesinin yazar?n?n hayat?n?n meselesi oldu?u ?arp?c? bir durum s?z konusu.
soru ?u belki: mi?ima taraf oldu?u, hayat?n? ortaya koydu?u meseleyi yazar kimli?iyle ve bir roman ?er?evesi i?inde nas?l anlat?yor? cevap: ?a??rt?c? derecede incelik ve zarafetle. incelik ve zarafet i?inde müthi? bir yo?unluk ve gü?le. mi?ima’n?n inceli?i, zarafeti asla basit/hafif bir roman yapm?yor bahar karlar?’n?. bilakis ?fkeli, ?iddetli, sert bir roman bahar karlar?. fakat mi?ima do?rudan yazarak g?stermiyor bunu. mi?ima hissettiriyor, sezdiriyor. ilgin? bir nokta mesela, hikaye i?inde bir erdem olarak zarafeti geleneksel de?erlere ba?l? soylu s?n?fa ait ki?ilerin karakterlerinde, kabal???-do?rudanl??? ise yeni zengin s?n?fa ait kahramanlar?n karakterlerinde g?rmek. bir di?er nokta hikaye i?indeki sona gidi?le, mi?ima’n?n kendi hayat?ndaki sona gidi?teki paralellik. d?rtlemenin tamam?n?n varl?k nedeni, bu yaz?nsal prova belki de, bu yaz?nsal prova da yazar?n ?iddetli sonunun inceli?i.
sonu? olarak incelikli, ayn? zamanda gü?lü-yo?un anlat?m?, karakter derinlikleri, do?aya bak??taki ?iirsellik, hikayeyi büyüten, geni?leten detaylar?yla birlikte bahar karlar?, kendi i?inde bütünlü?e sahip oldu?u dü?ünülürse, ba?yap?t seviyesinde bir roman. ayr?ca japonya tarihi ve kültürüne ili?kin sahici bir okumaya olanak veriyor. sahiciden kas?t, mi?ima’n?n günümüzdeki ?o?u yazar gibi ülkesinin kültürünü basitle?tirip hafifle?tirerek, ?irinle?tirerek bat?l? okura satmak gibi bir amac?n?n olmamas?. her japon yazar?n yazd??? romana japon roman? denemeyece?ini biliyoruz maalesef.
soru ?u belki: mi?ima taraf oldu?u, hayat?n? ortaya koydu?u meseleyi yazar kimli?iyle ve bir roman ?er?evesi i?inde nas?l anlat?yor? cevap: ?a??rt?c? derecede incelik ve zarafetle. incelik ve zarafet i?inde müthi? bir yo?unluk ve gü?le. mi?ima’n?n inceli?i, zarafeti asla basit/hafif bir roman yapm?yor bahar karlar?’n?. bilakis ?fkeli, ?iddetli, sert bir roman bahar karlar?. fakat mi?ima do?rudan yazarak g?stermiyor bunu. mi?ima hissettiriyor, sezdiriyor. ilgin? bir nokta mesela, hikaye i?inde bir erdem olarak zarafeti geleneksel de?erlere ba?l? soylu s?n?fa ait ki?ilerin karakterlerinde, kabal???-do?rudanl??? ise yeni zengin s?n?fa ait kahramanlar?n karakterlerinde g?rmek. bir di?er nokta hikaye i?indeki sona gidi?le, mi?ima’n?n kendi hayat?ndaki sona gidi?teki paralellik. d?rtlemenin tamam?n?n varl?k nedeni, bu yaz?nsal prova belki de, bu yaz?nsal prova da yazar?n ?iddetli sonunun inceli?i.
sonu? olarak incelikli, ayn? zamanda gü?lü-yo?un anlat?m?, karakter derinlikleri, do?aya bak??taki ?iirsellik, hikayeyi büyüten, geni?leten detaylar?yla birlikte bahar karlar?, kendi i?inde bütünlü?e sahip oldu?u dü?ünülürse, ba?yap?t seviyesinde bir roman. ayr?ca japonya tarihi ve kültürüne ili?kin sahici bir okumaya olanak veriyor. sahiciden kas?t, mi?ima’n?n günümüzdeki ?o?u yazar gibi ülkesinin kültürünü basitle?tirip hafifle?tirerek, ?irinle?tirerek bat?l? okura satmak gibi bir amac?n?n olmamas?. her japon yazar?n yazd??? romana japon roman? denemeyece?ini biliyoruz maalesef.
April 27, 2020
?????? ??? ???????.....????? ??????
?/ ???? ???? ????
?? ??? ????????( ??? ??????- ?????? ???????-???? ?????- ???? ??????) ????? ?????? ??? ???? ??????? ????? ????? ?? ??????? ???????? ??????? ???????? ?????? ??? ??????? ?? ????? ?? ?????? ????? ??? ?? ??????? ?? ??????? ???? ??? ????????? ??????? ?? ????? ??????? ???????? ?????? ???????? ???? ?????? ??????? ??????? ????? ?? ??????? ??? ??? ???? ??? ?????.
?? ????? ?? ???? ????? ????? ?? ??? ???????? ??????? ?????? ?? ????? ??????? ?? ???? ?????? ????????? ????? ?? ??????? ????? ??? ?? ??? ?? ??????? ??? ??????? ????? ????? ????? ????? ??????? ??????????? ????? ?????? ??????? ?????? ???? ?????? ???????? ?????? ?? ?????? ??????? ????? ???????? ????? ?????? ????? ???? ?? ???? ???????.
?? ???? ????? ?? ??? ??????? ?????(???? ???? ????? ??? ????? ????????? ???????)? ???? ??????? ?????? ?? ?????? ????? ?? ???? ??????? ???? ????? ?? ???? ?????? ???? ?????? ?????? ??? ???????? ??? ???? ????? ???? ?? ????? ?????? ????? ??????? ??? ?????.
????????? ????? ????? ?? ???????? ??????? ??????? ???? ??? ???? ??? ???????? ?????? ?????? ?????? ???????? ?? ??? ??????? ????????? ?? ????????( ?????? ???????? ??? ?? ??? ???? ????? ??? ?????? ??????? ?????? ?????).
?????? ??? ??????? ?? ?????? ????? ?????? ???? ?? ???? ???? ????? ???????? ????? ???? ???? ??????? ????? ?????? ???? ???? ????.
?/ ???? ???? ????
?? ??? ????????( ??? ??????- ?????? ???????-???? ?????- ???? ??????) ????? ?????? ??? ???? ??????? ????? ????? ?? ??????? ???????? ??????? ???????? ?????? ??? ??????? ?? ????? ?? ?????? ????? ??? ?? ??????? ?? ??????? ???? ??? ????????? ??????? ?? ????? ??????? ???????? ?????? ???????? ???? ?????? ??????? ??????? ????? ?? ??????? ??? ??? ???? ??? ?????.
?? ????? ?? ???? ????? ????? ?? ??? ???????? ??????? ?????? ?? ????? ??????? ?? ???? ?????? ????????? ????? ?? ??????? ????? ??? ?? ??? ?? ??????? ??? ??????? ????? ????? ????? ????? ??????? ??????????? ????? ?????? ??????? ?????? ???? ?????? ???????? ?????? ?? ?????? ??????? ????? ???????? ????? ?????? ????? ???? ?? ???? ???????.
?? ???? ????? ?? ??? ??????? ?????(???? ???? ????? ??? ????? ????????? ???????)? ???? ??????? ?????? ?? ?????? ????? ?? ???? ??????? ???? ????? ?? ???? ?????? ???? ?????? ?????? ??? ???????? ??? ???? ????? ???? ?? ????? ?????? ????? ??????? ??? ?????.
????????? ????? ????? ?? ???????? ??????? ??????? ???? ??? ???? ??? ???????? ?????? ?????? ?????? ???????? ?? ??? ??????? ????????? ?? ????????( ?????? ???????? ??? ?? ??? ???? ????? ??? ?????? ??????? ?????? ?????).
?????? ??? ??????? ?? ?????? ????? ?????? ???? ?? ???? ???? ????? ???????? ????? ???? ???? ??????? ????? ?????? ???? ???? ????.
January 11, 2022
Muhte?emdi.
May 17, 2008
Once you start reading Mishima, and becoming absorbed with his characters, you are caught in a web that resembles the web he reveals his own characters are enmeshed in. His characters are so tragic, yet so ordinary; so privileged, yet so doomed; so foolish, yet so much more introspective than you. Spring Snow was one of the best books I have ever read. Mishima is like a surgeon; the tip of his needle or scalpel so fine, so pointed, that he can isolate the most fleeting, awkward, and yet noble emotion, gesture, or thought, and hold it up to you like a jewel, and allow you to view it from all sides and savor it. And he does not hold these gems up to show you how ugly they are; what is so beautiful about his writing is that even the ugliest, basest, most "human", emotion, he gives nobility and honor, so that his characters seem deific, holy... like we should see ourselves. You become his fools, and you enjoy letting their hurt become yours because you have become more honest, and more truly yourself through the process of reading him... An exquisite book, haunting.
May 8, 2016
Hands down, my favorite Japanese novel to date!!!
I can only but sigh finishing reading this masterpiece by Yukio Mishima. I am much overwhelmed by this beautifully poignant book that will surely tugs the heart of any reader.
So gorgeously written that demands to be read slow (not because one is intimidated to do so but it is such a beauty to relish every word written, I call it the "Mishima magic") and, indeed, Proustian in its rendition- as universal and constant as the waves of the sea, the introspection of the protagonist have much gone deep, lyrical, profound. Some of the chapters are as allusive, meditative and poetic like a kōan.
I particularly love the dialogues from Prince Pattanadid about everything sacred has the substance of dreams and memories, and so we experience the miracle of what is separated from us by time or distance suddenly being made tangible. For once the dreams and memories are beyond our grasp, the object is sanctified, once touched, we easily desecrates it. How strange man is! His touch defiles and yet he contains the source of miracles!
The book has the intimacy of Akutagawa's "Rashōmon" yet at an epic proportion. The subtleties only the Japanese can write is suffused within the pages of this book.
The characters of Kiyoake and Satoko will live with me forever...Such youthful vivacity, love and promise... The book is also philosophical and ironically comic at some of the most critical parts of the story which greatly balanced the book to veer away from being melodramatic, such as Honda's musings and Tadeshina, who reminds me of Mrs. Rupa Mehra, one of the most enduring characters in the literary world from Vikram Seth's "A Suitable Boy".
Just as one may think that this book is only a youthful, budding love story, no... Mishima, the master storyteller, weaves a tough and timeless basketwork- with complex twistings and braids made of wood, it holds the basket in form, as a whole. Seemingly simple, this book serves as the torii gate that will open the epic "Runaway Horses", the second book in the series "The Sea of Fertility" with such vast, sheer work of genius!
The most beautiful, melancholic and touching love story I've ever read and devoured with such heartache and will remain so for a very long time.
I can only but sigh finishing reading this masterpiece by Yukio Mishima. I am much overwhelmed by this beautifully poignant book that will surely tugs the heart of any reader.
So gorgeously written that demands to be read slow (not because one is intimidated to do so but it is such a beauty to relish every word written, I call it the "Mishima magic") and, indeed, Proustian in its rendition- as universal and constant as the waves of the sea, the introspection of the protagonist have much gone deep, lyrical, profound. Some of the chapters are as allusive, meditative and poetic like a kōan.
I particularly love the dialogues from Prince Pattanadid about everything sacred has the substance of dreams and memories, and so we experience the miracle of what is separated from us by time or distance suddenly being made tangible. For once the dreams and memories are beyond our grasp, the object is sanctified, once touched, we easily desecrates it. How strange man is! His touch defiles and yet he contains the source of miracles!
The book has the intimacy of Akutagawa's "Rashōmon" yet at an epic proportion. The subtleties only the Japanese can write is suffused within the pages of this book.
The characters of Kiyoake and Satoko will live with me forever...Such youthful vivacity, love and promise... The book is also philosophical and ironically comic at some of the most critical parts of the story which greatly balanced the book to veer away from being melodramatic, such as Honda's musings and Tadeshina, who reminds me of Mrs. Rupa Mehra, one of the most enduring characters in the literary world from Vikram Seth's "A Suitable Boy".
Just as one may think that this book is only a youthful, budding love story, no... Mishima, the master storyteller, weaves a tough and timeless basketwork- with complex twistings and braids made of wood, it holds the basket in form, as a whole. Seemingly simple, this book serves as the torii gate that will open the epic "Runaway Horses", the second book in the series "The Sea of Fertility" with such vast, sheer work of genius!
The most beautiful, melancholic and touching love story I've ever read and devoured with such heartache and will remain so for a very long time.
June 3, 2022
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December 18, 2019
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