4/5 Stars (%80/100)
There are 10 stories in the collection and I can safely say that I liked all of them. However, my favourite is definitely "Patriotism" which I'll be talking about soon. Other than that, I also liked "Death in Midsummer" and "The Priest of Shiga Temple and His Love." The other stories also have things that I liked but these stood out more than the others.
First of all, the stories make much more sense if you are familiar with Mishima's life as well as the Japanese history and culture. I've read Mishima before, watched a film about his life and read some stuff about him too. So, I can say that I know lots of things about this interesting man. Before moving on to "Patriotism", I'll mention other two stories first. "Death in Midsummer" is a story about grief, loss, and also hope. The story revolves around the death of a woman and two children. The parents of the children try to move on with their lives after this tragic event. The plot is very simple but the way Mishima tells it is what made me love it. Similar to it, "The Priest of Shiga Temple and His Love" is a story about love, passion, and also religion and belief. The language was beatiful and the ending was one of the best I've ever read.
"Patriotism" is about the Ni Ni Roku Incident (February 26 Incident) and the ritualistic suicide of Lieutenant Shinji Takeyama and his wife Reiko. From the beginning we know that these two young people committed suicide together. We have a photo of them and the exact date they died together with a message saying "Long Live the Imperial Forces." After that, Mishima tells their story before the suicide. We learn about the routine lives of these two as well as the events leading to the suicide. The dialogues are extremely well-written and you are drawn into their house with each page. Their passionate sex, Reiko's understanding of her husband's act, and the suicide itself were one of the most beautiful things I've ever read. It was so powerful but very sad as well. Vivid details of death makes you want to throw up but like Reiko you witness Takeyama's seppuku. I can go on and on about this story a lot. It is definitely one of the best stories I've ever read and the whole book itself is also worth reading. Simply brilliant!
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