num_pages: 253
description: As the dramatic climax of The Sea of Fertility, 'The Decay of the Angel' brings together the dominant themes of the three previous novels- the meaning and decay of Japan's courtly tradition and samurai ideal; the essence and value of Buddhist philosophy and aesthetics; and, underlying all, Mishima's apocalyptic vision of the modern era, which saw the dissolution of the moral and cultural forces that throughout the ages nourished a people and a world. The time is the late 1960s. Honda, now an aged and wealthy man, discovers and adopts a sixteen-year-old orphan, Toru, as his heir, identifying him with the tragic protagonists of the three previous novels, each of whom died at the age of twenty. Honda raises and educates the boy, yet watches him, waiting.
language: English
title: The Decay of the Angel
titlecomplete: The Decay of the Angel
characters: Shigekuni Honda
genres: Asia, Historical Fiction, Japanese Literature, Literary Fiction, Novels, Asian Literature, Literature, Japan, Classics, Fiction
ratings_count: 4348
places: Japan
series: The Sea of Fertility
publisher: Pocket Books, 1975