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John Bester

Yukio Mishima

Sun and Steel Kindle Edition

by Yukio Mishima (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

4.6 432 ratings

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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.

Print length

110 pages
Language

English
Sticky notes

On Kindle Scribe
Publisher

Lyle Stuart
Publication date

Jan. 2 1970
File size

484 KB
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Product description

About the Author

Yukio Mishima is a Kodansha International author. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

"Necessary reading for anyone who wants to try to understand the background to his suicide and his outlook in the last period of his life." "Had we been able to read Sun and Steel before Mishima committed suicide, the extravagant events surrounding his death would have been more readily comprehensible." "One of the twentieth century's outstanding statements of literary and personal purpose." -Library Journal"Necessary reading." -Times Literary Supplement"Had we [read this before his suicide], the extravagant events surrounding his death would have been more readily comprehensible." -Sunday Times"A key to the novelist's behavior." -Sunday Telegraph "One of the twentieth century's outstanding statements of literary and personal purpose." -Library Journal "Necessary reading." -Times Literary Supplement "Had we [read this before his suicide], the extravagant events surrounding his death would have been more readily comprehensible." -Sunday Times "A key to the novelist's behavior." -Sunday Telegraph "One of the twentieth century's outstanding statements of literary and personal purpose." -Library Journal "Necessary reading." -Times Literary Supplement "Had we [read this before his suicide], the extravagant events surrounding his death would have been more readily comprehensible." -Sunday Times "A key to the novelist's behavior." -Sunday Telegraph "One of the twentieth century's outstanding statements of literary and personal purpose." -Library Journal"Necessary reading." -Times Literary Supplement"Had we [read this before his suicide], the extravagant events surrounding his death would have been more readily comprehensible." -Sunday Times"A key to the novelist's behavior." -Sunday Telegraph --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0BQF4B7FV
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Lyle Stuart (Jan. 2 1970)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 484 KB
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
Print length ‏ : ‎ 110 pages

Best Sellers Rank: #441,470 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #272 in Japanese Literature
- #2,447 in Success Self-Help Books
- #8,580 in Guides to Success

Customer Reviews:
4.6 432 ratings

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John Bester
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Yukio Mishima
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Yukio Mishima (三島由紀夫 Mishima Yukio?) is the pen name of Kimitake Hiraoka (平岡公威 Hiraoka Kimitake?, January 14, 1925 – November 25, 1970), a Japanese author, poet, playwright, actor, and film director. Mishima is considered one of the most important Japanese authors of the 20th century. He was considered for the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1968 but the award went to his fellow countryman Yasunari Kawabata. His works include the novels Confessions of a Mask and The Temple of the Golden Pavilion, and the autobiographical essay Sun and Steel. His avant-garde work displayed a blending of modern and traditional aesthetics that broke cultural boundaries, with a focus on sexuality, death, and political change. Mishima was active as a nationalist and founded his own right-wing militia. He is remembered for his ritual suicide by seppuku after a failed coup d'état attempt, known as the "Mishima Incident".
The Mishima Prize was established in 1988 to honor his life and works.
Bio from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Photo by Shirou Aoyama (http://www.bungakukan.or.jp/) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons.
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Customer reviews

4.6 out of 5

432 global ratings

5 star		77%
4 star		12%
3 star		7%
2 star		2%
1 star		1%

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Top reviews from Canada

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Kindle Customer

Interesting

Reviewed in Canada 🇨🇦 on February 21, 2022

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I enjoyed it, Yukio was definitely an interesting man and deserves the attention that he gets. I might look in to his others books later.

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Anton Bierce

The Way of the Samurai

Reviewed in Canada 🇨🇦 on June 17, 2006

Since World War II, the West has forgotten the Shadow soul of Japan, the collective impulses that have been repressed by "Occupation Law" and the imposition of democracy. The Japanese are seen stereotypically as being overly polite and smiling business executives and camera snapping tourists. The emphasis has been on the soft counterpart of the Japanese psyche, on the "chrysanthemum" (the arts) as Mishima puts it, and the repression of the "word" (the martial tradition). The great American anthropologist Ruth Benedict wrote of the duality of the Japanese using this symbolism in her "Chrysanthemum and the Sword," to which Mishima referred approvingly. He insisted that Japan return to a balance of the arts and the martial tradition, to what, we would call individuation (rebirth/renaissance), allowing the repressed Shadow archetype to reassert itself.

Mishima was himself that synthesis of the scholar and the warrior, who rejected pure intellectualism and theory in favour of action.

[...]

2 people found this helpful

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Patrick

Fascinating insights into a mysterious character

Reviewed in Canada 🇨🇦 on May 9, 2001

Every author should write at least one of these books of personal reflection. This is not the only place you can get a glimpse of the inner workings of Mishima's mind ("Confessions of a Mask" and "Patriotism" are good examples).
Of course, this is assuming the book accurately reflects the author's views. If you have read Mishima biographies such as Stokes' "Life and Death of Yukio Mishima" you might agree that "Sun and Steel" is a true reflection of the author's feelings. Otherwise, you might not have a good frame of reference.
It's a good idea not to make this the first of Mishima's works that you read (the aforementioned biography and "Confessions of A Mask" are suitable prerequisites). However, it is an interesting work in its own right.
My main reason for not giving this book 5 stars is that I was longing for more depth into his character than could be provided in so short a work; but maybe that's just because of my fascination with the author's life.

One person found this helpful

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Al Kihano

Autobiography of an Ubermensch

Reviewed in Canada 🇨🇦 on November 28, 1999

Whoa! I can hardly say anything bad about this book, except that the author must have been at least a little nuts to write it. The passion and honesty with which he writes about his own (self-diagnosed) shortcomings, as well as his obsessive attempts to remedy them, are pleasantly eerie. In an age when physical valour counts for little, and in a discipline--literature--where so many practicioners despise the cultivation one's own flesh, this book is an original. Highly entertaining.

2 people found this helpful

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judy.12@osu.edu

Powerful but not his most focused writing.

Reviewed in Canada 🇨🇦 on June 30, 1998

Sun and Steel is most accessable if you are already familiar with the life of Mishima. It is his most honest, unadorned writing. It is filled with his death romanticism and also with his frantic quest for beauty, strength, action and his obsession with aging and longevity. It is a passionate piece of writing, consisting of one paragraph around 100 pages in length. His fetish for militarism is evident towards the end of the book, and he begins with an almost embarrassed admission of his age and stature as a "mature' writer, reflecting his obsession with eternal youth and glorious death. To sum up, this book is not going to be everyone's cup of tea, but it is quite likely the most honest and naked autobiographical writing ever.

One person found this helpful

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Suzanne Montalalou, freelance writer

Breathtaking

Reviewed in Canada 🇨🇦 on July 4, 2000

This author gives you his very self, unadorned, and he is breathtaking. The most stunningly powerful book I have ever read. His work is an inspiration. This is my first encounter with Mishima, but it will not be my last.

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James

A Triumph

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on March 28, 2023

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I've never seen anyone who talks about "aesthetics" and "physicality" actually define and contrast them like Mishima; they usually merely dance around the concepts and spout obscure platitudes.

Not so with Mishima - his work is poetic but with purpose. Militant but vulnerable.
This is an insight into a man who has learned what it means to build one's own sense of conviction.
Most will not be ready for this; as a fencer myself it entered my life at the perfect time to understand it.

The print I got was less than stellar with odd font choice and strange formatting which belie the deep value of the words within, but the knowledge itself is worth the price of admission.

TBK

Interessanter Inhalt, sehr schwer zu lesen

Reviewed in Germany 🇩🇪 on July 15, 2022

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Es ist in einem nicht sehr leicht verständlichem Englisch zu lesen. Die Denkweisen und Schlussfolgerungen sind auch sehr komplex, nicht immer sofort nachvollziehbar. Sich damit auseinanderzusetzen hat mir jedoch sehr gefallen.

2 people found this helpful

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An Anglo

A new perspective

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on February 28, 2023

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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.

Ein Kunde

Zur Neuausgabe

Reviewed in Germany 🇩🇪 on May 21, 2021

Verified Purchase

Für alle, die gerne genauer wissen möchten, ob sich die Anschaffung lohnt: Diese Neuausgabe ist zwar teuer, qualitativ aber auch wirklich gut (wobei ich mich auf die gebundene Ausgabe beziehe). Sie ist innen identisch mit der alten, nur noch für viel Geld antiquarisch zu findenden von 1970; das heißt, obwohl es sich um ein book on demand handelt, ist das Schriftbild nicht dilettantisch und billig, sondern eben professionell. Die Bindung und die gesamte Aufmachung sind ebenfalls von hoher Qualität. Wer also dieses Buch schon lange in einer ordentlichen analogen Ausgabe gesucht hat, kann hier ruhig zugreifen.

3 people found this helpful

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Steven Freeman

Written in October 1968

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on May 22, 2021

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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.

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Follow the Authors

Sun and Steel Kindle Edition

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About the authors

John Bester

Yukio Mishima

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