“Just like the bonsai hobby of the elderly, beauty, as it is refined, begins to seek a kind of deformity.”
- 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
「ちょうど年寄りの盆栽趣味のように、美というものは洗練されるについて、一種の畸型を求めるようになる。」
English
“Just like the bonsai hobby of the elderly, beauty, as it is refined, begins to seek a kind of deformity.”
Explanation
In this quote, Mishima compares the refinement of beauty to the bonsai hobby of the elderly, suggesting that as beauty becomes more cultivated and polished, it begins to move towards a form of artificiality or even deformity. Bonsai, which is the art of carefully cultivating miniature trees, requires the shaping and manipulating of nature into an idealized form, often resulting in a distorted or unnatural shape that is highly controlled. Mishima uses this metaphor to critique the way in which the pursuit of beauty—whether in art, culture, or personal appearance—can become overly artificial, focusing more on perfected forms that lose their connection to naturalness or authenticity. In this sense, the more beauty is refined, the more it risks becoming a distorted version of itself, seeking a perfection that is not truly natural but rather imposed.
Mishima often expressed his dissatisfaction with the modern world and its emphasis on superficial or synthetic beauty. The reference to bonsai speaks to his belief that refinement—whether in aesthetics or in the human condition—can sometimes lead to excessive control and unnaturalness. Just as a bonsai tree, in its pursuit of perfection, becomes an artificial version of nature, so too does the pursuit of beauty, when taken to extremes, risk losing its organic quality, becoming something manufactured or distorted rather than truly authentic.
In a modern context, Mishima’s critique could be seen as a reflection on the modern obsession with perfection and aesthetic ideals, particularly in the context of social media, advertising, and celebrity culture. Today, the pressure to conform to idealized standards of beauty often leads to artificial or unnatural representations of beauty—whether through filters, plastic surgery, or the manipulation of images. Mishima’s words remind us that in the pursuit of perfection, we may lose sight of the natural, authentic beauty that exists in imperfection and individuality, and that the drive for refinement might ultimately lead to a distorted or empty version of what beauty should truly be.
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