論論 文 題 目氏文の英文要旨“Return to Japan” as a Theme in the Works of Yukio Mishima : With a
Particular Focus on “Japan” and “Emperor”

名 Ko HoGin

The purpose of this thesis is to consider the process by which the theme of “returning to Japan” in theworks of Yukio Mishima has crystallized into Mishima’s peculiar vision of the Japanese emperor and toclarify the theme’s characteristics. The main characteristic of Mishima’s “return to Japan” is that therepresentation of contemporary Japan is intertwined with a postwar criticism of Japan. Moreover, thealternative of postwar Japan is still envisioned in Japan. The “emperor” is a typical representation of this.
The 1960 Anpo Protests are often considered to be the origin of Mishima’s idea of the “return to Japan”, but
in fact the research on his thoughts on the topic in his late 20s and to the 30s is insufficient. This thesis
reconsiders the starting point of Mishima's “return to Japan” to be in the 1950s and clarifies his motives. In
order to do so, this thesis approaches the research question in three parts, divided into ten chapters, outlined
as follows:Part 1 focuses on the changes in Mishima’s literary subjects after his world trip (1951・12・25～52・5・8) with regard to the representation of Japan. Chapter 1 analyzes the method of classicism in Shiosai (TheSound of Waves,1954) and treats Mishima's perception of Japan following his travels abroad. The story ofShinji and Hatsue overcoming various trials reflects the author’s expectations for Japan. On the other hand,
the murderous scenery of Okinawa in Shiosai’s latter half reflects Japan under post-war American rule. In
this way, Shiosai foreshadows the author's change of perspective after his world trip through the two“Japans” depicted – Japan as the author envisions it should be after independence and the actual,contempory Japan.
Chapter 2 reconsiders the representations of Occupation and America, focusing on Death inMidsummer(1952), Eguchi Hatsujo’ Memorandum(1953), and Locked Room(1954), which deal withJapan-US relations after the Occupation, and clarifies the motives for Mishima's “return to Japan”.
Chapter 3 focuses on Kinkakuji (The Temple of the Golden Pavilion、1956), based on the Kinkakuji arson
incident, which is representative of Japan’s après-guerre crime. This chapter discusses the motive for thearson in Kinkakuji, which changes from ‘beauty’ to ‘enlightening arson’ and analyzes the multi-layered
themes represented in the novel. The two types of “Kinkaku”, the “imaginary Kinkaku” and the “actualKinkaku”, anticipate the image of the emperor in Mishima’s literature. In particular, the emperor as ‘ideal’ isdepicted in the “Kukkyo-cho” section as a taboo.

1

Chapter 4 clarifies the hierarchical relationship between America and Japan behind the theme of‘challenge to the era’ in Kyouko’s House (Kyoko no Ie、1959) and analyzes the “person” as representation ofan “era”. Nihilism as a contemporary emotion, is withdrawn because the “person” reflects Japan’s vision forthe near future. Instead, nihilism as zeitgeist, one that the author feels in post-war Japan having become a“profane society”, is foregrounded. Narcissus, which is the opportunity for Natsuo’s regeneration and hopein opposition to Seiichiro’s maintaining the status quo, foreshadows the role of Mishima’s inner emperor.
Parts 2 and 3 consider the process of Mishima’s “return to Japan” after 1960 as taking three different
directions: a return to tradition, a return to history, and a return to the “emperor as a cultural concept”. Part 2considers the two-sided image of the emperor, focusing on the emperor as a concept and the “problem of thefather”. Chapter 5 discusses the significance of Patriotism (Yūkoku,1961) through the framework of the“February 26 Incident Trilogy”. Lieutenant Takeyama’s junshi (a voluntary suicide following the death ofone’s lord in feudal Japan) is an act of giving oneself to the taigi (greater good), which in turn foregrounds
the depiction of the emperor as God. The essence of Bataille’s eroticism lies in the “continuity” taken bydeath, and in Mishima it is through the “problem of the father” that the function of maintaining the“scattered image of the world” as an “unification principle” is undertaken by the role of the emperor. Sucheroticism is linked to Mishima’s motives for his taking his own life in the form of junshi.
Chapter 6 is based on Kōichi Isoda’s view on the “relativity of thought” as a connecting motif betweenHayashi Fusao Ron (1963) and A Beautiful Star (Utsukushi Hoshi,1962). This chapter considers the notionof romantic desire in Mishima’s theme of the “return to Japan”, with a particular focus on the symbolism ofthe UFO. The self-proclaimed aliens disagree over the nuclear crisis, but their feelings that serve the thought
are redeemed. Mishima sets the UFO and the narcissus of chapter 4 as triggers for peoples’ change incognition as well as allegories for “the emperor”.
Chapter 7 treats the emperor and Mishima’s kikyō (homecoming; in this particular context meaning thereturn to one’s origins) in Kinu to Meisatsu (Silk and Insight,1964). Komazawa is an allegory of theemperor and in his good intentions on one side, and hypocrisy on the other, is reflects the emperor’s
two-sided image. This chapter touches on the differences between Yōjūro Yasuda and Hölderlin in relation
to the theme of hometown. Mishima’s acceptance of Hölderlin through Heidegger’s commentary led toMishima’s idea of his junshi as a return to the spirit of Zenmei Hasuda, who is a person of both literary andmilitary arts.
Part 3 considers the representation of the emperor in Mishima’s late works. Chapter 8 discusses the roleof the emperor in Sado Kōshaku Fujin (Madame de Sade,1965), based on Tatsuhiko Shibusawa’s concept ofde Sade being the image of “innocence”. This chapter also considers the allegory of ‘Renés’s choice’, inwhich she rejects both the writer de Sade and the story he has written. De Sade’s cruel sexual activity
overlaps with the cruel violence of Yamato Takeru, who is in turn the embodiment of Mishima’s inner imageof the emperor. Renée’s denial of de Sade, who has grown old and unattractive, can be interpreted as theauthor’s value judgment of Emperor Shõwa. In addition, Renée’s choice to devote herself to God suggests
the author’s intention to bring to life his own inner emperor.
Chapter 9 considers the author's awareness of his own misgivings towards Emperor Shōwa, focusing on2

the absence of requiescats (prayers for the fallen soldiers) and the emperor’s human nature in Voice of Eirei(Eirei no Koe,1966) and Suzakuke no Metsubō (The Decline and Fall of the Suzaku,1967). Mishimapresented the “emperor as a cultural concept” in oppossition to the actual emperor who declared humanityand became a “fictitious idea”. Mishima’s suicide, or junshi, is an attempt of summoning the emperor ‘asGod’ in order to restore the honor of those who lost their lives in the Pacific War.
Chapter 10 discusses Mishima’s theory of the emperor by pointing out the characteristics of the emperor
as an ideal touching on the notion of the ‘God of Japan’ as described by Shūichi Katō and Tetsurō Watsuji.
This chapter focuses on the fact that the emperor’s positioning at the center of the “return to Japan” is basedon Mishima’s orientation toward relativism and absolutism. For Mishima, the emperor is a centripetal force
that renews the post-war spiritual void in Japan and embodies the “principle of innovation”. This is anecessary requirement in order for the emperor to be the basis of the ‘continuity’ of Japanese culture.

3