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Yukio Mishima (1925
- 1970)
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 The
Temple of the Golden Pavilion by
Yukio Mishima, Ivan Morris (Translator)
A hopeless stutterer, taunted by his
schoolmates, Mizoguchi feels utterly alone until he becomes an
acolyte at a famous temple in Kyoto. But he quickly becomes
obsessed with the temple's beauty, and cannot live in peace as
long as it exists.
This novel by Mishima Yukio was first published
in Japanese as Kinkakuji in 1956. The novel is considered one of
the author's masterpieces. A fictionalized account of the actual
torching of a Kyoto temple by a disturbed Buddhist acolyte in
1950, the novel reflects Mishima's preoccupations with beauty and
death. The narrator, Mizoguchi, a young Zen acolyte, is alienated
from the world around him; born physically unattractive and frail
and into bleak poverty, he stutters badly and holds himself aloof
from others. His obsessive feelings for the Golden Temple vary
from disappointment to reverence to identification with the
structure. Mizoguchi resembles other tormented Mishima heroes who
become obsessed with unattainable ideals: realizing the profound
lack of beauty in his own life, he decides he must destroy the
temple. -- The Merriam-Webster Encyclopedia of Literature
 Spring
Snow (The Sea of Fertility) by
Yukio Mishima
A love story set in Tokyo in 1912, when the
supremacy of the ancient aristocracy is being challenged for the
first time by rich provincial families whose wealth make them
formidable contenders for political power.
"This work is mesmerizing - so much so that
I read it instead of studying for the Bar exam. It is not a fast
read by any stretch of the imagination but it is difficult to put
down once you are drawn into the world Mishima draws. It took me
two attempts to get past the first twenty pages but four years
later it is the last book I read which had the potential to
transform. I also confess that the novel is confusing and I don't
believe that I understand the subtle dream world that Mishima
writes of on a conscious or intellectual level. But the novel is
haunting and presents a story of love (not, I believe, the one
that is portrayed on the novel's surface) in such indescribable
complexity and depth that the novel is felt in and remains in the
heart of the reader who will walk away from the novel with a
profound sadness. The novel is one of the few worth the effort of
reading. And the title, a beautiful image, is a perfect
recapitulation of the work." -- Anonymous Review
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The suicide death of Mishima Yukio, a writer of the
Showa era, shocked the world. Two and a half decades have passed
since his death. If he were alive today, what would he have said
about this new era?
The Mishima Yukio Museum (Bungakukan) to be
built in the Lake Yamanakako Library Grove (Bungaku-no-mori)
overlooking Mount Fuji shall give us a chance to reflect on such
thoughts. The architecture of the museum is based on Mishima's
western-style residential home. The writer's works, manuscripts
and about 700 personal items are stored in this museum.
In anticipation of the museum, we present
through the internet The Mishima Yukio Cyber Museum. The Cyber
Museum will consist of an index of items stored in the museum, an
introduction of some of the displayed items, Mishima's biography,
reference maps, questions answered by top researchers, and a forum
of comments for the museum.
The Cyber Museum is produced in an effort to
introduce the world renowned writer and his remarkable works to as
many people as possible.
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By Petri Liukkonen
Excerpt:
Prolific writer, who is considered by many
critic as the most important Japanese novelist of the 20th
century. Mishima's works include 40 novels, poetry, essays, and
modern Kabuki and Noh dramas. He was three times nominated for the
Nobel Prize for literature. Among his masterpieces is The
Temple of the Golden Pavilion (1956). The tetralogy The Sea
of Fertility (1965-70) is regarded by many as Mishima's most
lasting achievement. As a writer Mishima drew inspiration from
pre-modern literature, both Japanese and Western...
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From GayGate.com
Excerpt:
On November 25, 1970, Mishima and four young
followers from the Secret Shield broke into the National Defense
Headquarters in Tokyo. Armed with swords, they made their way to
the building's roof, where Mishima made a ten-minute speech to
some thousand servicemen gathered below. He attacked the Japanese
constitution--with its prohibition on national rearmament-- for
having betrayed the spirit of Japan: "We see Japan reveling
in prosperity," he exhorted his audience, "and wallowing
in spiritual emptiness... Is it possible that you value life,
given a world where the spirit is dead?" His audience was
unimpressed. In the samurai tradition of suicide protest, Mishima
then committed seppuku. In accordance with tradition, one of his
disciples--Morita, who was said to be Mishima's lover--decapitated
his master with his sword. Mishima Yukio was the most important
writer of post war Japan. In his work, including the shocking work
of his suicide, he crystallized Japan's national agony--the
tensions between longing for traditional ways of life, and the
persistent demands of encroaching westernization...
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Names Index:
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G H
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K L
M N
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| Authors
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