The first part of the novel, "Spring Snow", describes Matsueda Kiyaki's love tragedy and his death, which is a sublimation of the beauty of Mishima's literature and art. Kawabata Yasunari hailed "Spring Snow" as the modern "The Tale of Genji" and the "sublimation of the author's brilliant talent". Mishima himself once concluded: "'Spring Snow' is a dynasty-style love novel, which is about the so-called 'weakness and slenderness' or 'harmony of the soul'".
Matsueda Kiyaki was originally from a military-general family but his family was in decline. His father fostered him in the house of Count Ayata. At the age of 18, he fell in love with the count's daughter Satoko, but he was indecisive and did not have the courage to accept Satoko's proposal. After Satoko was entrusted by the emperor to the third prince of the Touin Palace, Prince Jiden, she still kept in touch with Kiyoaki through the old servant Tateko. However, Qingxian had a physical relationship with her and got her pregnant. The old servant Tateko also had an ambiguous relationship with her master, Count Ayata. Adhering to the count's wishes, she instigated Satoko to carry out elegant revenge on Marquis Matsueda in a manner that was not a virgin. Kiyoaki continued his tryst with Satoko with the help of his classmate at Tokyo University, Honda Shibuni. After the earl found out that his Satoko was pregnant, he was afraid that the matter would be exposed, so he asked his daughter to go to Nara Tsukishuji Temple to hide from the wind. Satoko secretly became a nun at Yuexiu Temple, which was suspected of offending the emperor, so the Marquis and Earl got into trouble and asked the doctor to issue a false diagnosis in order to deceive the emperor. With Honda's help, Kiyoaki went to Tsukishuji Temple to meet Satoko, but Satoko declined. Qing Xian was exhausted mentally and physically. In the carriage returning to Tokyo, he had his last dream, and when he woke up he murmured to himself: "We will meet again. We will definitely meet again, under the waterfall..." Kiyoaki returned to Tokyo. He passed away the next day at the age of 20.
The second part "Running Horse" describes the political activities of Iinuma Isao and his suicide, who were reincarnated by Matsueda Kiyaki. The third part "Akatsuki" describes the story of Matsueda Kiyaki and Iinuma who witnessed Honda, who committed suicide, fell in love with a Thai princess who was reincarnated as a Japanese. The princess was bitten to death by a cobra when she returned home. The fourth part, "The Five Declines of Heavenly Beings", describes the story of Tohru Yasunaga, who was adopted by his father Bendo as his adopted son, and knew that he was just the reincarnation of others and was not a person who could freely choose his destiny. He committed suicide by taking poison and became blind.