"Yukio Mishima's 'Running Horse’

 

"Yukio Mishima's 'Running Horse’"

Yukio Mishima depicted an era without the framework of post-war peace, freedom, and a global perspective in his work "The Sea of Fertility.”

The first part, "Spring Snow," begins with sepia-toned photographs of the Russo-Japanese War, portraying the tragic love story of the protagonist, Kiyoaki Matsugae, in the Taisho era's aristocratic society. The second part, "Running Horse," follows the protagonist's reincarnation, Isao Iinuma, and unfolds in the tumultuous year of 1932 (Showa 7) in Japan.

Isao  Iinuma visits Lieutenant Horie of the Army. "Upon seeing Lieutenant Horie's smiling face, Isao thought he should have visited this place during the surpassing cherry blossom season. Lieutenant Horie returned from the dust-filled training ground, resembling a yellowish sky, took off his dust-covered boots with cherry blossom petals and, on his khaki military uniform shoulder and collar, adorned with a youthful red and golden brilliance, he should have welcomed the young boys," the narrative describes.

Lieutenant Horie then asks Isao, "What is it that you aspire to?" Isao responds, "To establish the Divine Wind League of the Showa era." When further asked about his deepest desires, Isao confesses, "To perform self-disembowelment on a cliff at sunrise, overlooking the shining sea, at the foot of a vigorous pine tree.”

In response to Isao's devotion to the Divine Wind League, Honda, in a letter, cites the example of Aritomo Yamagata, who faced persecution while establishing schools for the spread of Christianity and sought refuge in Kyoto, eventually founding Doshisha University. Honda criticizes the confusion between the purity of sentiment and the conflation of history, stating that "studying history is not about extracting certain forms from a single era of the past and fitting them into a partial form of the present while shouting with joy.”

The phantom dream of the irrational activist becomes a "beautiful ball that changes colors" and is kicked into the cold but orderly world of legal and architectural rationality, shaking the conviction of rationalist Shugekuni Honda.

Isao Iinuma, in his pursuit of the Divine Wind League of the Showa era, attempts to strike a blow against the corrupt political and economic circles with his comrades. However, he is arrested before executing his plan, undergoes a trial, and is released. After his release, he carries out the assassination of Kuranosuke Kurahara, the puppet master of the business world, and commits seppuku (ritual suicide) alone. The story concludes with the sentence, "Just as the blade pierced his abdomen, the sun disk rose brilliantly behind his eyelids." 

The overflowing emotions transcend rational judgment and intellectual restraint, propelling action like a running horse.

The Divine Wind League rebellion sought to defend the spirit of the nation and aimed to restore the Emperor's role as the supreme priest, opposing the Sword Abolishment Edict and advocating for the reinstatement of the Emperor as the central figure in religious ceremonies, reminiscent of ancient times. 

In 1876, they attacked the government institution known as Kumamoto Garrison. Carrying a sword symbolized Japan as a divine country, and swords and spears were considered sacred treasures. Discarding them was seen as a denial of the nation's customs. They attempted armed attacks against the Meiji government using swords and spears. However, they were suppressed by the government's firearms, and many chose to commit suicide. At the time, it was referred to as a rebellious act of a mystical secret society inspired by divine intervention.

　the early Showa period, the Imperial Way Faction of the Army, symbolized by cherry blossoms, khaki military uniforms, and red and gold emblems, also took action with the aim of establishing a people's state under the Emperor's leadership. They were suppressed by the government forces led by the Emperor, and their actions were considered a coup by extremist factions within the military.

The code of Bushido began with the honor and pride of the samurai of the Kanto region, the master-servant relationship, and the code of conduct for warriors adapting to different situations.

 In the peaceful Edo period, where there was no combat, it remained as an extreme form known as "Hagakure." In the 18th century, after a hundred years of peace since the era of civil wars, it became a time of tranquility known as "People are all going to Edo as autumn ends." Even young samurai from the Nabeshima domain became preoccupied with fashionable clothing and personal gain calculations. 

In response to this trend, Hagakure spoke of the samurai spirit that did not exist in the reality of the Edo period. It mythologized memories of the warriors from the Warring States period and was considered an extreme oral expression of radical ideology at the time.

 

Its radical arguments, symbolized by "Bushido is finding something to die for," were not an exaltation of ritual suicide but rather advocated a mindset of preparing for the worst in everyday life. The unconditional absolute loyalty of the samurai to their lord, the bond between ruler and subject, was perceived as a complete purification and unification of one's character, similar to unrequited love being the purest form of romance without calculation. To fulfill their loyalty, it was deemed an obligation to engage in remonstration and make efforts to make the lord a true lord.

This absolute loyalty to the lord was revived during the end of the shogunate period (Bakumatsu). The Bakumatsu period was seen as a reenactment of the late Muromachi period, the era of "Sengoku" (Warring States), where the samurai's honor, autonomous decision-making, and purposeful way of life resurfaced. The actions of the loyalists during the Bakumatsu were based on the concept of "Bushi-do," which advocated Japan's independence and honor alongside the imperial loyalist consciousness. This ideology was shared by not only farmers but also the samurai class, such as village heads and land stewards. They took action to advise the feudal lords and rectify their mistakes.

However, the sentiment of the samurai during the Bakumatsu and early Meiji era disappeared with the suppression of the Saga Rebellion, Shimpuren, and the final battle of the samurai in the Satsuma Rebellion. 

After the Satsuma Rebellion, which took place in the following year, Toshimichi Okubo was assassinated, and the question of how to define the Emperor's position became the next crucial issue for the Meiji government. 

Various factions proposed different ideas, such as a priestly figure of unified religious and political power, a virtuous monarch, a constitutional monarchy under a constitution, or even a republican system. Ultimately, the Meiji Constitution, a constitutional monarchy under the German-style constitution, was established in 1889 (Meiji 22). The concept of Imperial loyalty transformed into a familial nationalistic view of loyalty to the sovereign, and the samurai's loyalty to their lord, which was based on human connections, disappeared along with the decline of the samurai class.

Human hearts have the power to create any myth, story, or beauty and act upon them. The process by which the protagonist Isao Iinuma's actions are born in the novel "Runaway Horses" can be traced back to the samurai of the Kamakura period. The political ideal was sought in the utopia of ancient religious-political unity. The ideology that had slept during times of peace revived in the chaotic period of the end of the shogunate and further drove radical individuals to action during the Showa period.

Yukio Mishima depicted these sentiments in his novel "Runaway Horses," where in the third part, "The Temple of Dawn," he portrays Isao Iinuma's cycle of reincarnation and discusses the philosophy of Yogacara. In the fourth part, "The Decay of the Angel," he concludes with the following passage: "In the absolute silence, in the utmost solitude, there was nothing else. In this garden, there was nothing. No memories, nothing at all. Honda thought to himself, 'I have come to a place where there is nothing.' The garden basked in the brilliance of a midsummer day, eerily quiet." With these words, he brings an end to the bountiful sea.

 He himself admonished the illusion, acted in pursuit of the illusion, and took his own life.