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So here's the thing: it's fairly clear that Mishima did not "die for his cause", or in fact have any expectation that his thoroughly half-assed coup would succ

So here's the thing: it's fairly clear that Mishima did not "die for his cause", or in fact have any expectation that his thoroughly half-assed coup would succeed. For one, there was no plan whatsoever for what they would have done next had the troops they addressed actually joined the putative rebellion. Mishima had precisely one objective: to die like his own ideal of a warrior, at the peak of his physical prowess. And I know that sounds weird, but if you read his books, every single one harps on this theme almost obsessively, in particular his final "Sea of Fertility" tetralogy. He was born a sickly misfit, but he spent a good portion of his adult life bodybuilding and practicing martial arts to perfect his body, so he could die the perfect death. Fetishistic? Absolutely. Political? Not really.

deleted 6y ago
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Animats 6y ago
For background, see the attempted coup of 1936[1], and the Imperial Way Faction.[2] Those were more serious attempts at a coup along much the same lines. 1970 was a bit late to be pushing "Glory or Death". [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/February_26_Incident https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/February_26_Incident [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imperial_Way_Faction https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imperial_Way_Faction
morelisp 6y ago
> it's fairly clear that Mishima did not "die for his cause", or in fact have any expectation that his thoroughly half-assed coup would succeed... Political? Not really. These are two separate things. I agree Mishima did not have any expectation his coup would succeed (at least not in any immediate sense), and was not in any sense an effective militia commander. But that doesn't mean he didn't die for his cause, nor that his cause wasn't political. Mishima's aesthetic program is to attempt to fuse all these sometimes-conflicting things - anti-colonialism, conservative politics, "the Japanese spirit", homeroticism, his artistic method and particular output - into a singularity. "Perfect purity is possible if you turn your life into a line of poetry written with a splash of blood." Fetishistic? Absolutely. Political? Also absolutely.

deleted 6y ago

[deleted]

Animats 6y ago

For background, see the attempted coup of 1936[1], and the Imperial Way Faction.[2] Those were more serious attempts at a coup along much the same lines. 1970 was a bit late to be pushing "Glory or Death". [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/February_26_Incident https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/February_26_Incident [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imperial_Way_Faction https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imperial_Way_Faction

morelisp 6y ago

> it's fairly clear that Mishima did not "die for his cause", or in fact have any expectation that his thoroughly half-assed coup would succeed... Political? Not really. These are two separate things. I agree Mishima did not have any expectation his coup would succeed (at least not in any immediate sense), and was not in any sense an effective militia commander. But that doesn't mean he didn't die for his cause, nor that his cause wasn't political. Mishima's aesthetic program is to attempt to fuse all these sometimes-conflicting things - anti-colonialism, conservative politics, "the Japanese spirit", homeroticism, his artistic method and particular output - into a singularity. "Perfect purity is possible if you turn your life into a line of poetry written with a splash of blood." Fetishistic? Absolutely. Political? Also absolutely.