Principles for Japan, by Yukio Mishima
"At the end of this cultural chaos, Japan will one day create a culture that has stylistic unity and refine morality, education, the arts, and everything else from the standpoint of beauty."
Principles for Japan
Yukio Mishima
In Japan, where signs of the character of the ideal human being are regarded as more important than ideas, people like myself are often not taken seriously and even thought to be opportunists following current trends when we discuss Japan and the Japanese with a serious face.
That is only natural, as I am seen as a model of the Westernized Japanese in my lifestyle. I’ve been to the West seven times, I have many Western friends, my house is in purely Western style with no tatami rooms, I love Western cuisine, I prefer Western-style bathrooms, and I haven’t worn a kimono all year. However, the kendō-gi I wear at the dōjō is a different matter.