Eroticism in Yukio Mishimas The Temple of the Golden Pavilion Author: Sabah Carrim If Eros is the desire to regain

a lost wholeness 1, then we knowingly or unknowingly continually engage in eroticism !he feeling of wanting to be "art of a greater dri#e, a bigger flow that is eternal and enduring haunts us day after day $es"ite our concerted efforts to get rid of this indefatigable itch, our sublimation into this ethereal realm of continuity is only tem"orary, and therefore ne#er satisfying %e are "er"etually egested from a system, and as indigestible creatures, still stri#e to find our way back !his "redicament merely instills a more ardent cra#e for an e#entual assimilation of some sort I "ro"ose to show that this inter"retation of life and li#ing has coloured &ukio 'ishima(s thinking, and has "er#aded one of his best no#els, !he !em"le of the )olden *a#ilion I will ado"t +ataille(s indi#idual notion of eroticism and show how this fits in neatly and effortlessly in the interstices of the story that 'ishima tells us about 'i,oguchi, the "rotagonist It must howe#er be "ointed out that there is no direct link between these two authors( works, although it must be a#erred that +ataille(s insights were "re#alent on the intellectual scene by the time 'ishima wrote his no#el in 1-./ 0 1ther a""roaches ado"ted by "hiloso"hers such as 2riedrich 3iet,sche and 4ene )irard will also be incor"orated in this essay !he no#el is based on a true incident where a young 5a"anese boy set fire to an ancient 6en tem"le 7hereinafter referred to as the 8)olden !em"le(9 in :yoto and who on being tried before the courts of law, said: 8I hate myself, my e#il, ugly, stammering self ( 7!)*, #ii9 A "oignant statement made in a re"ort of the trial stated that because of his 8self;hate and self;detestation he hated anything beautiful <e could not hel" always feeling a strong destructi#e desire for hurting and destroying anything that was beautiful ( Similarly, in the no#el, the boy dis"lays en#y towards the beauty and s"lendor of the )olden !em"le and setting fire to it marks the conclusion of the act of eroticism Eros, one of the ty"es of lo#e in )recian tradition, at its sim"lest manifestation re"resents carnal desire <owe#er, a dee"er understanding of eroticism e#okes the notion that something inherently dissatisfied 7or incom"lete9 tries to "erforate and "enetrate a membrane of wholeness, #iolating its serenity and sanctity in order to become "art of it !his intrusion by the desiring sub=ect into the domain of the ob=ect of desire culminates into a sense of o#er"owering relief, almost a clima> And like all clima>es, the gratification is merely tem"orary and lea#es the incom"lete sub=ect yearning for more Integration remains solely in the realm of dream and desire that gi#es the restless sub=ect something to do and something to look forward to in a 8life of sham, drudgery and broken dreams (?

1 0

5ames <unter, 5ournal of 4eligion and <ealth, @ol 00, 3o ? 72all, 1-A?9, "" 1B.;1-C, 1BB 5ohn 4 %allace, !arrying with the 3egati#e: Aesthetic @ision in 'urasaki and 'ishima, 'onumenta 3i""onica, @ol .0, 3o 0 7Summer, 1--B9, "" 1A1;1-- at 1A0 ? 'a> Ehrmann !he $esiderata of <a""iness

)eorge +ataille em"loys this se>ual machinery to e>"lain the dri#ing force behind our actions and moti#es <e di#ides man(s daily "artici"ation in erotic acti#ities into three categories: "hysical, emotional and religious 7E,1.9 In all of these, +ataille aims to show that the 8concern is to substitute for the indi#idual isolated discontinuity a feeling of "rofound continuity (7ibid9 2or the "ur"oses of this essay I will restrict myself to the second one 2or eroticism to take "lace we can single out the factors that +ataille deems necessary !here must be: A9 A sub=ect who yearns to be connected and a corres"onding attribute, not necessarily "hysical that is the ob=ect of yearningD +9 A connection of o""osites between the two, that is the sub=ect and the ob=ect which creates the tension that is necessaryD C9 !he #iolence or #iolation that arises when these two mergeD $9 A clima>, a sort of gratification, but not one that gi#es com"lete relief !hese will be tackled in turn

7A9 A human being who yearns to be connected and a corres"onding attribute, not necessarily "hysical that is the ob=ect of yearning In the no#el, 'i,oguchi is obsessed with the idea of beauty and anything and e#erything that e"itomi,es this attribute, turns into the ob=ect of his disdain and on some occasions, is e#en destroyed at the hands of his #iolent im"ulses %hile 'i,oguchi is growing u", his father describes the )olden !em"le laudably to his maturing son 'i,oguchi therefore con=ures u" an o#er embellished and e>aggerated image of the )olden !em"le which he has ne#er seen 7E9 <e says:
Fthe #ery characters with which the name of the tem"le was written and the #ery sound of the word im"arted some fabulous Guality to the )olden !em"le that was engra#ed on my heart 7E9

!hereafter the )olden !em"le turns into the yardstick of com"arison for anything beautiful:
e#en when I saw a beautiful face, the simile would s"ring into my mind: 8lo#ely as the )olden !em"le (7009

<is father(s secret ho"e is that his son will some day accede to the "osition of Su"erior of the )olden !em"le %hen he is finally taken to the )olden !em"le, 'i,oguchi dreads the encounter because he fears disillusionment 2or him, the )olden !em"le has figured as the emblem of beauty and "erfection which counters the misery that he endures due to his "hysical ugliness and embarrassing stutter !he aesthetic contrast between the architectural structure and the "rotagonist is glaring

It must be noted that the "rotagonist is not necessarily en#ious of the )olden !em"le but rather, of its "ercei#ed beauty As +ataille says:
8!he choice of ob=ect always de"ends on the "ersonal taste of the sub=ectD e#en if it lights u"on a woman whom most men would choose, the decisi#e factor is often an intangible as"ect of this woman, not an ob=ecti#e GualityD7E, 0-9

'i,oguchi(s attitude towards beauty, the attribute that he yearns to be connected to, and the threat it "oses to his self;esteem are re#ealed through the disturbance it stirs u" on e#ery contact he has with it A few incidents where beauty is destroyed or besmirched can be "icked out from the story: when he comes across a senior student from 'ai,uru 3a#al Engineering School who ridicules him in "ublic, he #ents out his anger by engra#ing ugly cuts on the beautiful black scabbard of his sword !his is the first act of destruction It is also during this "art that 'ishima reinforces this estranged relationshi" that 'i,oguchi shares with beauty, e#en through the style he ado"ts in writing the story 2or e>am"le, he =u>ta"oses three aesthetic ob=ects in the same sentence to draw the "arallelism among them, and to re#eal 'i,oguchi(s eGual disdain and a""rehension towards them:
I was sitting by myself on the ground a few yards away Such was my manner toward the 'ay flowers and toward that "ride;filled uniform and toward those bright "eals of laughter 7B9

!he second act of destruction takes "lace when 'i,oguchi wishes for the death of beautiful Hiko who insults his manly "ride by mocking him E !he changing attitude towards beauty is e#ident here: at first 'i,oguchi goes out of his way to encounter Hiko in his Guest for understanding the beauty in her and then later when he is indirectly ridiculed because of his own lack of it, he turns wild and curses her %hen she effecti#ely dies but for other reasons, he takes it u"on himself that his curse caused it 7109 !he third act of destruction occurs when he tram"les a young "rostitute(s stomach under duress in the )olden !em"le(s "recincts 7A.9 !hese three acts of destruction in which one witnesses the transformation of beauty into ugliness, culminate into the fourth and final one when he sets fire to the )olden !em"le Hndoubtedly, beauty is the cause of trouble in 'i,oguchi(s life and to dri#e this "oint home, the letter that 'i,oguchi writes to his father, acknowledging the beauty of the )olden !em"le, is answered by a telegram announcing the latter(s death 7?C9 !hese relati#ely minor instances of witnessing beauty being besmirched make us recogni,e the magnitude of what 'i,oguchi does to the )olden !em"le !hroughout the book the role of the )olden !em"le(s beauty in 'i,oguchi(s life is dualistic: it consoles and it threatens It consoles . so long as it "romises to re#eal the secret of its beauty to him It threatens when it makes a mockery of his contrasting
E

It can be argued that wishing for the death of someone is not com"arable to actually doing harm to another <owe#er, as noted "re#iously in the te>t, the difference between the mind 7thoughts9 and the body 7the "hysical9 is obfuscated in that e#en 'i,oguchi does not make a difference between being en#ious of the beautiful tem"le7body9 for Gualities that he thinks he doesn(t "ossess7the mind9

ugliness 2or eroticism to be "ossible, this contrast is necessary because as it builds u", the lo#e;hate relationshi" triggers feelings of #iolence and e#okes the desire for destruction 'ishima howe#er, meticulously del#es into the dee"er Guestion of beauty <e dissects the features of the )olden !em"le so as to e>"ose the true meaning of its beauty !he )olden !em"le(s beauty is thus Gualified by its immutability, continuity and also its emulation of certain "hiloso"hical ideals harboured by 'i,oguchi All these traits at different "oints in the no#el, interfere with his "sychological make u" and together, they create the reGuired tension needed in the erotic "rocess when he finally sets fire to the )olden !em"le In the ne>t section, I will e>"lore these contrasting elements !he human being in the erotic relationshi" is self;e#idently 'i,oguchi, and he yearns to be connected to the attribute of beauty 7+9 A connection of o""osites between the two, that is the sub=ect and the ob=ect which creates the tension that is necessary +ataille(s take on eroticism can be used to e>"lain the causal effect between the )olden !em"le(s Gualities and how these "rom"t 'i,oguchi to commit the final act of destruction Since eroticism is about something inchoate yearning to merge with something unified, then this tension between o""osites can also established in the following circumstances: i9 %hen there is fusion between ugliness and beauty ii9 %hen there is fusion between discontinuity and continuity iii9 %hen there is fusion between the actual and the ideal In all these abo#e e>am"les, it is the sub=ect that suffers incom"leteness and seeks to merge with the ob=ect that re"resents flawless integrity and absolute coherence !he e>istence of the o""osite natures of what seeks to in#ade the other is an im"ortant "rereGuisite for eroticism !he wider the rift between the o""osing elements, the greater is the #iolence "roduced when they are merged, and this in turn is directly "ro"ortional to the resulting "leasure gained I "ro"ose to show a range of o""osite interests that e>ist between 'i,oguchi and the )olden !em"le, which together dri#e him to set fire to it 7i9 'i,oguchi(s ugliness and the )olden !em"le(s beauty

+eauty has a cardinal im"ortance, for ugliness cannot be s"oiled, and to des"oil is the essence of eroticismF !he greater the beauty, the more it is befouled 7+ataille, 1E.9

2or me, beauty must be of something of this nature +eauty such as this could cut me off from life and "rotect me from life " 111 !)*
.

%hen 'i,oguchi first sees the )olden !em"le he is thoroughly disa""ointed 70E9 It is not as beautiful and glorious as he had imagined !hroughout the rest of the story, it is only when 'i,oguchi is miles away from the )olden !em"le that it a""ears most beautiful !he literal meaning of this transfigures into a meta"horical significance such that beauty will eternally remain distant from ugliness Any reconciliation can only result in turbulence and conflict :ashiwagi, 'i,oguchi(s friend, who is clubfooted is introduced into the story and his attitude towards beauty constitutes an effecti#e foil to the latter(s "osition 'i,oguchi ne#er settles down with the reality of his handica" like :ashiwagi does It a""ears that the idealistic 'i,oguchi belie#es in the fusion of both beauty and ugliness, in the ho"e of the "ermanent annihilation of the latter by the former !his is why as mentioned earlier, he kee"s beckoning the )olden !em"le 8to re#eal its secret to him ( 7?/9 In their #ery first e>change, :ashiwagi "resents himself as a resolute and cold hearted "erson who doesn(t want to be wooed by the "retences of others !his is why he e>"lains that when a beautiful girl offers herself to him, he turns her down without any reticence !he moti#e of this action stems from a willful resistance on his "art to submit to an outer "ower, beyond his control and to be thus assimilated by something he recogni,es to be su"erior than him In this case, it is the woman(s beauty !his is why he e>"lains that if she brought u" his ugliness and his handica" as a reason for her lo#e, it would annoy him because he knows that this is the trait that marks the differences between both of them:
Almost anything that she said would be wrong If she "retended that I had an attracti#e face when in fact I don(t, she would ha#e annoyed me If she said that my clubfeet were beautiful, that would ha#e annoyed me e#en more And if she made some remark about not lo#ing me for my outer a""earance, but because of what she felt was inside me, she(d really ha#e made me angry 7-B9

!his e>"lains why :ashiwagi deems this union im"ossible when he "ictures the young girl(s beautiful feet touching his ugly club feet <e is more reassured in slee"ing with an old woman whom he meets later on, whose ugliness matches his own 71C19 <e belie#es until the end that beauty and his own ugliness cannot and should not be reconciled It is the res"ect for and acce"tance of this in#aluable rule of life that instates and ensures order in :ashiwagi(s life It is clear that he bears no illusions and wants to acce"t his weakness for what it is <e knows that e#en if he engages with beauty, ugliness will in no way be merged thoroughly and be obliterated :ashiwagi says:
F I reali,ed that the "roblem lay not in trying to shorten the distance between myself and the ob=ect, but in maintaining this distance so that the ob=ect might remain an ob=ect 71C09

:ashiwagi knows that the "ower of beauty, of something su"erior than what he "ossesses will kee" him on a leash fore#er !his is not acce"table to his bold s"iritedness and his radical hatred for any form of submission +ut 'i,oguchi is different A certain ser#ility o"erates in him which nurtures the erotic relationshi" he shares with the )olden !em"le <e is too clair#oyant about the omni"resent, mesmeri,ing effect of the )olden !em"le and kee"s on being reminded of his inferiority com"ared to it In one "assage, in

what seems like a "rayer to the )olden !em"le, 'i,oguchi beseeches it to 8make friends with 7him9 and re#eal 7its9 secret to 7him9F( and to 8"lease tell 7him9 why 7it is9 so beautiful, why it is necessary for 7it9 to be so beautiful( 7?/9 It is this des"erate wish, that almost sounds like a "lea and a "rayer that re#eals 'i,oguchi(s inferiority com"le>, and his desire to be absorbed by what he cannot ha#e !his relationshi" of inferiority that 'i,oguchi shares with the )olden !em"le, reminds us of one of the central tenets of 3iet,sche(s "hiloso"hy on the will to "ower %ill to "ower for 3iet,sche is the accumulation of that frustration inherent in man #is;I; #is life which com"els him to re#eal his e>istence through all sorts of actions which show the "ower he has o#er his en#ironment 3iet,sche belie#es it is an attem"t by man to feel his own worth and im"ortance 'i,oguchi(s act is com"arable !he e#ents in his life that humiliate him re"eatedly, for e>am"le his inability to be as outgoing as :ashiwagi or his inbuilt frustration at being mocked at by his classmates and beautiful Hkio, lea#e him "owerless and subdued <is stutter is ob#iously another factor that adds to his frustration:
%hen a stutterer is struggling des"erately to utter his first sound, he is like a little bird that is trying to e>tricate itself from thick lime %hen finally he manages to free himself, it is too late !o be sure, there are times when the reality of the outer world seems to ha#e been waiting for me, folding its arms as it were, while I was struggling to free myself +ut the reality that is waiting for me is not a fresh reality %hen finally I reach the outer world after all my efforts, all that I find is a reality that has instantly changed color and gone out of focus; a reality that has lost the freshness that I had considered fitting for myself, and that gi#es off a half;"utrid odor 7.9

It is the desire to o#ercome what he deems to be his weaknesses that moti#ates 'i,oguchi !he act of destruction is an act of going beyond himself 3iet,sche e>"lains his will to "ower in these terms:
75ust like9 the "roto"lasm stretches its "seudo"odia in order to search for something that resists it; not from hunger but from will to "ower It then attem"ts to o#ercome this thing, to a""ro"riate it, to incor"orate it %hat we call 8nourishment(is a merely deri#ati#e a""earance, a "ractical a""lication of that original will to become stronger /

!he abo#e "assage can be com"ared to the relationshi" that 'i,oguchi shares with the )olden !em"le <e is trying to o#ercome, a""ro"riate and incor"orate its beauty at first by unra#eling its mystery and then e#entually destroying it E#en when he decides between taking the life of the Su"erior and destroying the !em"le, he o"ts for the latter because the real ob=ecti#e is to suck in the beauty of this world: 8If I were to set fire to the )olden !em"le, which had been designated a 3ational !reasure in 1A-B, I should be committing an act of "ure destruction, of irre"arable ruin, an act which would truly decrease the #olume of beauty that human beings had created in this world (71-19 'i,oguchi(s idealistic as"irations are further car#ed out into the reader(s mind when it is mentioned that 'i,oguchi fares badly in Jogic com"ared to the other sub=ects he takes u" in Hni#ersityB7-19, a disci"line which in contrast, :ashiwagi aces !here is no logic and no sense in 'i,oguchi com"romising his chances of being the ne>t Su"erior
/

!he will to *ower " ?B? n AC

in such a stu"id way !here is no logic and no sense in an ugly and stuttering indi#idual seeking re#enge for his ugliness and destroying the beautiful )olden !em"le as a conseGuence !here is no logic and no sense when 'i,oguchi suddenly reali,es the futility in committing the arson and still goes ahead with it &et this is the story, this is what really ha""ened to the )olden !em"le 7ii9 $iscontinuity of 'i,oguchi(s e>istence and continuity of the )olden !em"le

%e are discontinuous beings, indi#iduals who "erish in isolation in the midst of an incom"rehensible ad#enture, but we yearn for our lost continuity %e find the state of affairs that binds us to our random and e"hemeral indi#iduality hard to bear Along with our tormenting desire that this e#anescent thing should last, there stands our obsession with a "rimal continuity linking us with e#erything that is this nostalgia is res"onsible for eroticism in man 71n eroticism, +ataille, introduction9

At a #ery basic le#el, 'i,oguchi is a discontinuous being because like e#ery human being, his life has an e>"iry date against the unending nature of mankind(s e>istence !his may account for the sim"le yearning he has for something erotic in his life which would trigger the desire to be "art of something bigger !he monotony of his life and the drag of his e>istence is echoed through his words:
I must state what the defeat really meant to me It was not a liberation 3o, it was by no means a liberation, It was nothing else than a return to the unchanging eternal +uddhist routine which merged into our daily life !his routine was now firmly re;established and continued unaltered from the day after the Surrender: the 8o"ening of the rules,( morning tasks, 8gruel session(, meditation, 8medicine( of the e#ening meal, bathing, 8o"ening the "illow(

!his is a monotony of su""ression, frustration and fear because 'i,oguchi doesn(t understand what the Su"erior has in store for him and doesn(t com"rehend the basis of his silence !he torment of the re"etition makes him e>"lode in the end +ut this basic notion of continuity #ersus discontinuity gi#es rise to e#eryday desires in e#ery human being %hat makes our "rotagonist s"ecial is that the feeling of discontinuity in him is caused by many more meta"hysical and almost s"iritual factors which are mentioned "rofusely in the no#el: for e>am"le, 'i,oguchi s"eaks about the disconnection that e>ists between the interior and the e>terior:
'y stuttering, I need hardly say, "laced an obstacle between me and the outside world It is the first sound that I ha#e trouble in uttering !his first sound is like a key to the door that se"arates my inner world from the world outside, and I ha#e ne#er known that key to turn smoothly in the lock 7.9

1r still, the uncon#entional beliefs he has that "laces him at odds with "eo"le when he says:
81ther "eo"le must all be destroyed In order that I might truly face the sun, the world itself must be destroyedF71?9(
B

!he disdain for rationality is reflected in <enry Stokes relation of the 'ishima(s comment on "utting u" a statue of A"ollo; )oddess of 4ationality in his own garden: 8'y des"icable model of the rational( 7<enry Scott Stokes " 1?19

'i,oguchi(s "rocess of self;disco#ery and self;recognition often estranges him from his comrades %hen he "hiloso"hi,es about his role and function on this earth, he mulls o#er how in his "osition as a "riest one day, e#eryone will ha#e to "ass through him before mo#ing on to the other world
8!he knowledge that I was to stand waiting in a dark world with both hands stretched out !hat some day the 'ay flowers, the uniforms, my ill;natured classmates would all come into my outstretched hands !o be sei,ed with the knowledge that I myself was gras"ing the world, sGuee,ing it out, as it were, at the baseF(7A9

Already, this reali,ation hurls him right into the heart of that ha,y dimension where all sorts of e>istentialist Guestions s"rout from his mind !his #antage "oint ine#itably obscures the integrity of his soul and the wholeness within A broken, incom"lete and restless soul is a necessary "rereGuisite for a "erson to yearn for an erotic e>"erience Such an insight into 'i,oguchi(s being builds u" the tem"o steadily and "re"ares us for the final act Another way of understanding 'i,oguchi(s sense of discontinuity is that it is an inner e>"erience that is felt the moment desires eru"t $esires gi#e rise to incom"leteness because it denotes a lack 'i,oguchi(s desires are manifold: the most identifiable desires he has are of beauty and "ower If 'i,oguchi is thus discontinuous, the !em"le acts as the emblem of continuity If we consider +ataille(s theory on continuity and discontinuity, we find that the )olden !em"le re"resents continuity in contrast to 'i,oguchi(s e"hemeral e>istence !he building stands solid, robust and firm 2or +ataille, the essence of eroticism, is in the attem"t of an indi#idual to simulate a state of continuity in defiance of his own discontinuity !he indi#idual for e>am"le, indulges in "hysical eroticism through #iolence, as an assertion of his e>istence In essence, the indi#idual who knows of his transience, finds all sorts of ways to defy and a#oid it, through whate#er means are a#ailable Another illustration of the idea is gi#en by +ataille in the conte>t of animal sacrifices which are a form of religious eroticism !he sudden death of an animal is defied by the fact that obser#ers and bystanders take u" a new awareness of their own continuity des"ite the #iolence and the discontinuity they witness during the sacrifice !he )olden !em"le must be destroyed because of its undying "otential which 'i,oguchi knows he would not be able to li#e u" to $uring one of his numerous silent soliloGuies, 'i,oguchi reinforces this Guality of continuity that the tem"le "ossesses in com"arison to the life of a human being which is inherently discontinuous <e reasons that he would rather destroy the )olden !em"le than kill its Su"erior because only the former act would change the way of the world as it8would truly decrease the #olulme of beauty that human beings had created in this world( 71-E9 !he )olden !em"le for him re"resents 8the rigid Guality of e>ist7ence9( which is not com"arable to the transient life of the Su"erior !hat is why the former is chosen to be destroyed !he idea of the )olden !em"le(s indestructibility is also re#ealed in the following sentence

I knew and I belie#ed that, amid all the changes of the world, the )olden !em"le remained there safe and immutable 7019

!he idea of eternity is again bared when he s"eaks about the co""er;gold "hoeni> which crowned the roof of the !em"le:
1ther birds fly through the air, but this golden "hoeni> was flying eternally through time on its shining wings 70C9

7iii9 !he restlessness of the actual and the "eacefulness of the ideal 1ne could easily lose out on the significance of the "olitical innuendoes attached with the )olden !em"le 2or 'i,oguchi and indirectly 'ishima, the )olden !em"le incarnates the #alues of its contem"oraneous world which in their #iew were corru"t, and weakened by the slow infiltration of western industrial #alues !he "assing mention of the American soldier who mistreats the young 5a"anese "rostitute is already an indication of a once "roud and self res"ecting culture that is being debased before the "ower of the in#asi#e settler culture !he destruction of the )olden !em"le is symbolically im"ortant: it is the necessary transition for the establishment of resistant and sturdy #alues which 'ishima ardently ho"es for !he war would act as a cleanser and in the story, it is tragic for the "rotagonist to watch the )olden !em"le standing firm des"ite the aerial attacks by the enemies !he )olden !em"le must go so as to gi#e way to change and reform, the ideation that is ho"ed for by 'i,oguchi and 'ishima
Fthis tem"le had been constructed by unrest, it had been built by numerous dark;hearted owners who had one general in their midst !he uncoordinated design of its three stories, in which the art historian could only see a blend of styles, had surely been e#ol#ed naturally from the search for a style that would crystalli,e all the surrounding unrest If instead it had been built in one fi>ed style, the )olden !em"le would ha#e been unable to embrace the unrest and would certainly ha#e colla"sed long since 7!)*, ?/; ?B9

!hrough this "assage, we can glean the dis"leasure and re"roof that 'ishima senses towards the corru"t #alues of 5a"anese society, where he belie#ed that coherence and integrity of a single #alue system was amiss Instead 'ishima #iews the #alues of his time as an irregular and ha"ha,ard can#as of "u,,le "ieces borrowed from a few different =igsaws and forced to fit in together clumsily !he corru"tion inherent in the actual social fabric creates a yearning for a system based on the "rece"ts of 'ishima(s ideology <ence when the war ends, instead of the usual burst of relief and =oy, 'i,oguchi, that is 'ishima feels a sense of des"air for a ho"e that became shattered As 5ohn 3athan says:
%hile !okyo burned, he had managed to feel a corres"ondence between his "ri#ate, internal world and e>ternal realityF+ut now that the fires were out and death was not longer a reality in the air, the dream that had "ermitted him to belie#e that he was symbolic of the age had #anished, and with it his confidence in his genius (A

!his greater #ision of life, and this "rayer for mankind and all that comes in between is really what turns 'i,oguchi into a stutterer !he act of stuttering is not =ust to be
A

5ohn 3athan, 'ishima, A +iogra"hy, Jittle, +rown, +oston, 1-BE, " /?

inter"reted literally In the outward act of stuttering, there is an inner frustration that is being built u" in 'i,oguchi where he is not being able to communicate his ideas to the others !his is suggested when the main character sees the 8usual fretful look that 7he9 was accustomed to seeing in "eo"le who were trying to make out 7his9 stuttering (7!)*, E?9 %hat is e#en more rele#ant is when he goes on to say:
%hen I re#eal im"ortant secrets, when I a""eal to "eo"le about the resounding feelings with which the sight of beauty fills me, when I try to bring my #ery #iscera into the o"en; what confronts me is a face like this

!his is maybe why 'i,oguchi(s meta"horical 8stutter( does not affect !surukawa7!)*, EE9 whose con#entional #iew of life classified human feelings in the neat little drawers that he ke"t in his roomF 7!)*, ?-9 In his ha""y and carefree world, !surukawa is obli#ious to these tensions in life <e is a filter through which 'i,oguchi(s thoughts of e#il, #iolence and destruction are take u" the a""earance of utmost innocence !o add to the symbolical significance of stuttering, as *ollack suggests, the name 8'i,oguchi( is "erha"s the 5a"anese eGui#alent of 4askolniko#, whose name means 8alienation( and signifies his estrangement from others -( 'i,oguchi(s greater #ision of life is also e#ident in the re#enge he seeks %hen he finds out that his mother cheated on his father, and the latter condoned it, he de#elo"s a yearning to a#enge himself on what 8this world would call lo#e( 7./9 and ne#er once think of a#enging himself on his own mother who is the cause of his distress In other words, 'i,ogochi doesn(t fight the su"erficial manifestation of the "roblem of deficient beauty in the system but wants to go to the #ery roots and tackle it from there 'i,oguchi(s struggle cannot be limited to the struggle of a sim"le ugly faced stutterer <is struggle is ob#iously an ideological struggle against the "rinci"les and "hiloso"hies of the world
*lease let me see the real )olden !em"le more clearly than I see the image of you in my mind 7!)*, ?/9

!he )olden !em"le is the tool needed for a becoming 'an is a becoming, a mo#ement =ust like eroticism is And this is close to the idea "ro"ounded by <eraclitus It is always a state in which one is trying to become something else !he real )olden !em"le is therefore a reference to a sort of s"iritual enlightenment, a nir#ana where man is seeking something idealistic !he truth remains that this state will ne#er be "ermanent Is 'ishima trying to tell us that he also belie#es that e#en though it is normal for him to desire such "erfection in life, he knows that this state of being is unattainableK 3earing the "ossibility of its destruction, the )olden !em"le grows more beautiful as it hints at a "romise of a new system of #alues through its own destruction
Indeed, if things continued as they were, the )olden !em"le was sure to turn into ashes Since this idea took root within me, the )olden !em"le once again increased in tragic beauty 7!)*, E09

*ollack, Action as 2itting 'atch to :nowledge, ?-.

1C

7C9 !he #iolence or #iolation that arises when o""osites merge

8%e cannot imagine the transition from one state to another one basically unlike it without "icturing the #iolence done to the being called into e>istence through discontinuity (, says +ataille 7E, 1B9

Another essential ingredient for eroticism is #iolence In the conte>t of the "hysical, it must be noted that +ataille locates #iolence in gras"ing what goes on, which in itself is inherently #iolent <e tries to identify this in the other s"heres that he discusses: that is the emotional and the religious too
Fso far as I was concerned, there seemed to be no relation between the semi;eternal e>istence of the )olden !em"le and the disaster of air raids I felt that the inherently indestructible tem"le and the scientific force of fire must be well aware of the com"lete difference between their natures, and that if they were to meet, they would automatically sli" away from each other 7!)*, E09

%ithin the framework of the no#el, the s"iritual catharsis that occurs at the end is "reem"ted by the #iolence in the act of setting fire to the !em"le @iolence is in o#ercoming the ob#ious resistance to the actD #iolence is in "re"aring for the actD #iolence is going ahead with the "rocess come what mayD #iolence is in watching the fire destroy something so immutable It only makes sense that 'i,oguchi doesn(t die with the flames If he did, the erotic "rocess would not be achie#ed, because in eroticism, the sub=ect must not merge infinitely but only "artly with that which is continuous
!he destruction of beauty is more beautiful than beauty itself 7<enry scott stokes " 10E9

Since eroticism is about e>"eriencing relief of some sort, it is necessary to note how indulging in #iolence is itself a form of relief 4ene )irard a""roaches the theme of #iolence by s"eaking of its dire necessity in any society 'an(s nature according to his thinking is not inclined towards "eacefulness and serenity but Guite the contrary It is through sacrificial rites or cultural "ractices that a society manages to channel the inner urge towards #iolence in a systematic and organi,ed fashion !hus :ashiwagi echoes this thought about man(s nature when he says that 8it(s on a beautiful s"ring afternoon like this that "eo"le suddenly become cruel( 71C/9 and scoffs at man(s attem"t to sto" "ublic e>ecutions because they 8were afraid it would make "eo"le bloodthirsty( 71C.9 )irard goes on to mention that the sordid s"ectacles of #iolence "racticed through sacrificial rites ha#e been transformed into the "ractice of s"orts in today(s world !he "ractice of #iolence in today(s form is regulated by the rules that go#ern any s"ort +ut many find that the manner in which this im"ortant acti#ity in man(s life has been watered down L the ine#itable conseGuence of ci#ili,ation; is a rather feminine way of tackling man(s instincts and inner desires 7discuss +ataille(s take on war9 !his is why :ashiwagi, in a similar tone, echoes the thought of )irard(s "rece"t when he "asses a derogatory remark about a grou" of runners "racticing for their marathon:
Fwhat "ossible good does it do to make a "ublic dis"lay of one(s health like thatK !hey "ut on s"ort shows e#erywhere, don(t theyK It(s really a sign that we(#e reached the latter days of decadence %hat

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should be dis"layed in "ublic is something that(s ne#er shown %hat the "ublic really should see are; e>ecutionsM %hy don(t they "ut on "ublic e>ecutionsK 71C.9

Similarly, 'i,oguchi(s act of destroying the )olden !em"le, can be likened to the need to direct the inner urge for #iolence that he is not allowed to e>ercise because of the weak #alues of his society !he dis"lay of #iolence which the war failed to e>hibit is instead "erformed by 'i,oguchi and to this end, the act of "yromania may be said to be in order 7$9 A clima>, a sort of gratification, but not a remedying one
+eauty is desired in order that it may be befouledD not for its own sake, but for the =oy brought by the certainty of "rofaning it ( 7" 1EE +ataille9

In Eroticism, it would be a mistake to conclude that the discontinuous being would want to "erish in the "rocess of merging with the continuous ob=ect !he difference is that he holds the desire to be "art of it, while resisting com"lete assimilation !his lo#e;hate relationshi", or the double bind ensures his sur#i#al !he secret of the success inherent in the erotic act lies in knowing when to withdraw and mo#e away before the discontinuous being is absorbed in thoroughly 'arGuis de Sade 8defines murder as the "innacle of erotic e>citement( 7E, 1A9 !his is because death or killing in#ol#es destruction or #iolence at its e>treme, while what is sought in e#eryday acts of eroticism or the one that 'i,oguchi engages in, is a degree of #iolence that is definitely less than the threshold reGuired for murder, which marks the end In eroticism, there must be a return to the initial "hase, not an irre#ersible, final end
%e want to get across without taking the final ste", while remaining cautiously on the hither side 71E1 +ataille9

!he con#entional a""roach to beauty is to stri#e to "reser#e it &et in this story 'i,oguchi does the re#erse 'i,oguchi is the agent that aids and abets 3ature in doing to beauty what is its true telos; destruction !here was no clima> to the war and 'i,oguchi must be the agent of action because it is only the natural order of things !his Gueer inter"retation of the order of 3ature is what constitutes the theme of e>tremism that runs through the no#el E>tremism is Gualified by drastic measures ado"ted to resol#e tri#ial "roblems L =ust as students of 3a#el Academy would use their swords to shar"en "encils much to the fascination of 'i,oguchi7A9 %ith the same tri#iality and indifference, the act of "yromania is ended: 8I felt like a man who settles down for a smoke after a =ob of work I wanted to li#e ( 'ishima(s concluding act of lighting a cigarette can be com"ared with the "arallel situation of a man engaging in the same conduct after se>ual intercourse It is the relish and satisfaction of concluding an act that was inherently energy consuming and erotic
<ow sweet it is to remain in the gri" of the desire to burst out without going the whole way, without taking the final ste"M <ow sweet it is to ga,e long u"on the ob=ect of our desire, to li#e on in our desire, instead of dying by going the whole way, by yielding to the e>cessi#e #iolence of desireM %e know that "ossession of the ob=ect we are afire for is out of the Guestion It is one thing or another: either desire will consume us entirely, or its ob=ect will cease to fire us with longing %e can "ossess it on one condition

10

only, that gradually the desire it arouses will fade +etter for desire to die than for us to die, thoughM 7" 1E1;1E0 +ataille9

A se"arate erotic relationshi" based on different "remises than the ones mentioned abo#e can be discerned in 'i,oguchi(s connection with the tem"le It can be likened to the relationshi" shared by a lo#er and a belo#ed, where both discontinuous souls yearn for coalescence in ho"e of aligning themsel#es into a flow of continuity 1f course, as +ataille remarks, that 8*artially at least, this "romise is a fraud( 7E, 0C9 because once again, the feeling of continuity will ne#er be e#erlasting It will always end ra"idly as in the case of e#ery erotic "henomenon At first 'i,oguchi only admires the )olden !em"le but later there is a strong de#elo"ment of the desire for "ossession which is e#idently not realistic !he desire to "ossess the )olden !em"le is e#ident when he says:
8At times I felt that it would be "ossible for me to flee this "lace, taking along the tem"le concealed in my flesh, in my system; =ust as a thief swallows a "recious =ewel when making his esca"e ( 7!)*, E/9

It must be "ointed out that 'i,oguchi first starts off with the dream of destroying the )olden !em"le and then momentarily undergoes a "eriod of intense confusion when the idea of being its Su"erior is sown in his mind It is only when he gets #ery near to reali,ing that he will ne#er be its Su"erior, and hence ne#er "ossess it, because of his misdeeds, that he decides to set fire to it %hat he cannot "ossess therefore, he decides to destroy !his seGuence of emotions is #alidated by +ataille:
8*ossession of the belo#ed ob=ect does not im"ly death, but the idea of death is linked with the urge to "ossess If the lo#er cannot "ossess the belo#ed he will sometimes think of killing herD often he would rather kill her than lose her 7E, 0C9

!his brings to mind what ha""ened earlier in the story to Hiko, who was killed by her own lo#er who knew that he would ne#er be able to "ossess her If a lo#er who suffers because he aches for the imminent union with his belo#ed would be nothing less than scandali,ed to know that he can(t do so for whate#er reasons If the merging of two discontinuous beings in "romise of continuity cannot ha""en, then the nearest the lo#er can come to e>"eriencing eroticism is by destroying the belo#ed !hrough the latter(s death, the lo#er gets at least a taste of the erotic gratification that he yearned for If the belo#ed did not #oluntarily "artici"ate in uniting with him, he will force her to do so by killing her and in#ading her innerness e#en if for that short moment

+ibliogra"hy

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2riedrich 3iet,sche, !he %ill to *ower &ukio 'ishima, !he !em"le of the )olden *a#ilion, 1-./ )eorges +ataille, Erotism; $eath and Sensuality <enry Scott Stokes, The life and death of Yukio Mishima 73ew &ork, 1-A.9 4ene )irard, @iolence and the Sacred71-BB9: Continuum: Jondon, 0CC. *aul )regory, Eroticism and Jo#e, American *hiloso"hical Nuarterly, @ol 0., 3o E 71ct , 1-AA9, "" ??-; ??E 5im )arrison, $eweyan *ro"hetic *ragmatism, *oetry, and the Education of Eros, American 5ournal of Education, @ol 1C?, 3o E 7Aug , 1--.9, "" EC/;E?1 Susan 3a"ier, $eadly $ialectics: Se>, @iolence and 3ihilism in the %orld of &ukio 'ishima by &ukio 'ishima: 4oy Starrs, 'onumenta 3i""onica, @ol .C, 3o 1 7S"ring, 1--.9, "" 10A;1?C 4ichard Shusterman, Aestheic E>"erience: 2rom Analysis to Eros, !he 5ournal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism, @ol /E, 3o 0 7S"ring, 0CC/9, "" 01B;00Jaurence $ Coo"er, +etween Eros and %ill to *ower: 4ousseau and !he $esire to E>tend 1ur +eing, !he American *olitical Science 4e#iew, @ol -A, 3o 1 72eb , 0CCE9, "" 1C.;114a"hael $emos, Eros, !he 5ournal of *hiloso"hy, @ol ?1, 3o 1? 75un 01, 1-?E9, "" ??B;?E. 5ose"h Jibertson, E>cess and Imminence: !ransgression in +ataille, 'J3, @ol -0, 3o ., Com"arati#e Jiterature 7$ec , 1-BB9, "" 1CC1;1C0? 5ames <unter, Eros and %holeness, 5ournal of 4eligion and <ealth, @ol 00, 3o ? 72all, 1-A?9, "" 1B.; 1-C Sidney 'onas, 4e#iew: *arallelo"i"eds and Clubfeet, !he <udson 4e#iew, @ol 10, 3o ? 7Autumn, 1-.-9, "" EE/;E.? 5ohn 4 %allace, !arrying with the 3egati#e: Aesthetic @ision in 'urasaki and 'ishima, 'onumenta 3i""onica, @ol .0, 3o 0 7Summer, 1--B9, "" 1A1;1-<isaaki &amanouchi, 'ishima &ukio and <is Suicide, 'odern Asia Studies, @ol /, 3o 1 71-B09, "" 1; 1/ 'ichiko 3 %ilson, !hree *ortraits of %omen in 'ishima(s 3o#els, !he 5ournal of the Association of !eachers of 5a"anese, @ol 1E, 3o 07Se" , 1-B-9, "" 1.B;1AC $a#id *ollack, Action as 2itting 'atch to :nowledge Janguage and Symbol in 'ishima(s :inkaku=i, 'onumenta 3i""onica, @ol EC, 3o E 7%inter, 1-A.9, "" ?AB;?-A $ick %agenaar and &oshio Iwamoto, &ukio 'ishima: $ialectics of 'ind and +ody, Contem"orary Jiterature, @ol 1/, 3o 1 7%inter, 1-B.9, "" E1;/C 5oyce C Jebra, 4e#iewed work7s9: !he Jife and $eath of &ukio 'ishima +y <enry Scott;Stokes, *acific Affairs, @ol EB, 3o E 7%inter, 1-BE;1-B.9, "" ..C;..0 *eter Abelsen, Irony and *urity:'ishima, 'odern Asian Studies, @ol ?C, 3o ? 75ul , 1--/9, "" /.1;/B-

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