North Vietnam Snow Map

Author: (Japanese) Suzuki Makio
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2002-06-01
Features: Suzuki lived in a secluded snow-covered world where "the snow lasts for eight months out of the year, with only four months without snow, and half a year spent completely in seclusion under the snow." To depict the heavy snow of his hometown, he devoted his entire later life to the work, revising it multiple times and drawing numerous illustrations. After several struggles, the book was finally published and became extremely popular. The entire work consists of three volumes and sixty-eight essays, which can be broadly categorized into three types: scientific essays, strange tales and tragic events, and records of snow country life and industry. Descriptions of landscapes, people, and legends are vivid as if they were before your eyes, serving as a lively record of the folk customs of Northern Echigo. Reading essays like "Snow Rod," "Snow Tunnels Over the Street," and "Chasing Deer in the Snow" during the scorching summer can be as refreshing as quenching thirst with the hope of seeing plum blossoms. The success of Kawabata Yasunari in creating the masterpiece "Snow Country" was inspired by this book, and he drew much material from it.