The next four posts will be about the epic tetralogy "The Sea of Fertility 豊饒の海" Mishima wrote towards the end of his life, with the last volume formally completed on the day he committed seppuku at the age of 45. This series of novels covers over 70 years of history from the Meiji period to the post-war era and is centred around two characters - a "logical" independent observer, Shigekuni Honda, and a variable subject who is, or reincarnates as, a different person in each of the four novels. It contains the universe in much the same way a Mahler symphony does and discusses everything from conservative societal practices to local and foreign religious beliefs, especially on the subject of reincarnation. Each novel needs to be appreciated on its own merits but also as part of a set. The perspectives and density of the narration evolve over the four books and all the fictional events are contrasted against the complex real-life historical context. The sheer scale of this tetralogy makes it a huge challenge to read. As the literal last words of Mishima, there is an overwhelming amount of information to unpack and the literary world is still trying to interpret the politics and philosophy of the author behind this enormous undertaking. It is mind-blowing even just scratching the surface. To the best of my knowledge, there is nothing quite like this in all of modern Asian literature. I am very glad to complete it over five months last year. Hopefully these posts will manage to cover enough and do some justice.
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