I had a recommended video pop up from TH-cam called “yukio Mishima commits sepuku” and I really wanted to learn about him. This is a good video and it really deserves more views, well done man.
Great video. His commentary on Hagakure is well worth a read, offering a lot of insight into his world view. It also compliments Hagakure very well, making it a bit more accessible.
@@sunset-inn It’s a manual for how a samurai should conduct themselves from the early 18th century. It’s most famous quote is “The way of the samurai lies in death.” There are plenty of inexpensive modern translations around. If you want a light-hearted point of entry, the film Ghost Dog and the Way of the Samurai, whose protagonist constantly references it, actually really does justice to Hagakure very well.
I agree, but there's more too. His life became his art.... and his art became his life. And his death was the final act. The final curtain of his play, within this world. God's lonely man, ran out of masks to hide behind. One of the most fascinating men, I've ever known.
It shows that nothing is set in life. The human will can conquer all. I keep coming back to this man, and my admiration for him only grows. "They may crush cinnabar, yet they do not take away its color; one may burn a fragrant herb, yet it will not destroy the scent." They may destroy my body, yet they will not take away my will. Confucius
When I was 16 I saw Paul Schrader's stunning Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters. I was mesmerized. I then read three or four of his novels in my twenties, and can't say that I was especially moved by them. I've read Kawabata and several other Japanese authors who I much prefer. But Mishima's stupendous output and strange, vigorous life still intrigues me, far more than his futile death. His life also demonstrates that supremely gifted and intelligent people, when consumed by their personal passions and insecurities, can make extremely dubious choices.
Thank you so much for this video. Mishima is a fascinating subject for a documentary, as intriguing a man as he was an author. Mishima deserves to be remembered. I agree with you about Schrader`s biopic, it is outstanding, as it`s protagonist.
He was right, Japan today is America's bitch! I don't think the Samurai are outdated, they just have to be modified to suit today i.e. keeping tradition and standing out among the rest... keeping your uniqueness!
His death was a pretty logical turn of events considering the fascination he had with death, beauty and aesthetic of a male body..coupled with his political disillusion.
Why do you think Mishima's political ideas were right wing? He was a patriot and a nationalist - that has nothing to do with being on the right or left, that's the case ONLY in the USA and some countries in Western Europe. Precisely because he was a nationalist, Yukio Mishima hated corporate capitalism - the epitome of the economic right. He saw how capitalism ruined Japanese culture and spirituality and made comments on wishing to defend Japan and the Emperor from both the left and the right. Also, it's Tokugawa Ieyasu, not Leyasu - with an "I", not "L", and "seppuku", not "sepeku".
While I agree that nationalism does not automatically imply left- or right-wing affiliation ( nationalist movements in Québec, Ireland, Scotland, etc. have many left-leaning elements for example), I think right-wing for convenience purpose here is justified due to the explicit conservative/reactionary nature of his ideas of reinstating old institutions/values, both of which are undeniable elements of social conservatism and therefore right-wing ideology. Economically speaking, what this means is that financial power would be again under the control of hereditary nobility/ruling class rather than burgers/business owners. For the rest I completely agree with your statement that nationalism can't be captured on a simple political spectrum!!
@Meyer Aliyeh These are horrible examples. Apart from maybe Ho Chi Minh, the rest you mention were first and foremost communists and marxists, not nationalists, and they killed millions of innocent people - their own people, from their own nations, you know...
He might have touched notes in people w his writing but focus on looks, aging as bad, over focus on military, there was something off, and I can't find another word but - ridiculous - about him.
immense conq haki, he could have changed japan forever, but they didn't believe in his greatness, a common occurrence, when a spirit or powerful energy arrives its a big deal.
The question of what he meant by his death, whether it was art or political, is answered by the fact that fascism demands, and depends on, the abolishment of the separation between politics, violence and aesthetics. So, the answer is yes.
Mishima was not supported by the Japanese "far right", instead they hated him and sent him death threats. Mishima supported freedom of speech and opposed censorship and he didn't want the emperor to be a political leader, but instead a cultural symbol and a protector of culture.
"Manh right wing movements idolize Yukio Mishima for the wrong reasons" those being the very reasons Yukio Mishima was compelled to live such an extraordinary life
I think his family, following his passing, refused to acknowledge his homosexual persona. They went to great lengths to suppress any mention of it. He was a man of experience and everything about him, especially after his death, should have been equally open, nothing censored.
Ummm you said that this video was to point out the facts and no bias... but you mentioned some of his views were outdated... seems like you contradicted yourself 😂
Interesting figure. Though I think either what he was trying to do with his final act was unrealistic and foolish, or alternatively, he knew that and just wanted it to be a theatre play of his death. I mean, what are the odds that the military of Japan would go for a coup d'état after WW2 and changing politics? It's just not realistic nor wanted. Japan achieved more with peace than military power.
Yukio Mishima was a well-educated, intelligent, elegant, successful writer and visionary. Many Ichigaya SDF members who grew up with a misguided 25-year postwar education who did not understand what he was saying more than 50 years ago. Their lack of understanding has something in common with many people today, who have lost the dignity that Japanese people originally had, that they should live with dignity, due to the strategy of "making all 100 million morons" for more than 70 years since the end of World War II.
Why is nationalism considered Right wing? Isn't the love of one's own people the same as love for your family. Why is believing your own society's traditions to be to be the Best for the people whose ancestors created them considered fascist. While yukios believes are considered fascist by people who don't understand fascism , Look at what he said in total. Please show me where he had argued against another people ,other than in how it affected his society. As an American I think Japan should be structured for the Japanese. There is a lot to criticize every society that has taken a place in the world. But Japan no more than then other great nations. During Yukios time Japan was in the middle of an identity crisis. It seems to me Japan would be a lot better off and not have some of the problems that it has right now had it embraced some of yukios philosophies. This is coming from an American nationalist that loves and respects aspects of all nations and nationalities. I have read a few of his works and also watched the documentary you spoke of. I am not familiar with everything he had written written and I don't necessarily believe 3rd party's writing from a date from a distance of time and geography. If you can show me where he expressed A hate or dislike for another people just because they were not Japanese and not how their culture was affecting his I will change my mind. Until then I think all Japanese in particular and all nationalists in general should hold him in great regard.
You are very correct. Mishima actually hated corporate capitalism - precisely because he was a nationalist, not in spite of it. So, he wasn't actually right wing.
@@hre2044 Yes, he was a monarchist, fair enough, but at the same time he disapproved of the capitalist economic system. From an economical standpoint, he was not right wing.
@@Perceval777 Intellectual historian Paul Gottfried said the thing that separates left vs right is the issue of egalitarianism. Leftists clearly value equality over everything, modern liberals do to, conservatives do not. Right wingers/conservatives don't believe in religious equality, cultural equality (America is exceptional, manifest destiny, America is number one) and it is right wingers who talk about race and IQ and how the races are not equally intelligent. Do you see how egalitarianism is the number one factor in determining left vs right now? Musso and Moustache man were economically left wing, but their regimes preserved tradition, were socially conservative, believed in inequality, believed in hierarchy. They wanted a level of equality for themselves in their own nations, not for others. And even this equality wasn't on the scale of marxism because instead of liquidating classes, they both sought class collaboration (presupposing hierarchy).
No matter how hard I try I can’t understand the Japanese view of suicide. I was raised as the Westin are in America and I was taught that suicide was the least honorable way to die. We literally refer to the act as the cowards way out in America. I try to be open minded but no matter how hard I think about it I can’t see suicide in any honorable way. I still see it as a cowards way out.
They also think Jesus lived and died in Japan .... They also think everything they produce and make is the best in the world and market things that way
@XOGUM I understand that that is is a brave and honorable thing in their tradition. I realize it takes bravery and commitment to disembowel yourself. But I still don’t get it. In America we have the story of the Alamo were a handful of Texans defended a fort from thousands of Mexicans and they all died trying to defend it. They didn’t kill them selves when the Mexicans got there. Dying isn’t going to help anyone. If you can’t win it is better to retreat so you can try again and again. MacArthur left Philippines but he came back and re-captured them. Killing him self during the invasion wouldn’t help anything. If Americans had that attitude the. George Washington would’ve commit Seppuku dozens of times after all of his losses to the British but he kept retreating kept reforming kept attacking again and eventually won the war.
@XOGUM I’m not going to be drawn into the philosophical debate of the Texas American and later Mexican American wars that’s a whole separate issue my point was just to illustrate the culture of the society. MacArthur didn’t want to stay with his men but he was ordered by his commander in chief to leave and he follow his orders like a soldier is supposed to. And German soldiers weren’t always so virtuous. Erwin Rommel didn’t stay with his troops in north Africa he fled in a very similar manner to how MacArthur left the Philippines.
Well if I was Vietnamese I would say that too. Japan wanted an empire. Like France and England. It wasnt pretty but everyone else had one? Was what France did in Algeria that much better?
@@fresatx France brought civilization to Algeria. So, I guess you're saying that what Japan did to the countries it overran was something good? (Also, did you miss the fact that France was the colonial power in Vietnam as well?)
@@fresatx ....That is according to YOU. You're the one suggesting that what France did to Algeria was essentially the same as to what Japan did to its newly conquered possessions in the Second World War. (So, we're not even talking about what Japan did for Korea and Taiwan -- much of which really was beneficial to both of those countries; but what the hot-headed militarists had done to mainland China, the Philippines, Indonesia, etc.) Also, I find it kind of funny that you would raise the example of France in Algeria, forgetting that the person you were replying to is, apparently, Vietnamese -- considering that Vietnam (and Cambodia and Laos) was a French possession for about a hundred years.
@@MrJm323 Actually genius I was making a joke. If I was Vietnamese I would have NO love for the Japanese. Again idiot mass amounts of Vietnamese were resettled in New Orleans. They like Japanese about as much as we Irish like the English.
Music was super loud in the beginning but I enjoyed it quite a bit! Thanks.
I had a recommended video pop up from TH-cam called “yukio Mishima commits sepuku” and I really wanted to learn about him. This is a good video and it really deserves more views, well done man.
Same bruh, that's what brought me here
In 45 years he did more than most of us in 90.
Everything is relative
@@loke5551 Cringe reply
@@loke5551a
Qq
@@loke5551you’re a loser
Great video. His commentary on Hagakure is well worth a read, offering a lot of insight into his world view. It also compliments Hagakure very well, making it a bit more accessible.
@@sunset-inn It’s a manual for how a samurai should conduct themselves from the early 18th century. It’s most famous quote is “The way of the samurai lies in death.” There are plenty of inexpensive modern translations around. If you want a light-hearted point of entry, the film Ghost Dog and the Way of the Samurai, whose protagonist constantly references it, actually really does justice to Hagakure very well.
Definetly a interesting character. He died for his ideology. Definetly special.
atleast he believed his own words unlike marx, true
I agree, but there's more too.
His life became his art.... and his art became his life. And his death was the final act. The final curtain of his play, within this world.
God's lonely man, ran out of masks to hide behind.
One of the most fascinating men, I've ever known.
Really well made, I hope more people see this to learn such interesting life
Fantastic job! Thank you for making this!
A well made video. Thank you. One of best for summarizing the life of a patriotic writer.
I loved the video, thank you for making this!
It shows that nothing is set in life. The human will can conquer all. I keep coming back to this man, and my admiration for him only grows. "They may crush cinnabar, yet they do not take away its color; one may burn a fragrant herb, yet it will not destroy the scent." They may destroy my body, yet they will not take away my will. Confucius
Awesome video. Thank you for that disclaimer too
Thank you for this beautiful video. If I may ask, where are you from?
Thanks for the appreciation! I'm from the Netherlands.
How do you know mishima in the Netherlands? Are you an avid reader?
When I was 16 I saw Paul Schrader's stunning Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters. I was mesmerized. I then read three or four of his novels in my twenties, and can't say that I was especially moved by them. I've read Kawabata and several other Japanese authors who I much prefer. But Mishima's stupendous output and strange, vigorous life still intrigues me, far more than his futile death. His life also demonstrates that supremely gifted and intelligent people, when consumed by their personal passions and insecurities, can make extremely dubious choices.
Very nice and thorough video, thank you!
Thanks for the video.
I think he is asking the still actual question, do we just live to consume or is life also culture, beauty, sensualness, History, divine... .
It is a real shame he commited sudoku. Great video as always! Please I need more videos my friend
Commited sudoku 😅😅😅
@@MrVal024 he said sudoku on purpose
He just couldn't get those numbers to add up.
Life's a sudoku indeed. RIP to the man.
Ah thank you I needed this laugh today lmao
Thank you so much for this video. Mishima is a fascinating subject for a documentary, as intriguing a man as he was an author. Mishima deserves to be remembered. I agree with you about Schrader`s biopic, it is outstanding, as it`s protagonist.
Also the heroic death quote isn't Mishima's. He was quoting Rilke when he said that.
Real heavy on the soppy music bro...
He was right, Japan today is America's bitch!
I don't think the Samurai are outdated, they just have to be modified to suit today i.e. keeping tradition and standing out among the rest... keeping your uniqueness!
You should come back bro, your work is great.
Ufff…this is such an informative video; well done.
This was really good. Thank you.
His death was a pretty logical turn of events considering the fascination he had with death, beauty and aesthetic of a male body..coupled with his political disillusion.
Why do you think Mishima's political ideas were right wing? He was a patriot and a nationalist - that has nothing to do with being on the right or left, that's the case ONLY in the USA and some countries in Western Europe. Precisely because he was a nationalist, Yukio Mishima hated corporate capitalism - the epitome of the economic right. He saw how capitalism ruined Japanese culture and spirituality and made comments on wishing to defend Japan and the Emperor from both the left and the right.
Also, it's Tokugawa Ieyasu, not Leyasu - with an "I", not "L", and "seppuku", not "sepeku".
While I agree that nationalism does not automatically imply left- or right-wing affiliation ( nationalist movements in Québec, Ireland, Scotland, etc. have many left-leaning elements for example), I think right-wing for convenience purpose here is justified due to the explicit conservative/reactionary nature of his ideas of reinstating old institutions/values, both of which are undeniable elements of social conservatism and therefore right-wing ideology. Economically speaking, what this means is that financial power would be again under the control of hereditary nobility/ruling class rather than burgers/business owners. For the rest I completely agree with your statement that nationalism can't be captured on a simple political spectrum!!
@Meyer Aliyeh These are horrible examples. Apart from maybe Ho Chi Minh, the rest you mention were first and foremost communists and marxists, not nationalists, and they killed millions of innocent people - their own people, from their own nations, you know...
He was really obsessed with the concept of purity.
Create interpretation.
@@Dirt-McGerk Mishima was not an egalitarian as far as I know, therefore he's right wing.
Great video
Great video, thanks, but it's seppuku not seppeku.
Very good video!
He might have touched notes in people w his writing but focus on looks, aging as bad, over focus on military, there was something off, and I can't find another word but - ridiculous - about him.
Great video! What are the names of all the songs?
Amazing video !
A man born in the wrong times.
Very good. Keep it up
02:00 look at this dudes head lmao
Yoooooo
Extraordinary Life 💓
Otherwise good video thanks for putting this together
This was a great video
dude was straight up just bushido goth
immense conq haki, he could have changed japan forever, but they didn't believe in his greatness, a common occurrence, when a spirit or powerful energy arrives its a big deal.
The question of what he meant by his death, whether it was art or political, is answered by the fact that fascism demands, and depends on, the abolishment of the separation between politics, violence and aesthetics.
So, the answer is yes.
Music constantly blocks the narration.
Hey Yukio! Dance Sirtaki with me! I please you!
My samurai!!! :)
what's funny is that he dodged the army...
Not by intent.
Man against time!
Mishima was not supported by the Japanese "far right", instead they hated him and sent him death threats. Mishima supported freedom of speech and opposed censorship and he didn't want the emperor to be a political leader, but instead a cultural symbol and a protector of culture.
He was endlessly in love with himself, afraid of growing old and (this part I'm not sure) upset that he didn't win the Nobel Prize in literature.
Very good.
He makes the Mishima look weak in tekken now
"Manh right wing movements idolize Yukio Mishima for the wrong reasons" those being the very reasons Yukio Mishima was compelled to live such an extraordinary life
Strange times, people, who wanted to open Japan to the world, others, who tried to keep it closed. Or was it one and the same?
He is hardly a homosexual contrary to popular belief.
what was his connection to ken takakura?
He was not a homosexual.
it's Ieasu not Leasu
I thought I heard wrong lmao
I think his family, following his passing, refused to acknowledge his homosexual persona. They went to great lengths to suppress any mention of it. He was a man of experience and everything about him, especially after his death, should have been equally open, nothing censored.
He was not homosexual....
Stop trying to make this great man seem gay woman.
Great man
He was not homosexual
Dutch, right?
Pretty ignorant pronunciation of Seppuku and saying it is "romanticized suicide" do more research man. Bad look.
Ummm you said that this video was to point out the facts and no bias... but you mentioned some of his views were outdated... seems like you contradicted yourself 😂
nigongo ammari wakatte inai deshou ne?
Are you Dutch
fatigue for life
That's how you become a legend, must see lesson for all nationalists around the world (Russians, Ukrainians, Chinese, Muslims, Albino Whackos)
Interesting figure.
Though I think either what he was trying to do with his final act was unrealistic and foolish, or alternatively, he knew that and just wanted it to be a theatre play of his death. I mean, what are the odds that the military of Japan would go for a coup d'état after WW2 and changing politics? It's just not realistic nor wanted. Japan achieved more with peace than military power.
Yukio Mishima was a well-educated, intelligent, elegant, successful writer and visionary. Many Ichigaya SDF members who grew up with a misguided 25-year postwar education who did not understand what he was saying more than 50 years ago. Their lack of understanding has something in common with many people today, who have lost the dignity that Japanese people originally had, that they should live with dignity, due to the strategy of "making all 100 million morons" for more than 70 years since the end of World War II.
Homosexual? What???
He was married and had two kids. If he had relations with men he should have been called bisexual.
Awww
Because Granny left him nothing in her will. 😂
Why is nationalism considered Right wing? Isn't the love of one's own people the same as love for your family. Why is believing your own society's traditions to be to be the Best for the people whose ancestors created them considered fascist. While yukios believes are considered fascist by people who don't understand fascism , Look at what he said in total. Please show me where he had argued against another people ,other than in how it affected his society. As an American I think Japan should be structured for the Japanese. There is a lot to criticize every society that has taken a place in the world. But Japan no more than then other great nations. During Yukios time Japan was in the middle of an identity crisis. It seems to me Japan would be a lot better off and not have some of the problems that it has right now had it embraced some of yukios philosophies. This is coming from an American nationalist that loves and respects aspects of all nations and nationalities. I have read a few of his works and also watched the documentary you spoke of. I am not familiar with everything he had written written and I don't necessarily believe 3rd party's writing from a date from a distance of time and geography. If you can show me where he expressed A hate or dislike for another people just because they were not Japanese and not how their culture was affecting his I will change my mind. Until then I think all Japanese in particular and all nationalists in general should hold him in great regard.
You are very correct. Mishima actually hated corporate capitalism - precisely because he was a nationalist, not in spite of it. So, he wasn't actually right wing.
@@Perceval777 He believed in monarchy, which is hierarchical, which is anti-egalitarian, which is traditionalist, those are all right wing values.
@@hre2044 Yes, he was a monarchist, fair enough, but at the same time he disapproved of the capitalist economic system. From an economical standpoint, he was not right wing.
@@Perceval777 Intellectual historian Paul Gottfried said the thing that separates left vs right is the issue of egalitarianism. Leftists clearly value equality over everything, modern liberals do to, conservatives do not. Right wingers/conservatives don't believe in religious equality, cultural equality (America is exceptional, manifest destiny, America is number one) and it is right wingers who talk about race and IQ and how the races are not equally intelligent. Do you see how egalitarianism is the number one factor in determining left vs right now?
Musso and Moustache man were economically left wing, but their regimes preserved tradition, were socially conservative, believed in inequality, believed in hierarchy. They wanted a level of equality for themselves in their own nations, not for others. And even this equality wasn't on the scale of marxism because instead of liquidating classes, they both sought class collaboration (presupposing hierarchy).
japanese military? No!!
Love this man, he's so autistic
stop projecting
No matter how hard I try I can’t understand the Japanese view of suicide. I was raised as the Westin are in America and I was taught that suicide was the least honorable way to die. We literally refer to the act as the cowards way out in America. I try to be open minded but no matter how hard I think about it I can’t see suicide in any honorable way. I still see it as a cowards way out.
They also think Jesus lived and died in Japan ....
They also think everything they produce and make is the best in the world and market things that way
@XOGUM yes it is the cowards way out. Fight till you can't fight anymore
@XOGUM I understand that that is is a brave and honorable thing in their tradition. I realize it takes bravery and commitment to disembowel yourself. But I still don’t get it. In America we have the story of the Alamo were a handful of Texans defended a fort from thousands of Mexicans and they all died trying to defend it. They didn’t kill them selves when the Mexicans got there. Dying isn’t going to help anyone. If you can’t win it is better to retreat so you can try again and again. MacArthur left Philippines but he came back and re-captured them. Killing him self during the invasion wouldn’t help anything. If Americans had that attitude the. George Washington would’ve commit Seppuku dozens of times after all of his losses to the British but he kept retreating kept reforming kept attacking again and eventually won the war.
@XOGUM I’m not going to be drawn into the philosophical debate of the Texas American and later Mexican American wars that’s a whole separate issue my point was just to illustrate the culture of the society.
MacArthur didn’t want to stay with his men but he was ordered by his commander in chief to leave and he follow his orders like a soldier is supposed to. And German soldiers weren’t always so virtuous. Erwin Rommel didn’t stay with his troops in north Africa he fled in a very similar manner to how MacArthur left the Philippines.
@ken m you take offense? I don't care. Just facts.
bc he was a dope
------------i am always wondering, everybody is generating into gay nowadays--------------------
To me he's a talented, sick man. Take a look at Japanese military did to people and countries in Second World War!
Well if I was Vietnamese I would say that too. Japan wanted an empire. Like France and England. It wasnt pretty but everyone else had one? Was what France did in Algeria that much better?
@@fresatx France brought civilization to Algeria. So, I guess you're saying that what Japan did to the countries it overran was something good?
(Also, did you miss the fact that France was the colonial power in Vietnam as well?)
@@MrJm323 Well I mean they called it the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere... Im sure they meant it. Right?
@@fresatx ....That is according to YOU. You're the one suggesting that what France did to Algeria was essentially the same as to what Japan did to its newly conquered possessions in the Second World War.
(So, we're not even talking about what Japan did for Korea and Taiwan -- much of which really was beneficial to both of those countries; but what the hot-headed militarists had done to mainland China, the Philippines, Indonesia, etc.)
Also, I find it kind of funny that you would raise the example of France in Algeria, forgetting that the person you were replying to is, apparently, Vietnamese -- considering that Vietnam (and Cambodia and Laos) was a French possession for about a hundred years.
@@MrJm323 Actually genius I was making a joke. If I was Vietnamese I would have NO love for the Japanese. Again idiot mass amounts of Vietnamese were resettled in New Orleans. They like Japanese about as much as we Irish like the English.
Tldr, he was based.
and to his critics: cope + seethe + dilate
least call him bi he had children you know
You stated him as homosexual but there is no real proof about his sexual orientation in sense of that.
I'm speaking from experience, but none of my heterosexual friends visits gay bar.
@@jojohairee9987 Wasn't he visiting them specifically to write Forbidden Colors?
I probably would never have read him had I known how "right wing" he was. I read him in a time before the internet and he could certainly write well.
@BlackpillFacts2019 shes a woman her public image would be tainted if someone figured out she read his book
He was just a crazy man!
The "Military uniform" was like the lobby employees of a five star hotel!
Tatenokai uniforms were designed by de Gaulle's tailor.