Snow Country: Exploring Themes of Isolation and Emotion

This essay provides a detailed analysis of Yasunari Kawabata's novel, 'Snow Country,' exploring the multifaceted meaning of the titular location. The essay examines whether 'Snow Country' refers to a physical place, an emotional state, or a psychological condition, arguing that it embodies all three. It delves into the complex relationships between the characters, particularly Shimamura and Komako, and how their interactions reflect themes of isolation, loneliness, and the challenges of human connection. The essay also considers the significance of the setting, the imagery, and the overall mood of the novel, highlighting how these elements contribute to the story's exploration of human emotions and behaviors. Furthermore, it discusses the ambiguous ending and its contribution to the novel's introspective and meditative nature, ultimately establishing 'Snow Country' as a significant piece of literature.

Running head: THE SNOW COUNTRY
THE SNOW COUNTRY
Name of the student:
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Author note:

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Q4. What is the snow country? Does it refer to a place, an emotional/psychological state, or
both?
Snow country is a widely known novel written by Yasunari Kawabata. The book is on
considered to be the writer’s masterpiece which is a compelling tale of lost love in the setting of
desolate beauty of western Japan. The novel is in the environment of one of the slopes of Japan
that is the snowiest region of the world. The book is read widely for its intellectual insights, in a
similar way this particular essay aims to the concept of snow country in regard to the author’s
perspective. The essay considers the snow country to analysis if it is in reference to
psychological state or philosophical state.
In the year 1968, the winner of the Nobel Prize in literature was Yasunari Kawabata. Her
Nobel, Snow country was published for the first time in different forms from 1935 through 1947.
It is considered one of his significant work. The story appeared as a short story in a literary
journal. After the publishing of related stories in a different journal, it was combined into one
final Nobel. The title of the story is a reference to a mountain region located in Japan. The place
receives heavy snow from the north winds of the Sea of Japan. The snow, being of considerable
amount, at times separate towns and villages from its surrounding areas. This particular setting is
to create the mood of the book with a sense of loneliness. Snow country, therefore, is a place as
well as an emotional and psychological state. Since everything in the story is not explained one
has to think deeply about the meaning of the story. However, the writer shares and shows the
complexity of the human relationship with the story of two people where they attempt to connect
but fails whether realising. It is about isolation and loneliness involved in human relationships
(Meaders 42).

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In the story, it is the nature and the landscape that plays an important role similar to the
characters. Also, it is important to mention that the surrounding including the snowcapped peaks
of the mountain terrain become a character in their own sense. Shimamura is a businessman and
the main character in the story who is bored living a monotonous life that the writer says he lives
a life of idleness. In order to revive himself and recover some of the honesty, he finds himself
lost and decides to visit the hot springs. The person mostly lives within his fantasy world which
means he is not a mature person. He is deprived of experiencing things first hand as he is always
in his thoughts (Kawabata).
Shimamura is meet Komako on the way of his trip and impressed by her however he
wanted to remain friends with her. He was not looking for geisha, however, he was not willing
for any other geisha apart from Komako. He gets involved with her in a complicated relationship
with emotional upheaval from Komako. He visits her again and again, and he finds her often
drunk. She is indecisive in with Shimamura therefore, she tells him to leave and again be with
her. The relationship is complicated for a geisha is expected to only entertain men and not get
involved in relationships. Shimamura keeps up with the occasional anger and moodiness.
Shimamura learns about Komako’s relation with Yoko which was distasteful. According to
Shimamura, it was jealousy between the two women. Yukio dies, and when Shimamura visits,
she wants to go to Tokyo with him. Komako tells the girl will become insane however she does
not have any explanation for it. When there is a major warehouse fire, Shimamura and Komako
reaches the place and find Yoko as a victim. On that moment Komako calls her insane and asks
everyone to stay away from her (Foolen & Yamaguchi 191).
The story is based on both psychological state and a place. It shows the character’s
thinking pattern and the way he lives in his fantasy world. While he was on a train heading to hot

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spring, he recalls his memories of Komako whom he was visiting. He was reminded of his
moments with Komako. It was an emotional journey as even being attracted to her, he wanted to
remain friends with Komako, and it is emotional baggage that one has to bear. He wanted a one-
time satisfaction with a geisha only for the appetite when he asks Komako to find her a geisha
however to some extent he was hoping to have it with Komako. His feelings were bound to be in
turmoil as he knew their relationship could not go beyond a certain limit. Shimamura was also
uncertain about his relationship with Komako (Ricca). When Komako finally decided to
surrender herself to Shimamura, he said that it was impossible to sustain a relationship with a
geisha. Komako was hurt by this feeling, and all these complications may have led to getting
drunk often. Several scenes in the story reflect the human emotions and human behaviour that is
guided by both heart and mind (Zhanjue 026).
The ironies in several scenes reflect the psychological state of the characters. Komako
chooses to see Shimamura off instead of going to Yukio’s deathbed made him feel a sense of
repulsion for her although it could be out of love. Yoko’s insanity is a result of internal torments
that occurs within her however she manages to look perfect young women. Shimamura is seen as
an expert on occidental ballet however it is all from books he has read, and photographs that he
has seen gives him the knowledge. It was also making him interested to think about ballet when
he had never actually seen one (Ruiz 19). In the end, Shimamura genuinely means that Komako
is a good woman, there is a contrast between what he had said earlier. Earlier he had called her a
good girl who shows a subtle contrast in his dialogue. This makes Komako realise the limits of
his intimacy and emotional understanding and send her into a terrible fit. The evening mirror,
visit the cemetery, Komako’s red under-kimono, the milky way and fire represent the imagery of
the story helping to understand the emotions and mood. Therefore, the snow country is only the

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name of a place in Japan that witness heavy snowfall in winters making it isolated from rest of
the surrounding (Cahyaningati 31). However, it also represents the protagonist as well as other
characters emotional and psychological state in that particular place for it has given them
experiences that are complicated in nature. Shimamura had his world of fantasies and Komako
did not fit well into it (Sato 2189).
The story of snow country is more of observation and characterisation than plot and
actions. The story still had the capability of moving quickly. There are many metaphors and
ironies that explain about emotions and human feelings. The story is about how each one of the
characters goes through their own emotional turmoil and hurdles. Mostly, it is the sadness,
losing, grieves, emotional clashes unmet expectations and sorrows that the snow country tries to
manifest along with the complications entangled. The ending of the Nobel is memorable where
the writer leaves it ambiguous. This is what makes the snow country a great piece of literature
being introspective and meditative.

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References:
Cahyaningati, Desi Tri. "PORTRAYING THE WABI SABI PHILOSOPHY OF BEAUTY IN
KAWABATA’S SNOW COUNTRY." Jurnal Sastra dan Budaya Dinamika 6.1 (2018).:
31
Foolen, Ad, and Toshiko Yamaguchi. "Perspective: Kawabata’s Beauty and Sadness and its
translations into English, German, and Dutch." Viewpoint and the Fabric of Meaning:
Form and Use of Viewpoint Tools across Languages and Modalities 55 (2016): 191.
Kawabata, Y. (1981). Snow country. Penguin.
Meaders, Nobuko Y. "The Japanese psychology of resignation, akirame, and the writings of
Kawabata." International Forum of Psychoanalysis. Routledge, 2018.: 42
Ricca, Laura. "The Aesthetics and Poetics of the Image in Japanese Culture. An Example from
the Literary Tradition: Yukiguni [Snow Country]." Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing
Institute Proceedings. Vol. 1. No. 9. 2017.
Ruiz, Pablo Pérez. "The ‘subtle world of the in-between’: An Alternative Japanese Nationalism
Through Kokoro and Snow Country." GROUNDINGS ANCIENTS: 19.
Sato, Eriko. "Metaphors and translation prisms." Theory and Practice in Language Studies 5.11
(2015): 2183-2193.
Zhanjue, Bai Yang Wang. "Love and Death in Snow Country." Journal of Xi'an International
Studies University 2 (2013): 026.