The Temple of Dawn - Yukio Mishima

Discovering Literary Gems

It was surprisingly difficult to find books by famous novelists at several local bookstores. By chance, I stumbled across a small used bookstore that had an impressive collection of great works I've been wanting to read from authors like Mishima, Chekhov, and Hemingway—all at a low price. For now, I restricted myself to just three books, one of which is The Temple of Dawn by Yukio Mishima.

A Dive into The Temple of Dawn

This book is the third installment in Mishima's four-part epic The Sea of Fertility, intended to be some of his last published works before his abrupt death. While I would have preferred to start from the beginning, this was the only volume available, and it proved to be an excellent choice.

At just 330 pages, it’s much shorter than a typical Tolstoy novel. Surprisingly, the first few chapters read more like a travel guide, with the main character, Mr. Honda, traveling from Thailand to India and back to Japan. The detailed descriptions of the life and culture in these exotic locales renewed my desire for international travel, as these are all places on my bucket list.

Philosophical Insights

The Temple of Dawn is filled with noteworthy quotes and, in many ways, serves as Mishima's musings on various philosophical and religious concepts. He attempts to craft his perspective on the world. Here are a few of my favorites so far:

• “The reason why young men patter on about the future so was simply that they didn't yet have it. Possessing by letting go of things was a secret of ownership unknown to youth.” (Page 17-18)
• “Actually, except for natural calamities, historical events occurred, no matter how unexpected they might seem, only after long maturation.” (Page 20)
  
• “Single-mindedness often gives rise to viciousness.” (Page 34)

Update: Finished the Book

There is something surprisingly refreshing about finishing a novel. Perhaps it's a sense of accomplishment, even if it's for something small. I found this book fairly easy to read. Although Mishima included a lot of cultural and historical context that required some additional research via Wikipedia, this helped me better understand the overall narrative.

The Conclusion

The point of the story? There isn't one, really. All the characters and events culminate in a somewhat meaningless conclusion: life exists, and then it ends. This realization felt somewhat anti-climactic, similar to observations I’ve made in other books.

In a sense, because there is no overarching point, there is no reason for "meanness" or "cruelty." Absent any religious or philosophical reasoning, negative actions seem exhausting in terms of energy expended. Conversely, the pursuit of more positive endeavors appears to align more naturally with human nature and understanding.