Introduction to Yukio Mishima: Collected Essays on Literature, by Yukio Mishima
"It seems that there is no attitude so difficult for Japanese intellectuals to grasp as this “fairness,” this attitude of being “fair” to both the body and the mind."
Introduction to Yukio Mishima: Collected Essays on Literature
Yukio Mishima
It is a great joy that, owing to the friendship of Mushiake Aromu1, my collected essays have been put together with thorough and meticulous editing. As Mushiake will surely write elsewhere of his editorial intent, I can concentrate on writing out my self-congratulatory thoughts.
That “Sun and Steel” has been included as the pillar of this book is the greatest among those joys. I wrote that essay over an exceedingly long period of time and analyzed the relationship between my literature and action, mind and body from a fair and objective standpoint to the extent possible. It seems that there is no attitude so difficult for Japanese intellectuals to grasp as this “fairness,” this attitude of being “fair” to both the body and the mind. It was only a small number of people like Mushiake and Akiyama Shun2 who showed deep interest in this essay.