Spring Snow (春 の 雪, Haru no Yuki) is a novel by the Japanese writer Mishima Yukio , published in 1969 and representing the first part of the “ Sea of Plenty ” tetralogy .
| Spring snow | |
|---|---|
| 春 の 雪 (Haru no yuki) | |
| Genre | |
| Author | Mishima Yukio |
| Original language | Japanese |
| Date of first publication | 1969 |
| Publisher | Shinchosha (orig.), Symposium (rus.) |
| Cycle | |
| Following | Bearing horses |
Content
Characters
Main characters
- Kiyoaki Matsugae (1895-1914)
- Honda Shigekuni (born in 1895)
- Ayakura Satoko (born in 1893)
- Yinuma Shigeyuki - the "governor" Kiyaki
- Tadeshina - maid Satoko
- Prince of Siam Pattanadid ("Chao Pi")
- prince of siam credesda ("Cree")
Minor Characters
- Marquis and Marquis Matsugae
- Mine - the maid in the house Matsugae
- grandmother Kiyaki, mother of the Marquis
- Count and Countess Ayakura
- Honda parents
- Crown Prince Toin-no-miya, his wife and son Harunobu
- Mother Superior of Gessuji Monastery
Story
The novel's narration covers the period from 1912 to 1914. The focus is on the love story of Kiyaki, the 19-year-old son of the Marquis Matsugae, a pampered and dreamy young man, and Satoko, the daughter of Count Ayakura from an ancient but practically lost his position as a sort of samurai. Satoko and Kiyoaki have known each other since childhood, since Kiyaki had been given over to the Ayakura family to raise aristocracy in him.
Satoko was in love with Kiyaki, but he could not recognize the reciprocal feeling in himself until the emperor had received permission to marry Satoko with Prince Harunor, whose offer was organized by Kiyaki's father. Thanks to the intrigues in which Yinum was involved, as well as blackmail, Kiyoaki is seeking Tadeshina's help in organizing secret meetings with Satoko. Meetings end with Satoko's pregnancy shortly before the engagement ceremony with Prince Harunori. Tadeshina, who failed to convince Satoko to get rid of the child, is trying to commit suicide and sends a farewell letter to Marquis Matsugae, in which she reports of an impending catastrophe.
Kiyaki is subject to the butler's vigilant oversight, and Satoko is forced by the general council of parents to have an abortion. After the abortion, Satoko and her mother go to Gessuji Monastery to visit the abbess, who is a relative of the Ayakura family, and suddenly decides to take a haircut as a nun and gives a vow to never see Kiyaki again. The abbess supports her, and the family’s attempts to return Satoko end in failure. To wriggle out of an uncomfortable position, the Marquis Matsugae gets a fake medical certificate about Satoko's mental disorder.
Kiyaki, borrowing money from Honda, goes to the monastery to see Satoko again, but he is not allowed on the threshold either. He develops pneumonia and dies a few days after Honda takes him home to Tokyo.
Motives
- Nostalgia for the aristocratic of the Heian period
- Nostalgia for samurai times
- Theory of rebirth
- Buddhism school hosso
- Dreams and Prophecies
- beauty
- Death
Adaptation
In 1970, a six-part film "Spring Snow" was released on Fuji. In 2005, director Yukisada Isao shot the full-length feature film Spring Snow with young popular actors in the lead roles (Kiyaki-Tsubuki Satoshi, Satoko-Takeuchi Yuko). The film received 9 awards of the Japanese Film Academy, including for the best roles of the first plan, the best light, music and editing. Based on the movie in 2006, a manga appeared, painted by Riyoko Ikeda .
Interesting Facts
- The prototype of the monastery of Gessuji is the Convent of Ensøji .