Footprints in the Snow

First published in 1901 and this English translation in 1970, Footprints in the Snow is one of the most popular novels in modern Japan. It is the story of the struggle of a penniless Japanese boy Shintaro Kikuchi, for education and emancipation. Determined to rebuild the family fortunes after his father's bankruptcy, Shintaro runs away from home in a remote corner of Kyushu, in the hope of making his way in the world. Robbed by pickpockets, he nearly dies of hunger and exhaustion, then after slaving for months as a money-lender’s boy eventually succeeds in reaching a Christian College in Kyoto. A brilliant student, he accepts Christianity enthusiastically, but is also repelled by the arrogance of the Western missionary teachers towards a Japanese colleague that he walks out in protest. At last, four years after leaving home, Shintaro arrives in Tokyo. Yet even in the city of his dreams his life is far from peaceful- Shintaro has to struggle to keep himself at University, to pursue his career as a writer and journalist and in order to marry the girl he loves.

The original Japanese title of Footprints in the Snow is Omoide no Ki. Kenjiro Tokutomi ‘s novel is still read in Japan today and more than any other novel conveys what it felt like to be young in the days of Japan’s great transformation from feudal to modern state. This is an interesting read for students of Japanese literature, Asian literature, and literature in general.