“Among all memories, as time passes, dreams and reality become equivalent.”
- January 14, 1925 – November 25, 1970
- Born in Japan
- Novelist, playwright, critic, political activist
- He became a representative figure of postwar Japanese literature, and was highly acclaimed both at home and abroad. He pursued his own unique aesthetic with themes of beauty and death, and ultimately committed seppuku at a Self-Defense Forces garrison. His life, which combined literature with action, continues to have a strong influence today.
Japanese
「もろもろの記憶のなかでは、時を経るにつれて、夢と現実とは等価のものになっていく。」
English
“Among all memories, as time passes, dreams and reality become equivalent.”
Explanation
In this quote, Mishima reflects on the nature of memory and its ability to blur the lines between dreams and reality over time. He suggests that as memories fade and time passes, the distinction between what was once real and what was once imagined or dreamt becomes less clear. Dreams, which may have once felt ephemeral and disconnected from the real world, start to take on a similar weight or significance as actual experiences. As memories distort and fade, the difference between them becomes insignificant, and both dreams and reality start to be seen as equally valid parts of one’s personal narrative. This highlights how the passage of time and the subjective nature of memory transform reality into something fluid and malleable, where both dreams and experiences hold the same emotional truth.
Mishima’s idea speaks to the impermanence of human experience, where the present is constantly shaped by the past—and as time wears on, the real becomes intertwined with the imagined. Memories, when revisited after a period of time, are no longer simply accurate reflections of events but have taken on the qualities of dreams, becoming more symbolic than factual. In this way, both dreams and reality evolve into a shared space in which the mind constantly reinterprets and reconstructs its past.
In a modern context, this quote resonates with the way we perceive and recollect our lives. Over time, the experiences we once held as concrete truths may transform into idealized versions of themselves, shaped by our own desires or emotions. Similarly, the line between dreams, fantasies, and reality often becomes blurred, especially as we face the complexities of modern life. Mishima’s words remind us that memory is not a fixed representation of the past, but a dynamic process where the experiences we live and the dreams we dream can become inseparable as time wears on.
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