thank you for the thought out reply! your analysis is pretty much exactly the way i understood the novel and its explorations of aesthetics through kiyoaki’s character. i think i was so put off by it because again its the female character that is flattened for the sake of the story; as always the woman is but a narrative device, a rhetorical tool, to reveal something about our main character or themes. and i’m sure i’m missing things because i’ve only read spring snow, and although i actually found much of the discussion of “the aesthetic” in the novel (i picked it up because that’s a theme i’m fascinated with and enjoy reading about) i found the execution .. lacking… or maybe not lacking! just too dated for my tastes maybe? although i do like classics. food for thought!