The second novel in the masterful tetralogy, The Sea of Fertility—and “a modern masterpiece” (The Baltimore Sun)—narrated by a judge in Osaka who believes he has met the successive reincarnation of his childhood friend Kiyoaki Matsugae. In 1932, Shigeuki Honda has become a judge in Osaka. Convinced that a young rightist revolutionary, Isao, is the reincarnation of his friend Kiyoaki, Honda commits himself to saving the youth from an untimely death. Isao, driven to patriotic fanaticism by a father who instilled in him the ethos of the ancient samurai, organizes a violent plot against the new industrialists who he believes are usurping the Emperor’s rightful power and threatening the very integrity of the nation. Runaway Horses is the chronicle of a conspiracy — a novel about the roots and nature of Japanese fanaticism in the years that led to war.
“A modern masterpiece.” —The Baltimore Sun “Mishima is like Stendhal in his precise psychological analyses, like Dostoevsky in his explorations of darkly destructive personalities.” —Christian Science Monitor
“One of the outstanding writers of the world.” —The New York Times
"An outstanding writer not only of Japan, but of the world." —The Atlantic
The second novel in the masterful tetralogy, The Sea of Fertility—and “a modern masterpiece” (The Baltimore Sun)—narrated by a judge in Osaka who believes he has met the successive reincarnation of his childhood friend Kiyoaki Matsugae. In 1932, Shigeuki Honda has become a judge in Osaka. Convinced that a young rightist revolutionary, Isao, is the reincarnation of his friend Kiyoaki, Honda commits himself to saving the youth from an untimely death. Isao, driven to patriotic fanaticism by a father who instilled in him the ethos of the ancient samurai, organizes a violent plot against the new industrialists who he believes are usurping the Emperor’s rightful power and threatening the very integrity of the nation. Runaway Horses is the chronicle of a conspiracy — a novel about the roots and nature of Japanese fanaticism in the years that led to war.
Praise
“A modern masterpiece.” —The Baltimore Sun “Mishima is like Stendhal in his precise psychological analyses, like Dostoevsky in his explorations of darkly destructive personalities.” —Christian Science Monitor
“One of the outstanding writers of the world.” —The New York Times
"An outstanding writer not only of Japan, but of the world." —The Atlantic
