Sun and Steel by Yukio Mishima (PDF)

Description

In this fascinating document, one of Japan’s best known-and controversial-writers created what might be termed a new literary form. It is new because it combines elements of many existing types of writing, yet in the end fits into none of them.At one level, it may be read as an account of how a puny, bookish boy discovered the importance of his own physical being; the “sun and steel” of the title are themselves symbols respectively of the cult of the open air and the weights used in bodybuilding. At another level, it is a discussion by a major novelist of the relation between action and art, and his own highly polished art in particular. More personally, it is an account of one individual’s search for identity and self-integration. Or again, the work could be seen as a demonstration of how an intensely individual preoccupation can be developed into a profound philosophy of life.All these elements are woven together by Mishima’s complex yet polished and supple style. The confession and the self-analysis, the philosophy and the poetry combine in the end to create something that is in itself perfect and self-sufficient. It is a piece of literature that is as carefully fashioned as Mishima’s novels, and at the same time provides an indispensable key to the understanding of them as art.The road Mishima took to salvation is a highly personal one. Yet here, ultimately, one detects the unmistakable tones of a self transcending the particular and attaining to a poetic vision of the universal. The book is therefore a moving document, and is highly significant as a pointer to the future development of one of the most interesting novelists of modern times.

User’s Reviews

Reviews from Amazon users which were colected at the time this book was published on the website:

⭐This book is a literary type that was once common in Japan, the self-obsessive partial memoir. But Mishima’s style, tone, and content are absolutely unique.He writes about the relation between world and word, body and mind or spirit. But to me, the most interesting aspect of this book, and Mishima’s whole outlook is something that’s often overlooked. It is this, he could not stand ugliness. He shrank from (his own perception of) ugliness as we would from a rabid rat. So then, how did he define beauty and ugliness? You may call it shallow but no matter, this book makes no apologies: beauty or ugliness lie in physical appearance, body and face.To most of us there are many kinds of beauty, and maybe that multi-perception keeps us going – we see or imagine the beauty of inner virtue, selfless giving, artistic projection, humility or humor and so on. A wide expansive definition.But there’s room on your bookshelf for somebody who takes an uncompromising view: beauty is the beauty of your body and your appearance. While it can be crafted and guided by external method (who knows what Mishima would have thought of the cosmetic surgery craze now sweeping China), ultimately physical beauty to him is the only important projection of the soul.The insanely monomaniacal American football coach Vince Lombardi once said “Winning isn’t everything – it’s the only thing”. This book, despite all its meandering and subtle threads, is really saying just that, about beauty – it’s the only thing. And Mishima, at mid-life, was losing all illusions about attaining or retaining any personal beauty.Of course what sheds the interesting backlight on this book for most readers is Mishima’s dramatic seppuku at Ichigaya Japan self-defense force headquarters. (Reminds me of the wit who stated, when informed of Sylvia Plath’s suicide, “Good career move”.) People read this book to try to unravel the mystery of it.But in light of what I’ve said above, about beauty and Mishima’s uniquely narrow definition of it, this book leaves no mystery to his action. Just as Oscar Wilde’s Dorian Gray slashed the ugliness accumulated on his horribly aging portrait, Mishima, lacking a magic painting, did just the same to his own body – sentenced it to death for the crimes of aging and ugliness.It is entirely summed up by the following single line from ‘Sun and Steel’:”I had already lost the morning face that belongs to youth alone.”

⭐The writing style feels somewhat unnatural but I think it’s due to the piece being translated from Japanese and some words not having direct equivalents in English. Great book nonetheless.

⭐Okay. That was a pretty nice troll to replace the entire book with how to raise llamas. Still, I want my $30 back.

⭐For the $26~30 price tag, I was hesitant to purchase this book. However, I desperately wanted to read this book as Mishima’s ideas and style of writing has brought an interest to me recently; and so I caved in. As other reviewers mentioned, there are spelling, grammar, and punctuation mistakes. The cover picture has worse quality in-person. Nowhere in the book shows the name of the translator. For books translated into English, knowing who the translator is is as important as knowing who the author is.If you’re willing to spend around $27 for a mediocre version of an amazing book from one of the most renowned authors of Japan, go for it.

⭐As the title stated I think this is good insight into how mishima sees the world. It gives further context to his other works. It is a truely great read and I think many young men could benefit from the world view mishima embraces through his self discovery illustrated in this short piece. Maybe not to its extreme conclusion (mishima committed seppuku), but the importance of “sun and steel” in the maturity of masculinity in a young mans life.

⭐Very esoteric read but a good one.

⭐Mishima is fascinating, and if you want a window into his path to his bizarre last stand and suicide this is certainly part of that picture. Five stars for content. But multiple misspellings and even a missing word kept distracting me from the text. There’s no excuse. There are still English majors out there who could check a short manuscript quickly for not much money 🙂

⭐Mishima writes with such intensity and complexity I find it difficult to fully comprehend even a single page. It’s awesome.

⭐Sun and Steel is finally back in publication by the fantastic Rogue Scholar Press. The cover is great and the content is inspiring. I’ve purchased both a hard and soft cover. One for annotating and studying, the other for collection.

⭐I have been a Mishima fan for over 40 years and new translations are still being released. This particular book is a re issue of one of Mishimas famous writings toward the end of his life. This is a book that you cannot rush and you can enjoy it if you take your time and then you can appreciate his true nature and uniqueness of his complex visions.

⭐A new way of looking at the human condition with many beautiful passages that will provide inspiration especially for those who are working on improving their physical self.

⭐Poor printing edition of Sun and Steel not worth the money. I was expecting a much nicer edition of this great book

⭐Lovely book but very thin for the hefty price tag. Felt very ripped off.

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