A review by briancrandall
First Snow on Fuji by Yasunari Kawabata

5.0

A row of giant ginkgo trees lined one side of the path that climbed the hill. Halfway up a narrow stone stairway led off to one side, down past a row of houses. The Soeda family's was the third in the row.

Soeda returned home from work at dusk on November thirtieth, and seeing the faces of his wife and daughter in the entryway, immediately asked them, "Have you noticed that half the ginkgo trees are bare?"

By "ginkgo trees" it was clear that he meant the row of trees on the path, but of course the words he had used conveyed little else, so he continued.

"I noticed on my way to work this morning, and let me tell you it gave me a shock. The ginkgos from the foot of the path all the way up to the area around our house are completely bare. But the trees from the middle up are still full of leaves."

"Really? I hadn't even noticed," said his daughter.

His wife's eyes said, "Is that so?" [52–3]