“Culture is the act of giving a ‘name’ to various phenomena based on a unified aesthetic consciousness.”
- January 14, 1925 – November 25, 1970
- Born in Japan
- Novelist, playwright, critic, political activist
Japanese
「文化とは、雑多な諸現象に統一的な美意識に基づく「名」を与えることなのだ。」
English
“Culture is the act of giving a ‘name’ to various phenomena based on a unified aesthetic consciousness.”
Explanation
In this quote, Mishima suggests that culture is not just a collection of diverse phenomena or traditions but rather the process of giving them a unified identity or meaning through a shared aesthetic. The “name” that culture assigns is symbolic, acting as a cultural label that brings coherence and meaning to the scattered, often disparate elements of life. Mishima emphasizes that this act of giving a name requires a cohesive aesthetic consciousness—a set of shared values, sensibilities, and understandings that guide how people interpret the world around them. In essence, culture is about creating a sense of unity through the imposition of meaning onto the raw material of everyday life.
Mishima’s idea implies that culture is shaped not just by the things it encompasses but by how those things are perceived and organized by society. The aesthetic consciousness he refers to is a lens through which the world is interpreted, making sense of the otherwise chaotic and fragmented phenomena of existence. This view of culture reflects Mishima’s belief that human beings have a fundamental need to organize and give meaning to their experiences, and that this act of creating meaning through cultural expression is what ultimately gives life form and purpose. It is not the raw material itself that matters, but the framework of interpretation that is applied to it.
In a modern context, this quote resonates with how contemporary culture organizes and labels the diverse experiences of life—whether through art, fashion, social movements, or digital expression. Today, culture continues to be a process of assigning meaning to phenomena, with artistic movements, subcultures, and social trends all being shaped by shared aesthetic sensibilities. Mishima’s words remind us that culture is not simply about what is produced, but about the ways we perceive, organize, and give significance to the world around us, creating a coherent identity out of the myriad of experiences we encounter.
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