Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters Page #5

I thought that the army

was the last hope of Japan,

the last stronghold

of the Japanese soul.

But the Japanese people today

think only of money.

Where is our national spirit?

We thought the army

was the soul of national honor!

The nation

has no spiritual foundation.

What will you do when you are

just a big soulless arsenal?

The politicians

care nothing for Japan.

They are greedy for power.

The army must be

the soul of Japan!

Listen! Listen!

Never in physical action

had I discovered

the chilling satisfaction of words.

Never in words

had I experienced

the hot darkness of action.

Somewhere there must be

a higher principle

which reconciles art and action.

That principle, it occurred to me,

was death.

The vast upper atmosphere,

where there is no oxygen,

is surrounded with death.

To survive in this atmosphere,

man, like an actor, must wear a mask.

Flying at 45,000 feet,

the silver phallus of the fuselage

floated in sunlight.

My mind was at ease,

my thought process lively.

No movement, no sound,

no memories.

The closed cockpit

and outer space

were like the spirit

and body of the same being.

Here I saw the outcome

of my final action.

In this stillness

was a beauty beyond words.

No more body or spirit,

pen or sword,

male or female.

Then I saw a giant circle

coiled around the earth,

a ring that resolved all contradictions,

a ring vaster than death,

more fragrant than any scent

I have ever known.

Here was the moment

I had always been seeking.

Are you men?

Are you bushi?

Are you bushi?

I appeal to you!

Listen to me!

Will no one join with me?

No one?

I see you will not rise up.

You will do nothing.

I have lost my dream for you.

I will now salute the emperor.

Long live the emperor!

Long live the emperor!

Long live the emperor!

I don't even think

they heard me.

Mishima-san, stop!

There's no reason to do it!

I am bound to do this, General.

You must not take

responsibility for this.

Stop! Please stop!

" The instant the blade tore open his flesh,

the bright disk of the sun

soared up behind his eyelids

and exploded,

lighting the sky for an instant. "

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