由紀夫·三島

Mizoguchi has been mentally troubled since he witnessed his mother's infidelity in the presence of his dying father. Mizoguchi feels utterly abandoned and alone until he becomes a pdest at Kinka-kuji, a famous Buddhist temple in Kyoto. Failing in his quest to find the warmth of human companionship in the temple, the young man, tormented by the temple's exquisite beauty, decides to destroy himself and all he loves. He feels he cannot live in peace as long as the temple exists. Mizoguchi, like many other troubled Mishima heroes, becomes obsessed with unattainable ideals. The Temple of the Golden Pavilion reflects Mishima's preoccupations with beauty and death in a clear and unmistakable manner. It is also an excellent example of a theme that frequently arises in Mishima's work: the resentment of the object of desire. Because this novel, arguably Mishima's best, reflects the author's suicidal tendencies, it also offers us insight into one of the twentieth century's greatest and most complex literary icons.

金閣寺

Temple of the Golden Pavilion, The

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"I'm the kind that doesn't care about that sort of thing at all," he said.

I was amazed. Having been raised in the rough environment of the country, I was unfamiliar with this type of gentleness. Tsurukawa's gentleness taught me that, even if stuttering were removed from my existence, I could still remain myself. I thoroughly enjoyed being stripped stark naked. Tsurukawa's eyes, bordered with their long lashes, filtered away my stuttering and accepted the rest of me just as I was. Until then I had been under the strange illusion that to disregard my stuttering was of itself equivalent to annihilating that existence called "me"

People with comic looks like me are extremely adept at avoiding the danger of appearing tragic by mistake. I knew very well that if I once began to appear tragic, people would no longer feel at ease when they came into contact with me. It was especially important for the souls of other people that i should never appear to be a wretched figure

Temple of the Golden Pavilion, The quotes

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