ARCHIVED IN-PERSON EVENT - Japan Society Book Club: Beautiful Star by Yukio Mishima
Date
Monday 12 December 2022
Time
7.00pm
Venue
The Japan Society
13 / 14 Cornwall Terrace
London NW1 4QP
Booking Details
Free for Japan Society Members
Book available from Bookshop.org, Amazon, and Book Depository
Japanese version available here
We are planning to have a bonenkai (‘end-of-year party’) after the meeting. If you are interested in joining the dinner please let us know in the booking form.
The activities of the Japan Society are made possible thanks to the support of its members. This event is free of charge and open to all. We realise that this is a difficult time for many people. However, if you are planning to attend and do not have a membership subscription as an individual or through your employer, please consider making a donation. You can find details of membership and how to join the Japan Society community here.
Translated into English for the first time, Beautiful Star is a 1962 tale of family, love, nuclear war and UFOs, and was the novel Mishima considered to be his masterpiece. This atmospheric black comedy tells the story of the Osugi family, who come to the sudden realization that each of them hails from a different planet: Father from Mars, mother from Jupiter, son from Mercury and daughter from Venus. This extra-terrestrial knowledge brings them closer together, and convinces them that they have a mission: to find others of their kind, and save humanity from the imminent threat of the atomic bomb. Translated by Stephen Dodd.
Yukio Mishima (1925-1970), the pen name for Kimitake Hiraoka, is one of the most prominent and important Japanese authors of the 20th century. Born in 1925 in Tokyo, he graduated 22 years later from Tokyo Imperial University and wrote several short stories, novels and plays until his early untimely death in 1970. Mishima’s works are often noted to be characterised by exuberant vocabulary and decadent concepts both combining traditional Japanese and modern western elements. Author of well-known works such as The Temple of the Golden Pavilion, Mishima remains one of Japan's most well-known literary figures.
If you have any questions, please call the Japan Society office on 020 3075 1996 or email events@japansociety.org.uk.
Booking Info
- We are planning to have a bonenkai (‘end-of-year party’) after the meeting. If you are interested in joining the dinner please let us know in the booking form.
- You should receive an automated email from the Japan Society to let you know that your booking request has been registered. Please note that your booking is pending while we check your details and you will receive a further email once your booking is confirmed.
- If you don't receive any confirmation emails or links, please check your spam folder or email events@japansociety.org.uk.