Today is the centenary of the birth of Yukio Mishima, the prolific and controversial Japanese author who (in)famously staged a coup and committed the ritual of seppuku in the name of patriotism in 1970. An author of extremes, his works stimulate the senses, challenge the intellect and are political explosive. His proses are often encyclopaedically overwritten, covering anything from underground social activities to ancient religious beliefs, reflecting on Western civilisation while emphasising on the Oriental, leaving the readers much food for thought but little room for debate. Like I did with his mentor and friend Yasunari Kawabata in 2017, over the next few posts, I will be sharing with you a selection of novels written by this fascinating, highly knowledgeable and surprisingly ultra-conservative individual. One does not need to agree with everything he writes, but his writings certainly give a shock to the system. Working with IG/FB word limits, I won't have the resources for deep analysis, but descriptions of the books should be more than sufficient. Fasten the seatbelt.
Mishima 100 website:
https://mishima100.jp/
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