Yukio Mishima Patriotism Yukio Mishima

Yukio Mishima Patriotism

Yukio Mishima committed suicide on November 25, 1970 at the age of forty-five in the traditional Japanese warrior manner of seppuku after failing to organize a coup d'etat. His final act gave rise to a wave of disapproval from both Japanese officials, such as the Minister of Defense (Yamanouchi 1), and Westerns who feared a revival of Japanese militarism. Understanding Mishima's final gesture requires a deep understanding of his life and work. In fact, a closer look at the relationship between Mishima, the writer, and Mishima, the man, might provide some explanation as to the clash between his morals, and the surrounding world.

Yukio Mishima is considered the most important Japanese novelist of the twentieth century. His writings represent the combination of traditional Japanese literature and European influences. His real name was Kimitaka Hiraoka, but he changed it to Yukio Mishima because he did not want his anti-literature father, a government official, to know he wrote. Mishima was born in 1925, in Tokyo, and was raised by his paternal grandmother, a strict and cultured woman who came from a samurai family. During World War II, Mishima served in a factory; this generated feelings of guilt throughout his life because he thought he had survived shamefully by being excused military service, and not going into combat. He went to Law school, and spent a brief period of time working as a public servant before devoting himself solely to his writing. It was also during this time that Mishima became aware of his homosexuality, but chose to hide it due to social circumstances.

His writings were deeply influenced by his fascination with the human body, as well as the patriotism of Imperial Japan. In 1968 he founded the Shield Society, a private army of around 100 young men dedicated to the revival of Bushido, the samurai knightly code of honor. In 1970 he seized control of the military headquarters, trying to rouse the nation to pre-war nationalist heroic ideals. However, his attempt failed, and Mishima killed himself on November 25, 1970 by committing seppuku with his sword.

Parts 2 & 3

The short story "Patriotism" attempts to encompass the traditional Japanese spirit that Mishima himself is so attached to. His respect for the honor, loyalty and patriotism that ruled the lives of the samurais are the very essence of his writing. The love for family, and the love for country are inseparable, but the latter should - according to Mishima - always prevail over the former. The task of understanding the message of this story requires the reader to detach themselves from their surroundings, and step into Japanese culture. The theme of homosexuality is not present in the story, but induced through language. "Loyal Lieutenant Takeyama of "Patriotism" is "masculine beauty at its most superb" as he contemplates death "with severe brows and firmly closed lips" (Mishima 111)." (Piven 53)

The plot of "Patriotism" is centered on the clash between duty and family. As stated before, Mishima is a firm believer in the importance of honor, and reiterates the Japanese belief that the duty towards government is the nucleus of any man's life. Published in 1961, "Patriotism" tells the story of a young Japanese lieutenant named Takeyama who has not been informed by his comrades of the plans for revolt because they want to protect the newly-married man from danger. Nonetheless, he receives orders from Imperial Command to lead a unit into battle against the rebels, i.e. his former comrades. Finding himself in the middle of a profound moral crisis, Takeyama decides to kill himself as he knows he can neither fight his mates nor refuse Imperial order. He commits seppuku, and so does his young wife. Takeyama is a "paragon of virtue," a symbol of honor and courage (Abelsen 652). Love is the opposing theme; although secondary, love provides the moral dilemma which holds the story together. The graphic description of the double suicide is a literary outburst which unveils "the author's fascination with violence and death" (Idem.).

The simple plot provides the perfect example of pro-Imperial literature praising the virtues of death for the emperor (Napier 75). Although not one-dimensional, the characters are only described through the lens of honor and loyalty. Takeyama is loyal to the Imperial orders, but at the same time, he does not betray his comrades, but chooses death instead. At the same time, his young wife, Reiko, is only loyal to her husband. A very clear sign of her unique loyalty is the fact that she addresses the suicide note to her parents asking for their forgiveness. In this sense, she decides to join him in death although his cause is not directly hers. However, death and love are closely linked thus her decision is somewhat predictable. The intensity of Takeyama's devotion to duty is only matched by the intensity of the spouses' physical relationship: the "soaring pleasures of the flesh" are never "mere pleasures" as "even in bed these two were frighteningly and awesomely serious" (Mishima 97). Love is also idealized which could account for why Mishima's depictions of heterosexual love are merely "aesthetic constructs and thus superficial and unconvincing portrayals of feminine beauty and character." (Hume 27)

The ending of the story sheds light on the author's moral perspective on the events that his characters go through: "The last moments of this heroic and dedicated couple were such as to make the gods themselves weep." (Mishima 93) This final remark is very representative to Mishima's perspective on duty and honor. The extremes presented in this story are not foreign to Japanese culture; however, they are rare examples of absolute virtue. From this point-of-view, the reader can get a more profound understanding of the writer's concept of virtue which ultimately led him to suicide as he was not able to find it in contemporary Japanese society. In fact, it has been very difficult for critics and biographers to establish a clear demarcation line between art and life: "Mishima always appeared concerned to keep ambiguous the relationship between his art and his life, and actively sought to keep the public guessing" (Pollack 151).

Part 4

Honor, loyalty and integrity are the three most important qualities for a samurai. They are also the main themes of the story. Not only does Mishima value these traits, he builds his entire life and work around them. "Patriotism" is dedicated to the kind of life that Mishima wants to live, but cannot because of social circumstance and contemporaries. As a young man, he is frail and rather unhealthy but chooses to hide his shortcomings for fear of not living up to his own standards. As he grows up, he realizes that he must come to terms with his sexuality, but cannot do so openly because he knows society would scorn him. Growing up in a rather strict environment, he learns to appreciate the Samurai code of honor.

The setting of the story is without a doubt, the most important literary device that Mishima uses. The plot is unconceivable for someone who does not belong to the Japanese culture and way of life. There are a set of aspects which are deeply Japanese, and do not make sense if taken outside of this particular setting. The most striking example is family dynamics, and more precisely the relationship between husband and wife. Despite the fact that his characters are not schematically constructed, Mishima employs one strong coordinate for each character so that both Reiko and the lieutenant become bearers of an ideal; in other words, they cease to be mere humans, and are transformed into idealizations. Takeyama is metamorphosed into the ideal of honor and duty - central to the life of the samurais, whereas his wife becomes the symbol of devotion.