Yukio Mishima's Confessions Of A Mask

628 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Comparing two different cultures

England and Japan are two immensely contrasting worlds: this distinctiveness is why the undeniable magic of Japanese culture has always attracted me to study its oriental societies and traditions. I have been enthralled by the Japanese language since I was a young teenager; reading 'Japanese for Busy People' at school and trying to note down homework reminders in Kanji, anything to incorporate Japanese into my daily life. As I grew, so did my desire to study Japanese culture and society. Yukio Mishima's politically aware novel 'Confessions of a Mask' captivated me. I found the contrast between the effeminate main character Kochan and the uber-masculine male figures present in teenage Japanese media refreshing. As a student of English I could …show more content…

This has helped me to approach my independent study of politics with an analytical mind, which is crucial when criticising political theories. Understanding international relations has become very important to me through the study of globalisation in Geography. I found the energy module fascinating as it related to the horrific nuclear disaster Japan faced earlier this year; I enjoyed discussing Naoto Kan's call for Japan to become a less nuclear dependant country and the response of non-governmental organisations to the crisis. I regularly use Japan as a case study to familiarise myself with writing about Asian politics and economics, which has developed my understanding of Japanese society. My Religious Studies A-level has helped me to understand how philosophy can influence the greater world through politics, such as the use of the 'Just War Theory' by politicians during discussions of the war in Libya. My independent research in Buddhism and Confucianism has helped me to understand how Japanese and Asian civilisation has developed; I am intrigued that Japan can be so urbanised while retaining such deeply spiritual

Show More
Related

  • The Go Masters And Turtleback Tombs And Japan's Impact Of War In Modern Japan

    1467 Words  | 3 Pages

    Much of what is considered modern Japan has been fundamentally shaped by its involvement in various wars throughout history. In particular, the events of World War II led to radical changes in Japanese society, both politically and socially. While much focus has been placed on the broad, overarching impacts of war on Japan, it is through careful inspection of literature and art that we can understand war’s impact on the lives of everyday people. The Go Masters, the first collaborative film between China and Japan post-WWII, and “Turtleback Tombs,” a short story by Okinawan author Oshiro Tatsuhiro, both give insight to how war can fundamentally change how a place is perceived, on both an abstract and concrete level.

    Read More

  • The Mask

    822 Words  | 2 Pages

    The mask is a form of deception or illusion. Sometimes, it can be worn as both. It hides the true emotions of slaves, keeping the slave master from knowing what is going on in their minds. The mask also allows the slave to have an identity without the master’s detection. The mask gives the illusion that the slave is exactly how the masters believe, ignorant, incapable of true emotion, and unable to think for themselves.

    Read More

  • The Power of True Feelings in The King of Masks

    1429 Words  | 3 Pages

    -- The quote from one the of characters Master Liang pinpoints a key theme in Wu Tianming 's movie The King of Masks, that is, the power of the true feelings in times of oppression and inequality. Wu Tianming is a representative of Chinese fourth generation filmmakers, who are known for a simple, natural and realistic way of storytelling as well as their thematic exploration of human nature and meaning of life . Masks is Wu's academic-winning work through which we can see his philosophy from the depiction of ordinary people and the trivial elements of daily life. The story takes place among 1930s in a small town of Sichuan, revolving around King, a street artist's change of perception from keeping to the feudal idea that his skills cannot be passed on through girls to finally allow his beloved adopted granddaughter Doggie be the heir. 1930s is a time of social hierarchy and gender inequality where the rights of minority are exploited; it is also a time of moral confinement, since most people do not receive education and unquestioningly follow the societal rules and customs simply because they are told to. However, Masks shows us that the power of true feelings and humanity can eventually allow people to overcome all the barriers and defeat injustice, as in the ending King is finally able to let go all of the societal restrictions to teach Doggie face-changing because he realizes that nothing is more important than their familial love and bonding. The film's emphasis on emotional depiction, accompanying by artistic cinematography, tranquil scenery and the charm of Chinese traditional art, all have contributed to the timelessness and immutability of the p...

    Read More

  • Purity in Circle K Cycles by Karen Tei Yamashita

    2804 Words  | 6 Pages

    ...we are given insight to how “unpure” Dekasegi’s are treated within Japan through Miss Hamamatsu and Ze Maria. Not only does Yamashita’s use of short stories, but she also uses form to show the clash of cultures. By using form we see how different conservative Japanese juxtaposed against the animated Brazilians. However, despite the Japanese need of trying to maintain “all things Japanese” we shown that Japanese is a language that isn’t pure in itself. Yamashita plays with the idea of impure language by hybridizing Japanese with Brazilian words. In the end, we are shown both that Japans advocating of keeping Japan pure, somewhat fails.

    Read More

  • Yukio Mishima's Novel The Sailor Who Fell From Grace With The Sea

    1213 Words  | 3 Pages

    Yukio Mishima once said, “It is my firm belief that our basic Japanese character was stunted by Westernization” (Fox). This quote captures the central idea of Mishima’s novel The Sailor Who Fell from Grace with the Sea. The story revolves around the realm of values from a constant post-war perspective where a clash between tradition and contemporary ideals is evident. Mishima, a man with samurai ancestry and ardent defender of Japan's traditional values, embodied the contrasting traits of the Japan he was raised in and the country in which he died. Through the characters Ryuji and Fusako Mishima demonstrates the changing nature of Japanese culture. The stark transformation of Ryuji after his enchantment with Fusako in Mishima’s novel represent the struggle between the duality of the east and the west that existed in Post World War II Japan and Mishima’s life. The novel serves as an allegory to Mishima’s poltical beliefs regarding Japan and criticizes the western influence that pushed Japan to modernize and change after the war.

    Read More

  • Postmodern Surrealism in Murakami's, Second Bakery Attack

    1898 Words  | 4 Pages

    Suzuki, Tomi. Narrating the Self: Fictions of Japanese Modernity. Palo Alto: Stanford University Press, 1996.

    Read More

  • Yukio Mishima's 'Confessions Of A Mask'

    985 Words  | 2 Pages

    The book of Confessions of a Mask is written by Yukio Mishima. This book is talked about Kochan, who is a homosexual, he always wears a mask and act like a normal man in front of his friends or women; he learns to mimic the inherent qualities of “normal” individuals by his peers, but he fails to do so at the end. He is able to appreciate the feminine beauty whole, but not being sexually aroused by that woman. There have some examples to prove that he is a homosexual and he has no lust with women.

    Read More

  • Yukio Mishima's The Sailor Who Fell from Grace with the Sea -  Existentialist Views On Death

    1181 Words  | 3 Pages

    Yukio Mishima's The Sailor Who Fell from Grace with the Sea -  Existentialist Views On Death

    Read More

  • The Man Behind the Mask in Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe

    847 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Man Behind the Mask in Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe The aspects of similarity and difference to today's world, in the novel Things Fall Apart, by Chinua Achebe, are fascinating to observe; the cultural beliefs and pressures of a society are very much like today's media's effect on many teenagers and young girls. The story is a journey through the life of a man whose influential past causes him to struggle in building his own future. Okonkwo's father affects his current life and causes him to struggle with certain issues in many ways, for instance Okonkwo tries to be the exact opposite of his father, personality wise and Okonkwo's main solution to this is violence, mostly towards his family. However, Okonkwo's culture helps shape his personality as well. Yet the ending to his life is not as fulfilling as he had hoped for.

    Read More

  • Asian American Literature

    499 Words  | 1 Pages

    Asian American Literature Asian Americans seem to be fighting an unwinnable battle when it comes to the content of their writing. Writers are criticized by whites for speaking out against discrimination, and by their fellow Asian Americans for contributing to the stereotypes through their silence. I believe that Asian Americans should include politics in their writing as they so choose, but should not feel obligated to do so, as Frank Chin suggests. For those Asian Americans who make known their discontent with the injustice and discrimination that they feel, in the white culture, this translates to attacking American superiority and initiating insecurities. For Mura, a writer who dared to question why an Asian American was not allowed to audition for an Asian American role, his punishment was “the ostracism and demonization that ensued”.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Satoshi Kon's Perfect Blue

    856 Words  | 2 Pages

    Japanese filmmakers excel at captivating/terrifying audiences with films that deal with the psyche, the base human instincts to stressful or horrific events. As opposed to Western psychological thrillers that often focus on frightening the audience, Japanese psychological thrillers focus on the effects the and the inner turmoil that characters experience. A common aspect of these films is the repression of the self. Many of the characters put on a face to appear fine but when they have reached their limit it results in a complete breakdown. The character’s inability to suppress the reality of themselves seeps into what they project onto others.

    Read More

  • Emotion in Japanese Film Fireworks

    1613 Words  | 4 Pages

    Bushido is a Japanese term for the samurai code of behavior that includes the ideal of self-control. Central to this ideal is the consideration that it is "unmanly" for a samurai to display his emotions on his face (Nitobe 94). This traditional aspect of behaviour penetrates deep into contemporary Japanese culture. By examining Fireworks, a Japanese film of the 1990s, we can observe how the idealized image of the samurai transplants itself into a contemporary gangster film (jakuzza-geki). Further, I will argue that Japanese ideal behavior (as descended from Bushido) implicitly calls for the cinematic presentation of emotion at a site other than the face. Using sequences from the film, I will explore how internalized emotion is presented in the form of graphic violence - allowing the main character, Nishi, to preserve his "samurai" dignity.

    Read More

  • The Concept Of Self In Franz Fanon's Black Skin, White Masks

    1579 Words  | 4 Pages

    There is an inherently [worrisome] aspect to the question of what is self and how can it be free. After all, is the self not so easily determined or identifiable? Should self not just be an identity shaped and defined by the specific individual? However, as recognized by Franz Fanon in Black Skin, White Masks, the concept of self is not so easily classified, nor is it so easily determined by the individual. Both observing and experiencing French colonialism in the Antilles, Fanon recognized the societal disparity that existed between black Martinicans and white colonialists. This social inequality between the black Martinicans and the white French demonstrated that whiteness, the physical skin color, determined humanity and anything less

    Read More

  • Gender Ideals in Heian Society

    1083 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Heian period(794-1185), the so-called golden age of Japanese culture, produced some of the finest works of Japanese literature.1 The most well known work from this period, the Genji Monogatari, is considered to be the “oldest novel still recognized today as a major masterpiece.”2 It can also be said that the Genji Monogatari is proof of the ingenuity of the Japanese in assimilating Chinese culture and politics. As a monogatari, a style of narrative with poems interspersed within it, the characters and settings frequently allude to Chinese poems and stories. In addition to displaying the poetic prowess that the Japanese had attained by this time period, the Genji Monogatari also demonstrates how politics and gender ideals were adopted from the Chinese.

    Read More

  • Yukio Mishima's The Sailor Who Fell From Grace with the Sea

    1017 Words  | 3 Pages

    Yukio Mishima’s novel The Sailor who fell from Grace with the Sea, represents the conflicts between pre-WW2 Japan and post-WW2 Japan, the author constructs the novel with characters whose lives are pulled into conflicting directions that portray the changing culture of Japan during that era. In the novel Fusako, the mother of Noboru and the girlfriend of Ryuji, is a woman who is caught up by conflicts, that many post-WWII Japanese women would face, which take place in her life and are direct cause of her actions throughout the novel. Fusako’s conflicts symbolize the issues faced by post-WWII Japan. Fusako is a woman with who has needs for intimacy but seeks these needs as if she was man, she has to deal with the needs of her growing boy, Noboru, who is fatherless at the moment, and also has the need to transform into a Westernized business woman as opposed to representing a traditional Japanese woman.

    Read More

More about Yukio Mishima's Confessions Of A Mask

Open Document