The Temple of the Golden Pavilion is a 1959 translation of the 1956 book; it was originally given to me by my sister, Erin. I don't know if she read it for school or pleasure, or if she read it at all. I always meant to read it, but earlier this week, I saw it on Audible and gave it a listen. Based roughly on the arson of the Reliquary of Kinkaku-ji in Kyoto, Japan by a schizophrenic initiate of the Zen Buddhist order, it tells the story of Mizoguchi, who lives in abject poverty as an initiate while the Master of the Rectory spends millions of yen on cigarettes, prostitutes, and high living.
Told from Mizoguchi's point of view, the story is episodic, beginning with his childhood obsession with a neighborhood girl who dies at the hand of her lover, a soldier who has deserted from the Japanese army. His obsession with beauty grows as he eyes the ultimate prize, the Temple of the Golden Pavilion. At first, he wishes to be the Master of the Rectory, but he is disillusioned by the current Master's decadent life.
After he sets the Reliquary on fire, Mizoguchi plans to kill himself. Having bought arsenic and a pocket knife, he throws these things away and lights a cigarette, deciding to live. Yukio Mishima, the author of this novel, decided to die in 1972, when he committed ritual suicide by stabbing his abdomen while an appointed second cut off his head. His reasons for doing so are too complex to discuss here, but his death sent shock waves through Japan and the literary world.
No comments:
Post a Comment