I punish people by fighting dreams with dreams. What else is there to live for?
- Detective Kogorō Akechi in The Black Lizard. Imago Theater production, translated by Laurence Kominz & Mark Oshima
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In this world, there will never be another miracle.
- Black Lizard in The Black Lizard. Imago Theater production, translated by Laurence Kominz & Mark Oshima
You were so beautiful when you wanted to die. When you wanted to live, you became so ugly.
- Black Lizard in The Black Lizard. Imago Theater production, translated by Laurence Kominz & Mark Oshima
Mishima visited a Tokyo department store two weeks before he committed suicide, where a Yukio Mishima exhibit was held. (Mainichi)
From this write up in the Mainichi Daily News about several Japanese books on Mishima, published in response to the 40th anniversary of his death, we get a new quote for this site:
“Japan will disappear, and in its stead, an impersonal, empty, neutral, intermediate, opulent, shrewd, economic giant will be left standing in a corner of the Far East.”
- “Hatashieteinai Yakusoku” (Undelivered Promises)
I was in Barnes and Noble today and I found a beautiful, hardcover edition of the Hagakure, which Mishima referred to as the “womb of his oeuvre” and wrote his own commentary on. It is bound in bright orange fabric, it’s printed in full color, and it even has a purple ribbon page marker. It’s very reasonably priced, and I almost picked it up–but I highlight my books and it seemed like too nice of an edition for me to own. I am tempted to pick it up for my Mishima bookshelf. Just to have…
The photo on Amazon/B&N doesn’t do it justice. Here’s a link to the publisher, Duncan Baird. Even that doesn’t quite show how nice it is for the money.
Tags: art of the samurai, Hagakure
"Sincerity" T-Shirt - Yukio Mishima's severed head
I did a block print of this basic design about a year ago. Several of the prints are for sale at this week’s “Germophilia” show in Philly. There are a few unframed ones going for like $20, as well as a framed one with daubs of my own blood for $50, so if you’re interested, contact Kevin Slaughter.
However, block prints are not so great for t-shirts, but I really liked the design, so I updated it by making the face more of a half-tone graphic (it’s Mishima’s severed head, btw).
I probably will not be selling these…too labor intensive to be profitable on this scale. I was just tired of wearing my staple plain black t-shirts all the time, and wanted something that related to my own work.
The quote on the back will read:
“His was a battlefield without glory, a battlefield where none could display deeds of valor: it was the front line of the spirit.”
- Yukio Mishima, Patriotism
The full quote is here:
Tags: jack donovan, sincerity, yukio mishima, yukio mishima head
“My concern, what confronted me with my real problem, was beauty alone. But I do not think that the war affected me by filling my mind with gloomy thoughts. When people concentrate on the idea of beauty, they are, without realizing it, confronted with the darkest thoughts that exist in this world. That, I suppose, is how humans are made.”
– Yukio Mishima, The Temple of the Golden Pavilion
Tags: dark beauty, darkness
“What is so ghastly about exposed intestines? Why, when we see the insides of a human being, do we have to cover our eyes in terror? Why are a man’s intestines ugly? Is it not exactly the same in quality as a youthful, glossy skin? [...] Why does there seem to be something inhuman about regarding human beings like roses and refusing to make any distinction between the insides of their bodies and the outside? If only human beings could reverse their spirits and their bodies, could gracefully turn them inside out like rose petals and expose them to the spring breeze and to the sun…”
– Yukio Mishima, The Temple of the Golden Pavilion
Tags: entrails, guts, intestines, ordeal by roses, roses, seppuku, spirit
“Insensitive people are only upset when they actually see blood. Yet, by the time that blood has been shed, the tragedy is already completed.”
– Yukio Mishima, The Temple of the Golden Pavilion
In the Mishima story, “Patriotism,” the characters pay homage to what is translated as the “god shelf.”
“On the god shelf below the staircase, alongside the tablet from the Great Ise Shrine, were set photographs of their Imperial Majesties, and regularly every morning , before leaving for duty, the lieutenant would stand with his wife at this hallowed place and together they would bow their heads low. The offering water was renewed each morning, and the sacred sprig of sasaki was always green and fresh. Their lives were lived beneath the solemn protection of the gods and were filled with an intense happiness which set every fiber in their bodies trembling.”
- Yukio Mishima, Patriotism
The “God Shelf” is a kamidana.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kamidana
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ise_Shrine
Some kamidana seem to be quite elaborate, while others are simple and have very clean lines.
There are some images of a very simple antique kamidana here, and an internet search will yield a wide variety of them.
http://www.budomall.com/index.php
Tags: emperor, god shelf, ise shrine, kami, kamidana, sacred mirror, shinto
New book on Strength, Courage & Honor
