ARCHIVED ONLINE EVENT - Japan Society Book Club: Life for Sale by Yukio Mishima
Date
Monday 13 November 2023
Time
7.00pm (GMT)
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Booking Details
Online event
Free for Japan Society Members
Book available from Bookshop.org, Amazon and Blackwell's
Japanese version available here
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.
Life for Sale opens with the protagonist, Hanio Yamada, putting his life up for sale in a Tokyo newspaper with a bleak, irresolute attitude after having failed to go through with suicide. Through doing so, he exposes himself to the corrupt, hidden underbelly of Tokyo: from viscous mobsters to vampires Life for Sale encompasses comedic and satirical elements as well as including existential thoughts – particularly on life’s worth.
Read the review here.
Yukio Mishima (1925-1970), the pen name for Kimitake Hiraoka, was not only known for his political extremist activities but also considered as 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 to continue to write novellas, novels and for kabuki plays until his early untimely death. Mishima’s works are often noted to be characterised by exuberant vocabulary and decadent concepts both combining traditional Japanese and modern western elements.
If you have any questions, please call The Japan Society office on 020 3075 1996 or email events@japansociety.org.uk.
Booking Info
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