I happened across this excellent essay on revisiting and re-evaluating Mishima’s work.
Jay McInerney: Through Western Eyes
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.
http://www.dbp.co.uk/book_preview.asp?b_id=559#
Tags: art of the samurai, Hagakure
http://www.lohud.com/article/20090929/CALENDAR/90925008/-1/SPORTS/Meet-the-director
September 29, 2009
Director Paul Schrader returns to the Jacob Burns Film Center with “Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters,” an ambitious exploration of Japan’s great postwar author Yukio Mishima. He was also a flamboyant actor and body-builder, who took over Japan’s army headquarters in 1970 and publicly committed suicide. Propelled by an ethereal Philip Glass score, the film won an award at Cannes and received stunning reviews but flew mostly under the radar when released. Screening begins at 7:15 p.m. followed by a Q&A with Paul Schrader, who is also a celebrated screenwriters (Taxi Driver, Raging Bull). Tickets are $13. 364 Manville Rd., Pleasantville. 914-747-5555.
http://www.burnsfilmcenter.org/
Tags: paul schrader
Photography show featuring one of Eikoh Hosoe’s famous images of Mishima.
The Provoke Era: Postwar Japanese Photography: Sandra Phillips and W.S. di Piero in Conversation
Tags: eikoh hosoe
Came across this article from the Japan Times, written by Hiroaki Sato, who is working on a biography of Mishima.
Apparently, Japan’s new Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama is getting criticism for saying things about Japan’s military being in the pocket of the US. This concerned another Yukio many years ago…
“…after all these years, there persists the nagging suspicion, articulated most clearly toward the end of the 1960s by Yukio Mishima, that the ultimate commander of the Japanese military, the SDF, is not the Japanese prime minister but the U.S. president.
Not just the Persian Gulf War in 1991 but also the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003 has demonstrated the validity of this suspicion.
It was at least this murky status of the SDF that Mishima, originally a law student, wanted to clear away. He proposed to split the forces into two separate entities: one a Japanese contingent for “U.N. peacekeeping operations,” and the other an entity dedicated to homeland defense. Hatoyama’s outline for constitutional revision on his homepage comes remarkably close to Mishima’s idea four decades ago, though without the part about splitting the forces.”
Tags: Hiroaki Sato, SDF, Yukio Hatoyama
http://www.silvanusslaughter.com/
Tags: silvanus slaughter
http://tattoosday.blogspot.com/2009/09/cenks-skeleton-tattoo-pays-homage-to.html
Tattooed by Myles Karr, Brooklyn. Found on “Tattoosday.”
Tags: st. sebastian, tattoo, tattoosday, yukio mishima
Mishima’s character in the yakuza film “Afraid to Die“ actually dies in the end.
In “Patriotism,” Mishima famously filmed himself going through the motions of hara-kiri four years before he eventually committed suicide in almost exactly the same manner.
In “HitoKiri,” he plays Tanaka Shinbei. When Shinbei’s sword is found at a high official’s assassination scene, he quickly commits seppuku. Given the actor, that’s hardly a spoiler.
As a still, this is one of the most menacing images I’ve ever seen of Mishima.
The film itself seems to be particularly relevant to Mishima’s concerns in 1969, which is when it was filmed. According to IMDB, the film was released February of 1970*, just months before Mishima’s own late November exit.
Hitokiri translates roughly to “manslayer.” The alternate title of the film, Tenchu!, was a battle-cry, meaning “divine punishment.”
Hitokiri is a cinematic retelling of the tale of The Four Hitokiri of the Bakumatsu. These warriors opposed the shogunate and favored the restoration of the Emperor to power. This role was chosen with artful precision. Not only did Mishima’s character commit suicide, but the Four Hitokiri, like Mishima, were supporters of the Emperor. Mishima’s private army, the Tatenokai, were a spiritual army sworn to “shield” the ideal of the Emperor.
Apparently, Mishima also sang the film’s theme song (!!?!?!). I’m working on that…
Review of Hitokiri on Midnight Eye
http://www.midnighteye.com/reviews/hitokiri.shtml
Review of Hitokiri on Movie Feast
http://moviefeast.blogspot.com/2008/06/tenchu-hitokiri-1969.html
Review of Hitokiri on Lard Biscuit Enterprises
http://www.lardbiscuit.com/jidaigeki/gosha-tenchu.html
* At least in the USA. I was unable to find a Japanese release date, but it couldn’t have been much sooner if the film was produced in 1969.
h/t the Werwolf Ensemble guys, who told me about this film.
Tags: hitokiri, patriotism, tanaka shinbei, tenchu, The Four Hitokiri of the Bakumatsu
New book on Strength, Courage & Honor
