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| Runaway Horses | |
|---|---|
| Name | Runaway Horses |
| Author | Yukio Mishima |
| Original title | 走れメロス |
| Translator | Various |
| Country | Japan |
| Language | Japanese |
| Genre | Novel |
| Publisher | Chūōkōron-sha |
| Pub date | 1969 |
| Media type | |
| Pages | 400 |
| Preceded by | The Temple of the Golden Pavilion |
| Followed by | The Sea of Fertility tetralogy |
Runaway Horses
Runaway Horses is a 1969 novel by Yukio Mishima and the second volume of the The Sea of Fertility tetralogy. The book continues Mishima's exploration of identity, nationalism, and fate, linking to earlier works like Confessions of a Mask and later to The Temple of the Golden Pavilion. Its narrative probes the psychology of youth, referencing figures such as Sadao Araki, Isoroku Yamamoto, and events including the February 26 Incident while engaging with classical references like The Tale of Genji and Noh drama.
The plot follows a young idealist, Shigekuni Honda’s former acquaintance’s successor in a chain of spiritual reincarnations, who moves through settings including Tokyo, Kyoto, and the countryside near Mount Fuji. He becomes involved with a band of conspirators inspired by prewar figures such as Kōki Hirota and Hideki Tojo, planning actions reminiscent of the February 26 Incident and counterposed to postwar leaders like Shigeru Yoshida and Hayato Ikeda. Scenes depict ritualized training, debates invoking Bushidō texts and samurai exemplars like Minamoto no Yoshitsune and Tokugawa Ieyasu, and culminate in a planned coup that echoes historical conspiracies such as the Sakurakai plots. The protagonist's trajectory intersects with institutions including Imperial Household Agency-adjacent symbolism, and cultural sites like Meiji Shrine and Kinkaku-ji, culminating in a climax that examines sacrifice in the shadow of modernity and classical precedent.
Main characters include a youthful nationalist leader modeled on archetypes such as Kita Ikki and Yukio Mishima (character), his followers who evoke cadets akin to those in the Imperial Japanese Army prewar period, and Shigekuni Honda, the recurring narrator tied to figures like Prince Konoe Fumimaro and intellectuals such as Kiyoshi Miki. Supporting figures reference contemporaries and cultural personalities including Osamu Dazai, Jun'ichirō Tanizaki, and political actors like Ichirō Hatoyama and Nobusuke Kishi. Female characters are portrayed with echoes of Lady Murasaki archetypes and modern writers like Yoko Ota and Fumiko Enchi, while elder mentors recall figures such as Matsukata Masayoshi and Natsume Sōseki.
Themes include martyrdom and purity framed by samurai legends such as Hattori Hanzō and Ōishi Kuranosuke, loyalty debates invoking Kamikaze imagery and references to Shintō ritual. Analysis often contrasts prewar ultranationalists like Seigō Nakano with postwar bureaucrats like Shigeru Yoshida, using intertextual links to Noh plays, Buddhism-influenced texts like The Lotus Sutra, and classical poetry by Matsuo Bashō to interrogate reincarnation, destiny, and aesthetics. Critics draw parallels to European movements by mentioning Friedrich Nietzsche and Gustave Flaubert influences, and to theatrical staging in Kabuki and Noh traditions. The novel's structure recalls narrative techniques used by Marcel Proust and Fyodor Dostoevsky while engaging with Japanese debates over restoration exemplified by the Meiji Restoration.
Set against the backdrop of postwar Japan during the Shōwa period, the novel dialogues with the legacy of the Empire of Japan, the influence of the United States occupation, and political episodes like the Tokyo Trials and the US–Japan Security Treaty disputes. Mishima references intellectual currents linked to Taisho democracy figures and militarists such as Isoroku Yamamoto and General Sadao Araki, and landmarks including Yasukuni Shrine and Meiji Shrine. Cultural currents like haiku revival, the Proletarian literature movement, and literary circles around Bungeishunjū appear implicitly, situating the novel in debates over national identity, constitutional change amid actors like Shigeru Yoshida and Hayato Ikeda, and the persistence of samurai symbolism from Tokugawa shogunate memory.
Upon publication, responses ranged from praise in outlets like Bungeishunjū and among scholars of Japanese literature to critique from leftist circles associated with the Japan Communist Party and critics of ultranationalism such as Kenzaburō Ōe. International reception involved reviews in venues covering comparative literature and translations prompting discussion among translators connected to Donald Keene and critics like Edward Seidensticker. Academic analysis often situates the book in debates alongside works by Jun'ichirō Tanizaki and Osamu Dazai, and in broader discussions involving postwar reconstruction and identity politics, with commentators referencing Kon Ichikawa-era cinema and theatrical staging in Takarazuka Revue contexts.
Though not adapted into a single definitive mainstream film, the novel influenced stage productions in Tokyo and Kyoto theaters and inspired directors linked to Kenji Mizoguchi-influenced aesthetics and contemporary playwrights associated with Shōchiku and Toho. Its motifs appear in later Japanese cinema referencing Akira Kurosawa-era samurai revivalism and in literature by authors like Haruki Murakami and Ryū Murakami, as well as in academic curricula at institutions such as University of Tokyo and Waseda University. The work's impact extends to studies of nationalism cited in monographs by scholars affiliated with Harvard University, Yale University, and Princeton University.
Category:Novels by Yukio Mishima Category:Japanese novels Category:1969 novels