⛩️ ✍🏻“Life for Sale” by Yukio Mishima: A Nihilist Odyssey

Dear readers under the cherry tree 🌸,

welcome to the first stage of our nihonavventura! This month, we dive into a novel that defies convention and takes us on a journey through the twists and turns of human existence.

Imagine you could put your life up for sale. What price would you put on it? In “Life for Sale” (命売ります, Inochi Urimasu), Mishima introduces us to Hanio Yamada, a young advertising executive who, after a failed suicide attempt, decides to offer his existence to the highest bidder.

This novel, originally published as a serial in 1968, is a magnifying glass on post-war Japanese society.

The novel's protagonists are certainly... :

• Nihilism: Hanio embodies the essence of nihilism, rejecting all values and the meaning of life.

• Individual freedom: Paradoxically, Hanio's decision to sell his life becomes an act of extreme freedom.

• Social criticism: through Hanio's absurd adventures, Mishima subtly criticizes post-war Japanese society.

The aspect I'd like to focus on is paradox.

Hanio is alienated from his true self, but instead of being trapped by social masks, he consciously chooses to get rid of his life, treating it as a bargaining chip. Through a series of absurd and surreal adventures, Mishima shows how abandoning one's identity and will to live can lead to an existential void, but also to a kind of liberation. Hanio, trying to escape the trap of identity and the meaning of life, eventually discovers that, even if he is totally indifferent to his own existence, it is impossible to completely escape social dynamics and the expectations of others. His “sale of life” is nothing more than an alternative mask, a way of continuing to play the game of existence, albeit in extreme forms.

I bet you've been dwelling on the word “mask”. Well, yes, Pirandello is winking at us, the readers

In Pirandello's vision, people are prisoners of roles imposed by social conventions. Any attempt to reveal one's true self inevitably leads to failure or madness, as the world demands conformity to these masks.

The protagonists of their works attempt to free themselves from external impositions, but inevitably find themselves trapped in a new form of existential imprisonment.

Mishima challenges us to think: what is our life really worth? And do we determine its value, or do we let others decide?

It's up to you! 🌸 Join the conversation! 📖✍️ Follow me on Instagram to discover new stories and share your views 📚✨ #JapaneseBooks ”

🔜🔜Soon: 🏮🪭Yukio Mishima: The enigma of Japanese literature, we'll delve into the life of our mysterious author. Stay tuned! 🌸 Shin'ainaru dokusha no minasan, arigatō1❤️🎏

La libraia del muretto 🌸⛩️🎏.