Yukio Mishima (1925-1970) is notorious for a variety of things including killing himself; being nominated multiple-times for the Nobel Prize in Literature and never winning; as well as being one of David Bowie’s (1947-2016) favourite authors.
In his short writing life (around 21 years), Mishima was prolific – publishing 40 novels, and also translations including a translation of Lewis Carroll’s (1832-1898) Alice in Wonderland.
Mishima wrote for both highbrow and popular audiences and even had a novel serialised in Weekly Playboy, a Japanese adult magazine.
Always the consummate provocateur, in 1958 Mishima penned a series of satirical essays for the weekly Japanese magazine, Shyukan Myojo, under the heading Lessons in Immorality. These essays were later adapted for film, television and the stage.
The essays were inspired by Twenty Cases of Unfilial Children by Ihawa Saikaku (1642-1693) published in 1686, which was also a parody, in its case of a famous Chinese Confucian text. Saikaku is probably best known today as the poet who created the floating world publishing genre.
Mishima’s essays amongst other things ridicule the series Great Learning for Women, a widely read educational text for women circulated and published in Tokugawa Japan (1603-1868) when Japan was ruled by its Shoguns.
With great wit and his usual eloquent prose, Mishima challenges readers to disrespect teachers, ignore so-called etiquette experts, be rebellious, and much more besides.
Examples of the titles of Mishima’s series of essays on immorality, described as masterpecieces of humor and satire, include:
You Should Go Drinking, Even with Men You Don’t Know
You Should Tell Lies as Often as Possible
You Should Slurp Your Soup
You Should Abuse Women
You Should be as Conceited as Possible
Boys: Lose Your Virginity While You’re Young
