January 2, 2010

Snow Country/雪国

(Food-unrelated post)
(食とは関係のない投稿です)
As I mentioned previously, my family lives in the Snow Country with a capital S, well depicted in the novel with the same name, written by Kawabata Yasunari.
前に言ったように、私たち家族は、川端康成が書いた同名の小説に描かれている正真正銘の「雪国」に住んでいます。

This is what Bokushi Street looked like on December 21, when it snowed heavily.
大雪だった12月21日は、牧之通り(ぼくしどおり)はこんな感じでした。

Doctor's office:
医院:

Ten-Chi-Jin Naoe "Kanetsugu" Go Bus, parking in front of the wholesaler's:
卸売業者宅前に駐車する、天地人直江兼続号バス:

Gangi (covered alley), providing a snow-free path:
雪のない道を作る、雁木:


When my family visited my wife's father's house on New Year's Eve to stay one night, I parked my wife's car in a free parking area of the ski resort nearby in the evening, and here is a photo of the car on the morning of New Year's Day.
大晦日に家族で妻の実家に一泊した際、夕方、妻の車を近くのスキー場の無料駐車場に停めました。元旦の朝に撮った車の写真です。

4 comments:

Unknown said...

Hi, I just wanted to say thanks for posting these photos of your Snow Country. I read the book decades ago, and then followed it up with A Thousand Cranes. Unfortunately, I don't remember the plot of either one, but I do remember how evocative his writing was. Your snow photos pretty much are as I imagined the area from his spare but lyrical descriptions. FYI, I've had a lifelong fascination with all things Japanese because of my father, who lived in Japan post-WWII. I've learned a lot from you, Hiroyuki, on your blog here and at eGullet and I thank you!
SusieQ

Hiroyuki said...

susie: Thanks for your comment. Living in a snowy area like mine is tough and COSTLY. Snow is destructive and can sometimes be deadly!

Zenichi said...

hajimemashite hiro!
I have been following your blog for a few months, and I just opened up my newsfeed reader for the first time since coming to Japan, and I saw your cool snow pictures so I thought I'd comment!

I just picked up Snow Country from a friend! I still have a book to finish before I start, but I read some Kawabata in college so I am interested in checking it out!
I am up faaaar north in Aomori-ken, this is some REAL snow country, my first winter in Japan! I want to read some local literature too, my little town is next to Dazai Osamu's hometown, but I've heard his works are a little ... darker.. than Kawabata.

へば、あけましておめでとうございます! (Oh no, I am picking up Tsugaru-ben!)

Hiroyuki said...

Zenichi: You seem to be fluent in Tsugaru-ben (laugh)!

I've been to Aomori in the winter, so I know how cold it can be in your area.

Here in my area, we have lots of snow, but the temperature seldom falls below -5C. Here, ground water (about +14C) is often used to melt snow, which is unthinkable in your area.