/lit/ - Literature

Does anyone have that chart showing how to into Mishima?

>>7927285
Jap cuck

>>7927328
he literally cucked the emperor, he is the bull

>>7927292
bump for that

>>7927285
Complete master. Totally insane as a person, but beside the point, the writing is all. The Sea of Fertility is a much better exposition on Buddhism than any western feel-good rubbish.

>>7927292
I went Sailor --> Temple --> Sea of Fertility, just finished Spring Snow and it's pretty good so far, I think Confessions of A Mask will be my next Mishima after taking a break from him

>>7927285
>Insane
>One of the most fascinating ideas of ascetics I've ever seen (lean muscled male bodies, images from martyrologies, and natural beauty in a world of rigid rules and youth)
>Some great works: First two books of tetra-logy, Golden Pavilion, Confessions of a Mask
>Some books that are based in insanity (sun and steel, patriotism, last two books of tetrology, sailor who fell from grace with the sea
>/pol/cucks think he is a reactionary when he really just wanted a death that fit in with his aesthetic ideal
>his books shouldnt be read without reading one of his biographies, which really explain alot and are almost more interesting than his books (I like life and death of Yukio Mishima)

>>7927510
ascetics=aesthetics, phone

>>7927361
For real? Citation?

>>7927522
He's exaggerating. From wikipedia: "After briefly considering a marital alliance with Michiko Shōda(who later marriedCrown Prince Akihitoand is now Empress Michiko[12]), Mishima married Yoko Sugiyama on June 11, 1958."

>>7927502
The Sea of Fertility is best left for last, the last two books are more difficult than the first, but very rewarding to end. Confessions is good, but probably his weakest, Forbidden Colours is much better done. The plays are also very nice.

So I'm interested in bodybuilding texts. Are they really good or can you recommend something better?

Which is better as a prelude to Mishima's works? The Life and Death of Yukio Mishima by Scott Stokes or Mishima: A Biography by John Nathan?

>>7927542
Yeah I started Sea of Fertility primarily because I was intrigued by him putting off his ritual suicide to finish it, but it's a bit intimidating. Spring Snow was an easy read, but honestly it would work well as a standalone so I can definitely see the latter part being more difficult.

I'll check out Forbidden Colors before Confessions then, iirc it was one of his early works that propelled him to fame?

>>7927568
Yeah, his breakthrough, but it shows him a bit immature, it's a beautiful book, and worth it for sure, but not a favorite. There are also a couple of early novels I also enjoy, Thrist for Love and After the Banquet, you can see him working at getting better through those, but FC is his first great work. Temple of the Golden Pavilion is only second to the tetralogy.

Spring Snow and Runaway Horses work as stand-alones, but The Temple of Dawn starts out as a very long exposition on Buddhism, it's an explanation on the nature of reincarnation in those novels and a prelude to the end part, which gets very emotionally violent in the second half of that book. The Decay of the Angel is rather short but heartbreaking, it closes it up beautifully.

>>7927553
Why are you interested in the texts? For his perspective on the subject or because of a general interest on the subject. The former means you should read them, latter probably not.
Here is an interesting snippet of a documentary about his bodybuilding: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DaqVv5j0m48

>On November 25, 1970, Mishima and four members of the Tatenokai, under pretext, visited the commandant of the Ichigaya Camp, the Tokyo headquarters of the Eastern Command of Japan's Self-Defense Forces.[14] Inside, they barricaded the office and tied the commandant to his chair. With a prepared manifesto and a banner listing their demands, Mishima stepped onto the balcony to address the soldiers gathered below. His speech was intended to inspire a coup d'état to restore the power of the emperor. He succeeded only in irritating the soldiers, and was mocked and jeered. He finished his planned speech after a few minutes, returned to the commandant's office and committed seppuku.

LOL

>>7927640
>mfw Mishima was Japan's Trump

>>7927590
I want some fiction about bodybuilding or sports. Textbooks are boring and I don't dig the shit from arnold or any another famous bodybuilder.

>>7927590
>all them yakuza at 4:30

Damn Mishima, you scary.

>>7927640
The coup was really just an excuse for Mishima to publicize his views and then kill himself. He didn't think he would succeed. Ritual suicide had been a long standing desire of his.

>>7927668
I know this is a joke but I feel compelled to point out that it's a shitty comparison.

>>7927668
>you'll never act as Trump-sama's kaishakunin

>>7927740
>The coup was really just an excuse for Mishima to publicize his views and then kill himself

Just one of those win-win situations in life eh

>>7927510
>Insane

I don't know if I would go that far. Lots of artists have been political extremists or messy suicides.

>>7927510
I agree that you need to know about him before getting into his stuff and that Sailor is a bad place to start, but I don't think that a biography is necessary. Confessions of a Mask works well as an introduction to a style and also gives you a good idea of what he was about.

>>7927285
I enjoyed the movie adaption of The Sailor Who Fell From Grace With The Sea more than the novel.

You lose the subtext about pre-war and post-war Japanese values but Kris Kristofferson puts in 110% and carries the movie so well. Even though he's American he doesn't have that insufferable American style of acting, his style feels much more British. It's also got great kid actors.

https://youtu.be/OdzQAlIr3eA

A lot of filler of imagery and beauty, but not much substance in between. Maybe the original Japanese text convey a better writing style, but I wasn't impressed.

Is there a lot of crossover between Mishima fans and Jarman fans? It makes sense to me.

>>7928010
Why can't imagery and beauty be substance? Am I a pleb for reading Mishima for the pretty words?

>>7927587
>>7927568

I was concerned that Spring Snow wouldn't stand by itself because it was part of a larger tetralogy--if I were to read that first, are there any recommendations as to what next?

I read Confessions of a Mask (it was an older translation, a 1980-something edition) a few weeks ago and enjoyed it. I found it partially relatable in the way that most inwardly concerned Japanese fiction is, but also found myself wanting more from it.

>>7928003
Gotta love those old-timey movie posters that tell you exactly how to feel about the thing, like the "It's Terrific!" Citizen Kane poster.

>>7927668
mishima had balls, trump is a coward.

Is he better than Kawabata?

>>7927542
Forbidden Colors was less interesting to me but I just really dig elegance and brutality aesthetics. And it seems pointless to compare them when they are so different. I honestly wouldn't recommend it to anyone who isn't interested in a look at the post WW2 Japanese gay scene. I don't remember any of his hallmark beautiful visuals from it aside from the birth description that was gorgeous.

>>7928015
If you're into martyrdom and nubile young men you will probably like them both.

>>7927510
You don't need a fucking autobiography unless you're very slow of the mind and completely unaware of Japanese history. That BBC documentary on youtube is more than enough. The Mishima a life in four chapters movie captured his whole aesthetic greatly and if anyone doesn't get him after watching it they will never get him.

>>7928757

>>7928129
Explain

>>7928757
I enjoy Mishima more, but I don't feel good about calling one better than the other. Read both and see for yourself.

>>7927285
Nice cat.

He embodies what modern teenagers and /pol/'s traditionalists believe (not implying it's a bad thing). He was really cool, gave his life for a greater cause (kek) and wrote pretty good books.

>>7927510

Was he actually insane?

>>7928757
It isn't about which author is better than another and they aren't too similar to begin with

>>7928963
What do you mean, Forbidden Colors is full of that "elegance and brutality" you mean; the scene when Yuchan betrays his teenage lover, the rape scenes. The opening itself is incredibly charming.

>>7927285
A delusional aesthete who took himself far too seriously. I once read he met with Dazai in a bar with the intent of discussing literature but was humiliated when Dazai reproached him for trying so hard to be intellectual in a bar.

He writes good novels, though.

>>7927740
Yeah, it's an insult to trump

>>7930453
I'm sorry I don't remember any rape scene occurring ever nor do I remember anything about that lover. Maybe I should give it another read, it was more socializing and elegance to me.

Otoya Yamaguchi had a more beautiful death tbqh