『雪国』論 -遠近の視覚で見る現実と非現実-

Abstract

This paper focuses on the expressions of “reality” and “unreality” in Yasunari Kawabata’s Snow Country to identify the kind of world depicted in the novel. The use of keywords “mirror,” “sil ver glass,” and “tunnel” are examined to gain perspective. First, we consider Yoko’s and Komako’s reflection in the “mirror,” which merges with the evening landscape and morning snow in the background, creating an “unreal” world from the distant perspective of the main protagonist, Shimamura. Next, we examine the use of the term “silver glass,” a sentimental flower that colors the mountains silver in autumn when viewed from afar. Up close, however, it is a fierce plant This depiction of silver glass conveys how “snow country’s” landscape is completely transformed depending on Shimamura's perspective. Finally, the “tunnel” serves as a passage between his hometown and the “snowy country” and as a boundary between the two worlds. Further, the invisible “snowy country” that Shimamura imagines from afar is transformed into a visible “snowy country” on passing through the tunnel. Thus, the unreal becomes real on passing through the tunnel. In particular, it is noteworthy that the portrays not only an unrealistic world but also the reality in which humans live fiercely and wander on the border between life and death. Thus, “snow country” is a world in which “reality” and “unreality” coexist, and Shimamura's gaze and sensibility are at work in the transformation of this “reality” and “unreality.”