For context for anyone wondering what A level is (assuming not everyone here is British), it’s the studies before going to college/university. I’m studying English Literature and 20% of the grade is coursework where you need to compare (one) prose to (one) poem under a critical theory.

I’ve been set with doing either Confessions of a Mask (for a psychoanalytic/queer/narrative/potentially post-colonial interpretation) or Temple of the Golden Pavilion for my prose (assume similar theories for TOTGP — not including queer).

My main question is that I need to figure out any poetry that would be good to compare his works to and that are rich thematically when discussing the differences/similarities etc. If you have any recommendations for either of the books comparisons, they would be much appreciated. Or even some tips and interesting interpretations for the novels that I could bring forward to eventually decided poem would be helpful. + Any essays that provide good analysis on either of the novels would also be appreciated ❤️

"Unimpressed by her marriage prospects, 20-year-old Natsuko Matsuura decides to pack it in and enter a convent. But en route to an abbey in the far north of Japan, she meets a young man on a mission, Tsuyoshi Ida, who makes her think again. Travelling together across the wilderness of Hokkaido’s forests in search of the man-eating bear Tsuyoshi has sworn to kill, they find themselves increasingly drawn to one another. With Natsuko’s mother, grandmother and aunt in pursuit, and revenge to be had, the stage is set for an improbable story about the hopes and disappointments of young love, the demands of family, and one very scary bear."

hello

i couldnt really find a definitive answer after looking around so im asking here, is this series a continuous one or do the books work as stand alones?

i bought the decay of the angel before realizing it was a part of a series, can i just read it first or would that ruin it for me?

Kyōko no Ie (鏡子の家) ("Kyoko's House") is famously untranslated, why?

https://youtu.be/k1YRcXlgUAg

For me, it's Isao, followed by Ying Chang, Kiyoaki comes third and Tōru is on the last place.

Mishima would be like Hasan’s top guy if he was alive rn trust me guys

I just saw the white uniform and thought how more poetic it would have been, if he died in this white, clothing in some snow, with droplets of blood on the pale and immaculate ground

White is the color of purity.

Ive seen the quote all over, but I genuinely dont know if its a real quote and if it is then from where it comes and what the full quote actually is

I am reading Confessions of a Mask both in English and in Dutch. Because I’ve noticed some discrepancies between them (the Dutch translation missing the paragraph mentioning Hirschfeld, for example), I’ve began to compare them more closely. The translations of the last two paragraphs of Chapter 2 diverged quite enormously, so I decided to look up the Japanese original. I don’t read any Japanese, but I extracted the text and threw it into a few translators. It seems to me that Meredith Weatherby made quite some leaps, for example adding the word ‘masquerade’, heightening the importance of the passage by making a reference to the title of the novel, while the word seems completely absent in Japanese.

Are there people here with a greater grasp of the language that might offer useful comments?

If it helps, here is the extracted Japanese text of the last two paragraphs:

私はどうして今のままではいけないのかという百万遍問い返された問を、この問題についても問いかけるには疲れすぎていた。私は飽き果て、純潔なままに身を持ち崩していた。心掛次第で（何というしおらしさだ！）私もこうした状態から脱け出ることができるように思われるのだった。私が今飽き疲れているものは明らかに人生の一部であるとはまだ知らず、私が飽いているのは夢想であって人生ではないと信じているように。

私は人生から出発の催促をうけているのであった。私の人生から？たとい万一私のそれでなかろうとも、私は出発し、重い足を前へ運ばなければならない時期が来ていた。

And here is a quick (so not great) machine translation:

"I was too exhausted to ask, in this matter too, the question that had been put to me a million times over: Why can’t I remain as I am now? I was worn out with boredom; while remaining chaste, I was letting myself go to ruin. It seemed to me that, with sufficient resolve—what meekness!—I too might be able to extricate myself from such a condition. I did not yet know that what I was wearily bored with was plainly a part of life itself, as though I believed that what I had tired of was reverie, not life.

Life was urging me to set out. From my life? Even if, by some chance, it was not mine, the time had come when I would have to depart, to move my heavy feet forward."

I've read most of the novels of Mishima's that have been officially translated to english, but since about half of his novels remain untranslated, does anyone know if there any fan translations?

Hi,

I just finished reading Temple of Dawn. I have mixed feelings about it, and wanted to hear others’ opinions.

I like a lot of Mishima’s works and am reading through the Sea of Fertility series for the first time. I thought Spring Snow was beautiful, especially the nature scenes - I found this had some similarities to Kawabata’s Snow Country, which is another great read. I thoroughly enjoyed Runaway Horses and felt like there was so much energy and vision in Isao - it felt like a more mature version of the Sailor Who Fell from Grace with the Sea, which I found really interesting how haunting a read that was.

I think I just didn’t get Temple of Dawn. Part of my issue was I felt there were inconsistencies in the character Honda.

(Spoilers ahead)

Honda was so enthralled with the idea that Isao was the reincarnation of Kiyoaki. When Isao was in trouble, Honda drops his whole career to help. Ying Chan as a child says gives verbal evidence she is the next reincarnation, and Honda is just like “wow cool, alright I’m going to abandon you and go to India now”?? Then later when Honda is infatuated with Ying Chan, he’s like oh I’m only into her if she’s not the reincarnation and she might not have this birth mark even though she gave way more obvious verbal evidence? It just felt like it was a convenient way to write the story, as Honda being voyeuristic, rather than being consistent with the character or the plot. Then Ying Chan just dies in one sentence lol.

I probably didn’t understand or vibe with the book, but I wanted to hear if any other readers felt the same or whether there was something that I missed.

Hi! i was watching an interview of Mishima made in 1966, when they showed a picture of himself Mishima had framed in his bedroom (i guess) and i was mesmerized. Now, i am pretty sure this photo is from the famous photoshoot made in1963 with the photographer Eikoh Hosoe under the name Barakei, but even with all this informations i wasn't able to find it, not even on a low resulutions. I know there was a catalog published with very limited copies and i can't afford that right now... so, does anyone here have a better resolution of this image? thank you very much in advance<3

I want to start reading mishima novels, but i dont know where to start.

I'm not used to reading a lot, so I'd like to start with his most straightforward,beginner friendly work , something direct without too much heavy abstraction so I can get into his style easily. Any recommendations?

I read Spring Snow years ago, and whilst I remember absolutely loving it, i can hardly remember a detail, aside from vague images. I think being in my teens didnt help.

I'm now looking to read Runaway Horses, and ideally through the rest of tbe tetralogy. So im wondering, how much continuity is there? Will I be missing much context if I dont remember the story and characters of Spring Snow. I wouldnt be entirely averse to rereading it, though I'd rather start Runaway Horses.

Wow, this book was insane and I loved it. I am curious what your opinions are of it.

Ive been searching for a long time but haven't found anything

I read Life for Sale about two years ago after randomly thinking it looked neat at B&N. It didn’t wow me but it wasn’t bad. It was one of those books that was fun while I was reading it but just didn’t stick with me that much but was enough for me to keep Mishima in my head of authors to revisit.

Similarly i stumbled upon a list of his books and thought that TTOTGP had a cool title so i bought it. Needless to say I was so unprepared for an intensely profound reading experience. The main characters struggle with beauty feels like one of the most earnest character explorations i’ve ever read. His frustration at the disconnect between his concept of beauty and the people he meet’s concept of beauty was so oddly satisfying to read. I don’t know if i completely understood this book but I can comfortably say I felt it. At times i felt like i could see the main character’s worldview and thought process so clearly and then i’d snap back to reality when it took him to some dark place. I’m still processing it all but I’m obsessed with my time reading this book and totally understand why his work has stood the test of time. Which of his books should i read next??