To Youth 50 Years Later Yukio Mishima's Youth Theory November 19th 13:52

"A genius writer who left behind many masterpieces" "A political person who committed suicide by seppuku in the Self-Defense Forces".

Yukio Mishima has such a strong image, but he also wrote the following sentences.

"Even if you have a few people who have less love experience than your friends, you should never envy or imitate others./You can enjoy one fruit and taste it. You may know the true taste of the food "(from" My Adolescence ")

In fact, Mishima has left a lot of messages for young people, and there are many words that I can sympathize with even now.

In his later years, Mishima valued dialogue with young people.

Now, 50 years after his death, I tried to trace the meaning of the word.

(Tetsuro Kawai, Reporter, Faculty of Science and Culture)

"Adolescent thoughts are really embarrassing."

Yukio Mishima, a literary master who represents the Showa era.

He left behind a number of timeless masterpieces such as "Shiosai" and "Kinkakuji", backed by poetic and gorgeous writing style and deep insight into human psychology.

However, on November 25, 1970, after calling for a coup d'etat to amend the Constitution at the Self-Defense Forces garrison, he committed suicide by seppuku and died at the age of 45.

It may be an image of "a person who is hard to understand" because it has reached a shocking end.

On the other hand, if you follow what Mishima left behind, you can see that many sentences are left in popular magazines such as "Mediocre Punch" and "Weekly Playboy".

Mishima's words in these magazines are friendly and light, giving the impression that they speak to young people.

For example, this sentence.

It was written in the entertainment magazine "Meisei" in 1957.

"Adolescent thoughts are really embarrassing, as acne thoughts are embarrassing. But / forgetting the embarrassment is not the way for human growth. / No matter how embarrassing a thought is, it will be a plus for life somewhere, and eventually it will turn into a delightful thought and a fun thought. Therefore, adolescent self-hatred is oneself. It's easy to think of yourself as the ugliest person in the world, but over time, you'll think of yourself as the purest and most beautiful at that time. "(" My adolescence "" Than)

The text is more than half a century old, but the words that softly affirm the bitter memories of adolescence that everyone experiences still echo smoothly.

Adolescents covered in "weakness"

Mishima left many messages for young people.

So what was your youth like?

Mishima spent his youth during the war.

The inside was covered with a complex.

Born in a wealthy family in Tokyo in 1925, Mishima is born ill and overprotective.

Frequent hospitalizations and discharges, and frequent sick leave at school.

Unnecessary going out was not allowed at home, so I spent my childhood playing origami and playing house with a girl in the neighborhood.

I received a convocation letter at the age of 20, but I was misdiagnosed as ill because of my weakness and escaped drafting.

As his classmates headed to the battlefield, he confessed that having escaped from the war because of his weakness was a mixed feeling of relief and guilt for Mishima himself.

Mishima, who became a full-time writer after the war, confronts his weaknesses that he wants to turn away from, and sublimates the complex into his works.

The autobiographical novel "Confessions of a Mask" (1949), which depicts the conflict of homosexuality, is a representative work.

In addition, Mishima started bodybuilding at the age of 30, and while working hard to overcome the physical complex, he created the masterpiece "Kinkakuji" (1956).

"Possibilities, dreams and ideals" to bring to the youth image

Mishima's attitude toward young people was reflected not only in the text but also in his actual actions.

Mishima, who is in his 40s, strengthens his political behavior while creating.

On the other hand, Mishima created opportunities to face young people directly, such as by visiting multiple universities and setting up a place for "dialogue" to freely discuss with students.

Why did Mishima face young people like this?

In the text "Modern Youth Theory" in 1969, he wrote about the feelings that older people have for young people, which is close to the envy.

"The elders are covered in despair of interests and unfulfilled ambitions as the zoo's beasts become covered in their dung as they grow older, middle-aged, and older. Life gradually becomes a series of uninteresting things. At that time, the only thing I dream of is that I should be a young man again, and all possibilities, dreams, and ideals become a youth image. Bring in "

Interaction with young SDF personnel

At that time, a person who met and interacted with Yukio Mishima when he was in the fourth year of university summarized his days in one book last year.

This book was written by former SDF officer Shigeki Nishimura.

Shortly after I wrote this book, I died of illness and couldn't talk to him directly, but my family responded to the interview.

In July 1968, when Mishima was enlisting in the Self-Defense Forces at the Takigahara branch in Shizuoka prefecture, Mr. Nishimura, a National Defense Academy student at that time, heard that "Yukio Mishima seems to be coming" and with several friends. It is said that he visited Mishima's room without appointment.

At that time, Mishima was one of the leading writers of the era, who was also named as a Nobel Prize candidate.

It was a sudden visit by students who had no acquaintance, but Mishima was kind enough to invite him to sit in a wheelchair and talk to him for almost an hour.

Letters continued to be exchanged even after the experience enlistment was over, and two years later, in 1970, about 10 people, including Mr. Nishimura, were invited to their homes.

Mishima, who welcomed him with gorgeous Chinese food, told him how to enjoy Shaoxing wine, saying, "I hate crabs because they don't produce blood even if they are cut." That is.

At this time, Mishima had already embodied his self-determination plan, but it is said that he was just in full bloom in the defense discussions with the young SDF personnel.

"I believe in your passion. I believe in this."

The attitude of valuing dialogue with young people in Mishima was the same for people with different ideas and beliefs.

Among them, the debate with the Zenkyoto of the University of Tokyo in 1969 attracted public attention.

At that time, the heat of young people was shaking society in the wake of the Vietnam anti-war movement and the security struggle.

Among them, the Zenkyoto of the University of Tokyo has sharpened its activities, such as the internal conflict seeking autonomy of the university spread to the conflict with the riot police.

The debate was held on May 13 after the University of Tokyo Yasuda Auditorium was overwhelmed by the riot police.

Some members, who felt stuck in the armed struggle, decided to invite Yukio Mishima, who is ideologically opposite, in an attempt to find a way out in the cultural struggle.

I was able to talk to one of the organizers, Osamu Kimura, a former University of Tokyo Zenkyoto, at the venue at that time, "Komaba Campus 900th Class".

It is the first time in half a century that Mr. Kimura has entered this classroom.

Mr. Kimura was skeptical about whether Mishima would take this invitation, but when he asked for participation over the phone, he unexpectedly responded, "Let's go."

Mishima later commented on the feelings of participating in this debate, saying, "The young people these days are violent and troubled. Somehow, the old people say," but in their hearts When I go in, I don't know anything about it. / I can't be called by the enemy to show my back. "

(From "What is Japan?")

The venue on the day was packed with more than 1000 students trying to witness the tongue-and-groove battle between the right and left wing.

Osamu Kimura

"I felt once again the power of Mishima-san, why there are so many. The university authorities were worried that the floor would come off on the second floor because it was full. What did Mishima-san do? As I said, there was an atmosphere that the students were trying to listen to. "

At the entrance of the classroom, there was a poster that ridiculed Mishima as a "modern gorilla", and the venue was filled with tension, but Mishima who appeared there showed a hostile attitude. It was not an attitude, but an attitude of facing the students head-on.

Students ask ideological and esoteric questions about ideology, politics, and national views, but Mishima answers them head-on without passing them off.

It is said that Mr. Kimura changed his mind while seeing Mishima returning words to realize "dialogue" that transcends his position.

Osamu Kimura

"A person who is honest with young people. I had the impression that he was facing young people honestly without any strange reasoning because he was a young person. Mr. Mishima did not break his position as a" teacher. " There is no reason not to feel inclusiveness in people. "

A two-hour dialogue.

Finally, Mishima says as follows.

"The words called the words and flew around in this room with wings./I will leave the words here, leaving the spirits here anyway. And I believe in your passion. That's all. I believe. Even if you don't believe in anything else, I want you to understand that you believe in this. "

(From" Beauty, Community, and Todai Struggle "by Yukio Mishima and Todai Zenkyoto)

Osamu Kimura

"The last word,'I believe in your passion.' I think it means'think to the bottom,'even if it's on the right or left. . Humans need a fundamental dialogue. I think the 1000 people who participated in that discussion all grew up thinking so. "

Yukio Mishima, who faced young people sincerely and sent various messages.

How do those words sound now, 50 years after his death?

Tetsuro Kawai,

Reporter, Faculty of Science and Culture