Have you ever felt a surge of satisfaction after losing a competition? It might feel odd, however it occurs when you feel happiness obtained from pushing your limits, without any considerations for failure. When you read this book you might also feel the same, where despite the protagonist suffering throughout the entire story, you can’t help yourself questioning why you are unable to feel the sadness the author in the surface level tried to portray.
Spring Snow is a novel by Yukio Mishima (1925-1970), which is the first piece in the Sea of Fertility tetralogy. The story follows a young man, Kiyoyaki Matsugae who is firstly deeply disturbed by the flow of rebellion Satako Aayakura brings into his life while slowly falling in love with her.
The story develops when Kiyoyaki, through his stubbornness or as I like to put it instinctive approach sends a deeply violating letter to Satoko aiming to end all the relationship he had built with her. However, after the letter was sent on its way, Kiyoaki suddenly realized her love for her, leading to desperate attempts from him trying to stop it from reaching Satoko’s hands. The chapters in this novel continues by escalation of tension as their relationship continues amidst Satoko’s betrothed with a higher ranking prince.Which is followed by her pregnancy just days before the marriage.
The interpretation of fulfillment starts with the comparison between Kiyoyaki and Honda, his best friend. These two characters are represented as quite the polar opposite, while Honda’s hyper-rational personality leads him to avoid any journeys for emotional development, , Kiyo is a spoiled and instinctive teenager who acts according to his wishes, not leaving any room for emptiness or revision of actions.
Immanuel Kant once quoted on obtaining happiness where, ‘nature would have been better off just giving us instinct instead of reason’, which perfectly describes kiyo. Despite him suffering through questioning his own feelings validity, Satoko’s convictions towards him and his inability to meet her as it grows more difficult. His persistence is what’s directly connected with the satisfaction achieved from losing a competition as mentioned above. Kiyoyaki’s effort despite not succeeding removes any room for regret and remuneration about one’s action, which when realized upon creates satisfaction.
During his final days, he never gave up trying to meet Satako who had converted into a monk during the process of a secret abortion conducted by her family. Which obliged her to never meet kiyoaki ever again. Which made kiyoaki face denial every day despite constant pleas, until he lost his life both due to grief and sickness. There is a specific moment which shows how Kiyoaki felt where even Honda was confused for wether kiyoaki displayed a burst of happiness close to his death, though it was mentioned to be a dream, we cannot rule out emotion of satisfaction, where he did not display any concerns for meeting Satako after his illness finally took over, as he was certain he tried his best.
The novel is successful in inciting complex emotions among the readers leaving room for different kinds of interpretation and perspective, which is further fueled by the lack of context given by Yukio Mishima himself. Beyond the thematic reading, the story takes place during the Meiji period, which introduced westernized culture among the aristocrats of Japan. As Yukio was a radical nationalist, he uses the period to display the change of Japanese culture, however shockingly lacking any concrete criticisms about it,which goes unnoticed while reading the novel.
Yukio’s technique of writing is also phenomenal due to his ability to portray ambitious landscapes and beauty, just within a couple of words, creating vivid images through our imagination. Making the book a great experience on its whole, though it can get regressive or lengthy in some chapters, the book is completely worth it for viewers who are interested in expiring a range of emotions and interpretation as you follow the desirate Kiyoaki trying to obtain his wants.
