Simplified Series - The Sea of Fertility

SYMBOLISM!

My feverish pursuit of MOAR content brought forth a new feature: Simplified Series. Here's the pitch: quick (mostly spoiler-free) synopses of the entries in a series followed by the reasons you should or shouldn't read it. This week:

The Sea of Fertility tetralogy by Yukio Mishima

Background info: In America, Mishima is probably as well known for the circumstances of his death as for his accomplishments as a novelist (he was also a poet, bodybuilder, dramatist, actor, three-time Nobel nominee, and of course, the founder of a right-wing nationalist militia).  The Sea of Fertility was his last major work, with the final volume being completed just before his attempted coup. It follows the life of Shigekuni Honda from 1912-1975 as he continually tries (and fails) to save the life of his childhood friend, Kiyoaki Matsugae, who Honda believes is doomed to die young and be reincarnated unless Honda can find a way to break the cycle.

Spring Snow (1969) (trans. Michael Gallagher) - It's 1912, the Meiji era has just ended, and Shigekuni Honda is visiting the home of his wealthy friend Kiyoaki Matsugae. Kiyoaki knows Satoko Ayakura, a family friend from a minor noble house, has a crush on him, but he acts like a total dillweed around her. Meanwhile, a pair of Siamese princes are boarding with the Matsugae family while they attend Shigekuni and Kiyoaki's school. What follows is a densely-plotted tale of furtive young love, foolhardy secret-keeping, prophetic dreams, and long philosophical discussions. Can Shigekuni cover for Kiyoaki and Satoko even after she gets engaged? Will Siamese prince Chao P recover his lost ring that was given to him by his sweetheart? Is there any significance to the three moles on Kiyoaki's side?

Wild Horses (1969) (trans. Michael Gallagher) - It's 1932, still somewhat early in the Showa period, and Japan is rocked by political upheavals. After the (spoiler?) death of Kiyoaki at the end of Spring Snow, Shigekuni Honda turns out to be the tetralogy's surprise protagonist and is now an appeals judge in Osaka. He meets a headstrong, idealistic young man named Isao Iinuma, the son of Kiyoaki's old tutor. Isao's almost twenty years old (the same age when Kiyoaki died) and, like Kiyoaki, has three moles on his side. Isao finds himself swept up in right-wing nationalist rhetoric and plots the assassination of various government officials. Upon Isao's arrest, Honda resigns as a judge to be his lawyer. Can Honda save Isao from an early death? Is Isao truly the reincarnated Kiyoaki? I mean he's got the moles, so maybe?

The Temple of Dawn (1970) (trans. E. Dale Sanders and Cecilia Segawa Seigle) - It's 1941, and Honda is visiting Thailand, where he meets up with the princes from Spring Snow. So (spoilers?) Isao commits seppuku at the end the end of Wild Horses, which you'll want to remember when a 7-year-old princess, Ying Chan, claims to be the reincarnation of a Japanese boy. Following Pearl Harbor and the US entry into WWII, Honda returns to Japan where he studies Buddhism and feels oddly numb to the horrors of war that unfold around him. In 1952, Honda chances upon that lost ring from Spring Snow in a pawn shop. Also by chance, the now almost 20-year-old Ying Chan is studying in Japan, giving Honda an opportunity to return the ring and creep on Ying Chan to see if she got dem moles! Will this finally be the time when Honda saves his friend from an early death? Also wait, so Honda's a voyeur now?

The Decay of the Angel (1971) (trans. Edward G. Seidensticker) - SO! It's 1970, and Toru is a teenaged orphan working as a signalman in Shimizu. Meanwhile, the now widowed Honda has a dream that causes him to visit a shrine nearby. On the drive home, he chances upon the signal station and happens to see that Toru has three moles on his side. So Honda does a couple things 1) he hires investigators to look into Toru's history, and 2) decides to adopt Toru. Now, there is some pretty concrete evidence that Toru couldn't be a reincarnated Ying Chan, particularly because he was born before she (spoilers?) died. Anyway, turns out that Honda wasn't just creepin' on Ying Chan and his neighbor, Keiko, he's also been creepin' on people in the park! Also, Toru is an awful, spiteful person! Is Toru the final reincarnation of Kiyoaki? Can Honda redeem his friend's karmic fate? Will there be a satisfying resolution to any of this?

Why should you read the Sea of Fertility? The Sea of Fertility is the major work by one of Japan's most notable 20th century authors. It's tightly plotted ( I mean, I had to leave a lot of stuff out to make this manageable), with characters that come in and out of a narrative spanning sixty years. It touches on important events and movements in Japan during the Taisho and Showa eras. And it's a compelling read. Mishima crafts carefully researched stories that balance personal drama and trenchant philosophical discussions. They're good books.

Why shouldn't you read the Sea of Fertility? Do you hate ambiguity? Particularly ambiguous endings. Particularly ambiguous endings to a series of books you've been reading for roughly 1500 pages? These books can be pretty ambiguous, by design, of course. That can drive some people up the walls. I have a pretty high tolerance for narrative ambiguity, and even I struggled to make peace with the ending of The Decay of the Angel. That said, it's been a few years since I read these books and they've stuck with me. Still, if you hate ambiguity and don't want to be confused and infuriated by the ending of a book series, look elsewhere.

Is there a better entry point if you're curious about Mishima's fiction? Yes, The Sound of Waves (1954) is a fairly short novel (you could read it in one sitting, if you wanted) about the love story between a fisherman and rich girl. It's a good book. I'd write more, but I just wrote a lot of stuff about Yukio Mishima, I think I'm done doing that for a while.

Links:

An interesting article from The Japan Times on Mishima's obsession with Saint Sebastian.