Study on the Ethical Concepts of the Japanese Writer Yukio Mishima, Ultra-Nationalist

Coll. Antropol. 24 (2000) 2: 597–605 UDC 572.026:7.17(520) Original scientific paper

Study on the Ethical Concepts of the Japanese Writer Yukio Mishima, Ultra-nationalist

K. Yamamoto

Kyushu Institute of Design, Fukuoka, Japan

ABSTRACT

After WWII, ultra-nationalism, which was the leading ideology of wartime Japan, seemed to have lost its power to inspire the Japanese. In the 1960s, when the Japanese began to enjoy economic prosperity, Yukio Mishima, deploring that the Japanese were losing the traditional spirit and morality of the nation, was one of those citizens who felt a strong nostalgia for wartime Japan. In an attempt to revive the spiritual exaltation of wartime Japan, Mishima took radical action as an ultra-nationalist, and killed himself by Hara-kiri. Mishima’s ethical concepts, which center on the ethos of warriors who dedicate themselves to the defense of their commune, have structural similarities to the ethical structure of the Kanun, which may be called the ethics of »blood«. Mishima’s theory of ultra-nationalism has a paradoxical logic, which seems to be related to the ethical concepts of a society without state power.

Introduction writer of Romanticism and the Japanese forgot about the ritual of Hara-kiri after The Japanese writer, Yukio Mishima WWII. Why Mishima committed suicide committed suicide in 1970 at the head- with such an astonishing action has been quarters of the Japan Self-Defense Force, an enigma to the Japanese for over 30 insisting that the Japanese should abro- years, though many previously unknown gate the constitution promulgated after facts about his life have since been re- WWII under the guidance of the Allied vealed, and many people have analyzed Supreme Headquarters and have a new the psychological background of his sui- constitution made by the Japanese them- cide. The key words of Mishima, who had selves. His suicide with one of his young been actively involved in the political comrades by Hara-kiri was a shock to the movement for several years before his Japanese because he was a well-known death, comprise such wide categories as

Received for publication September 21, 1999.

597 K. Yamamoto: Study on the Ethical Concepts, Coll. Antropol. 24 (2000) 2: 597–605 the Emperor, bushido (the code of war- the national polity of Japan. The national riors), bodybuilding, Self-Defense Force polity of Japan is epitomized by the impe- and the Shield Society (a phalanx of war- rial system, and freedom of speech, riors to defend the Emperor) that it is dif- through which a true figure of the Em- ficult for the Japanese to understand peror should spontaneously emerge, is in- what he really meant with these words. cluded in it. The Japanese involved in the When I read »The Defense of Culture«, counter-revolutionary action have the which explains why Mishima and his same ethos as that of the Kamikaze pi- comrades should die in paramilitary ac- lots, who died in suicide bomb attacks tion defending the Emperor, I noted the during WWII with the belief that other structural similarities between the ethics Japanese would follow their heroic ac- of the Kanun and his theory of ultra-nation. The presence and the prospect of tionalism. An analysis of Mishima’s ul- these kind of people, who do not mind tra-nationalism, in comparison with the whether their action is effective or not, ethical structure of the Kanun, led to dis- cannot be a beacon to a happy future and cernment of his ethical concepts, which stand in opposition to all ideas which im- seem to have their origins in the value ply a brilliant future for human beings. system of a society without state power. The battle to defend the Emperor does In the present paper, I shall clarify the not defend the future of the people, but ethical concepts of Yukio Mishima as an defends the fundamentals, which enable ultra-nationalist. Such clarification may Japanese society to exist, although people probe useful for analysis of the emotional are unaware of these. Violence is not basis of ethnic nationalism in other areas wrong in itself. Mishima says that the of the world. purpose for which violence is wielded de- termines whether it is right or wrong. In »The Defense of Culture«1, Mishima Mishima’s theory of elucidates his theory of the cultural com- ulra-nationalism mune of the Japanese, and advocates Mishima discusses his theory of ul- that »the form« of the cultural commune tra-nationalism in several essays. In be defended at all costs. »Counter-revolutionary Manifesto«1 for which, he says, he takes responsibility The Defense of Culture though he does not take responsibility for Mishima says that the essence of cul- his literature, he clearly indicates that ture is »the form«, which may be meta- the purpose of his radical action is to de- phorically described as a crystal through fend the Emperor. which we can see the spirit of a nation. »The form«, which inspires the activity of Counter-revolutionary Manifesto a creative person, represents the continu- In the manifesto, Mishima declares ity of the cultural life of the nation, which that what he defends is the culture, his- includes not only works of art, but deeds tory, and tradition of Japan, which is rep- of the people and »the form« of the deeds. resented by »the form« called the Em- The continuity of a nation’s cultural life, peror. He, who embodies clarity, gaiety, in other words, the continuity of »the sincerity, and the high morality of Japan, form« is antithetical to the dialectical who represents the beauty of the Japa- concepts of progress and development. nese tradition, stands up from the van- Japan is one of the cultural communes tage point of the strong to fight commu- with »the form« of its own. According to nists once and for all, who seek to shatter Mishima, »the form« of Japanese culture

598 K. Yamamoto: Study on the Ethical Concepts, Coll. Antropol. 24 (2000) 2: 597–605 is the Emperor, whose rituals guarantee If the existence of the Emperor is its own temporal continuity. The Empe- threatened by an enemy within or with- ror, who stands for the wholeness of the out, the Japanese must take up arms to cultural commune, is qualified to succeed defend the Emperor. The fight to defend to the throne because he has a tie of the Emperor might be a fierce, bloody one »blood« with his ancestors. Upon ascend- in which the people do not hesitate to liq- ing the throne, the Emperor obtains di- uidate the enemy. When a Japanese dies vinity in the Great Food Offering Ritual in battle, death extinguishes his ego and in which he plays the role of a host to re- enables him to attain oneness with the ceive the ancestor-god as a guest. He re- Emperor-god, through which he is eter- confirms and strengthens his divinity in nalized. It may be said that he is reborn, the ritual of the Festival for the New because he who dedicates himself to the Tasting every year. Every succeeding Em- Emperor and dies for him coalesces into peror is deemed to be the original or a the eternal life of the commune. The acts copy of the original Emperor. The succes- to defend the Emperor, which succeeding sive repetition of »blood« in the imperial generations carry out, guarantee the con- family is deemed to be an endless replay tinuity of the commune, and the death of of the original, primordial cultural events. generations while defending the Emperor guarantees the recurrent momentum of Mishima assumes that the cultural the commune. The Japanese act to defend commune of the Japanese has developed the Emperor with an instinctive feeling on the basis of a consanguine relationship for the continuity of life, which may be with the people; that is, it is a sort of huge analogous to the biological laws of life. extended family, whose supreme chief is the Emperor. The existence of the cul- After WWII, the tie between the state tural commune of the Japanese has an and the kinship system was cut. The so- ethical value, because it is a commune of cial as well as constitutional changes im- consanguinity, which has its origin in the posed on Japan by the Allied Supreme ancient, divine obscurity of the universe. Headquarters led to the degeneration of In the cultural commune of the Japanese, Japanese culture and society. It brought the Emperor is the only source from the Japanese a boring peace and an in- which the values and morals of the Japa- sipid culture like culture seen in a mu- nese flow, and through whom we can ac- seum. When Japanese see that their cul- cess every detail of the Japanese culture. ture is in a shameful, terrible state, they The esthetic value of the Japanese has are compelled to stand up to restore its been engendered in the mimesis of the dignity and strive to regenerate it. To imperial culture, which is pedestrian as achieve this end, the Japanese must dedi- well as noble. The Emperor, who repre- cate themselves to battle and die in it, sents classicism and stands in opposition which ensures the restoration of the Em- to creativeness, is the source of power peror’s honor and dignity. Thus, the ho- which inspires both esthetic and ethical nor of the cultural commune of the Japa- emotions among the Japanese. The Em- nese will be restored. peror, who symbolizes order and ethics, In »The Logic of Moral Revolution«1, sometimes becomes the fountain from Mishima admires the young officers of which rebellions and revolutions origi- the February 26th Incident, the largest nate. Because the aegis of the Emperor military uprising in modern Japan, covers both order and disorder, the Em- which occurred in 1936. The passion and peror is considered to represent the sincerity of these men, who regarded the wholeness of the cultural commune. Emperor as a god and dedicated them-

599 K. Yamamoto: Study on the Ethical Concepts, Coll. Antropol. 24 (2000) 2: 597–605 selves to him, galvanized Mishima to cause they have committed the sin of dis- take radical action. loyalty to the Emperor-god. Then the souls of the dead who remain loyal to the The Logic of Moral Revolution Emperor, uniting with the Emperor-god, The young officers of the Imperial Jap- achieve eternity and bliss. anese Army, resenting the corruption of In »Sun and Steel«2, Mishima ana- politicians, officials, and entrepreneurs, lyzes his psychological and philosophical who showed little sympathy or ability to background, which constantly seduces deal with the plight of the poor peasants him to choose an early death by suicide. hit by catastrophic weather in northern He says that he experienced the bliss of Japan, attacked the high officials of the oneness with the commune at the end of government with 1400 foot soldiers and WWII when most of the Japanese were took control of the central area of Tokyo willingly prepared to die in battle. He in an attempt to make the Emperor take longed to repeat this after WWII. the helm of Japan. Mishima regards the uprising as a revolutionary action of high Sun and Steel morality, intended to make the young of- Mishima confesses that during boy- ficers get involved in the ultimate purity hood, he lived in a world of literature un- of the imperial system. However, these of- der the presupposition that he did not ficers were defeated because the Em- have a body, did not belong to reality of peror, angry with those who had killed the society, and did not have any inten- his close advisors, refused to accept their tion to do any meaningful acts. During demands and gave a military order to the war, he, who was absorbed in listen- crush the uprising immediately. The ing to his own inner voice, hated the sun, young officers, finding that the Empe- which he regarded as the symbol of honor ror-god was outraged, asked the Emperor and glory. However, one day, prodigiously to send an emissary to oversee them kill showered by summer sunlight shortly af- themselves honorably. The Emperor re- ter WWII, he felt that in reality he must fused to grant them an honorable death. have belonged to the category of people The young officers were arrested and shot who admire the sun, and he then decided to death after a secret military tribunal. to increase the amount of his muscle by According to Mishima, the young offi- bodybuilding, which would perhaps qual- cers were destined for defeat because ify him as a sun worshiper. they had to wait for the Emperor-god to When Mishima had developed the accept their demands. They could not at- musculature of his body, he found that his tack the Emperor and the imperial sys- physical strength grounded his sense of tem because they were inspired to take existence and transformed it into a sense action by »the form« called the Emperor. of power. He realized that the sense that They could do nothing but wait patiently power needed an opponent, one who en- for the Emperor to recognize their selfless ables it to be power, was the fundamental devotion to him. This is why a revolution relationship between the world and us. In inspired by »the form« is doomed to fail- this regard, we need the world. When he ure. However, Mishima says that the was practicing Kendo (Japanese fencing), young officers experienced a momentary he felt that the thing lurking beyond his bliss when they believed, though vainly, bamboo sword was the existence or the that their dreams had been fulfilled. essence of existence, which has features When an uprising fails, the instigators opposite to literature. What appeared must kill themselves immediately be- abruptly before his eyes was existence it-

600 K. Yamamoto: Study on the Ethical Concepts, Coll. Antropol. 24 (2000) 2: 597–605 self; that is, an opponent, who refuses to achieve a heroic death, he needed a pha- be depicted in words. Mishima and the lanx of warriors who would take an oath opponent exist in the same world wherein to die together in battle. When he dies they see each other without using the with the phalanx of warriors, he is able to imagination. The opponent can never be glimpse the sacred world of the gods with an idea, but a reality which seeks to his last breath. strike a blow. He regards the opponent as death itself. Mishima says that he saw the sun of death beyond the pain which Ethical concepts of Mishima as an his body felt when his opponent hit him. ultra-nationalist Mishima’s power, which is fighting, run- ning and crying within him, asks him to Mishima’s logic of ultra-nationalism perform an action which is so pure that it described above leads us to his ethical is beyond imagination. The sun of death concepts, as follows. ensnares him, and he is incessantly led to Japan is a cultural commune, founded his death. on the basis of the kinship system. It is Mishima’s relentless thirst to kill him- considered to be a huge kin group into self led him to bushido and death by which relatively small kin groups, such Hara-kiri carried out in accordance with as extended families, coalesced. Japan, the procedure of bushido, which made it which is an ethical entity, is represented possible for him to die as a heroic warrior. by »the form« called the Emperor, who ob- What makes it different between a ro- tains divinity by the Great Food Offering mantic death and a decadent death is the Ritual upon ascending the throne and presence or absence of a sense of honor renovates it in the ritual of the Festival which makes death able to be seen, the for the New Tasting every year. The ritu- presence of a tragic situation and the als, which the Emperors have repeatedly beauty of the body of a dying man. Mi- performed since ancient times, guarantee shima wanted a romantic death, which the temporal continuity of the commune. could only occur in a tragic moment when The cultural commune of the Japanese, everyday imaginings concerning death which looks as though it is covered by a and danger and world destruction were dome called »the Emperor«, is a space of transformed into duty. The place where freedom, in which even some kinds of an- Mishima feels happiness is the tragic archy may be accepted. world, wherein he can achieve oneness As long as the cultural commune of with the commune without using words the Japanese exists with an ethical value, of literature. He deplores having lost a it has an obligation to continue to exist in chance to die along with the Kamikaze pi- the world. If its existence is threatened, lots, who attained blissful death in the the warriors of the commune must come tragic situation of war, when the abrupt to its defense. Therefore, it has the ethos cessation of the war in 1945 saved him. of a warrior’s commune, which admires After WWII Mishima trained his body acts of valor and self-sacrifice. A warrior, so that he could carry out a beautiful, he- who dies in battle defending the com- roic death. When he had obtained physi- mune, can transcend himself and be cal power, the will to fight and the skill to united with the Emperor, who is a su- battle, he decided to end his life with a preme-priest of the commune as well as a radical action, accompanied by words of divine entity representing the continuity no individuality, which might exert a re- of communal life. Violence in defense of ally monumental power. In order to the commune is regarded as an ethical

601 K. Yamamoto: Study on the Ethical Concepts, Coll. Antropol. 24 (2000) 2: 597–605 force, because the commune is an ethical committing sacrilegious acts, such as entity. breaking an oath, injuring a guest, etc., Defending the commune with one’s the damaged divinity must be neutral- own flesh and blood is an act of honor and ized by offering the blood of the offender pride for warriors. Insofar as fighting the or a member of his kin group to soothe the enemy in defense of the commune is anger of the furious gods3. deemed an ethical act, killing the enemy The people in northern Albania live in is also an ethical act, though such action a society, which consists of patrilineally can lead to anarchy. The act of defending organized kin groups called shpi (family), the commune, which must be repeated as vllazni (brotherhood) and fis (clan). In long as it exists, is antithetical to the dia- this society, where kinship systems are of lectics. The battle proceeds as a tragedy great importance, an individual lives as a because it is an action to defend the ethi- member of a kin group. His individual cal entity. rights and freedom of will are rather re- stricted, and each individual is expected to meet the obligations of the kin group, Ethical structure of the Kanun which includes the dead (ancestors) of the The comparison of Mishima’s ethical lineage. In a society where people prac- concepts with the ethical structure of the tice ancestor worship, the dead are re- Kanun reveals the essential meaning of garded as a sort of god (ancestor-god). If his beliefs. The ethical structure of the the dead are ancestor-gods, the kin group Kanun will be briefly discussed below. is assumed to be a divine, ethical entity The Kanun is a customary code which because it is a commune consisting of the keeps social order in the tribal society of living and the ancestor-gods. An ances- northern Albania. The Kanun dictates tor-god, disguised as a stranger, some- that if 1) a person breaks an oath or a times visits the living to make commu- besa, 2) a person injures or kills a guest, nion with them. The living must offer 3) a person kills a member of another kin shelter and hospitality to the guest-god. group, 4) a person dishonors a member of In return for the hospitality, the guest- another kin group, the offended party god gives blessings to the hosts, and the must take revenge on the offending party. power of the spoken words ensures the 4 The Kanun allows a murder which hap- happiness and good health of the living . pened within a shpi (family) to be re- If an individual receives praise, it is solved in it with some arbitrariness. Acts praise for his entire kin group. If anyone of revenge are regulated by the Kanun living or dead is insulted, it is an insult whose ethical structure is epitomized as against the whole kin group. Such dis- follows: 1) a guest is a kind of god or a honor must be avenged by the living of messenger of the gods, 2) commensality the kin group. If a person is killed, the of a host with the guest-god is a ritual by spilt blood asks for the blood of the slayer which the host makes communion with or a member of his kin group. When the the guest-god, 3) the host becomes divine living do not satisfy the demand of the through commensality with the guest-god dead, the furious blood takes revenge on and by receiving a blessing uttered by the the living. Therefore the living cannot fail guest-god, 4) the oath, besa, honor and to take revenge. Because a kin group blood of a person (host) who obtains di- comprised of the living and ancestor-gods vinity from the guest-god are equivalent is a transcendental, ethical entity, the vi- to those of the gods, 5) when a person olence of revenge prosecuted by the kin loses this divinity for himself or others by group is deemed a sacred force sacrificing

602 K. Yamamoto: Study on the Ethical Concepts, Coll. Antropol. 24 (2000) 2: 597–605 the offender, whose blood is dedicated to continue to exist. Any action of a member the furious ancestor-gods4. of the commune, taken to safeguard and The Kanun functions well as a cus- flourish the commune, is supposed to be tomary code in a society which has follow- ethical, while any action that weakens ing cultural features that: 1) there’s no and harms the commune is unethical. functioning state power, 2) a kinship sys- Given that a commune based on »blood« tem is of great importance, 3) a kin group connotes the endless repetition of »blood«, is deemed a transcendental commune its principles are in opposition to the con- consisting of the living and the dead, 4) cepts of progress and development. Be- the kin group has an ethical obligation to cause internal conflicts are settled by the keep its existence in the community, 5) commune itself, which is allowed to make animism and ancestor worship are preva- any decision with some arbitrariness, the lent, 6) the ethos of warriors is highly re- commune is considered to be a space of garded, 7) spoken words are appreciated freedom. Communes are both enemy and more highly than written words. ally towards each other, as all of them are potential rivals. As for the Kanun, other communes are shpi-vllazni-fis, while as Discussion for Mishima, they are the cultural com- When Mishima’s ethical concepts are munes of other nations. When one com- compared with the ethical structure of mune grows too much, a conflict with the Kanun, the following structural simi- other communes is unavoidable because larities emerge. they must compete for the control of a living space. In order to keep the existence The foundation of the commune indi- of the commune in the community, the cated by the Kanun and by Mishima is warriors must stand up to fight for the »blood«; that is, consanguinity. As for the survival of the commune. It can be a fero- Kanun, the commune of »blood« refers to cious, internecine battle because the com- the kinship system of shpi-vllazni-fis, munes base their survival on it. When a while for Mishima, it means the cultural warrior dies in battle, he will merge with commune of the Japanese. Such com- the »blood« of the commune. The honor of munes are presided over not by the ruler, the dead is restored by the victory of the but by the chief representing the com- commune, and the dead are appeased by mune, whose rituals guarantee the tem- the rituals performed by the commune. poral continuity of the commune. As for the Kanun, the chief refers to a patriarch Thus, we can identify the structural or a chieftain of the kin group, while for similarities of ethical concepts between Mishima, it means the Emperor. A com- the Kanun and Mishima. Though kin mune developed on the basis of »blood« groups of the Kanun have different fea- has an absolute, ethical obligation to pre- tures from the cultural commune of the serve its existence in the community. As Japanese, Mishima sees little contradic- for the Kanun, the community means the tion between the two, as he imagines that tribal society, while for Mishima, it the cultural commune of the Japanese is means the international community of an entity analogous to a huge extended nations. The international community of family. In this context, it becomes clear nations in modern world, where no uni- that the ethical concepts of Mishima are versal sovereign power exists to preser- closely related to those of a society with- ves order, may be metaphorically called a out state power. society without state power. The ultimate The ethical structure of the Kanun, purpose of the communes of »blood« is to which may be called the ethics of »blood«,

603 K. Yamamoto: Study on the Ethical Concepts, Coll. Antropol. 24 (2000) 2: 597–605 is a value system which functions well in which seems to be rushing towards the a society without state power. It is a value ethics of a society without state power. system with its own polarity, which does This paradox appears to be the essence of not necessarily evolve into a value system the imperial system of wartime Japan, of a society with state power4. A society whose slogan was to make the world one without state power, which regards spo- family, which had the power to rouse feel- ken words more highly than written ings of ecstasy and bliss among the Japa- words, may be regarded to be a society of nese during WWII. The theoretical desti- the mythological world. If the continuity nation of the logic is that if the world is of the cultural commune of the Japanese united into one family under the aegis of is guaranteed by the repetition of rituals the Emperor, the state powers all over performed by the Emperor, it is not a the world including Japan will disappear, commune of the historical world, but a ultimately resulting in a new world whe- commune of the mythological world. re the true harmony and peace which In the 1960s, when Japanese society characterize a family should prevail. The was experiencing accelerated economic alternative end-result of ultra-nationa- development, Mishima began to look lism is a society wherein the passion of back to wartime Japan and aspired to die ethnocentrism and exclusionism might for the Emperor, to eternalize himself in be dominant. The ethical concepts of Mi- death. Apparently, Mishima’s theory of shima, which may date back to the pri- ultra-nationalism, which ultimately cen- mordial culture of an ancient society ters on the ethos of warriors who die in without state power, seem to be a logic battle to defend the Emperor, involves present and applicable not only in Japa- logic aimed at preserving the merits of nese society, but in societies and nations the cultural commune of the Japanese. At all over the world. the same time, it is a paradoxical logic,

REFERENCES

1. MISHIMA, Y.: Bunka Bouei-ron (The Defense customary code in high Albania; a structural analysis of Culture) in Japanese., (Shinchosha, 1969). — 2. of the ethics. In: The Proceedings of Second Interna- MISHIMA, Y., Taiyo to Tetsu (Sun and Steel) in Japa- tional Congress on Physiological Anthropology. (Kiel, nese. In: Mishima Yukio Hyoron Zenshu Vol. 2, 1994). — 4. YAMAMOTO, K., Coll. Antrop. 23 (1999) (Shinchosha 1989). — 3. YAMAMOTO, K., The tribal 221.

K. Yamamoto

Kyushu Institute of Design, Shiobaru, Minami-ku, Fukuoka-shi, 815-8540 Japan

604 K. Yamamoto: Study on the Ethical Concepts, Coll. Antropol. 24 (2000) 2: 597–605

STUDIJA ETI^KOG KONCEPTA JAPANSKOG PISCA MISHIME, ULTRA – NACIONALISTA

SA@ETAK

Nakon drugog svjetskog rata, ultra nacionalizam, kao vode}a ideologija ratnog Ja- pana, po~ela je gubiti svoju inspiriraju}u mo} me|u Japancima. U 60-tim godinama 20-tog stolje}a, kada su Japanci po~eli osije}ati ekonomski prosperitet, Yukio Mishima, àle}i {to Japanci gube tradicionalni nacionalni duh i eti~nost, pripadao je gra|anima koji su osije}ali jaku nostalgiju za ratnim Japanom. S namjerom oìvljavanja duhovne egzaltacije ratnog Japana, Mishima je poduzeo radikalan ~in kao ultra-nacionalist, i ubio se izvr{iv{i »Hara-kiri«. Mishimini eti~ki koncepti, koji se usredoto~uju na ethos ratnika koji se posve}uje obrani zajednice, ima strukturnu sli~nost eti~koj strukturi »Kanuna«, koja se moè nazvati etikom »krvi«. Mishimina teorija ultra-nacionalizma ima paradoksalnu logiku, koja je, izgleda, povezana s eti~kim konceptom dru{tva bez dràvne mo}i.

605