Review

Author(s): Stephen Snyder

Review by: Stephen Snyder
Source: Monumenta Nipponica, Vol. 56, No. 2 (Summer, 2001), pp. 276-279
Published by: Sophia University
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2668417
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276 Monumenta Nipponica 56:2

MishimaYukio:Esthe'tiqueclassique, universtragique:D 'ApollonetDionysos

a' Sade et Bataille. By Annie Cecchi. Paris: Editions Honore Champion,
1999. 288 pages. Fr 290.
STEPHEN SNYDER
ofColorado,Boulder
University
AnnieCecchi,maUtre de confe'rences forJapaneseliterature
attheSorbonne, diedpre-
maturely on 25 November1995,twenty-five yearsto thedayafterMishimaYukio,
thesubjectofherposthumously publishedstudy.Her workon Mishimawas leftin
theformof miscellaneouschapters, coursenotes,and conference papersthathave
beenskillfully andsensitively editedforthisvolumebyJacqueline Pigeot.Whilethe
bookas a wholeretainsa somewhat fragmentaryquality,itis nevertheless an impor-
tantcontribution toourunderstanding ofMishima's achievement andshouldprovoke
reneweddiscussionof one of themosttroubling contemporary Japanesewriters.
Marguerite Yourcenar,whosepresencehoversoverCecchi's book,once arguedin
defenseofreadingMishimathatit is "alwaysnecessaryto superimpose on thepru-
dentandeveryday wisdombywhichwe live,orin whichall ofus vegetate, thedan-
gerous but revivifying wisdom of a freerfervorand a fatallypure absolute"
(Marguerite Yourcenar, Mishima:A VisionoftheVoid,trans.AlbertoManguel;New
York:Farrar,StraussandGiroux,1986,p. 37). Whether one agreeswithYourcenar
or not,it is certainlyworthconsidering ProfessorCecchi's eruditeand graceful
accountofMishima'sbrandoffervor.
Cecchi's studyis dividedintothreeparts,each withitsownrewards.In theinitial
section,shepursuesan extendedrereading ofKamenno kokuhaku (Confessions ofa
Mask)fortheinsight itprovidesintoMishima's development as a writer;and,indeed,
unlikemanyothercriticsin theWest(includingYourcenar),Cecchiis interested in
Mishimaprimarily as a literaryfigure-asopposedto a politicalactororpsycholog-
ical subject.She focuseson thepsychosexualaspectsof Mishima'sfictionas they
intersectwithhisuniqueaesthetic, thatis notunprecedented
a perspective butonethat
is presented herewithparticular clarity.She arguesthatin Confessions ofa Mask
Mishimachoosesa "tragic"focuson introverted sexualconsiderations whileignor-
ingotherfeatures ofhisyoungyears:hisrelationship withhisfamily, forinstance,or
hisdevelopment as a novelist(p. 32). Mishima'shomosexuality is seenas a reaction
tothetabooagainstthematernal femalebody(an attraction exacerbated bytheobsta-
cle posedbythegrandmother):
withthefemalebody,thenarrator
Recoilingfromall tabooedrelations createsa
blockas wellagainstthemalebodybymeansofan involuntary narcissism,lim-
by an act of sublimation,
itinghimself, to his ownbodyas objectof desire.In
thusbanishing inamorousrelations,
all complementarity heexpelsboththefem-
ininebodyandthingsintellectual.He postulatesa totaldichotomybetweenthe
intellect
andbeauty,betweenthebodyandspirit, between"wordsandmuscles"
as he wouldsaylaterin Sun andSteel,andat thesametimerenders impossible
anycommunication betweenhimselfas a punyintellectual
andthedesiredbody.
(p. 38)
oftheeffects
Cecchialsoprovidesa briefbutusefuldescription ofthewaronMishima
andhisrelationship
to theBurai-ha,emphasizing a commonfocuson thebeautyof

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 BOOK REVIEWS 277
destructionand thebanalityof everydaylifebutinsistingon theethicaland aesthetic
commitments thatdistinguishMishima fromcontemporariessuch as Dazai Osamu or
Sakaguchi Ango (pp. 62-63).
Mishima's commitments, ethicaland aesthetic,are pursuedin Cecchi' s second sec-
tion,where she develops thenotionsof classicism and tragedyin the author's texts.
Cecchi traces a genealogy of "tragic"heroes fromJapanesehistorywho fascinated
Mishima and who servedas models forhis bushido ethos and ultimatelyforhis sui-
cide. These heroesincludeYamamoto Jocho,Oshio Heihachiro,theKumamotorebels
who inspiredIsao in Runaway Horses, Saigo Takamori,the soldiersof theFebruary
26th Incident,and the kamikaze pilots in the Pacific War whom Mishima believed
werebetrayedbyHirohito's decisionto surrender. While his modelswerenative,how-
ever,Cecchi arguesthatMishima's conceptionof tragedywas essentiallythatof clas-
sical Greece, filteredperhaps throughthe adaptationsof Racine and Corneille. For
Mishima,beautywas inextricablybound up withtragicdeath,particularlythe sortof
death experiencedby heroes-such as Oshio or Saigo-who findthemselvesout of
stepwiththemoralityand sensibilityof theirown timeand who, as Lucien Goldmann
suggestsofWesterntragedyin general,refuserecenthistoryin thename ofpurityand
an idea of the absolute (p. 100). But, Cecchi maintains,Mishima foundin Western
classical tragedynotonlyan ethicalmodel forhis Japanesecharactersbutalso an aes-
theticthatgave shape to his fictionand his drama.
The argumenthereproceeds,at least initially,froma negation:Cecchi suggeststhat
Mishima's attraction to thehighlyformalized,even architectural structuresof tragedy
-structures thatwould informmuch of his workuntiltheend of his careerand dis-
tinguishitradicallyfromthefree-form narrativesof mostof his contemporaries-can
be tracedto his earlyand completerejectionof the"realist"tendencythatdominated
Japaneseliteraturefromthebeginningof the twentiethcentury.Reading his critical
writings,fiction,and drama,Cecchi delineates Mishima's polemic against what he
saw as theliteralistcast of his nativeliteratureas it manifesteditselfin such formsas
JapaneseNaturalism,proletarianfiction,the "I novel," and shingeki.The greatsin of
these experimentsis theirprivilegingof contentover form,ideology over aesthetic
value, "because, forMishima,beautyis primaryand cannotbe reducedto some truth
particularto thework.It is in classicism-Japanese or Western-that he was able to
findadequate processes forcreatinga beautythatreconciledformaldemandswiththe
'objective,' universaltruthof the work" (p. 79). Cecchi argues thatMishima per-
formeda balancing act betweenthe Dionysian and Apollonian urges (as definedby
Nietzschein BirthofTragedy),findingin theclassical mode of tragedya way to chan-
nel his fascinationwith autodestruction,a fascinationthat might otherwisehave
degeneratedintoexactlythe sortof "confession"he despised (p. 141).
The thirdsection of Cecchi's studyconcernsMishima's French"models" and is,
by virtueof its partisanship,the most useful and most engaging.Westernstudiesof
Mishima to date (withtheexceptionof Yourcenar's and Donald Keene' s), whenthey
have consideredinfluenceat all, have tendedto ignorethosefromFrenchliteraturein
favorof German(Thomas Mann and Nietzsche). Cecchi makes a detailedand exten-
sive case forthecriticalimportanceof Frenchwritersin theformationof Mishima's
aestheticvision,amongthem:RaymondRadiguet,JeanCocteau, theMarquis de Sade,
and Georges Bataille. There is undoubtedlya measure of nationalpride in Cecchi's
discussion of Mishima's debt to Frenchliterature;forinstance,she credits"French

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278 MonumentaNipponica 56:2
classicism"withhelpingMishimacontrolhis "overlynarcissistic imagination"
(p.
206; thoughhereone wondershow efficaciousit was). Still,hercomparative
read-
ingsofMishima'sfiction,
hiscriticalcommentson Frenchwriters, andtheworksof
thosewriters
offerimportant
insight
intotheoriginsofMishima's narrativevoiceand
personalvision.
MishimareadFrenchfiction earlyandoften.His first
encounterwithRadiguetcame
in theformof HoriguchiDaigaku's translation of Le Bal du comted'Orgel while
Mishimawas stilla student at Gakushuin. Mishimawouldlaterreferto thisbookas
the"Bibleofhisadolescence"(p. 145),butitwas thefigure ofRagiquethimself that
perhapsimpressed, andfinally depressed,Mishimamostofall,forRadiguetmanaged
todo whatMishimamostwantedto:writetwoperfect novelsanddie tragicallyatthe
age oftwenty. CecchifindsusefulanalogiesbetweenRadiguet'sLe Diable au corps
(1923),a studyofadolescencecutshortbywar,andKamenno kokuhaku, andargues
persuasively thatitwas Radiguet'sexamplethatled Mishimatotheearlyconclusion
thattruebeautyis bornoftheinevitable, bloodydeathofnotonlythefictional char-
acterbuthiscreator as well(p. 154).CecchiseesCocteau,ontheotherhand,as a kind
ofkindred spiritforMishima,thetwosharing a similarsocialbackground, a fascina-
tionwiththemagicofthetheater, andevena "perplexedreception by a publicthat
was notalwayssurewhether itwas dealingwitha pleasantfakeor a genuineartist"
(p. 178).Mishimaeventually emulated Cocteau'supdating ofGreekmyths inhismod-
ernnohplaysand,Cecchisuggests(p. 186),perhapsbased thecharacter of Omi in
Confessions ofa Maskon Cocteau'sDargelosinLes Enfantsterribles (1929).
Mishimarediscovered Sade in ShibusawaTatsuhiko's1956-1957translation, see-
ingin himan affirmation ofthenotionofthe"integration ofEvil intohumannature
andthenormalization of cruelty"(pp. 198-99),ideas he had exploredin Kinkakuji.
CecchispeculatesthatMishima'sreadingof Sade also helpedhimto synthesize his
complexvoyeuristic andnarcissisticimpulses,hisneedtobothsee andbe seen,tobe
bothsubjectandobjectat once.ForCecchi,thesedualurgesexplainbothhisextra-
ordinary literaryproduction andhisexhibitionism, demonstrated throughout hislife
in a seriesofpublicdebates,stageand filmappearances, photographic studies,and
finallyin his seppukuin fulldaylight withjournalistsin attendanceand helicopters
buzzingoverhead(p. 226).
In 1960,wellpastan age atwhichhe wouldhavebeeneasilyinfluenced byanother
writer,MishimareadBataille'sL'Erotisme(1957), a workthatonceagainservedto
confirm andcrystallize Mishima'sthought. As withCocteau,Cecchisees biographi-
cal parallelsbetweenMishimaandBataille:childhoodsspentwithinfirm adultswho
providedthemwithfirsthand experienceofpainanddeath;youthinterrupted bywar
(Mishimawas sixteenwhenJapanattackedPearlHarbor;Bataillewas seventeen in
1914); andearlyanddecisiveencounters withNietzschethatoccasioneda turning to
thebodyin dissatisfaction withwords(pp. 241-42). In Bataille,Mishimafounda
recognition ofthe"profound linkbetweeneroticism anddeath"thathe hadlongintu-
ited,"a philosophical formulation, theorizingandglobalizinga clusterofphantasms
presentsince childhoodin Mishima's imagination"(p. 245). Cecchi is carefulto dis-
tinguishbetweenMishima's thinkingand Bataille's: forthelatter,thebody becomes
a sitefordegradationand negation,whileforMishima theeroticfascinationwithpain,
blood, and deathwere to be played out in themuscledbody of theyoungmale, which
remainsa thingof beautyand a siteof purity(p. 241). Still,forboth,theunionof eros
and thanatosimpliesa theoretical"cosmic joining" in theproximityof supremeplea-

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 BOOK REVIEWS 279
sure and supremesuffering(p. 245), a theoryMishima presumablyattemptedto put
intopracticeat Ichigaya.
Cecchi' s volume is an importantcorrective,illuminatingintertextualelementsthat
have gone unnoticedor unexamined.It also serves to remindus, in the wake of
Japaneseand AmericanstudiesemphasizingMishima' s nihilisticethicand oftencrass
aesthetic,thathis best workis carefully,if precariously,balanced by an Apollonian
(or perhaps Racinean) classicism that gives rise to its formal perfection.While
Mishima has been rightlycriticizedforyieldingto his baser impulses,bothpersonal
and political,Cecchi remindsus of the useful role he played as a voice against the
banalityof modern"realism"in all its forms.

Shinto in History: Ways of theKami. Edited by JohnBreen and Mark Teeuwen.

Richmond, Surrey, UK: Curzon Press, 1999. 368 pages. Hardback ?45.00;
paperback ?14.99.

FABIO RAMBELLI
Sapporo University

Shintoin History:Waysof theKami is thefirstattemptin anyWesternlanguage (and

possiblyeven in Japanese)to offera criticalexaminationof theShintotraditionin its
various aspects and guises. As such, it constitutesa powerfulcriticaland analytical
tool to counterwidely circulatingtextbook-liketreatmentsof the subject. Shintois
oftenpresentedas theindigenousreligionof Japan,a culturalformationthatsuppos-
edly has existed in an almost unchangedformfromthe remotestpast as the unique
expressionof theJapanesepolityand thatis characterized,among otherthings,by a
close relationwithnature.One of the aims of thebook, as is clear fromthe subtitle,
is preciselythedismantlingof such stereotypical views. "Ways oftheKami" suggests
a pluralityof modes of interpretation of and interactionwith sacred entities-the
kami-a termthatis itselfto be understoodin theplural.Far frombeing a simpleand
unifiedtradition,as oftenassumed,Shintois presentedhereas a complex and diverse
entity.
Historicityis a fundamentalcomponentof the editors' view of Shinto,as thetitle
(ShintoinHistory)indicates.The structure ofthebook, whichfollowsa strictly chron-
ological order,further underlinesthehistoricalemphasis.This should not,however,
be understoodas a formof historicism,in which each essay describesa stage in the
unilinearevolutionof Shinto.To thecontrary, all theessays show-in theirsubjects,
methodologies,and broader theoreticalconcerns-the diversityand complexities
inherentin thekami traditionsof Japan.The individualarticlescan be envisionedas
pieces of an evolving mosaic thatdoes not have a clear thematiccenterbut grows
more complicatedand intricateover time.The editorseven questionthe descriptive
validityof theterm"Shinto,"holdingthatit should be understoodinsteadas having
a prescriptivepurpose: "'Shinto' is not,then,in any obvious sense, what contempo-
raryJapanese'do at shrines,'norwhattheythinkbeforethekami,since it is notwhat
theythemselvesunderstandthattheydo and think;Shinto is, rather,what the con-
temporaryestablishmentand its spokesmenwould have themthinkand do" (p. 3).

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