Join host David Hartmann and fellow Columbia alumni as the book club discusses Spring Snow by Yukio Mishima; a selection by club member Kenneth Smith.

It is 1912 in Tokyo, and the hermetic world of the ancient aristocracy is being breached for the first time by outsiders—rich provincial families unburdened by tradition, whose money and vitality make them formidable contenders for social and political power. Shigekuni Honda, an aspiring lawyer and his childhood friend, Kiyoaki Matsugae, are the sons of two such families. As they come of age amidst the growing tensions between old and new, Kiyoaki is plagued by his simultaneous love for and loathing of the spirited young woman Ayakura Satoko. But Kiyoaki’s true feelings only become apparent when her sudden engagement to a royal prince shows him the magnitude of his passion—and leads to a love affair both doomed and inevitable.

Date: Thursday, July 24, 2025

Times: 6:30PM Central, 7:30PM Eastern, 4:30PM Pacific. For those in Europe the time is 12:30AM in London on July 25

Location: Zoom Video Conference

Cost: Free

Reviews

New York Times

The Guardian

Photo Credit: Penguin Random House, Promotional Material, Public Domain