The second volume of the tetralogy, "Runaway Horses 奔馬", is intense from the beginning to end. The tone of the narration changes from the coming-of-age innocence of the previous title to one of highly-charged, ultra-conservative, political extremism. The focus of the story is the 18-year-old Isao, who is portrayed as an athletic, patriotic, stubborn, pure-minded fanatic who is heavily influenced by the ideologies of the Shinpuuren rebellion 神風連の乱 of 1876, in which an extremist Shinto organisation previously of the bushi 武士 class, against the backdrop of Meiji Restoration, launched a surprise attack on the army and government officials of Kumamoto, killing dozens of people, and eventually each surviving member committed the ritualistic seppuku 切腹 to "return the glory to the Emperor". Mishima dedicated a full section chronicling the event in its entirety. Isao religiously inherits the same anti-westernisation sentiments and plots to assassinate key government figures with his peers. Shigekuni, now a 38-year-old judge, believes Isao to be the reincarnation of Kiyoaki. He tries to reason with Isao but finds himself sympathising with him and eventually quits being a judge to become his defending lawyer before the story collapses to its inevitable tragic ending. It is shocking to read considering Mishima's own death, which he actually thoroughly argues against in the book but goes on to do it anyway. It provides the religious and mental "purity" dimensions of the actions but also shows the nihilistic nature of the author's thinking. It is an explosive book and indispensable work in Mishima's oeuvre.
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