Reviews

The Temple of the Golden Pavilion by Yukio Mishima

vanessa40834's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

viridiantre's review

slow-paced

4.0

evilbjork's review

4.0

I started reading this because I wanted to get to know Mishima the person better, and it certainly gave a lot of insight into the kind of man he was. I also got incel vibes from Mishima, from his beliefs, feelings about society, and obsession with working out. This book significantly reinforced that. It's essentially a Japanese Catcher in the Rye, and I mean that in good and bad ways. It's a representation of the typical teenage boy experience, although I don't think it's as self aware or damning of the main characters beliefs as Catcher is. This feels a little more like Mishima writing about his experience as a teenager and with a lot more leeway than if he wasn't writing about himself. Although with all of that in mind, it's still a good book. The ending was the highlight for me, especially the last line. There's a lot of depth to this and it's an enjoyable read.

silvi_bl's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

arevik's review

dark emotional hopeful reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

ichundelaine4711's review against another edition

tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

Weird, utterly weird read - and boring

doc's review against another edition

dark sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? N/A
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

srm's review against another edition

dark emotional slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

A disturbing, fascinating, and brilliantly written account of an ill young acolyte at Japan's most famous temple in the years following WWII.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Mental illness

Minor: Pregnancy, Suicidal thoughts, Infidelity, Violence, and Sexual content

theesotericcamel's review against another edition

5.0

Very loosely based on the real events, this is a peek at the mind of the diseased Buddhist acolyte who burned down the Kinkakuji temple. Set during the final years of the Second World War, the protagonist of the story is called Mizoguchi and is a son of a buddhist priest. His father, suffering from a terminal illness, dies while Mizoguchi is still young. Mizoguchi is made an acolyte of the Kinkakuji temple, where the head priest is a friend of his father. Mizoguchi suffers from a stutter, and describes himself as ugly, and as a child he is constantly teased. But he takes refuge in his reverence of the Kinkakuji temple, which to him represents the epitome of beauty. But becoming disillusioned with the people around him and his holy surroundings, he comes to resent the temple which comes to symbolise and impossible and mocking ideal. And this eventually leads to his determination to burn it to the ground.

Mizoguchi is quintessentially neurotic, in the tradition of Dostoevsky's characters. And we see his inability to connect with those around him due to his sever inferiority complex. Knowing the biography of the author Yukio Mishima, I can't help but think that the author saw himself in the original true life arsonist of the Kinkakuji Temple. Mishima thought he could get into the mind of the arsonist and created his fictional version, Mizoguchi, to espouse his own musings on the nature of beauty and corruption. The story is set in the Buddhist temple district of the city of Kyoto, but we are shown it's seedy underbelly. One of Mizoguchi's closest friends, Kashiwagi, is constantly giving twisted yet brilliant interpretations of classic Buddhist parables. Mizoguchi also catches the Head Priest in the Geisha district. And he comes to realize that beauty is not necessarily the same as goodness. In fact, one could say that Mizoguchi becomes the enemy of beauty. At the same time, Mizoguchi seeks to elevate his social status by any means necessary. He wants people to remember him despite, or perhaps in spite of his inherent ugliness. I am certain that Mishima, the author, was projecting his own nihilistic thoughts and insecurities into the main character. And because of this, he was able to create a believable and even a sympathetic character despite his corrupted and bleak view of the world. It's a very introspective novel, and a deep character study of the protagonist/arsonist. Although I did not agree with the views of Mizoguchi, I did feel that I came to understand him by the end of the book.

the_younger_dryas's review against another edition

dark emotional funny mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5