“Art is a great sunset. It is a sacrificial fire of all the good things of an era.”
- January 14, 1925 – November 25, 1970
- Born in Japan
- Novelist, playwright, critic, political activist
Japanese
「芸術というのは巨大な夕焼です。一時代のすべての佳いものの燔祭です」
English
“Art is a great sunset. It is a sacrificial fire of all the good things of an era.”
Explanation
In this quote, Mishima uses the metaphor of a sunset to describe art as a final expression or culmination of the best things of an era. The sunset, which marks the end of the day, symbolizes the end of an era, with art serving as the last brilliant display of a culture’s values, achievements, and creativity before it fades away. The reference to sacrifice (燔祭, or “sacrifice fire”) suggests that the best aspects of an era are offered up through art—burned in the sense of being preserved for future generations. Mishima highlights how art, in its transcendence, serves to immortalize and celebrate the cultural achievements of a specific time, while simultaneously acknowledging the impermanence of both the art and the culture itself. Like a sunset, art is both a spectacle and a reminder of the inevitable passage of time.
This view reflects Mishima’s recurring themes of impermanence, beauty, and the ephemeral nature of life. In many of his works, Mishima explored how both individuals and cultures are subject to the inevitable forces of change and decay. By likening art to a sunset, he suggests that the beauty of an era is captured and preserved in art, but ultimately, like the sunset, it is fleeting. Art becomes the final tribute to the good things of an era, serving as both a celebration and a memory of the culture’s highest achievements before they fade into history.
In a modern context, Mishima’s quote encourages reflection on how art functions as a reflection of an era and how it preserves the spirit of a particular time period. Today, we see art, whether in literature, film, music, or visual arts, as a way of capturing and commemorating the values, aesthetics, and achievements of a particular society or culture. Art has the ability to transcend time, allowing us to look back on the beauty and complexity of past eras, even as those eras pass away. Mishima’s metaphor of art as a sunset invites us to see art not only as a creative pursuit but as a sacred act of preservation, ensuring that the best of each era is remembered and honored long after it has faded.
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