Summary
The Sea of Fertility: A Cycle of Four Novels by Mishima is a profound exploration of life and its contradictions, encapsulated in a tetralogy whose title references lunar geography. It juxtaposes the fecundity of earthly existence with the stark void of the cosmic realm, embodying themes of being and oblivion. Mishima, who claimed to pour all his life’s knowledge into these works, completed the series with the final book on the very day of his death.
Spring Snow: Love and Tragic Destiny
The first book, Spring Snow, echoes the timeless tragedy of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, painting a poignant tale of forbidden love between Kiyo Matsugae and Satoko Ayakura. The narrative unfolds against the backdrop of spring's blossoming romance and the chilling finality of winter's snow. Despite her noble lineage, Satoko is promised to a prince by imperial edict, yet finds herself entangled in a passionate affair with Kiyo, a peer’s school student from an equally prestigious family. As they defy societal norms and the emperor's decree, their clandestine meetings and fervent love spiral into a vortex of despair. Ultimately, Kiyo's emotional frailty leads him to withdraw, leaving Satoko to face the consequences alone. Pregnant and disgraced, she retreats into the isolation of a nunnery, while Kiyo, consumed by guilt, visits her daily until he succumbs to his love-stricken fate.
Runaway Horses: Ideals and Reincarnated Lives
The second novel, Runaway Horses, elevates two minor characters from Spring Snow to pivotal roles. Before his death, Kiyo shares a prophetic dream with his friend Shigekuni Honda, foreseeing another encounter under a waterfall. Eighteen years later, Honda, now a judge, crosses paths with Isao Iinuma, son of Kiyo’s former tutor and a youth who bears the identical moles Kiyo had. Convinced this is Kiyo reborn, Honda watches as Isao, unlike the dreamer Kiyo, emerges as a fervent political radical. Inspired by an historical group called The League of the Divine Wind, Isao forms a student rebel faction intending to purge Japan of Western influences and restore its imperial grandeur. Their plot to assassinate leading financiers fails, resulting in arrest and public trial. Honda, seeing Kiyo's spirit in Isao, sheds his judicial robes to defend the young rebels, who are subsequently celebrated as national patriots. Yet, for Isao, martyrdom eclipses his revolutionary aims, culminating in the assassination of financier Kurahara and his own ritual suicide by seppuku.
The Temple of Dawn: Transformation and Corruption
Reincarnation weaves through the tetralogy's subsequent installments, though Mishima himself disavowed belief in it. In The Temple of Dawn, the narrative shifts to Thailand and India, as Kiyo appears reborn as Ying Chan, a Thai princess. The novel paints a vivid tapestry of decay: Thailand's relentless rain, India's destitute landscapes, and post-war Japan's moral and physical desolation. Honda, now affluent yet spiritually bankrupt, experiences life through voyeuristic glimpses, trapped in a loveless marriage. His obsession with Ying Chan ends tragically when she returns to Thailand, bitten fatally by a snake.
The Decay of the Angel: The Final Descent
The Decay of the Angel continues these themes, charting a descent into further decay and moral void. Honda, now in the twilight of his life, encounters Toru, a young man bearing the telltale moles of Kiyo's incarnations. Hopeful for redemption in this new life, Honda adopts Toru, only to discover a malevolent force within him. This incarnation brings no solace; instead, Toru embodies destructive chaos, leaving Honda isolated and facing his own existential despair. The novel’s title reflects the erosion of purity and the inevitable decline into ruin, symbolized by a littered shore that mocks past ideals.
A Cycle of Life and Death
Through these four novels, Mishima charts a trajectory from the hopeful spring of youth to the desolate winter of old age, reflecting Japan's transformation from a society of noble ideals to one steeped in disillusionment by the 1970s. Judge Honda, who serenely awaits death amidst this cultural decay, mirrors Mishima’s own acceptance of life's emptiness. The journey concludes in an empty garden—devoid of memories, yet profoundly resonant with the echoes of lives once lived.
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