Spring Snow by Yukio Mishima
Posted in Other fiction, Reading Reviewed at 12:00 on 16 May 2023
Pocket, 1973, 376 p. Translated from the Japanese, 春の雪 (Haru no Yuki,) by Michael Gallagher.
I suppose any tale of star-cross’d lovers invites comparisons to Romeo and Juliet. I doubt, though, that most of them will contain references to the Russo-Japanese War, which is still in the recent memory of this novel’s protagonist, Kiyoaki Matsugae. That the book starts with his recollection of a photograph of the memorial services for the war dead is an indicator that the outcome of the novel is not likely to be joyful.
Kiyoaki had been entrusted by his father Marquis Matsugae to be raised in the noble but now relatively impoverished Ayakura family so as to acquire a touch of elegance and hope of advancement. The Ayakuras’ daughter, Satoko, had lavished affection on him and at the book’s start Kiyoaki knows she is in love with him but he is for the most part indifferent hence it takes a while for the love story to gather momentum. Early parts of the book deal with Kiyoaki’s relationship with his friend Shikeguni Honda and two Siamese princes who are on a diplomatic visit of sorts and attend their school.
An exchange of letters between Satoko and Kiyoaki in which she reveals her feelings for him become central to the plot but his request for Satoko not to read his last one (where he eventually acknowledges his for her) comes too late. At first he does not know this and when he finds out she did read it he is angered and cuts off contact.
In the meantime Satoko, at twenty years old getting close to being on the shelf, is all but forced by her family into a betrothal to Prince Harunori of the Imperial family. Kiyoaki expresses to his father indifference to the engagement but, threatening to expose Satoko’s last letter to him, demands a meeting with her through the agency of her maid Tadeshina. This leads to the consummation of their relationship and further clandestine meetings. An odd aspect of the story is that Count Ayakura had years before instructed Tadeshina that Satoko should lose her virginity before any bridegroom chosen by the Marquis should touch her. Revelation of the affair would therefore reflect badly on him. Satoko’s resultant pregnancy presages disaster. Drastic attempts to avert it are not entirely availing.
While not absolutely following the template of Romeo and Juliet the parallels are unavoidable. Star-cross’d love is a universal theme, in Japan as elsewhere.
Pedant’s corner:- “wracked with sobs” (racked,) “cyprus wood” (cypress wood,) “wracked by her feelings” (racked,) “his amusement was tingled with disgust” (tinged is the usual verb here,) “the lay of the land” (the lie of the land.) “Count Ayakura was a hopeless coward in the face to the Countess at once, and when she in turn handed it quite a disturbance on the morning that Tadeshina did not get up.” (Make of those two sentences what you will. I confess I couldn’t.) There was over to her husband, he opened it at fingertips’ length, as if it were germ-ridden” (needs clarifying,) “from lack to sleep” (lack of sleep,) “the Masugaes” (Matsugaes.)
