Unique or Universal?
Unique or Universal?

The Case of Mishima Yukio

Author(s): Inoue Takashi
Subject(s): Cultural history, Studies of Literature, Other Language Literature, Philology
Published by: Wydawnictwa Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego
Keywords: Mishima Yukio; The Sea of Fertility; Marcel Proust; La Comédie humaine; Madame Bovary; The Tale of Genji; Narrow Road to the Interior; shishōsetsu; nihilism
Summary/Abstract: Amidst uniqueness and universality there tend to arise sparks, conflicts, and intricately intertwined secret relationships. Taking up four Mishima Yukio novels – "The Forest in Full Bloom" ("Hanazakari no mori"), "Confessions of a Mask" ("Kamen no kokuhaku"), "The Temple of the Golden Pavilion" ("Kinkakuji"), and "The Sea of Fertility" ("Hōjō no umi"), I substantiate this theory while also referring to works by other authors. "The Sea of Fertility" is the most unique and, simultaneously, the most universal of the discussed works, as it contains many diametric oppositions and predicts the nihilistic reality of our world nowadays. However, at the same time, it also encourages us to find the best way of living our life meaningfully.

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