Book description
The dramatic climax of
The Sea of Fertility
tetraology takes place in the late 1960s. Honda, now an aged and
wealthy man, discovers and adopts a sixteen-year-old orphan, Toru, as
his heir, identifying him with the tragic protagonists of the three
previous novels, each of whom died at the age of twenty. Honda raises
and educates the boy, yet watches him, waiting.
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.
