Snow Country

Snow Country

Hello Gentle Reader

(Part I)

It is the first blog of June; and what a paradox that is, if you look at the title of this book by the Japanese Nobel Laureate in Literature of 1968, and the season of June it certainly is a paradox. Yet, that aside, it is a beautiful and tender novel indeed. But we’ll get to that in time. The life and the sounds of bugs are heard now more frequently. Just the other day I counted four white butterflies fluttering about the backyard. The nights are still full of the croaking frogs, and a strange sound of either a large swarm of bugs or a loud bird, making a strange call in the distance. It almost sounds like a laugh. I suppose this is not the first time I have heard, this certain call. I am sure I have heard it every summer, and just finally decided to take some notice to this strange call. I still remember, the one year, walking down at the river, a few years back, and hearing a bug clicking its wings or the shell of its wings together, to make it sound like a rattle. Needles to say I knew there were no rattle snakes down by the river, but it still give me the willies. Now when I go out to other places, which are notorious for rattlesnakes being around. I suppose I do not blame them for being around there either. The entire place is like a giant hole in the ground – I call it the hell hole of the world; and its extremely hot there, during the summers. In all honesty I do not blame the little heat suckers, for going there if it is warmer than surrounding area’s then they should go there, and suck up all the heat – or as much as they want. Thinking about the place where the rattlesnakes are now, makes me somewhat want to go visit the place. Of course mind you gentle reader I probably won’t be going out there in a sweater – no quite the opposite I’d probably dress in lighter clothing. Something that I am not particularly fond of doing either. The best part of winter for me – or one of the best parts (though Autumn remains my favourite month) is dressing in heavier clothing, and dark clothes. However I do hate the cold weather of Winter. Winter certainly can be beautiful, with the snow falling down at night; or how clear the stars are at night, but also it is bitterly cold. Driving becomes ever more dangerous, and not to mention, those annoying snow storms, is just a real pain in the ass.

The novel by Nobel Laureate of Literature in 1968, Yasunari Kawabata writes about the beauty of snow, and the isolation, and loneliness of two people. “Snow Country,” by Yasunari Kawabata takes place in Japans Snow Country area. The snowiest region on earth I think the introduction to this novel said – of course if I am wrong I am wrong. For some reason or another I do assume that the arctics would be the snowiest region, however it is has not snowed or rained there in centuries someone told me. Maybe Japan’s snow country is the snowiest place on earth. According to the introduction – and I am receiving most of this from memory; that the winds from Siberia pass over the Sea of Japan, and then the clouds pass into the Japans Snow Region, releasing heavy amounts of snow fall.

Personally Yasunari Kawabata’s choice to place, this novel in Japans Snow Country, serves the purpose of this novel well. With this novel, Yasunari Kawabata is able to write about the beauty of the region. The isolation of the entire region works perfectly for this novel – and is a good example of one of the themes that Yasunari Kawabata had, always used in his works, at some time or another.

Yasunari Kawabata was an orphan throughout his life. At the age of four his parents were dead. At the age of twelve his sister died at the age of ten. He had only met her once, when he was older, before her untimely death. Kawabata lived with his grandparents after his parents deaths. At the age of seven, his grandmother passed away and died. At the age of fifteen his father finally died. After the death of his grandfather at the age of fifteen Yasunari Kawabata went to live with his mother’s family. But the age of seventeen he moved into a boarding house, near the school he was going to.

These deaths, at such early ages, had caused a great deal of pain to Yasunari Kawabata. A certain sense of emotional development being hindered or not fully developed properly. This emotional inadequacy can be seen in the novel “Snow Country.” Both the characters, of this novel are isolated both from each other; even though they are right there together; and the entire landscape of Japans Snow Country, adds to the sense of isolation of the two characters from both each other and the world around them.

The entire novel though is not very slow paced. It is a short novel mind. My edition personally clocked in at about one hundred and seventy five pages, and I was able to read it in just one short sitting – well with the exceptions of getting water, having a cigarette, and going to the bathroom, or answering the door, or answering the phone and other daily tasks.

Written in Yasunari Kawabata’s signature sparse lyrical and subdued prose. But the novel also shows Yasunari Kawabata’s keen psychological insight. The choice of the setting is just one metaphorical subdued psychological insight into the characters minds and personality.

The entire story itself revolves around the complicated and impossible love affair of two people. There is Shimamura, a businessman of sorts from Tokyo. His life is boring, and idle. The main reason why he travels to this remote place of Japan. A small hot spring town, where he hopes to rejuvenate the honesty of his life – something he had lost.

The following passage is a good understanding of the tone of the novel. Again this passage is written in the style that is Yasunari Kawabata’s signature, with the lyrical prose, and subdued tone and style.

“Always ready to give himself up to reverie, he could not believe that the mirror floating over the evening scenery and the other snowy mirror were really works of man. They were part of nature, and part of some distant world.
And the room he had only this moment left had become part of that same distant world.”

The other character is Komako. The love interest of Shimamura – and then again perhaps it is the other way around? The love interest between these two is doomed to fail from the start. Komako is a geisha, and Shimamura is a married man, simply at the snow country to rest and relax. But both in one way or another half way fall in love with each other. I say half way fall in love with each other because Shimamura is obviously stingy with his feelings. While Komako is far too childish for a man like Shimamura. Her constant consumption of alcohol and immature antics make her a feeble and pathetic creature to watch, in her conversations and interactions between herself and Shimamura. One of the most pathetic of her scenes and childish antics was when she had her revival Yuko, bringing Shimamura notes, while she entertains a party. Probably the most noted scene of her immaturity also continues with her constant remark: “I’m going home.” Which she uses often when she is drunk, and yet never does. Her immaturity is outstanding and pitiful. But do not think for a moment that Shimamura is any better than Komako. Alright perhaps a bit more mature than Komako, but his choice to rather live in a fantasy world, rather than to live in the world around him, makes him just as immature, because of his emotional inadequacies and choice to live in a walled fantasy world.

The clash between Shimamura and Komako is also quite seen. As autumn begins to happen, their relationship also begins to have a bit of rough patch. It is unknown if their relationship will continue after the novel either. But their real anger happens when Komako has a misinterpretation of one of Shimamura’s remarks and takes the comment as if Shimamura is being condescending towards her.

The last of the novel recounts the fire, of the cocoon-warehouse, and how Komako saves Yuko from the fire. I would say it is safe to assume that Yuko is dead. But this scene is also a very ambiguous scene because of Shimamura living in his fantasy world. He is unable to do much of anything to help the people, because of his relationship with Komako which is the topic of rumours and harsh jokes. His inability to do anything and paralysis at staring at the Milky Way, engulfed in his fantastical world.

Now this review just doesn’t end right here now either. Yasunari Kawabata believed that the true essence of his literary success was seen in his condensing of moments into stories that could fit into the palm of the hand. This is why his short story collection is titled “Palm-of-The-Hand Stories,” are representations of Yasunari Kawabata’s greatest artistic achievement (his word not mine – I don’t use the word ‘artistic,’ when describing literature.) this is why, after reading and now reviewing “Snow Country,” by Yasunari Kawabata, which is why I am going to read the eleven page story titled “Gleanings from Snow Country,” which is an abbreviated version of “Snow Country.”

(Part II)

Gleanings from Snow Country


“The train came out of the long tunnel into the snow county. The earth lay white under the night sky. The train pulled up at a signal stop.”

The above line is one of many familiar lines throughout the story that share very similar connections to the novel by Yasunari Kawabata. It is interesting to note that the novel “Snow Country,” actually had begun as a single short story, which was published in a literary magazine or journal way back in nineteen thirty five (1935). Eventually after the story was finished Kawabata continued to write about the characters. These stories were published in different literary magazines, before the first concept of the novel had taken shape. The first adaption of the novel was published in ninety thirty seven. Three years later (in nineteen forty) Yasunari Kawabata once again began to work on the novel. Adding more chapters and published the book again in two separate literary journals. Finally he re-wrote the book again, merging the two pieces, into one and had that published in another literary journal of nineteen forty six. The last and final edition of the novel came in nineteen forty eight (the year before he had another additional piece added) the final novel as the readers today know it, was completed. Years later after the novels publication sometime in nineteen seventy two – the same year the author himself had (accidentally or purposefully) killed himself; he re-worked the novel “Snow Country,” which in its Genesis form a series of short stories, had finally become probably his last published body of work.

Reading that one can see that Yasunari Kawabata either had a great fondness for this novel or, that he always felt the need to re-work the novel. The novel itself was a great piece of work, and the short abbreviated version “Gleamings from Snow Country,” is just as well done.

Though both of these works share very similar lines. Have the same characters; and take place in the same setting both are entirely different in their own way of viewing it. Both started the same and both ended the same. There are very similar scenes in this book also – in fact all the vignette’s or small chapters of this short story can be identified to scenes that happened in the novel. The scene of Shimamura running up and down the mountain; to the part where Komako brings him his tobacco.

The works are similar. Some of the scenes are similar. Lines that can surely be seen that are similar in the novel, can also be similar. And yet the work is also abbreviated and tackles the story in a different way, while maintaining the same concept. This is what makes Yasunari Kawabata a great author. His power to miniaturize and elongate his work of “Snow Country,” shows his power for the longer novel form, but also his power over the short story form. If anyone reads his “Palm-of-The-Hand Stories,” most will agree that each story can be built on into novels probably or short novels like “Snow Country,” which had actually began to take shape from a short story.

It is no wonder that Yasunari Kawabata had stated the essence of his talent and artistic capabilities (again his word not mine) could be found in all of his published stories. In fact “The Dancing Girl of Izu,” way back in nineteen-twenty six when the author was just twenty seven years old, had gathered him critical acclaim. It is no wonder, (for me) at least that Yasunari Kawabata had found that the true essence and power of his literary talents truly laid in his short stories.

Thank-you For Reading Gentle Reader
Take Care
And As Always
Stay Well Read
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