Jukio Mišima Knihy

Novela svérázného japonského autora, vypravující o rituální sebevraždě císařského důstojníka, je doplněna obsáhlým faktickým i ideovým komentářem.

Mišima využívá motivy skutečné události a vypráví o mladém mnichovi, jehož otec po celý svůj život vzpomíná na Zlatý pavilon, součást kjótského chrámu Rokuondži. V jeho vyprávění se stavba mění v dokonalé ztělesnění krásy, Mizoguči je však zklamaný, když chrám poprvé spatří na vlastní oči. Sám ošklivý, slabý a koktavý, vytváří si vlastní představu Zlatého pavilonu, v němž se pokouší najít protiklad své ošklivosti.

Po neúspěšném pokusu o sebevraždu mladý úředník Hanio Jamada nabídne svůj život na prodej formou inzerátu v tokijském bulvárním deníku. Brzy se začínají ozývat různí zájemci se stále bizarnějšími nabídkami. Jak se sluší a patří pro četbu na pokračování, Mišima na rozdíl od zdlouhavých ušlechtilých úvah, které používá ve svých „seriózních“ románech, napsal tuto novelu formou rychlého sledu krátkých kapitol, ve kterých se hlavní hrdina dostává do řady absurdních situací s atmosférou, která snese srovnání s Tarantinovým filmem „Pulp Fiction“. Jedná se o groteskní až surrealistický příběh plný pitoreskních postav, ve kterém Mišima využívá satiru a černý humor ke zkoumání některých témat, která ho zaměstnávala v jeho tvorbě po celý život: smrti, krásy a erotiky. Původně byla novela Život na prodej (Inoči urimasu) v roce 1968, tedy jen dva roky před autorovou šokující sebevraždou, publikována na pokračování v časopisu Playboy Šúkan. V prosinci téhož roku byla vydána jako kniha.

Zpověď masky (Kamen no kokuhaku, 1949) vypráví příběh chlapce Kóčana, který se od útlého dětství oddává bizarním snům o hrdinech, jejichž údělem je drastická smrt. Jeho slabé tělo v něm probouzí obdiv k maskulinní síle a mocnou přitažlivost k jejím nositelům. Ve snaze přizpůsobit se většině pokouší se sblížit s dívkou Sonoko. Maska normálnosti, již si Kóčan nasazuje, je prostředkem k jeho začlenění do společnosti, jež je podle něj založena na kolektivní maškarádě, v níž lidé skrývají své skutečné pocity a touhy. Román s výraznými autobiografickými prvky otevřel svému autorovi cestu k mezinárodnímu věhlasu; reflektuje Mišimův celoživotní obdiv k samurajským hodnotám a jeho vlastní pojetí ideální krásy, jež se mu nakonec stalo osudným.

Yukio Mishima’s Runaway Horses is the second novel in his masterful tetralogy, The Sea of Fertility. Again we encounter Shigekuni Honda, who narrates this epic tale of what he believes are the successive reincarnations of his childhood friend Kiyoaki Matsugae. In 1932, Shigeuki Honda has become a judge in Osaka. Convinced that a young rightist revolutionary, Isao, is the reincarnation of his friend Kiyoaki, Honda commits himself to saving the youth from an untimely death. Isao, driven to patriotic fanaticism by a father who instilled in him the ethos of the ancient samurai, organizes a violent plot against the new industrialists who he believes are usurping the Emperor’s rightful power and threatening the very integrity of the nation. Runaway Horses is the chronicle of a conspiracy — a novel about the roots and nature of Japanese fanaticism in the years that led to war.

The first novel of Mishima's landmark tetralogy, The Sea of fertility Spring Snow is set in Tokyo in 1912, when the hermetic world of the ancient aristocracy is being breached for the first time by outsiders -- rich provincial families unburdened by tradition, whose money and vitality make them formidable contenders for social and political power. Among this rising new elite are the ambitious Matsugae, whose son has been raised in a family of the waning aristocracy, the elegant and attenuated Ayakura. Coming of age, he is caught up in the tensions between old and new -- fiercely loving and hating the exquisite, spirited Ayakura Satoko. He suffers in psychic paralysis until the shock of her engagement to a royal prince shows him the magnitude of his passion, and leads to a love affair that is as doomed as it was inevitable.

Yukio Mishima’s The Decay of the Angel is the final novel in his masterful tetralogy, The Sea of Fertility. It is the last installment of Shigekuni Honda’s pursuit of the successive reincarnations of his childhood friend Kiyoaki Matsugae. It is the late 1960s and Honda, now an aged and wealthy man, once more encounters a person he believes to be a reincarnation of his friend, Kiyoaki — this time restored to life as a teenage orphan, Tōru. Adopting the boy as his heir, Honda quickly finds that Tōru is a force to be reckoned with. The final novel of this celebrated tetralogy weaves together the dominant themes of the previous three novels in the series: the decay of Japan’s courtly tradition; the essence and value of Buddhist philosophy and aesthetics; and, underlying all, Mishima’s apocalyptic vision of the modern era.

One of the most powerful short stories ever written, this work discusses the dynamics of patriotism and honor, love and suicide.

A great, ancient art form, brought right up to date by one of Japan's foremost writers

Death, homosexuality and the spiritual emptiness of post-war Japan: these are the often shocking subjects which Mishima explores. The old world meets the new in this collection of fiction and drama by one of Japan's most celebrated writers. A husband prepares to commit hara-kiri in the name of patriotism; an ascetic struggles with temptation; and a businessman meets a past love in the streets of San Francisco. Violence colours the work of Mishima, as it did his life. But there is also delicate observation, pathos, humour and irony in these beautifully crafted tales. Contents: - Death in Midsummer - Three Million Yen - Thermos Flasks - The Priest of Shiga Temple and His Love - The Seven Bridges - Patriotism - Dōjōji - Onnagata - The Pearl - Swaddling Clothes

A beautiful hardback edition of a great Japanese classic, beautiful, lyrical and deeply ominous.A band of savage thirteen-year-old boys reject the adult world as illusory, hypocritical, and sentimental, and train themselves in a brutal callousness they call 'objectivity'. When the mother of one of them begins an affair with a ship's officer, he and his friends idealise the man at first; but it is not long before they conclude that he is in fact soft and romantic.They regard this disillusionment as an act of betrayal on his part - and the retribution is deliberate and horrifying.'Mishima's greatest novel, and one of the greatest of the past century' The TimesVINTAGE QUARTERBOUND CLASSICS: Bound to be beautiful

Written when Mishima was only twentysix, Forbidden Colors is a depiction of a male homosexual relationship, in which a rich older man buys the love of a young man who is stunningly handsome but who lacks the ability to love. As in Mann's Death in Venice, the older man's longing for the beauty of youth is associated with aestheticism and death.

After witnessing his mother with another man while his father was dying, Mizoguchi becomes a stutterer and faces bullying at school. Feeling isolated, he finds solace as an acolyte at a renowned temple in Kyoto, where he becomes deeply obsessed with its beauty.

In this fascinating document, one of Japan's most renowned and controversial writers creates a new literary form that blends various writing styles yet defies categorization. It can be read as an account of a bookish boy discovering the significance of his physical existence; the "sun and steel" symbolize the cult of the outdoors and bodybuilding. Additionally, it serves as a discussion on the relationship between action and art, particularly the author's own refined artistic expression. On a personal level, it chronicles an individual's quest for identity and self-integration, while also illustrating how a deeply individual focus can evolve into a profound philosophy of life. Mishima's complex yet polished style weaves these elements together, merging confession, self-analysis, philosophy, and poetry into a cohesive whole that is both perfect and self-sufficient. This work is as meticulously crafted as Mishima's novels and offers essential insights into understanding them as art. The path to salvation depicted is highly personal, yet it resonates with universal themes, culminating in a poetic vision that transcends the individual. This document is a poignant and significant reflection on the future trajectory of one of modern literature's most compelling novelists.

At age 82, Clifton Fadiman continues his prolific publishing career, here presenting 62 of the world's best short stories from 16 countries. His criteria? "Each story had to be both interesting and of high literary merit." Fadiman fulfills both requirements and much more, offering a cornucopia of superior 20th-century writers that includes Franz Kafka, D. H. Lawrence, Isaac Babel, F. Scott Fitzgerald, William Faulkner, Ernest Hemingway, John Cheever, Sean O'Faolain, Graham Greene, Robert Penn Warren, Colette, John Updike, Donald Barthelme, and James Thurber. (Regrettably, J. D. Salinger is not included due to lack of permission.) Here is a truly remarkable collection of this century's short stories that readers from all over the world will read with delight.

Yukio Mishima’s The Temple of Dawn is the third novel in his masterful tetralogy, The Sea of Fertility . Here, Shigekuni Honda continues his pursuit of the successive reincarnations of Kiyoaki Matsugae, his childhood friend. Travelling in Thailand in the early 1940s, Shigekuni Honda, now a brilliant lawyer, is granted an audience with a young Thai princess—an encounter that radically alters the course of his life. In spite of all reason, he is convinced she is the reincarnated spirit of his friend Kiyoaki. As Honda goes to great lengths to discover for certain if his theory is correct, The Temple of Dawn becomes the story of one man’s obsessive pursuit of a beautiful woman and his equally passionate search for enlightenment.

Set in a remote fishing village in Japan, The Sound of Waves is a timeless story of first love. It tells of Shinji, a young fisherman and Hatsue, the beautiful daughter of the wealthiest man in the village. Shinji is entranced at the sight of Hatsue in the twilight on the beach and they fall in love.

The Sailor Who Fell from Grace with the Sea tells the tale of a band of savage thirteen-year-old boys who reject the adult world as illusory, hypocritical and sentimental, and train themselves in a brutal callousness they call "objectivity." When the mother of one of them begins an affair with a ship's officer, he and his friends idealize the man at first; but it is not long before they conclude that he is in fact soft and romantic. They regard their disappointment in him as an act of betrayal on his part, and react violently.

A Japanese nightclub owner becomes infatuated with an autocratic and puritanical political leader

In this masterpiece of the sexual Gothic, Yukio Mishima creates a portrait ofobsessive love and corrosive jealousy among a young widow, her father-in-law, and a domestic servant.

This is a tale based on the strike which took place in the mid-1950s at Omi Kenshi, a silk manufacturer not far from Tokyo. The events described reflect the management / labour tensions of the period and is a piece of social commentary on the transformation of Japanese business.

A haunting novella of fame and disillusionment by a Japanese literary iconAll eyes are upon Rikio. And he likes it, mostly. His fans cheer from a roped-off section, screaming and yelling to attract his attention. They would kill for a moment alone with him. Finally the director sets up the shot, the camera begins to roll, someone yells "action"; Rikio, for a moment, transforms into another being, a hardened young yakuza, but as soon as the shot is finished, he slumps back into his own anxieties and obsessions.Written shortly after Yukio Mishima himself had acted in the film Afraid to Die, this novella is a rich and unflinching psychological portrait of a celebrity coming apart at the seams as the absurdity of his existence comes sharply into focus. With exquisite, vivid prose, Star begs the question: is there ever any escape from how we are seen by others?

Set in rural Japan shortly after World War II, The Frolic of the Beasts tells the story of a strange and utterly absorbing love triangle between a former university student, Koji; his would-be mentor, the eminent literary critic Ippei Kusakado; and Ippei's beautiful, enigmatic wife, Yuko. When brought face-to-face with one of Ippei's many marital indiscretions, Koji finds his growing desire for Yuko compels him to action in a way that changes all three of their lives profoundly. Originally published in 1961 and now available in English for the first time, The Frolic of the Beasts is a haunting examination of the various guises we assume throughout our lives, and a tale of psychological self-entrapment, seduction, and violence.

The Osugi family have come to a realization. Each of them hails from a different planet. Father from Mars, mother from Jupiter, son from Mercury and daughter from Venus. Already seen as oddballs in their small Japanese town in the 1960s, this extra-terrestrial knowledge brings them closer together; they climb mountains to wait for UFOs, study at home together and regard their human neighbours with a kindly benevolence. But Father, Juichiro, is worried about the bomb. He writes letters to Khrushchev, trying to warn everyone he can of the terrible threat. After all, humans may be terribly flawed, but aren't they worth saving? He sends out a coded message in the newspaper to find other aliens. But there are other extra-terrestrials out there, ones who do not look so kindly on the flaws and foibles of humans. And a charming young man, who claims to be from Venus too, tempts daughter Akiko away from the family . . .

Tokyo, 1912. The closed world of the ancient aristocracy is being breached for the first time by outsiders - rich provincial families, a new and powerful political and social elite. Kiyoaki has been raised among the elegant Ayakura family - members of the waning aristocracy - but he is not one of them. Coming of age, he is caught up in the tensions between the old and the new, and his feelings for the exquisite, spirited Satoko, observed from the sidelines by his devoted friend Honda. When Satoko is engaged to a royal prince, Kiyoaki realises the magnitude of his passion.

二・二六事件で逆賊と断じられた親友を討たねばならぬ懊悩に、武山中尉は自刃を決意する。夫の覚悟に添う夫人との濃厚極まる情交と壮絶な最期を描く、エロスと死の真骨頂「憂国」。16歳の実質的デビュー作「花ざかりの森」、著者の生涯にわたる文学的テーマを内包した「中世に於ける一殺人常習者の遺せる哲学的日記の抜萃」等13編。多彩な魅力の自選短編集。

Giappone. Una notte d’estate degli inizi degli anni Sessanta, Juichiro Osugi, un uomo che conduce una vita tranquilla al riparo delle mura domestiche e dell’affetto dei familiari, attratto dal chiarore della luna, esce di casa e raggiunge una radura ai margini della città. Lì avviene l’“incontro” che muterà radicalmente la sua vita: un’astronave, luminosa, solenne, si schiude all’improvviso davanti ai suoi occhi. L’uomo la contempla estasiato e scopre un segreto sepolto nella sua memoria... Pubblicato a puntate nel 1962 su "Shinco", rivista letteraria dell’omonima casa editrice, Stella meravigliosa è il frutto di una passione segreta di Mishima: qualche anno prima della pubblicazione dell’opera, lo scrittore aveva preso, infatti, a frequentare riunioni di esperti di ufologia, e a consultare con cura gli studi sulle possibilità di vita extraterrestre. Grazie a una perfetta fusione tra realtà e fantasia, il romanzo si segnala per il suo potere di incantare il lettore, e di indurlo con estrema naturalezza a varcare i limiti della quotidianità.

Todo parece ir sobre ruedas durante la luna de miel de la joven Ayako Inagaki. Su marido, Toshio Takigawa, es el hombre ideal: tierno, atractivo, culto, elegante, deportista... Pero hay algo que empieza inquietarle: la extraña relación de Toshio con su madre, una afable y encantadora mujer de porte aristocrático, viuda del embajador japonés en Londres. La señora Takigawa está muy bien relacionada con la alta sociedad de Tokio, incluida la casa imperial, a la que quiere acceder el padre de Ayako, un ejecutivo ambicioso y esnob. En "Vestidos de noche" (sátira feroz con tonos irreverentes de la hipocresía social reinante en la alta sociedad japonesa tras la derrota en la Segunda Guerra Mundial) Mishima explora nuevamente el lado más oscuro e inconfesable del ser humano.

Leggendo la biografia di Sade, Mishima rimane colpito da un episodio apparentemente inspiegabile: la moglie del divino marchese, dopo aver dedicato tanti anni e tante appassionate energie al tentativo di farlo uscire dal carcere, al momento della possibile riunione, anziché accorrere da lui, decide di rimanergli lontana, fa sapere al marito che non lo incontrerà ma più. Come mai? L'ipotetica risposta a questo interrogativo si intreccia, in un testo fra i più rappresentativi della sua produzione teatrale, al tema portante della ricerca estetico-filosofica di Mishima. La bellezza fisica, per il grande scrittore giapponese, è indissolubilmente fusa col valore morale, con la volontà e la forza di incarnare nella propria esistenza ideali di vita elevati. E il Sade di Mishima, limitato nell'uso del corpo dalla sua condizione di prigioniero, ha trasferito il mondo dei sensi e delle passioni su un piano squisitamente intellettuale

- La spada, di Yukio Mishima - Riflessioni sulla morte di Mishima, di Henry Miller - Proclama, di Yukio Mishima - L'ideologia della morte folle, di Hashikawa Bunzô - Dietro tanta vivacità un senso di vuoto, di Donald Keene - Mishima, di Marguerite Yourcenar 24 foto in appendice.

"Una straordinaria meditazione sulla morte e un'amara riflessione sulla perdita di tradizioni e valori antichissimi, nel racconto di un grande rappresentante della letteratura contemporanea." [dalla pagina web di Bompiani]

De l'univers des geishas aux rites sacrificiels des samouraïs, de la cérémonie du thé à la boutique d'un antiquaire, Mishima explore toutes les facettes d'un Japon mythique, entre légende et tradition. D'une nouvelle à l'autre, les situations tendrement ironiques côtoient les drames les plus tragiques : que ce soit la jolie danseuse qui remet du rouge à lèvres après avoir renoncé à se défigurer avec de l'acide en souvenir de son amant, Masako, désespérée, qui voit son rêve le plus cher lui échapper, ou l'épouse qui se saisit du poignard avec lequel son mari vient de se transpercer la gorge... Quelques textes étonnants pour découvrir toute la diversité et l'originalité du grand écrivain japonais.

Un giorno d'autunno, alla porta del dottor Shiomi Kazunori, uno psicananlista che da cinque anni ha aperto uno studio a Hibiya, si presenta un'affascinante ragazza di nome Reiko, che lo informa di non riuscire a sentire la musica. Da qui si sviluppa un'intricata vicenda in cui i molteplici tentativi di risalire alla causa del problema (la musica è una metafora dell'orgasmo) vengono descritti con una suspence da romanzo giallo.

Память - зеркало миражей. Иногда в нем всплывают такие далекие образы, что мы не в силах из разглядеть. Иногда - те, что только кажутся близкими. Весенний снег, кажущийся благословением, оборачивается проклятием для юных влюбленных

Die Erzählung beleuchtet die dramatischen Ereignisse der "Nacht der langen Messer" am 30. Juni 1934, als Hitlers Befehl zur Ermordung der SA-Führung und unliebsamer Politiker führte. Yukio Mishima bietet keine tiefgehende Analyse Hitlers, sondern konzentriert sich auf die logistischen Aspekte und die Machtdynamiken, die zu diesem brutalen Machtkampf führten. Die Darstellung der Geschehnisse verbindet Fiktion mit historischen Fakten und zeigt die komplexen politischen Intrigen jener Zeit.

In Yukio Mishimas Roman steht die Liebe zwischen dem Seemann Ryuji und der Witwe Fusako im Mittelpunkt, die den Sohn Noboru in ein emotionales Dilemma stürzt. Fasziniert von Ryuji, fühlt sich Noboru betrogen, als dieser sich für die Ehe entscheidet. Der Roman thematisiert den Konflikt zwischen Idealbildern und der harten Realität.

Kniha obsahuje dva romány japonského autora – Smäd po láske (1950) a Príboj (1957). Smäd po láske, dráma o pocite odcudzenosti mladej vdovy, žijúcej so svojím svokrom, v obručí rodinných zvyklostí a pokrytectva. Príboj, ľúbostný príbeh dvoch ľudí, ktorým ľudská zloba kladie do cesty prekážky.

Am 25. November 2010 jährt sich die Selbsttötung Mishimas nach Art der Samurai zum vierzigsten Mal. Dieses „theatralische Akt“ hat sich ins allgemeine Bewusstsein eingebrannt und oft den Blick auf sein literarisches Werk verstellt. Aktuell gibt es Anzeichen für eine „Mishima-Renaissance“, die in seinem Leben und Werk einen Vorläufer der post-modernen „Ästhetik der Inszenierung“ sieht. Sich mit Mishima auseinanderzusetzen, bleibt auch vierzig Jahre nach seinem Tod irritierend und schmerzhaft, da er literarische, moralische und politische Empfindungen verletzt. Dies könnte erklären, warum im deutschsprachigen Raum bisher keine umfassendere Auseinandersetzung mit ihm stattfand. Dieses Buch versucht, diese Lücke zu schließen. Die Beiträge reflektieren die ästhetischen, moralischen und politischen Komponenten von Mishimas Werk aus unterschiedlichen Perspektiven und Methoden. Die erste Sektion verdeutlicht die Ambivalenz seiner Poetisierung des Politischen. Die zweite widmet sich den theatralischen, performativen und rituellen Aspekten seines Schaffens. Die dritte behandelt seine literarische Suche nach „Anerkennung“ und sein „unglückliches Bewusstsein“ (Hegel). Im Anhang wird der wichtige, aber bisher kaum beachtete Text Eirei no koe [Die Stimmen der toten Helden] von 1966 erstmals in deutscher Übersetzung präsentiert.