Patriotism

Rating:
Summary: A tale both violent and beautiful
Review: "Patriotism" is a story by Yukio Mishima, and has been translated into English by Geoffrey W. Sargent. This is a short book (57 pages), but powerful. The story, which takes place in 1936, opens by announcing that Lieutenant Shinji Takeyama, a Japanese army officer, has committed ritual suicide together with his wife Reiko. "Patriotism" tells of the days leading up to and including the double suicide.

This is a simple story, but in its simplicity lies great artistry. Mishima's prose, as interpreted by Sargent, is striking, vivid, and ultimately quite beautiful. "Patriotism" is a tragic love story that is rich in eroticism. The graphic, violent details will, I imagine, shock and even disgust some readers, but I found this story to be ultimately a haunting, and strangely compassionate, work of art.

Rating:
Summary: Will spark debate
Review: "Patriotism" is Mishima stripped to the core: a simple tale of the sacrifice of a young couple, willingly and eagerly giving their lives for the emperor. Written by most anyone but Mishima this would be portrayed as a story of regret and tragedy, but in the hands of Mishima, the couple is described in tones extolling their beauty and virtue; death explained in words that evoke images of heat and passion. Mishima does not sugarcoat the experience; he lays it bare for the reader. My personal feelings regarding the content of this short story are at odds with those of Mishima, but I cannot deny the power and skill of "Patriotism". This is the type of book that should be read and discussed, a story that loses no power despite the time that has elapsed since it was written nearly forty years ago.

An interesting note regarding the title: although the original title (Yukoku) is usually translated as "patriotism" in English, the word carries different overtones than the English word "patriotism" or the more common Japanese word "aikoku" or "aikokushin". Yukoku translates more accurately as worry or anxiety over the present state or future of one's country. It is also a homophone for another word that means "evening". When reading this tale, remember these details as well as the fact that Mishima wrote this tale not during the heat and fury of wartime Japan, but twenty years after World War II ended, and this story will take on new nuances.

Patriotism is an intense study in nationalism, wartime-Japan style, as well as a window onto the soul of the enigmatic Mishima.

Rating:
Summary: "Patriotism"
Review: "Patriotism"

Yukio Mishima could not have chosen a better title for his story, "Patriotism." Mishima's characters demonstrate his idea of patriotism. In the story, Lieutenant Shinji Takeyama and his young wife, Reiko becomes martyrs.

The importance of the information in the first sentence of the story is indicated by the great length of the sentence as well as its placement in the story. First mentioned is the reason the Lieutenant commits suicide, his patriotism, and next that he does commit suicide. Death becomes the ultimate test of patriotism. The second sentence recounts Reiko's suicide. Its placement in the story as second does not necessarily render it less important, but instead subsidiary.

Next the reasons they commit suicide are reiterated as the text of their "farewell" notes, drawing the comparison of love for one's country to the love in a new marriage.

The couple is referred to as dedicated, heroic, youthful, and beautiful. Yukio Mishima values youth, and the couple represents all that is beautiful to him. Mishima goes to great length to describe their perfection thus inferring his ideals.

Shinji and Reiko's suicides are so venerable, according to Mishima that "the gods themselves weep." In the Lieutenant's house, the god shelf is under the stairs. The gods and the leaders of Japan represented on this shelf are held on the same level to Mishima. This creates the comparison of reverence to one's gods to reverence for one's country. The suicides are performed upstairs, above the god shelf, giving the suicides superior status. Mishima also describes the relationship between the two as supernatural. They are above nature and the gods. "For Reiko had never, even to herself, thought of those soaring joys of the flesh as mere pleasure." It is more than that. "A hot moistness of the flesh which defied the snows," it is described as. Furthermore, the Lieutenant sees the consummation of their flesh and the sincerity of his patriotism as parts of the same thing.

Among Reiko's few possessions are five small animal trinkets. She dismisses them as worthless because of the materialism they represent. The first animal is a dog which can symbolize loyalty and friendship. The second animal figure is a rabbit which is a symbol of love and faithfulness. The bear is a symbol of strength. The last of the animal trinkets, a fox, symbolizes the presence of an enemy or rival among acquaintances. While Reiko considered their solely materialistic value, "the expressions on the small animals' faces grew even more lost and forlorn." It is their symbolic values that are becoming lost. This is relevant to Mishima's grievance that Japan's values are waning in modern times.

Reiko examines the squirrel more closely. Her thoughts show the development of its childish material worth into its symbolism of happiness in the home. This happiness is her husband. Her love and dedication to her husband is the love and dedication he has to Japan. On the night of their wedding, Shinji sits on the floor with his sword laid in front of him. Reiko sits across from him as he tells her that his death could come at any moment as a soldier. When he asks if she can handle this, she goes and retrieves her dagger and places it as Shinji has placed his sword. Just as the Lieutenant has joined the army with the acceptance that he may have to give his life out of love for his country, Reiko has married Shinji knowing that she may have to give her life out of love for the Lieutenant.

There is much in the story indicating that Shinji is the symbol of Japan and Reiko's love and dedication of him therefore representing ideal patriotism. Shinji is often compared to the sun. He is "the sun about which her whole world revolved." Mishima says that Shinji embodies a "sun-like principle" when describing Reiko's reflections on the squirrel. During the Lieutenant's suicide, his agony "burned as strong as the summer sun." Also, upon returning home after his two-day absence, Shinji arrives near sundown. Yet the door will not open. It is moments later; perhaps at the time of sundown when the sun rests, that Shinji is permitted into the house. Yukio Mishima also uses words like glowing, radiant, and bright in imagery concerning Shinji. The association with Shinji and the sun can be drawn several more times as when he is shaving he sits in the midst of a "cloud" of steam. Shinji is Reiko's sun and her whole world. Before his suicide, Shinji is beautiful, and after he resolves to commit suicide he becomes beautiful once again and is beautiful in death. However, when he returns from his guard duty, his luster and resilience is gone, his head droops dejectedly. One's head is hung low when they're without honor, which is Mishima's grievance with Japan. In "Patriotism" Mishima implores soldier of the Imperial troops to live for their country and therefore die for their country. "Ever since her marriage her husband's existence had been her own existence and every breath of his had been a breath drawn by herself," Mishima tells the reader as Shinji is dying. The same is true of Shinji's relationship with Japan, which Mishima sees as dying.

This is a story of patriotism and a love story. Mishima lets the reader know it is a story about patriotism above all else, not only by its title. Throughout "Patriotism" Shinji is rarely named. After the first reading, the reader recalls the characters as the Lieutenant and his wife. Reiko's name is given a lot yet she also derives her identity from her husband as he derives his from his position on the Imperial army and therefore Japan. She is called his wife and the wife of a soldier. In her suicide note she refers to herself as a soldier's wife. The value of patriotism over the love story is instilled in the way Reiko thinks of Shinji continuously, and he thinks of her during the brief rest periods between training. He think of his training and his duty to Japan over all though. They do not go on a honeymoon either as it is less important than the state of Japan.

Rating:
Summary: A short masterpiece where ugliness becomes beautiful.
Review: "Patriotism," a short story by one of the 20th century's most talented and notorious authors, cannot be adequately described within the constraints of language. It has a raw power that, like all of Mishima's works, is profoundly delicate in construction and exquisite in tempo.

The plot of "Patriotism" is simple enough -- it is, in fact, unimportant. An officer in the Japanese military is given orders to disrupt a renegade political group that he happens to hold allegiance to. What else does one do in such a quandry (particularly a character of Mishima) than commit seppuku? The bulk of "Patriotism" is the last night that this officer and his wife spend together before they both commit ritual suicide. What sets "Patriotism" apart from virtually all other literature is its portrayal of a couple's last night and their gruesome, graphic, horrific deaths in glorious and ecstatic terms.

Many writers are capable of vividly depicting a scene of death and horror, and this story is more disgusting and graphic than anything I've read in Stephen King. But the literal description of what happens has an unpredictable and unbelievable impact in this story, where one man's act of disemboweling himself is described in the most ecstatic terms. It was that juxtaposition of glory and death that made me nearly double over when I'd finished. "Patriotism" is not for the weak heart nor the weak stomach, but in 50 pages or so it creates an effect you are not likely to see executed so well elsewhere.

Rating:
Summary: A tale both violent and beautiful
Review: "Patriotism" is a story by Yukio Mishima, and has been translated into English by Geoffrey W. Sargent. This is a short book (57 pages), but powerful. The story, which takes place in 1936, opens by announcing that Lieutenant Shinji Takeyama, a Japanese army officer, has committed ritual suicide together with his wife Reiko. "Patriotism" tells of the days leading up to and including the double suicide.

This is a simple story, but in its simplicity lies great artistry. Mishima's prose, as interpreted by Sargent, is striking, vivid, and ultimately quite beautiful. "Patriotism" is a tragic love story that is rich in eroticism. The graphic, violent details will, I imagine, shock and even disgust some readers, but I found this story to be ultimately a haunting, and strangely compassionate, work of art.

Rating:
Summary: Fascist Propoganda
Review: I just read "Spring Snow" by Mishima and enjoyed it very much, but "Patriotism" was just ridiculous. Mishima's fascist beliefs and suicide were not noble, and "Patriotism" was not beautifully written. The characters were completely two dimensional and their relationship had no nuances to make it even remotely realistic. This is an idiotic fantasy written by a man who obviously didn't know anything about suicide, until his hapless followers took three hacks to finally get his head severed four years post "Patriotism."

I think the picture of the author on the cover says it all. There are reasons WWII didn't end in Berlin, and instead of learning from history, Mishima celebrates the very ideals that devalued life in the Japanese army. The entire concept of ritualistic suicide is dependent on the individual soldier's belief that he only lives for the Emperor and that the Emperor, being divine, gives your country the right to conqueror other countries. This is an extreme form of fascism. Knowing that, I don't understand how the people on this board can enjoy this story or call it "beautiful."

I'll bet it's not very popular in China or the Philippines.

Rating:
Summary: Fascist Propoganda
Review: I just read "Spring Snow" by Mishima and enjoyed it very much, but "Patriotism" was just ridiculous. Mishima's fascist beliefs and suicide were not noble, and "Patriotism" was not beautifully written. The characters were completely two dimensional and their relationship had no nuances to make it even remotely realistic. This is an idiotic fantasy written by a man who obviously didn't know anything about suicide, until his hapless followers took three hacks to finally get his head severed four years post "Patriotism."

I think the picture of the author on the cover says it all. There are reasons WWII didn't end in Berlin, and instead of learning from history, Mishima celebrates the very ideals that devalued life in the Japanese army. The entire concept of ritualistic suicide is dependent on the individual soldier's belief that he only lives for the Emperor and that the Emperor, being divine, gives your country the right to conqueror other countries. This is an extreme form of fascism. Knowing that, I don't understand how the people on this board can enjoy this story or call it "beautiful."

I'll bet it's not very popular in China or the Philippines.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent imagery
Review: Mishima's imagery is as beautiful as ever, however I find that he tries to over-romanticize the suicide - almost to the point of making it seem comic or cliche. His description (or at least that of the translator's) is excellent and gripping. This is definately worth a read - a fairly unknown classic. Probably not much insight into Japanese culture, however you may get some insight into the character of Mishima himself, who ended his life in the same way as the main character...

Rating:
Summary: A Beautiful Account of Devotion
Review: My short story class was assigned to read "Patriotism," and I was so thankful because now I've been introduced to yet another fantastic writer.

Yes, maybe the idea of a wife following her husband in suicide out of honor and devotion seems preposterous today, but the way it was written was so undeniably beautiful. Mishima writes in a way that makes the reader completely understand why his characters do what they do. No one could argue that the whole act was utterly noble and selfless. The descriptions of the love and mutual respect in Shinji's and Reiko's marriage was heavenly, almost unreal--yet its rarity doesn't make the reader laugh. Again, it was written so that one is convinced that this is a marriage exemplifying the "harmony" we all seek between two people.

Basically I was in awe of the descriptions in this story--such beautiful, powerful imagery in the lovemaking scene, as well as the final act of death. Mishima fills his phrases with so much emotion, that as Shinji's end drew near, I was literally brought to tears.

Part of the beauty in this story was in the translation. I'll bet that Sargeant probably best captured the essence of Mishima's words more than anyone could. I've heard that there are some pretty bad translations of foreign work so I think it's safe to say that Sargeant would be the translator to look for when reading Mishima's work.

Though this story was set in the 30s, Mishima wrote it in 1966. I wonder what inspired him to write it. I don't know what was going on politically in Japan in the 60s. Perhaps the political turmoil in the United States may have affected Japan's psyche. Either way, what surprises me even more is the fact that this story was written so late in the 20th Century!

I highly recommend "Patriotism." It's a wonderful illustration of devotion in its many forms. I loved it, and now I'm going to read other stories by this author!

Rating:
Summary: A poor work, but perfectly summarizes Mishima life and art
Review: PATRIOTISM is a 1966 novella by Japanese writer Yukio Mishima. Written after his embrace of traditional Japanese social values and four years before his own death by seppuku after a failed coup d'etat, the work concerns a soldier and his wife during a 1936 incident in which some imperial troops mutinied against the emperor. The soldier is dismayed to see his colleagues rise up against the forces of the emperor, and resolves that he and his wife shall kill themselves through seppuku in order to display their ultimate loyalty.

The work is essentially an erotic tale in which the last evening of the soldier and his wife is portrayed as a sexual ecstasy, and as the couple moves towards their fate they are repeatedly praised for their loyalty and dedication as if it were an erotic voluptuousness. "The last moments of this heroic and dedicated couple were enough to make the gods themselves weep," we are told. The death of the soldier moves slowly and meticulously over ten whole pages, with every detail of his gory end lovingly told. Once he is gone, his wife follows, but as Mishima's sexual interests were mainly towards those of his own gender, he finds it difficult to highlight any eroticism of her end, and it is briefly told.

Mishima considered PATRIOTISM his favourite story. Some time after he wrote it, he even organized a movie production in which he played the soldier, shocking European audiences with appallingly realistic gore. His widow considered this whole portrayal a sort of fantasy of his own upcoming death in 1970--she was most probably right--and burned the negative. One can see that PATRIOTISM is a work very linked to the core of Mishima's being.

My feelings about this novella are somewhat divided. On one hand, though a glimpse of a social order that differently considers sex and death might make it as alluring as a Greek tragedy, PATRIOTISM is a work as ignoble as pornography generally is. It certain doesn't compare to Mishima's other books, such as his masterpiece tetralogy "The Sea of Fertility". On the other hand, no other work so encapsulates everything Mishima was, his obsession with sadomasochism, his desire to uphold Japanese culture against modern and Western influences, and an ultimate sort of nihilism.

If you want to know something about Yukio Mishima's life and work but do not have the motivation to make it through all four volumes of the superb "The Sea of Fertility", PATRIOTISM might be for you. I, however, would think the reader would be more content if he picked up SPRING SNOW and settled for a long and exciting journey.