THE SAILOR WHO FELL FROM GRACE WITH THE SEA by Yukio Mishima + Film by Paul Schrader
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 27 ส.ค. 2024
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Paperback, 181 pages
Published 1994 by Vintage International (first published 1963)
Original Title: 午後の曳航 [Gogo no eikō]
#leafbyleaf #bookreview #yukiomishima
It's a blessed day when Leaf by Leaf makes a video on a book I've already read, and can watch the video straight away
Hope you like it!
Excellent introduction to Yukio Mishima. As for the movie, to me it's one of the best examples of how, even if the main character is from the East and the director from the West, the twain can actually meet (which makes me think of the scene in which a reporter asks Mishima "who would you like to be?" and he, without missing a beat, comes back with a "Elvis Presley").
Whenever you enter the Temple Of The Golden Pavillion, I'm sure you'll have a very, very good time.
“There isn't any fear in existence itself, or any uncertainty, but living creates it. And society is basically meaningless, a Roman mixed bath. And school, school is just society in miniature: that's why we're always being ordered around. A bunch of blind men tell us what to do, tear our unlimited ability to shreds.”
Read it last year, and loved it.
I have loved Mishima since I read Confessions from a Mask as a teenager. Really recommend The sea of fertility series of novels, specially the first two, Spring Snow and Runaway Horses
Thanks for the recs!
Love, love, love Mishima! This is one of his best novels, (The golden pavilion was my first and definitely my favourite!) Haven’t revisited him for ages! This is the reminder I needed,thanks!!!
I’ll check the film, I didn’t know about it!
Sorry I missed this review before, Chris. It's an extraordinary novel. I read it more than a decade ago and reviewed it over at Goodreads back in the day. Keep up the great work.
Make sure to check out John Nathan's Mishima biography. He was pretty close to him for some time (he translated The Sailor) before they had a falling out when Nathan rejected to translate a novel of Mishima, instead wanting to translate one of his rivals, Kenzaburo Oe's ''A Personal Matter''. The biography is very insightful; Mishima's tough upbringing, his relationship with literature and the West and its influence on Japan, how his ideology changed, and Nathan's own experience with him (also talks with his family and widow).
I read it in the French translation years ago and I've been wanting to read it again. Le marin rejeté par la mer is the French title. Thank you for all your wonderful videos. His first book, Confessions of a Mask is also amazing. I would highly recommend it to you. It's autobiographical and you will find a lot of the themes, especially the yearning for glory, that you found in The Sailor...
Same here, I read it ages ago in the Folio paperback edition. It was my first Mishima novel and it definitely left an impression.
@@Daniel_Hochmuth Same, it was the first Mishima I read, in the folio edition. They've changed the cover since.
My first Mishima's book was "Confessions of a Mask" in Russian translation
Thank you for your literary passion. I first saw you when i was studying Proust. I reaIly wanted to tell you about Mishima's Quartet. In 4 books he shows how we are reborn as different characters. enjoyed what you had to say about Proust.
One of the greatest films ever made. A lot of the b/w "flashback" portions are from Mishima's novel "Confessions of a Mask" which I def recommend highly!
Thanks for the rec!
"I Am the Center of the Universe:
SOMETIMES IT IS HELPFUL TO DEFINE something by first stating what it is not. When we talk about individualism in this chapter, we are not referring to a healthy and biblical belief in the inherent dignity and sacredness of each person. Nor are we talking about a vital diversity of personal interests and abilities.
Instead, individualism, as used in this chapter, is the belief that the individual is the primary reality and that our understanding of the universe and lifestyle should be centered in oneself. Individualism says that my unique interests and goals should be pursued, as much as possible, by whatever means deemed proper. Thus, individuals strive for autonomy and self-sufficiency, relying on others only as they contribute to one’s personal pursuits. Family, community and society are, at best, secondary considerations.
If this brief description of individualism sounds familiar, it should not come as a shock. Individualism has been deeply ingrained in American culture from its beginning. Whether it is the penniless immigrant who becomes a self-made millionaire, the solitary cowboy riding out of Dodge City or the starving artist who defies convention, our folklore celebrates the individual who creates his or her own unique path.
Thus, like the other lived worldviews in this book, individualism does not really find its origins in an intellectual system, but as a type of story about who we should be.
Perhaps the best analysis of American individualism today is found in the book Habits of the Heart written by Robert Bellah and his colleagues. Habits refers to two distinct types of individualism, both common in American culture.
The first form is “utilitarian individualism.” Utilitarian individualism has been a dominant force in America since its founding and has often fueled the quest for the “American Dream.” This version of individualism focuses on personal achievement and material success, and believes that the social good automatically follows from the individual pursuit of one’s own interests. Thus, the utilitarian individualism does not necessarily reject the structures and rules of society. Instead, they are viewed primarily as guidelines or tools that help the individual work efficiently within the system. In other words, there is a willingness to accept certain restrictions on personal behavior, such as laws prohibiting bribery, because a system that requires honest business dealings ultimately benefits those who work hard.
The second form Bellah identifies, “expressive individualism,” is a reaction to the limitations of utilitarian individualism. While the latter generally advises that we pursue individual success by conformity to the rules and common practices of society, expressive individualism worships the freedom to express our uniqueness against constraints and conventions. Because rules and social conventions encourage conformity, they are viewed as a threat to personal expression and individuality. The danger is that we will be absorbed into the herd. Thus, liberation and fulfillment are central themes in expressive individualism and find articulation in statements like “I need to be free to be me.” Freedom becomes the rationale for reducing any responsibilities perceived as limitations to my personal autonomy or fulfillment, whether those responsibilities are social, moral, religious or family duties.
Where utilitarian individualism sees our social systems as a means for attaining our individual goals, expressive individualism generally views these systems as obstacles to individual freedom.
What makes individualism such a temptation to Christians is that this philosophy, as noted above, is woven into our cultural fabric. Individualism’s influence on Christians is apparent in the often-heard statements like, “My faith is between God and me,” “My religion is a personal thing,” or “I believe in God. I don’t need to go to church.”
While Christianity embraces the truth that God is interested and involved in each of our lives, individualism takes this to such an extreme that it ceases to be Christian truth."
-Steve Wilkens and Mark L. Sanford
For a brief moment, thought you were going to talk about the movie adaptation of the novel starring Kris Kristofferson, which I have never seen but can't imagine is good.
lol, I haven't seen it either
You can't go too far wrong with Mishima, im looking at The Vegetarian - Han Kang soon for something a bit different and also a Mountain to the North, a Lake to the South, Paths to the West, a River to the East, Krasznahorkai when its finally released in the UK. As always thanks for the great reviews and recommendations. Jon Fosse is now a firm favourite.
I’m not saying I agree with everything Yukio Mishima stood for, but I believe that it’s better to live for your beliefs than to die for them. He was only 45 when he died. He could’ve written more books before dying of old age.
I picked up this, Yukio Mishima novel, for free from my local library! One of the books they were giving away for free! Only a couple of weeks ago! Then this comes up, I'm sure youtube is watching me, lol.
Oh, yes--we are all under machine-driven surveillance.
@@LeafbyLeaf haha
There he is 😊😊
Hello! --Or did you mean Mishima?
@@LeafbyLeaf im right now reading kafka on the shore and want to pick up the sailor who fell from the grace of the sea would this be a easy story to read if i may ask.
The Sailor Who Fell from Grace with the Sea is a great short book. It's difficult to say more in less pages. Beautifully written, it's a deep story. I've loved it, though disliked Mishima as a man. Music is also a good novel that somehow explains a bit more about this weird character. A very good writer, indeed. ❤️🆗✔️👍🏻
gm sir
Mornin’ ☕️
I am lost in your opening lines regarding “...give up that luminous freedom?” Perhaps my confusion is based in a lack of context for these lines, or a lack of intelligence on my part?
It is difficult to proceed with the video in a state of confusion.
Thanks for this constructive feedback. For the opening lines, I try to choose something that will provoke or hook the viewer/listener. In this case, I thought the lines were luminous on their own, without context. Feel free to disregard them and just watch the video, which I hope is coherent. All best to you!
It’s been years since I’ve read it but I never knew how to read it, as a cautionary or instructive story. Having only a surface level understanding of Mishima, I was under the impression that the young boy’s philosophy was similar to his but of course is reprehensible to our normal sensibilities. I’ll probably give it another read soon but try to hold back on the moralizing and maybe focus on aesthetic instead.
It's also an allegory for the Westernization of Japan where Ryuji represents imperial Japan (heroic, masculine, seeking glory..) that falls under the influence and sway of the West which is represented by Fusako (e.g. sells imported Western furniture). Noboru represents radicals such as Mishima who is the middle of this as Ryuji falls in love with Fusako and wants to settle down with her, and to prevent this and preserve his image of Japan as heroic and independent, him and his gang kill him. It's quite brilliant because on the surface you have a great story of a son that struggles to see his mother moving on and replacing the memory and position of his dead father with a new man.
@@morten8472but how should we read this? Because I want to resist the temptation to read the author’s personal ethos into the son because the juvenility would seem to undercut the legitimacy of that philosophy that is shared with the author. And maybe that’s cause for another reading, one that recognizes the potential for moralizing but instead should be resisted, and the work should stand on its own, separate from what actually happened with the attempted coup and ritual suicide. My understanding of this work cannot help but take that into account, and maybe the drive for pure aestheticism transcends our moralistic tendencies.
@@morten8472 and now that I think about it more, I really would be more interested in the criticism/analysis of Mishima for his own works. Because perhaps ideologically, he aligns himself with the boy/gang but sees that it is their method that is lacking, sophomoric, and overly idealistic. They personify the hatred of society in one man, which does very little to address or change that society. The kernel of ideology present in the act should not be thrown out in the same breath that we condemn the actions of the man (seemed like he was good for the family) or the boy (displays an ideal that is deserving). What difference could Mishima make with a slaughter of a feminized and western influence in one person? Symbolically, it needed to be more (it failed, unfortunately). It harkens back to Zizek's In Defense of Lost Causes (which I've only read the cover copy for). Still, I want to work towards less moralizing, because it does infect how I read these works. I'll keep the analysis in the pocket and read it for the prose and poetry next time.
@@geoffreybomber First you have to ditch the idea of 'our normal sensibilities'. 'Our' doesn't exist, it's an ideological construct, nothing more, speak in your own name or don't. And 'normal sensibilities', again, is just a part of it, bourgeoise consensus, conformist and complacent retreat into safe, uncritical, typical and mediocre. 'Normal', if applied on anything, should not be taken seriously.
Please slow down, I keep buying these books without getting a chance to finish them 😂
I promise to slow down in 2023...maybe. :)
It's a little hard to get past the fascism, isn't it?
Not if you're willing to acknowledge human complexity and tragedy
@@geolazakis Sure, but that doesn't mean one should engage in praise of the aesthetics without acknowledging the moral decrepitude. I haven't read this book yet and I would normally be okay with a death-of-the-author kind of analysis on its own terms, but here we actually get some background information without actually talking about the elephant in the room.
@@franklehouillier8865 Surprisingly, Mishima's takes and consternations about mid-century Japan align with many concerns of the left wing oriented intellectuals, namely, that Japan will become American proxy state, with no independent foreign policy, stuck in a bind between China, then USSR and American imperialism. Also, that Japan's all too quick adoption of modernity, as not-to-well understood import from the West, has destroyed cultural, and more idealistic, elements of the country, while, at the same time, remaining essentially feudal - not reformed enough, and with the blend of capitalism, basically becoming a state enamored in corporate fascism.
It’s beautiful, he had a pure belief and strove for it. Doesn’t mean it was right, but it’s easy to admire if you can get past silly political ideas.
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