After the Banquet
Encyclopedia
After the Banquet is a novel by Yukio Mishima
. It follows Kazu, a middle-age proprietress of an upscale Japanese restaurant that caters to politicians. She meets a semi-retired ambassador, Noguchi, grows to like him, and eventually marries him. From there the novel explores the conflicts that rise up between the two, as the tensions between the political world, Kazu's formerly well-ordered life, and Noguchi's integrity flare up. It is written in a distinctly Japanese style, betraying little of the interior emotions of the characters and dwelling on the minutia of clothing and food in great detail.
It was first published in 1960 under the Japanese title Utage no Ato. The New Yorker
called it "the biggest and most profound thing Mishima has done so far in an already distinguished career" upon its translation into English by Donald Keene
in 1963.
The politician Hachiro Arita
sued Mishima, claiming its publication violated his privacy. The Tokyo District Court found in favor of Arita on 28 September 1964, Japan's first judicial recognition of the right to privacy. The case became very famous due to its celebrity litigants and the groundbreaking decision; it was named the "After the Banquet case" (Utage no Ato Saiban).
Yukio Mishima
was the pen name of , a Japanese author, poet, playwright, actor and film director, also remembered for his ritual suicide by seppuku after a failed coup d'état...
. It follows Kazu, a middle-age proprietress of an upscale Japanese restaurant that caters to politicians. She meets a semi-retired ambassador, Noguchi, grows to like him, and eventually marries him. From there the novel explores the conflicts that rise up between the two, as the tensions between the political world, Kazu's formerly well-ordered life, and Noguchi's integrity flare up. It is written in a distinctly Japanese style, betraying little of the interior emotions of the characters and dwelling on the minutia of clothing and food in great detail.
It was first published in 1960 under the Japanese title Utage no Ato. The New Yorker
The New Yorker
The New Yorker is an American magazine of reportage, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons and poetry published by Condé Nast...
called it "the biggest and most profound thing Mishima has done so far in an already distinguished career" upon its translation into English by Donald Keene
Donald Keene
Donald Lawrence Keene is a Japanologist, scholar, teacher, writer, translator and interpreter of Japanese literature and culture. Keene was University Professor Emeritus and Shincho Professor Emeritus of Japanese Literature at Columbia University, where he taught for over fifty years...
in 1963.
The politician Hachiro Arita
Hachiro Arita
was a Japanese politician and diplomat who served as the Minister for Foreign Affairs for three terms. He is believed to have originated the concept of the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere.- Biography :...
sued Mishima, claiming its publication violated his privacy. The Tokyo District Court found in favor of Arita on 28 September 1964, Japan's first judicial recognition of the right to privacy. The case became very famous due to its celebrity litigants and the groundbreaking decision; it was named the "After the Banquet case" (Utage no Ato Saiban).