Jennifer M.

Yoo
December 2011
Film, Theater & Literature

Mishima Yukio’s “Patriotism”: Of Death, Purity, Honor, and Love

“Patriotism” is known to have been a story of personal

significance to author Mishima Yukio, as he had expressed on

multiple occasions how much of himself he had thrown into this

particular story: “[Patriotism] embodies so many of my qualities

as a writer, both the good and the bad.” The fact that it is

also the only work that Mishima handled personally when adapting

it for film, as in directed, produced, wrote the screenplay, and

starred in as lead actor, is testament to how important it was

to him. The film “Patriotism”, however, is not much of an

adaptation in the conventional sense, and more of an expression

of Mishima’s personal ideals and beliefs. Especially in regards

to Mishima’s views on the intimate relationship between death

and “beauty”, which he considered synonymous with love, sex, and

purity. In both the story and the film, it is clear Mishima

wanted to portray the act of seppuku as both “an act of beauty”

and a purifying ritual.

The most distinctive difference between the story and the

film “Patriotism” is the setting. While the story is placed in

a traditional Japanese home, Mishima chose to have the film set

on a Noh stage. Mishima Yukio had had a history performing on

the Japanese traditional stage, having written several Kabuki as

well as Noh plays, but he chose to have “Patriotism” performed

on a Noh stage for very specific reasons. The first reason was

simplicity. Mishima believed that if the film were portrayed in

the same way it is described in the story, the necessary props

would only detract from the scenes. According to Mishima, he

considered “the naked body far less obscene than bedcovers and

pillows.” Similarly, he chose to make “Patriotism” a silent

film to avoid corrupting the poignancy of the actions that were

to take place before the viewers’ eyes with dialogue and sounds.

The story is directed purely through intertitles and physical

movement. Through this minimalist approach, he was able to

present “Patriotism” in its simplest and purest form.

The second reason Mishima chose the Noh stage for his film

was to emphasize purity. The Noh stage has always had a strong

connection with religion; the stories told often have Buddhist

connotations and the construction of the stage used itself

resembles a Shinto shrine. He wanted the events of “Patriotism”

to be considered something as

pure as a ceremony, which is

evident in the fact that he

referred to the story as “The

Rite of Love and Death” in the

film. According to his

production notes, Mishima

intentionally chose a space that was “unsullied by blood” where

“the rite of love and death” could take place. The concept of

purity is further emphasized by the sheer nature of the film

being shot entirely in grey tone. Mishima had the entire stage

painted white to heighten this contrast; “black would only be

used to represent blood.”

In the story “Patriotism” the role of honor or the martial

spirit is implied throughout, but Mishima chose a more literal

and visual representation for his film by replacing the pine

tree traditionally seen on

the back of the Noh stage

with a large scroll and the

characters shisei, meaning

“whole-hearted sincerity”

painted by Mishima himself in

bold black ink. He made sure

that the scroll was present throughout the entire film to

“[indicate] that the couple’s fate was at all times governed by

the principle of honor.” The scroll is also important because

it interacts with the two characters like it’s a part of the

cast, rather than a part of the background. Mishima chose to

make the scroll exceptionally large so that it loomed over Reiko

 and the Lieutenant at all

times, such as in the opening

scene when Reiko is preparing

in advance for death, showing

how trivial her attachments,

represented by her figurines,

are in comparison to shisei.

Another significant scene where the size of the scroll is very

apparent is found in the sex scene, which is coupled with the

presence of the Lieutenant’s

katana stand, an additional

reminder that death is not too

far away, even in the face of

love and passion. Last but

certainly not least, in the

Lieutenant’s seppuku scene,

shisei can be clearly seen in the background, hemming him in.

And unlike the story version of

“Patriotism,” his wife Reiko,

who completely captivated his

attention when preparing to

die, is hardly seen at all in

the frame. In the story, when

the Lieutenant is about to

commit seppuku, upon seeing his wife dressed so alluringly in

pure white, he associates dying in front of his wife with dying

on the battlefield, and considers “hav[ing] every moment of his

death observed by [her] beautiful eyes… like being borne to

death on a gentle, fragrant breeze.” (Pg. 111) This in of

itself proves to be an unusual fantasy, for the thought of dying

at home in the presence of only one’s wife, who should be

inferior to the man, is attributed the same value as the highly

patriotic and masculine act of dying in the heat of battle. In

addition, the Lieutenant further elevates his wife by stating

that having his death witnessed by Reiko is like being gently

guided to the underworld. In the film, however, although Reiko

is dressed in white like she is in the text, he pays little

attention to his wife, even during the sex scene when he should

be entirely focused on her. This marks the next biggest

divergence from the story.

Rather than be as explicit as is described in the text, the

sex scene in the film is highly stylized. The viewers are

presented a series of close-ups or still shots of parts of both

Reiko and the Lieutenants’ bodies, resulting in a removal of

realism. This probably served Mishima’s purposes on multiple

levels, the most obvious one being that the new nature of the

scene allowed him to not have to engage Reiko’s actress

sexually, which impresses on the viewer that this is more about

Mishima’s personal feelings rather than a “true” adaptation of

“Patriotism”. At the same time, however, this does not mean

that the Lieutenant character is completely ignored. If

anything, Mishima presents a “purer”, more focused Lieutenant;

one who does not allow his mind to stray from shisei even in the

face of sexual desire and passion. In fact, it seems Mishima is

actually interacting more with shisei than Reiko, as is

evidenced by the fact that it is constantly in the background of

the entire scene and even

focused on in some shots

despite Reiko being right in

the foreground. This is

very different from the

story “Patriotism” for there

is a distinctively sexual

attraction attached to Reiko

which is indicated in the Lieutenant’s inner musings regarding

the sense of anticipation he is feeling during this same scene:

“Was it death he was now waiting for? Or a wild ecstasy of the

senses? The two seemed to overlap, almost as if the object of

this bodily desire was death itself.” (Pg. 103) He contemplates

whether he is waiting for death or fulfillment of sexual desire,

but what he is really waiting for is for Reiko to come up the

steps. In contrast, Mishima plays the role of the Lieutenant as

a rather cold and unresponsive partner. The only time he

appears to come alive is when he is looking up at the scroll

behind them. The sex scene is the first time in the film that

Mishima’s eyes are shown, and from the angle it is obvious that

his eyes are fixed on the scroll, not Reiko.

Although the sex scene is largely abstracted, the climactic

seppuku scene was intentionally made as realistic and graphic as

possible. This desire to portray seppuku in such a way is also

apparent in the gory details described in the story version of

“Patriotism.” However, given that the sex scene in the story is

also equally as explicit, the resulting effect is an impression

that “love and death” are one and the same. The film, on the

other hand, has a slightly different effect. Instead the

juxtaposition between the sex scene and the couple’s suicide

scene emphasizes seppuku as an “act of beauty”. Mishima holds

himself very stiffly throughout the entire film until the

seppuku scene, a decision he made consciously in order to appear

“robot-like”, no more than a “cap and uniform” to dehumanize the

Lieutenant character. In the face of death, however, all

composure is lost; the Lieutenant gasps and groans, and

convulses as if in rapture. His cap falls, and the once pure

white stage is now soaked in black blood. Rather than in the

sex scene, the “love”, “passion” and as a result the “beauty” is

felt in the Lieutenant’s death.

Despite all the differences between the story and the film,

Reiko’s character stays more the less the same in both versions.

She opens and closes both works, and she proves to be a

character of action, passion, and inner strength. This is

evident in the fact that Reiko’s

face is never hidden like the

Lieutenant’s and her dramatic

movements, such as when she bows

to see her husband off in death or

when she “dances” off-stage for

the makeup scene. As a

result, in comparison to her

husband Reiko is seen as a

living human being who

exhibits “pure” emotions. For

this purpose, Mishima

intentionally requested an

actress with virtually no previous experience, for if she were a

veteran she would draw from that

knowledge to convey individual

emotions. Rather than an

actress, Mishima wanted more of

“a face, an image” for Reiko.

Thus it seems that Reiko’s

purpose in the film is to

represent “true passion and purity”. In the sex scene, Reiko

exhibits tangible passion;

her hair becomes wild and

unkempt, and while the

Lieutenant appears to only be

touching her with his hands,

she covers her husband’s body

with kisses.
 And as is indicated by

just the criteria Mishima set

for the actress to play Reiko,

he was looking to portray

Reiko as an “unsullied” woman

in both body and mind, just

like the Noh stage. And like

the Noh stage, although she is stained by the black blood,

everything is purified in death, indicated by Reiko’s blood

being white. This is also made clear with the ending shot of

the film shows both the Lieutenant and Reiko in the middle of a

Zen rock garden, “purified by their supremely honorable deaths”,

peaceful and completely clean of blood.

The exact reasons behind Mishima Yukio choosing to helm the

production of “Patriotism” to this day remains unclear. A

commonly held belief is that Mishima intended “Patriotism” to be

a rehearsal of sorts for his own seppuku which would take place

only four years later. A

belief which circulated due

to the extreme meticulousness

with which Mishima approached

every aspect of the making of

this film, an attention to

the most painstaking details

that was often likened to a samurai preparing for his own death.

Another strong opinion is that Mishima wished to share his

appreciation for the “beauty of death” with the West, which

given that once finished the film was first premiered overseas

and that Mishima himself prepared versions of the intertitles in

English, French, and German is rather compelling. In fact, one

month before shooting “Patriotism” while at a conference in

London, where he would also purchase the figurines Reiko would

use for the film, Mishima expressed his opinion regarding the

Japanese versus the Western view of suicide: “Hara-kiri is a

very positive, very proud way of death. I think it’s different

from Western concept of suicide. Western concept of suicide is

always defeat itself. Mostly. But hara-kiri sometimes makes

you win.” Perhaps Mishima was foreshadowing his own suicide,

or perhaps he wanted to make a statement regarding the Japanese

view of death. Regardless of the true reasons, Mishima created

a film that, through a clever combination of surrealism and

realism, presents a shocking yet still strikingly tasteful

tribute to an irrefutably essential part of Japanese traditional

history and culture and challenges its viewers to consider their

own views of life and death as well as honor, beauty, and

purity.
Works Cited and/or Used as Reference

Mishima, Yukio. “Patriotism.” Translated by Geoffrey W.

Sargent.

Patriotism. Dir. Yukio Mishima. Criterion, 2008 (Originally

Toho Company, 1966). DVD & Booklet.