Mishima Yukio

liehtzu

liehtzu

Reader
Backwords said:
Kawabata himself said that Mishima was the better writer. At that time since he was older the Nobel went to Kawabata
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Er... when and where did this happen?

They're completely different writers, certainly. Apples and oranges. To say Mishima was a better writer is absurd. If Kawabata did say such a thing, I imagine it was a kind of (false?) modesty.
 
liehtzu

liehtzu

Reader
waalkwriter said:
Then there's the little thing about Mishima committing suicide at age 45. He was a rampant militarist, a neo-conservative. My Japanese cultural studies teacher embedded in us a deep-seated dislike of Mishima because of his political radicalism. At the same time Kawabata is a truly beautiful cultural writer, particularly the Master of Go, and as far as I'm concerned, few, if any writers, surpass the agonizing, personal depths of Oe's writing, much less that frilly little post-modernist Murikami.
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Oe has said that he reckons the whole political-radicalism-suicide was a great (and to Oe distasteful) show. Mishima seeing himself as the great actor of his own narcissistic drama, with the seppuku as the spectacular last act. I'm one of those who doesn't care whether the writer was a reprehensible human being or not - we'd have to strike so many greats from our reading if "decent chap" was our criteria! - and Mishima did write some good books. I don't put him in the Kawabata or Soseki league, but he's certainly not without value.

And aside from spelling the man's name incorrectly, the designation or Mr. Murakami as a "frilly little post-modernist" is exceptionally insulting to frilly little post-modernists. On the other hand those that enjoy substance or real style in their writers might have difficulty politely hiding a little chuckle at such a description of the writer of Sputnik Sweetheart and Kafka on the Shore. [Clears throat, exits room]
 
waalkwriter

waalkwriter

Reader
liehtzu said:
Oe has said that he reckons the whole political-radicalism-suicide was a great (and to Oe distasteful) show. Mishima seeing himself as the great actor of his own narcissistic drama, with the seppuku as the spectacular last act. I'm one of those who doesn't care whether the writer was a reprehensible human being or not - we'd have to strike so many greats from our reading if "decent chap" was our criteria! - and Mishima did write some good books. I don't put him in the Kawabata or Soseki league, but he's certainly not without value.

And aside from spelling the man's name incorrectly, the designation or Mr. Murakami as a "frilly little post-modernist" is exceptionally insulting to frilly little post-modernists. On the other hand those that enjoy substance or real style in their writers might have difficulty politely hiding a little chuckle at such a description of the writer of Sputnik Sweetheart and Kafka on the Shore. [Clears throat, exits room]
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Yes, I believe Oe even wrote a book about Mishima's suicide, or it influenced a novel of his. Mori Ogai is another good writer from Soseki's time period. I really need to read some more of Soseki's work. I might put aside Laxness and his book Independent People in order to move on, perhaps to a work slightly less exhausting.
 
Bartleby

Bartleby

Moderator
lucasdiniz said:
View attachment 1126
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Ah, I love me some Brazilian memes hehe

for those who don't speak Portuguese, the top part reads something like "I'm so horny", then the response: "But, Mishima, we cannot publish it", and the quote from Confessions of a Mask (in the English translation, by Meredith Weatherby, quite different from the one in the image): “The monstrous part of me that was on the point of bursting awaited my use of it with unprecedented ardor”

more or less literally, the quote in PT would read: That part of me that swelled, that seemed to be about to explode, awaited in unprecedented anxiety for me to take some care of it.
 
lucasdiniz

lucasdiniz

Reader
Bartleby said:
Ah, I love me some Brazilian memes hehe

for those who don't speak Portuguese, the top part reads something like "I'm so horny", then the response: "But, Mishima, we cannot publish it", and the quote from Confessions of a Mask (in the English translation, by Meredith Weatherby, quite different from the one in the image): “The monstrous part of me that was on the point of bursting awaited my use of it with unprecedented ardor”

more or less literally, the quote in PT would read: That part of me that swelled, that seemed to be about to explode, awaited in unprecedented anxiety for me to take some care of it.
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Saw that on Twitter, had to post it here. Thank you for the translation! Not gonna lie, I was too lazy to look it up. :p
 
Leseratte

Leseratte

Well-known member
B

Ben Jackson

Well-known member
Daniel del Real said:
Huge Mishima fan here.

The Sea of Fertility is the most amazing saga of books I've ever read. The book I liked the most from the tetralogy was Runaway Horses.
Spring Snow it's a great beggining too. The Temple of Dawn falls down a little bit it it closes in short but brilliant way with The Decay of the Angel.
The Golden Pavillion is a very fine work about the concepts of beauty and destruction.
Confessions of a Mask an almost autobiographical novel was a great initiation novel for Mishima and gives you the eye to follow Mishimas's perspective of life and how he evolves during his later work.
The Sailor who fell from Grace with the Sea was very good but I don't remember a lot about it. I think it has to do a lot with redemption and critics about the adult world in Japan.
The last one I've read was After the Banquet, a book quite mediocre for Mishima's standards.
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Shortlisted for the Nobel in 1963, Mishima's Confession of a Mask was one of the most interesting works I read last year. Based on Daniel's recommendations, which I appreciate highly, I list:

Golden Pavillion
Forbidden Colours
Runaway Horse
Sailor who Fell from Grace (one of late singer David Bowie's fave)
 
Daniel del Real

Daniel del Real

Moderator
Ben Jackson said:
Shortlisted for the Nobel in 1963, Mishima's Confession of a Mask was one of the most interesting works I read last year. Based on Daniel's recommendations, which I appreciate highly, I list:

Golden Pavillion
Forbidden Colours
Runaway Horse
Sailor who Fell from Grace (one of late singer David Bowie's fave)
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Thanks for your comments Ben but I didn't like Forbidden Colours a lot. I read it a while ago, so I don't remember much, but I thought it was way to large and it became tedious as the plot advanced. I just purchased Kyoko's House, a novel which was untranslated to Spanish language until last year, but based on its reviews and how large it is (528pp) probably won't read it in a while. Not sure there's an English translation.

Anyway, I also wanted to recommend his short stories: I've read two volumes in Spanish translation, The pearl and other stories & The Sabres. English translations will have different titles and selection, but I'm sure they must be similar in terms of having his most meaningful tales.

Haven't read his Noh plays or his poetry. It's unbeliveable how much he wrote despite dying at such a young age.
 
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