Book description
Honda, a brilliant lawyer and man of reason, is called to Bangkok on
legal business, where he is granted an audience with a young Thai
princess - an encounter that radically alters the course of his life. He
is convinced she is a reincarnated spirit, and undertakes a long,
arduous pilgrimage to the holy places of India, where, in the climatic
scene, he encounters her once more, only to have his newfound beliefs
shattered and his life bereft of all meaning.
Yukio Mishima was born into a samurai family and imbued with the code
of complete control over mind and body, and loyalty to the Emperor -
the same code that produced the austerity and self-sacrifice of Zen.
He wrote countless stories and thirty-three plays, in some of which he
performed. Several films have been made from his novels, including
The Sound of Waves, Enjo which was based on The Temple of
the Golden Pavilion and The Sailor Who Fell From Grace with
the Sea. Among his other works are the novels Confessions of
a Mask and Thirst for Love and the short story
collections Death in Midsummer and Acts of Worship.
The Sea of Fertility tetralogy, however, is his masterpiece.
After Mishima conceived the idea of The Sea of Fertility in
1964, he frequently said he would die when it was completed. On 25
November 1970, the day he completed The Decay of the Angel, the
last novel of the cycle, Mishima committed seppuku (ritual suicide) at
the age of forty-five.
The Sea of Fertility tetralogy, however, is his masterpiece.
After Mishima conceived the idea of The Sea of Fertility in
1964, he frequently said he would die when it was completed. On
November 25th, 1970, the day he completed The Decay of the
Angel, the last novel of the cycle, Mishima committed
seppuku (ritual suicide) at the age of 45.
