Ski Diary at Goshiki Hot Springs and Other Mountain Journals

Snow draws Itakura Katsunobu away from city streets into a world of startling silence, brilliant peaks, and unpredictable adventure. These three mountain journals follow early skiers at Goshiki Hot Springs, summer life in a riverside hut at Kamikōchi, and a spring journey through the Japanese Alps.

The diarist is an irreverent companion as well as an absorbed observer. Friends tumble into deep snow, argue over a salty sweet drink, and learn from foreign skiers. Quiet passages dwell on a butterfly above a pond, moonlight in a river, and mountains glowing red at sunset. Poems give skiing turns and a snowy railway station their own distinct rhythms.

This complete English translation preserves all three supplied works, every diary date, and each line of the winter poems. Notes explain period skiing terms, Japanese names, uncertain readings, and differences between the journey dates and later publication records. The author’s enthusiasm and historical judgments retain their candid, sometimes abrasive voice. AI-assisted translation.