After the Banquet

This is actually one of the easier to understand writings from the infamous Mishima. The provocative sentiments he evokes in this story gives timeless relevance in every corner of the earth in this romance between an entrepreneuring new rich with noble spirit to elevate her loved one, an aristocrat who ran out of money.

Mishima wrote After The Banquet well into the second half of his career. It was one of his last books before The Sea Of Fertility. So, his worldview was surely fully formed by this point. Yet, the book breaks quite a few of the stereotypes that surround Mishima's work. First of all, the main character is a woman. This is rare for Mishima, who had quite a reputation for manliness. The last time he had a female protagonist was in Thirst For Love, his second novel. But there, the woman was obviously a cardboard cut-out more than a character, a hysterical "repressed housewife" type who lost her head over a strong, manly young man. Not in After The Banquet, though. Dig this quote: "Kazu...realized that for all her headstrong temperament, she had never loved a man younger than herself. A young man has such a surplus of spiritual and physical gifts that he is likely to be cocksure of himself, particularly when dealing with an older woman, and there is no telling how swelled up with self-importance he may become. Besides, Kazu felt a physical repugnance for youth. A woman is more keenly aware than a man of the shocking disharmony between a young man's spiritual and physical qualities, and Kazu had never met a young man who wore his youth well. She was moreover repelled by the sleekness of a young man's skin." (31-2) This is a strange statement, coming from a man who allegedly worshipped youth and physical fitness, to the extent that he voiced a desire to die before he ever grew old. Not only is Mishima disparaging young men, he's doing so from the perspective of a woman over fifty. And this woman is not a decrepit and bitter shell like, say, the old Honda in the last two volumes of The Sea Of Fertility, but a vivacious, energetic hell-raiser. Well, then. So anyway, in After The Banquet, the strong and lively older woman falls in love with a sixty-year-old politician who professes radical views. This happens when she is present at a dinner attended by various old politicians, and she sees that this particular man was the only one at the gathering who still expressed some passion for the present, instead of constantly reliving past glories. This part is well in line with Mishima's supposed views. After all, Mishima was also widely considered to be an old-school nationalist radical. But, interestingly enough, he never explains Noguchi's political views in the novel. It is stated that Noguchi is a member of the Radical Party, but that's all. There is no way to tell if this party is liberal or conservative. Mishima states that Noguchi likes to lecture his wife on socialism, but not whether he is for or against it. The one scene that depicts a political speech given by Noguchi is full of deliberate comedy. Mishima portrays Noguchi as a terrible public speaker, and the only one of his positions that the book reveals is something silly about banning bicycles in public places. In other words, Mishima is quite consciously poking fun at this principled radical.

Kazu is a middle-aged woman and the proprietress of a successful restaurant -- the Setsugoan -- in Tokyo. During a banquet for the Kagen Club, she meets and falls in love with Yuken Noguchi, a aristocrat and retired politician. They wed, and soon, Kazu decides to secretly use her wealth to aid her husband in returning to public office, despite protestions and warnings from her friends. "After the Banquet" is a fascinating look at love and politics. Kazu is head-strong, wealthy and not ashamed to use her money to get what she desires. Noguchi, a few years older than her, is idealistic and stubborn, wanting to stick to win the election on his own. Along with that clash, they are also torn between the modern Japanese woman and the traditional role of the Japanese wife. Kazu wants to be out and about, aiding her husband any way she can; Noguchi is determined to keep her out of politics, at one point even forbidding her to leave the house.It's amazing to see how Yukio Mishima sets these two opposties together, how they interact with each other and with the world of politics. A great book.

the main plotline of this story may not sound very compelling, but this is not the main attraction - what draws you into the story is the way that Mishima is so deft in his character portraits. he give descriptions of things like hand movements and facial expressions in such a subtle way that very early on in the novel you feel as if you intimately know and understand the main characters - so much so that you can see them clearly in your minds eye - not just their appearace, but expressions, feelings, and mannerisms. i think that this is a great strength of mishima's in the novel - in presenting a psychological portrayal of his characters.After the banquet tells the story of a mature, successful japanese woman who gives up her restaurant business to devote herself to marriage with a politician. a politician you say - how boring - but noguchi is different, he has an honesty and vitality about him -"Why don't we drop all this talk about the old days? We're still young after all." however the relationship is doomed because of an impotant diference - kazu has had to work very hard to gain success in life, even if it meant acting in an immoral way. her husband, on the other hand, has been born into an easier life; therefore respect and integrity are more important to him than 'commercial' success. this all comes to a head when kazu tries to revive her husbands ailing political career, using methods he cannot approve of.even if you find the plot incredibly boring, you just HAVE to love Kazu. she's not just successful and streetwise - she can act despicably at times, causing us to wonder if she has any feelings at all. you'd think this would make you hate her, but it does just the opposite because although her behaviour can be devious and manipulative, it is at the same time chidish and has an innocence about it. if you've read Chaucer's Wife of Bath then you'll know wht i mean; somtimes you want to strangle her, at others admire her.even if yu find yourself really not liking kazu, you have to admire her if only for the fact that she managed to make herself so successful having come from a very poor backround - she is a woman before her time.i just gotta say one more thing - its very interesting to see hoe kazu and nouchi can both be innocent, but in different ways - noguchi in his trust in so-called 'friends', and kazu in her manipulation of people - although it could be argured this shows qualities that are anything but innocent and childish.ultimately, kazu has to make a choice; unfortunately, she cannot have the successful career and 'wifey' role at he same time. she must choose between conforming and resisting, between acting in her own or others interests.

i loved the main character of this book,Kazu,who burned with ambition without an outlet until she met and married an elderly politician. She risked everything to help him succeed in office,with disasterous results. Her energy and optimism are an inspiration,especially when placed in the setting of post WW2 Japan.