Runaway Horses

by Yukio Mishima

Book Overview

The chronicle of a conspiracy and a novel about the roots and nature of Japanese fanaticism in the years that led to war--an era marked by depression, social change and political violence.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0671434950
• ISBN13: 9780671434953
• Release Date: January 1984
• Publisher: Pocket Books
• Length: 432 Pages
• Weight: 0.50 lbs.

Customer Reviews

A brilliant novel about young men of pure heart

Japan. 1932. Japanese society is divided, or at least complex. Still with parts of its body and soul in the ancient tradition of the East, yet with ever increasing impulses towards the "Western culture" (In the insemitically correct reality, we of the "West" have infinitely more in common with the traditional culture of the East than we do the current world-wide Weimar Republic, but oh well). Mishima, the author, was more or less a Japanese representative of the "conservative revolution", and was quite well-read in both Eastern and Western literature. His life reminds me in many ways of Corneliu Codreanu and Julius Evola. His well-known dramatic ritual suicide as a protest against the betrayal of Tradition in Japan, and the Japanese submission to American rule, followed him and his radical "Right-wing" organization's (The Shield Society) failure to arouse the Japanese Defence Force into rebelling. The story of this second book in the brilliant tetralogy known as "The Sea of Fertility" takes place in roughly a year; from 1932-33. These years were marked by increasingly instable political relations in Japan, between those wishing for return to the Tradition of Japan, and those wishing for Japan to become merely another land open to unbridled capitalism and leftist eroding of the Traditional culture. As the four books are also great venues for Mishima to give his view of society, we find the theme of reincarnation quite prominent in the books. Isao Iinuma is the main character, and the reincarnation of Kiyoaki Matsugae, from the previous novel; "Spring Snow". He is working with a group of other dedicated youths and young adults to achieve a society where his Royal Highness; Emperor Hirohito, can take a much more prominent place in ruling the Empire of the Sun, instead of the soulless capitalists as things were then. The group plans to assassinate several leaders of the zaibatsu, and wrest control of the Empire back into the hands of the reactionary monarchists. Make no mistake about it, this book is as "Right-wing" as you can get, there's no explaining away Mishima's obvious political and religious views after you've read this marvellous book. As Mishima writes on page 392; "Japan, [...], where the Emperor was held to be the head of the vast family that was the Japanese people." You simply have to read this, if you have any interest at all in the period, in Mishima, in monarchism or in a good read at all. 5 stars without a doubt, and I can't wait to read the rest of the series. I try myself to live in the spirit of Mishima, since as he says; "To know and not to act, is not yet to know".

Mishima's Masterpiece of cosmic nihilism on a fertile sea.

Yukio Mishima (The Sailor Who Fell From Grace with the Sea) is the fascinating subject of two recent DVD releases Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters - Criterion Collection and Patriotism - Criterion Collection. His 1959 novel, Runaway Horses (Honba), is one of three Mishima novels filmmaker Paul Schrader adapted for his film, Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters. It is the second in Mishima's "Sea of Fertility tetralogy," which also includes Spring Snow (1969), The Temple of Dawn (1970), and The Decay of the Angel (1971). (Mishima committed ritual suicide on the day he completed the final book in his tetralogy, November 25, 1970.) Considered to be his masteriece, Mishima's tetralogy follows the successive reincarnations of Kiyoaki Matsugae (1895-1914). Shigekuni Honda returns from Spring Snow as a judge at the Osaka Court of Appeals, and witnesses the events set forth in Runaway Horses. Set in 1932 and 1933, the novel tells the story of a right-wing samurai, Isao Iinuma, who plots an insurrection to overthrow the zaibatsu (capitalistic business interests) that have corrupted the Yamato-damashii ("the Japanese spirit") and betrayed the will of the Emperor. Isao's scheme hinges on the simultaneous assassinations of government officials on December 3, 1932. Recognizing the same three moles on Isao Iinuma that Kiyoaki had on his side, and remembering Kiyoaki's dying words ("I'll see you again. I know it. Beneath the falls"), Honda believes that Isao is the reincarnation of his schoolmate, Kiyoaki Matsugae, the subject of Spring Snow. Honda advises Isao: "At your age . . . every excitement is dangerous. Every excitement that can send one pitching headlong is dangerous. And some are especially dangerous. For example, judging from that light that flashes from your eyes to disconcert those around you, I would think that your very nature makes a tale of this sort 'unsuitable' for you." The novel ends on a note of "cosmic nihilism," with Isao Iinuma committing seppuku (ritual suicide), foreshadowing Mishima's own ritual suicide in 1970. Runaway Horses attests to the rare genius of Yukio Mishima. G. Merritt

Mishima's scope in creating his tetrology starts to show

Looking back, "Runaway Horses" is in many ways more complex than its predecessor, "Spring Snow". I didn't know going into it that it was a literal, chronologically set sequel - within a few dozen pages the reader becomes away of our protagonist's, Isao Iinuma, situation, and who he really is. Much like Mishima's own life, this story centers around the Iinuma family's small army (Mishima himself had one) of 20 right-wingers who are planning an insurrection. Rooting out communism and capitalism are their main goals; the story tells their ways of going about them. Set farther back this time is the Matsugae household, though they do have appearances and a presence throughout the novel. Honda, from "Spring Snow", now grown into an adult, tells part of the story from his own perspective, and this is refreshing and interesting. His retelling of moments with Kiyoaki years before are among the best moments in the book. "Runaway Horses" is more ambitious than "Spring Snow" and more complex as well. I eagerly want to see how the last two novels continue this generations' long story from one of Japan's best writers and thinkers.

Sea of Silence ...

This is not an intent to (summarize) mishima's sea of fertility... rather it's an approach into analyzing it ... a sort of reading between the lines... Then ... again, what are we exactly trying to portray? we would say we are ( intending ) to deliver a semiotic vision of what the sea of fertility represents ... we are not trying to ( read ) it for our reader , rather , we let him read , and help him amidst it , by presenting a cluster of signs , keys , semiotics , call it whatever you want , that would - at the end - clarify the road , and that can be grasped by the reader so he can get a wider vision , and a better comprehension of this gigantic universe , which mishima called ( sea of fertility ) ... But first, why is this bizarre title (sea of fertility)? mishima himself is going to answer this question , to give it the first ( leading ) sign , that we should know it doesn't crack secrets for us , but merely provides us with a minimum limit , which we can begin our journey from .. in a note mishima sent to the famous American criticizer Donald Keene , he clearly admits that the reason he chose this title for his tetralogy is a hint for an area of the same designation on the moon's surface not so far of ( the sea of silence ) ... the reason for this reference is to aim at a ( contradiction ) between this vivid and colorful name , and the wasteland it stands for in real ... we can go further on saying that this title combines the image of universal nihilism with the image of ( sea of fertility ) ... in summer 1945 mishima wanted to write an immense oeuvre that would sum up Miller's famous trilogy ( the rosy crucifixion ) , and that would stress more and more on that ( dark ) side of art ... to write a novel that would take six years of his life , and that would cover - chronogically - those sixty years from 1912 and on .. That decision , which was the most important one in mishima's practical life , obliged writing this novel in four volumes , in each an individual story , for each a special protagonist , but these characters would not be totally separated from each other ... How? The figure in the first volume is the lad kiwaki, the noble descent of the wealthy family of Matsugai, lives a love story, one of its kind that memory would not forget easily, and his friend Honda stands as an eye witness for this superb experience of his... From that point on , in every volume that succeeds, we can notice that the hero is merely the first one, but after being (reincarnated), to start a new cycle of life, and to let Honda only figure out the connections that ties these four characters... Mishima Knew very well that his Tetralogy is a rich threshold for everything he learned as a writer ... he told his friends, that when he finishes it, there is only one thing left for him to do ... (suicide) ... and by taking his own life in November 25th 1970, he fulfilled his final quote: the life of men is short, I want to live forever... ( The sea

A brilliant masterpiece on its own...

The Runaway Horse has been criticized unfairly for its glorification of nationalistic and even fascist views. The word Kamikaze has become such a taboo in the modern western world that anything that touches even slightly on the subject would be condemned. In this amazing book, Isao symbolizes the purity of life. All that's good is pure, and all that's pure is good. Thus is the belief of Isao, and eventually, of Mishima himself as evident of his suicide in 1970. Having said that, I do not expect this book to be understood by its English readers. The translation proves to be a great barrier but more importantly, the philosophy that is the core of this particular book is too distant for the modern Japanese readers, let alone readers in North America who have been sheltered from different cultures. Runaway Horse describes meaning of the true Japanese samurai, or at least of what Mishima believes it is. A samurai is not after his own glory or achievements. His only goal is to be loyal to the Emperor and to God. He is a mere servant of these goals and his life could and should be given up to the Emperor upon request. Isao believes that the blade and the blood of the corrupt politicians will be a wake-up call to the Emperor to restore feudal Japan. Although naive and violent at times, Isao is a one-dimensional human being that follows the human goal of "being yourself", Being true to yourself is an impossible task for most people, and therefore Isao is the idealized human being. It also reflects the Japanese philosophy of simplicity. The problems of the modern day world are so complex that only the simplest actions would resolve them, complex actions would not only take time to execute, but would entangle the matters even more.This book also displays the obsession with beauty that Mishima has. In his mind, beauty is worth giving up your life for. His ideas of beauty are expressed with the most sensuous and colorful images shaped by adjective upon adjectives. Mishima's writing style, especially when it involves this matter, is not for everyone. Patient readers with deep imaginations, though, will find it joyful as descriptions from the book spring from the wells of their minds and take flight before their eyes. Isao's suicide is a painting that has been painted a thousand times in my mind, along with the rising sun.