MISHIMA YUKIO Y EL HÉROE TRÁGICO JAPONÉS: MAKOTO, REACCIÓN Y MODERNIDAD A PARTIR DE LA NOBLEZA DEL FRACASO

This paper proposes a comparison between writer Mishima Yukio’s ideas and Ivan Morris’ analyses on the Japanese tragic hero. The key concept of the Japanese heroic archetype is makoto or sincerity, present in references of Mishima like Ōshio Heihachirō. Likewise we can trace back the notion of makoto inside the essayistic and literary work of Mishima, with respect to the bond between theory and praxis. Henceforth, it is possible to evaluate the reactionary tendencies in the political implications of the Japanese hero and Mishima, with regard to the considerations of Hannah Arendt about freedom in public and private spheres. It is also necessary to note the presence of modern approaches in Mishima, essential to understand his life and work, but distant of the heroic ideal described by Morris, not without orientalist problems.