/lit/ - Literature

Hello again, /lit/! I apologize for my lengthy hiatus. I had many projects to deal with in my personal life, projects that, if successful, will only contribute to my ability to further this project.

I have a fragment for you today: the first seven pages of the Supplement to the Counterrevolutionary Manifesto. There are ten or so more pages left to translate, which I will hopefully be able to get through tomorrow. I'm adding a slightly spruced up translation of the Counterrevolutionary Manifesto itself to the top of this post so that you can see how the two go together.

The Counterrevolutionary Manifesto

1. We do not oppose all revolutions. We oppose all designs and all actions, be they violent or non-violent, that seek to link Communism with administrative power. It goes without saying that this includes all plans of, or including, the formation of a democratic coalition government (pro-Communist government). We will not be deceived by the mask of internationalism or of nationalism, and we will not be misled by the methodological deceptions of direct democratic, popular front, or other kinds. We oppose all forms, be they nominal or substantive, of linking Communism with administrative power.
The Communist Manifesto states the following.
“The Communists […] openly declare that their ends can be attained only by the forcible overthrow of all existing social conditions.”
What we seek to protect are the culture, history, and traditions of Japan, for, according to their dialectical materialist method of interpretation, these are necessarily included in the “existing social conditions” that they seek to “overthrow.”
2. We proclaim ourselves the last maintainers, the final representatives, and the flower of the culture, history, and traditions of Japan that we seek to defend. We radically oppose all forms of thought that allude to a “better future society,” for action for the sake of the future negates the maturation of culture and the nobility of tradition, while transforming the irreplaceable present into a process towards revolution. To appoint oneself the manifestation of history; to here and now embody the essence of history; to personify the aesthetic forms of tradition; and to appoint oneself the last – these principles of action are those of the Kamikaze Special Attack Units. The kamikaze have left us their testament, stating, “We believe that there will be others who continue after us.” It is this idea that is truly and logically capable of opposing that of the “better future society,” because the “others who continue” are none but those who have resolved that they are the last. Validity is of no importance.

Hey /lit/,

I made a thread last week about these two essays by Mishima Yukio and provided a sample translation of one of them. Well, I'm back with more. I've decided to translate this book and regularly post whatever progress I make on here for your reading pleasure. The first thread can be found here: >>/lit/thread/S16347421#p16347421..

I will first post my translation of The Counterrevolutionary Manifesto. I took another look at the translation that I linked to in the previous thread and thought that it was inadequate for reasons of style and intelligibility. My translation is nowhere near perfect in its present state, but I think it better than what was previously available.

I will then post my partial translation of On the Defense of Culture. This essay is long, but it is fortunately separated into subsections. Tonight I will post the entirety of the first section, on culturalism and reverse culturalism.

For those who are interested, here is the table of contents:

Part 1: Essays

The Counterrevolutionary Manifesto
Supplement to the Counterrevolutionary Manifesto
On the Defense of Culture
An Open Letter to Hashikawa Bunzo
The Logic of "Moral Revolution" - On Paymaster Private Isobe's Posthumous Manuscripts (This is about Isobe Asakichi, one of the leaders of the February 26th, 1936 attempted coup against the government).
The Status of Freedom and Power

Part 2: Dialogues

On the Symbolism of Political Action - Iida Momo and Mishima Yukio

Part 3: Teach-ins with Students

Topic: "The Principles of State Reform" at Hitotsubashi University
At Waseda University
At Ibaraki University

Afterword

A Promise Yet Unfulfilled - My 25 Years (Since the End of the War)

Hey /lit/,

I've recently been reading some of the essays collected in Mishima's In Defense of Culture/On the Defense of Culture (文化防衛論). The text seems pretty profound to me, and I thought that a complete translation in English might be of interest to the kind of person who enjoys reading Mishima. The table of contents is as follows:

Part 1: Essays

The Anti-Revolutionary Manifesto
Supplement to the Anti-Revolutionary Manifesto
In Defense of Culture/On the Defense of Culture
An Open Letter to Hashikawa Bunzo
The Logic of "Moral Revolution" - On Paymaster Private Isobe's Posthumous Manuscripts (This is about Isobe Asakichi, one of the leaders of the February 26th, 1936 attempted coup against the government).
The State of Freedom and Power

Part 2: Dialogues

On the Symbolism of Political Action - Iida Momo and Mishima Yukio

Part 3: Teach-ins with Students

Topic: "The Principle of State Reform" at Hitotsubashi University
At Waseda University
At Ibaraki University

Afterword

A Promise Yet Unfulfilled - My 25 Years (Since the End of the War)

I'll first post my own translation of the first few pages of the collection's eponymous essay, and then post the Anti-Revolutionary Manifesto (反革命宣言), a translation of which is available here: https://counter-currents.com/2020/03/the-anti-revolutionary-manifesto/..

Does any of this sound interesting to anons?