An interesting article from Japan Echo , specfically dealing with Mishima’s “Eirei no koe.”
Mishima insisted that nucleus of the integrated, organic culture that embraced the chrysanthemum and the sword was none other than “the emperor as culture.” He explains the concept as follows, using the archaic term miyabi (courtly elegance).
Miyabi was the cultural essence of the imperial court and the people’s longing for it, but during troubled times, miyabi could even take the form of terrorism. That is to say, the emperor as a cultural concept held out his hand not only to the forces of state power and order but also to the forces of chaos.
Tags: Crysanthemum and the Sword, Eirei no koe, emperor, Japan Echo, Miyabi, Ruth Benedict, Voices of the Heroic Dead
