My View of Comradeship, by Mishima Yukio
"It is a matter of course that a group of men who have taken oaths and seek to engage in action will each share equally in glory and disgrace."
My View of Comradeship
Mishima Yukio
What I have been thinking concerning the bond of comradeship is that, even if a situation like having a comrade die before one’s eyes were to occur, it is not to cling tearfully to his corpse, but to be able to testify even in a court of law that he is a stranger. This is possible only by maintaining the spiritual tension of “unfeeling solidarity.”
However, I do not at all believe that only death is the symbol of comradeship or affection between comrades. Nor do I believe that only death is the flower and fulfillment of revolutionary action. Only the idea that solely spontaneous rage and action possess the efficacy of acts undertaken in service of an aim will never change for me.
It is certainly also true that, for those conscious of revolution, death is effectively employed within their own strategy and action as a means of attaining an objective. If there is a guarantee that death can be effectively employed in the highest moment brought about by one’s actions, that is, the dramatic climax, then that is not a death in vain.