A Study on Beauty That Surpasses Life in Mishima Yukios Works Focusing on Yukoku

5010120 IWAN SETIYA BUDI ABSTRACT Many of Mishima Yukios works have death as theme. In those works, death and beauty are connected and someone who is going to die becomes more beautiful than when he is still alive. Yukoku (patriotism) is one of this kind of works. Yukoku, which was based on the story of the February 26 Incident which led to the death of some ministers and political leaders, is an anecdote which tells about Lieutenant Shinji Takeyama and his wife Reiko's suicide. Takeyama was not invited to join the coup d'etat by his close friends who were behind it. In this paper, I have analyzed Takeyama and his wifes suicide described in Yukoku. I believe that their suicide is not a kind of lovers suicide. Takeyama, who sympathized with his friends, committed suicide to remonstrate with the emperor who did not accept the incident. Reikos suicide is different from Takeyama because her suicide is not caused by the emperor but caused by her husbands death. Reiko served her husband as a lord and her suicide is a ritual following her lords death. The model of Takeyama and Reikos suicide is unclear. However, since it has some similarities with General Nogi Maresukes suicide, I argue that Nogis suicide is possibly the model for Takeyama and Reikos suicide. This is not only because Nogi committed suicide with his wife, but also because his actions were similar to those of Takeyama before his death and there were similar scenes in both suicides. In Beyond the Pleasure Principle, Sigmund Freud presents that the life instinct and death instinct always oppose and try to surpass each other. By applying Freuds theory, I argue that Takeyamas death instinct has surpassed his life instinct. When Takeyama decided to commit suicide, his life instinct tried to stop the death instinct by inspiring sexual pleasure which is described in the book, as the pleasure of life. Anticipating that this pleasure might extinguish his will to die, Takeyama left the bed quickly and prepared for the death ritual. In this paper, I have analyzed the masochism or pleasure of pain caused

by the suicide and the beauty that appears on Takeyamas face both after he decided to commit suicide and at the time he committed the suicide. This explains Mishimas idea of beauty that surpasses life. Mishima used the concept of eroticism which connected the death to Bataille's work of Eroticism to describe Takeyamas suicide. This paper also shows that the origin of the idea of death in Mishimas works is from his very early experience when he lived with his grandmother who had an extremely serious disease which made her hysterically with for death. Mishima lived with his grandmother from when he was two months old until 12 years old. Thus, it is understandable that Mishimas very early experience living with his dying grandmother has influenced his concept of life and death. In Freuds work of The Economic Problem of Masochism, it is said that the root of masochism is an unconscious feeling of guilt or a guilt which has not been committed but felt to have been done. I reflect on Freuds work to see that Mishima felt guilty because he could not reach the opportunity to die as a hero for the country or the emperor during the February 26 Incident or in World War II. Takeyamas suicide in Yukoku reflects Mishimas own feelings of guilt.