The Decay of the Angel
Encyclopedia
is a novel
by Yukio Mishima
and is the fourth and last in his Sea of Fertility tetralogy
.
(天部 tenbu) are mortal angels. The five signs of the decay of an angel are:
Tōru, whose purity lies only in his malicious self-satisfaction, is a degenerate parody of the idealised Kiyoaki.
. Tōru Yasunaga is an orphaned 16-year-old boy working in Shimizu
as a signalman, identifying ships by telescope and notifying the offices at Shimizu harbour. He works a 24-hour shift every third day, from a high platform on the Komagoe shore, built on top of a strawberry farmer's water tank. Honda, walking along the shoreline, notices it in passing.
Later, that night, Tōru is visited at his post by his friend Kinue, a mad girl who believes that she is incredibly beautiful and that all men are after her. Kinue tells him a long story about how a boy molested her on the bus. After midnight, at his house in Hongō, Honda dreams about angels flying over the Miho Pine Grove
, which he had visited that day.
At 9am, Tōru's shift ends and he takes the bus home to his apartment. He has a bath, and we see that he has the same three moles as Kiyoaki. In Chapter 7, it is explained that Honda's wife Rie has died and that Keiko, a happily single lesbian, has become a platonic companion for him. They have gone travelling together to Europe, and hold canasta parties. Honda is preoccupied with his dream life and with the past, and has trouble with his housekeeper and maids. In her old age, Keiko is devoted to the study of Japanese culture, but her knowledge is second-hand and superficial, and Honda calls it a "freezer full of vegetables".
They visit the Miho Pine Grove, a tourist-trap Honda already saw and disliked. They have their picture taken, sticking their heads through holes in a board painted to make them look like Jirōchō and his wife Ōchō, who were bosses of Shimizu
Harbour in the 19th Century. They see the giant dying pine, where, according to Zeami
's Robe of Feathers
, an angel
supposedly left her robe, and had to dance for the fisherman who stole it in order to get it back. They also go to Mio Shrine.
On the drive back home, they stop at the signal station Honda saw several days ago. He is strangely drawn to it, and they go inside to look around. Because Tōru is only wearing an undershirt, Honda sees the moles on his side. Back in the car Honda announces his intention to adopt the boy.
, Honda explains to her the significance of the moles and tells her the whole story of Kiyoaki's two previous reincarnations. She reluctantly accepts this story. Honda makes her promise to tell no-one, especially not Tōru. On 10 August, Tōru becomes aware that he is being investigated by detectives through a story of Kinue's, and later that month he is visited at home by the superintendent, who announces Honda's intention to adopt. By October, Tōru has moved to the house in Hongō and is receiving lessons in table manners
and other social skills. Honda is eager to protect him from premature death and tries to inculcate the cynicism that Kiyoaki, Isao and Ying Chan lacked.
Three tutors are employed for Tōru. In late November the literature
tutor, Furusawa, takes him to a local coffee-house and tells him a political parable about the nature of suicide and authority. Tōru suddenly feels dislike for him and engineers his dismissal. Relishing the feeling of power this gives him, he casts around for a more amusing victim.
; it is there that Honda realises that Tōru is secretly hostile to Momoko.
As the demure relationship progresses, Tōru analyses Momoko and, while talking to her in the Kōrakuen Garden a year or so after their first meeting, he decides to make her jealous by acquiring a second girlfriend. At a go-go hall on his way home from school, he picks up a 25-year-old who calls herself "Nagisa" (Miss Brink) and they have sex a few days later. Nagisa gives him a medallion with her monogram on it. Momoko does not notice it until they go swimming together, and she gives the "N" an innocuous interpretation. It is only when Nagisa approaches Tōru in the coffee-house that her jealousy is aroused.
Momoko throws the medallion into a canal and insists that Tōru must leave Nagisa. Tōru claims that he cannot do it alone, and dictates a letter for Momoko to send to Nagisa. In the letter, Momoko is made to lie that her family is in financial difficulties and that she needs to marry Tōru for his money. Momoko hopes to inspire guilt in Nagisa. After the letter is delivered, Tōru goes to Nagisa's apartment, snatches it from her, and takes it to Honda. The marriage is off.
Several months later, in early October 1973, Honda and Tōru visit Yokohama
, and at the harbourside have a conversation. Tōru realises that Honda has guessed that the letter was fake, and that he takes satisfaction in the guile his adopted son displays. Tōru is furious at being seen through so easily, and throws his diary into the water. At the end of 1973 he finishes school, and is accepted into university.
On 20 December, Tōru goes to a Christmas party at Keiko's. To his amazement, he is the only guest. Keiko reveals Honda's true motivations for adopting him, and cheerfully explains that if he does not die in 1975, he must be a fraud. Tōru returns home and demands Kiyoaki's dream diary. On 28 December, Tōru tries to commit suicide by drinking methanol
, but it only blinds him, and he survives. Honda discovers that Keiko has betrayed him, and he breaks off contact with her. Tōru loses all motivation and spends his days with Kinue in her cottage. Honda eventually concludes that Tōru was not, in fact, Kiyoaki's reincarnation
.
At about this time, Honda is afflicted by pains which he does nothing about for months. On 22 July 1975, just before a hospital appointment, Honda goes to Gesshū Temple for the first time since February 1914. Satoko, who is now the Abbess, admits him, but during their conversation he mentions Kiyoaki, and she claims that she never knew anyone of that name. Honda replies 'Perhaps then
there has been no I'.
Minor characters
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
by Yukio Mishima
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...
and is the fourth and last in his Sea of Fertility tetralogy
The Sea of Fertility
is a tetralogy written by the Japanese author Yukio Mishima. The four novels include Spring Snow , Runaway Horses , The Temple of Dawn and The Decay of the Angel . The series, which Mishima began writing in 1964 and which was his final work, is usually thought of as his masterpiece...
.
Explanation of the title
In Buddhist scriptures, DevasDeva (Buddhism)
A deva in Buddhism is one of many different types of non-human beings who share the characteristics of being more powerful, longer-lived, and, in general, living more contentedly than the average human being....
(天部 tenbu) are mortal angels. The five signs of the decay of an angel are:
- The flowery crown withers,
- Sweat pours from the armpits,
- The robe is soiled,
- They lose self-awareness, or become dissatisfied with their station, and
- The body becomes fetid or ceases to give off light, or the eyelids tremble.
Tōru, whose purity lies only in his malicious self-satisfaction, is a degenerate parody of the idealised Kiyoaki.
Plot
A retired judge, Shigekuni Honda, adopts a teenage orphan, Tōru Yasunaga, whom he believes to be a dead schoolfriend's third successive reincarnation.Honda finds Tōru (ch. 1-10)
The novel opens on Saturday, 2 May 1970, with a seascape off the coast of the Izu PeninsulaIzu Peninsula
The is a large mountainous peninsula with deeply indented coasts to the west of Tokyo on the Pacific coast of the island of Honshū, Japan. Formerly the eponymous Izu Province, Izu peninsula is now a part of Shizuoka Prefecture...
. Tōru Yasunaga is an orphaned 16-year-old boy working in Shimizu
Shimizu
Shimizu is the 20th most common Japanese surname.People named "Shimizu:*Ai Shimizu *Asuka Yūki, born 'Arisa Shimizu', prolific Japanese AV idol*Bukō Shimizu, photographer*Hiroshi Shimizu...
as a signalman, identifying ships by telescope and notifying the offices at Shimizu harbour. He works a 24-hour shift every third day, from a high platform on the Komagoe shore, built on top of a strawberry farmer's water tank. Honda, walking along the shoreline, notices it in passing.
Later, that night, Tōru is visited at his post by his friend Kinue, a mad girl who believes that she is incredibly beautiful and that all men are after her. Kinue tells him a long story about how a boy molested her on the bus. After midnight, at his house in Hongō, Honda dreams about angels flying over the Miho Pine Grove
Miho no Matsubara
is a scenic area located on the Miho Peninsula in the Shimizu-ku area of Shizuoka, Japan.-Overview:Miho no Matsubara is renowned as a seashore with beautiful green pine trees and white sands spanning over seven kilometers. It has a great scenic view of Mount Fuji and the Izu Peninsula across Suruga...
, which he had visited that day.
At 9am, Tōru's shift ends and he takes the bus home to his apartment. He has a bath, and we see that he has the same three moles as Kiyoaki. In Chapter 7, it is explained that Honda's wife Rie has died and that Keiko, a happily single lesbian, has become a platonic companion for him. They have gone travelling together to Europe, and hold canasta parties. Honda is preoccupied with his dream life and with the past, and has trouble with his housekeeper and maids. In her old age, Keiko is devoted to the study of Japanese culture, but her knowledge is second-hand and superficial, and Honda calls it a "freezer full of vegetables".
They visit the Miho Pine Grove, a tourist-trap Honda already saw and disliked. They have their picture taken, sticking their heads through holes in a board painted to make them look like Jirōchō and his wife Ōchō, who were bosses of Shimizu
Shimizu
Shimizu is the 20th most common Japanese surname.People named "Shimizu:*Ai Shimizu *Asuka Yūki, born 'Arisa Shimizu', prolific Japanese AV idol*Bukō Shimizu, photographer*Hiroshi Shimizu...
Harbour in the 19th Century. They see the giant dying pine, where, according to Zeami
Zeami Motokiyo
Zeami Motokiyo , also called Kanze Motokiyo , was a Japanese aesthetician, actor and playwright.-Acting:...
's Robe of Feathers
Hagoromo (play)
is among the most-performed Japanese Noh plays. It is an example of the traditional swan maiden motif.-Sources and history:The earliest recorded version of the legend dates to the eighth century. The play however apparently combines two legends, one concerning the origins of the Suruga Dance and...
, an angel
Angel
Angels are mythical beings often depicted as messengers of God in the Hebrew and Christian Bibles along with the Quran. The English word angel is derived from the Greek ἄγγελος, a translation of in the Hebrew Bible ; a similar term, ملائكة , is used in the Qur'an...
supposedly left her robe, and had to dance for the fisherman who stole it in order to get it back. They also go to Mio Shrine.
On the drive back home, they stop at the signal station Honda saw several days ago. He is strangely drawn to it, and they go inside to look around. Because Tōru is only wearing an undershirt, Honda sees the moles on his side. Back in the car Honda announces his intention to adopt the boy.
The adoption (ch. 11-20)
In Keiko's hotel room on NihondairaNihondaira
is a scenic area located in Shimizu-ku, Shizuoka, Japan.At the centre of Shizuoka city, from the altitude of 308 m, Nihondaira is famous for the view of Mt. Fuji, the Izu Peninsula, the Japanese Southern Alps, Shimizu Port, and Suruga Bay. It was selected as one of the top 100 sightseeing spots of...
, Honda explains to her the significance of the moles and tells her the whole story of Kiyoaki's two previous reincarnations. She reluctantly accepts this story. Honda makes her promise to tell no-one, especially not Tōru. On 10 August, Tōru becomes aware that he is being investigated by detectives through a story of Kinue's, and later that month he is visited at home by the superintendent, who announces Honda's intention to adopt. By October, Tōru has moved to the house in Hongō and is receiving lessons in table manners
Table manners
Table manners are the rules of etiquette used while eating, which may also include the appropriate use of utensils. Different cultures observe different rules for table manners...
and other social skills. Honda is eager to protect him from premature death and tries to inculcate the cynicism that Kiyoaki, Isao and Ying Chan lacked.
Three tutors are employed for Tōru. In late November the literature
Literature
Literature is the art of written works, and is not bound to published sources...
tutor, Furusawa, takes him to a local coffee-house and tells him a political parable about the nature of suicide and authority. Tōru suddenly feels dislike for him and engineers his dismissal. Relishing the feeling of power this gives him, he casts around for a more amusing victim.
Momoko (ch. 21-25)
In late spring of 1972, two friends of Honda try to arrange a marriage between Tōru and their daughter, Momoko Hamanaka. After dinner, Momoko shows Tōru photo-albums in her room and he makes up his mind to hurt her. The two families go on holiday to ShimodaShimoda
Shimoda can mean:* Places in Japan:** Shimoda, Shizuoka, a city in Shizuoka Prefecture** Shimoda, Aomori, a town in Aomori Prefecture* Treaty of Shimoda , between Japan and Russia* Shimoda Toyomatsu, an early Japanese Scouting notable...
; it is there that Honda realises that Tōru is secretly hostile to Momoko.
As the demure relationship progresses, Tōru analyses Momoko and, while talking to her in the Kōrakuen Garden a year or so after their first meeting, he decides to make her jealous by acquiring a second girlfriend. At a go-go hall on his way home from school, he picks up a 25-year-old who calls herself "Nagisa" (Miss Brink) and they have sex a few days later. Nagisa gives him a medallion with her monogram on it. Momoko does not notice it until they go swimming together, and she gives the "N" an innocuous interpretation. It is only when Nagisa approaches Tōru in the coffee-house that her jealousy is aroused.
Momoko throws the medallion into a canal and insists that Tōru must leave Nagisa. Tōru claims that he cannot do it alone, and dictates a letter for Momoko to send to Nagisa. In the letter, Momoko is made to lie that her family is in financial difficulties and that she needs to marry Tōru for his money. Momoko hopes to inspire guilt in Nagisa. After the letter is delivered, Tōru goes to Nagisa's apartment, snatches it from her, and takes it to Honda. The marriage is off.
Several months later, in early October 1973, Honda and Tōru visit Yokohama
Yokohama
is the capital city of Kanagawa Prefecture and the second largest city in Japan by population after Tokyo and most populous municipality of Japan. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of Tokyo, in the Kantō region of the main island of Honshu...
, and at the harbourside have a conversation. Tōru realises that Honda has guessed that the letter was fake, and that he takes satisfaction in the guile his adopted son displays. Tōru is furious at being seen through so easily, and throws his diary into the water. At the end of 1973 he finishes school, and is accepted into university.
The end (ch. 26-30)
In the spring of 1974, Tōru enters his majority and drops all pretences. He becomes violent with Honda and intimidates him into getting his way on everything, moving Kinue into a hut at the bottom of the garden, spending money freely and abusing the maids. On 3 September 1974, Honda is caught spying on couples in the park, and the incident makes the newspapers; Tōru moves to have him declared senile.On 20 December, Tōru goes to a Christmas party at Keiko's. To his amazement, he is the only guest. Keiko reveals Honda's true motivations for adopting him, and cheerfully explains that if he does not die in 1975, he must be a fraud. Tōru returns home and demands Kiyoaki's dream diary. On 28 December, Tōru tries to commit suicide by drinking methanol
Methanol
Methanol, also known as methyl alcohol, wood alcohol, wood naphtha or wood spirits, is a chemical with the formula CH3OH . It is the simplest alcohol, and is a light, volatile, colorless, flammable liquid with a distinctive odor very similar to, but slightly sweeter than, ethanol...
, but it only blinds him, and he survives. Honda discovers that Keiko has betrayed him, and he breaks off contact with her. Tōru loses all motivation and spends his days with Kinue in her cottage. Honda eventually concludes that Tōru was not, in fact, Kiyoaki's reincarnation
Reincarnation
Reincarnation best describes the concept where the soul or spirit, after the death of the body, is believed to return to live in a new human body, or, in some traditions, either as a human being, animal or plant...
.
At about this time, Honda is afflicted by pains which he does nothing about for months. On 22 July 1975, just before a hospital appointment, Honda goes to Gesshū Temple for the first time since February 1914. Satoko, who is now the Abbess, admits him, but during their conversation he mentions Kiyoaki, and she claims that she never knew anyone of that name. Honda replies 'Perhaps then
there has been no I'.
Characters
Major characters- Shigekuni Honda (1895–1975)
- Keiko Hisamatsu
- Tōru Yasunaga (b. March 20, 1954)
- Kinue, an insane girl (b. 1949)
- Furusawa, one of Tōru's three tutors
- Shigehisa and Taeko Hamanaka
- Momoko Hamanaka, their daughter
- Nagisa, a woman Tōru plays against Momoko
- Tsune, a maid hired by Tōru
- The Abbess of the Gesshuji, formerly Ayakura Satoko (b. 1893)
Minor characters
- Two White Russian women, a retired businessman and a teacher of flower-arranging
- An old man who stabs a woman in the park and the interviewing policeman
- A fellow voyeur
- A shipping superintendent
- Nuns of the Gesshū Convent, and a steward
Major themes
Some biographers consider Tōru and Honda to be the author's self-portraits.- The shoddiness of modernity
- The emptiness of old age
- Calculation versus spontaneous action
- Ivory towers
- Innocent ardency + excellence = beauty
- The inescapably physical nature of the concept of beauty
- Admiration of "men of action" as a sublimated voyeurism
- Suicide as the annihilation of a hated world
- Suicide as a way of "establishing" oneself (Furusawa's anecdote in ch.18 of the mouse who drowns itself in a laundry tub so that the cat cannot eat it)
- The vastness of the Buddhist universe