Mishima: Sun and Steel

Following our voyage into Nietzsche and Plato, let's try something a bit different: Yukio Mishima's "Sun and Steel".

Mishima, one of the most prolific novelists of 20th century Japan, penned this intricate autobiographical essay towards the end of his short life. On the surface, "Sun and Steel" discusses Mishima's relationship with his own body--particularly his struggle to counterbalance the cold, unreal world of "words", in his literary life, with the immediacy of physical life he found through martial arts training and bodybuilding.

In the process, however, Mishima paints out a titanic, even tragic philosophical struggle, as his Nietzschean embrace of the body, change, and self-creation collides with his more Platonic longing for pure, timeless ideals. The conclusion leaves you, literally, up in the air.

A free text of "Sun and Steel" can be found here. Let's try to get about halfway, around page 30. Hope to see you soon!