“Love can only be born from despair. It is the movement of the spirit against nature, the spirit’s effort toward something that is incomprehensible.”
- 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
「愛は絶望からしか生まれない。精神対自然、こういう了解不可能なものへの精神の運動が愛なのだ」
English
“Love can only be born from despair. It is the movement of the spirit against nature, the spirit’s effort toward something that is incomprehensible.”
Explanation
In this quote, Mishima explores the paradoxical origin of love, suggesting that it arises from despair rather than hope or fulfillment. He describes love as a spiritual struggle, where the human spirit is in conflict with the forces of nature—forces that are beyond understanding and beyond control. Love, in Mishima’s view, is not a harmonious or natural connection, but rather a striving against the impossible, a persistence despite despair. This idea frames love as a counterforce, a reaction to the overwhelming, suggesting that true love is often born in moments of suffering and existential conflict.
Mishima’s philosophy frequently revolves around the darker, more tumultuous aspects of human experience. He often depicted love as a force of struggle, where emotional depth is achieved not through ease or comfort, but through intensity and pain. His view of love as something emerging from despair reflects his broader concerns about human vulnerability and the existential challenges that define human existence. For Mishima, love cannot be understood simply as a joyful bond but is instead a tension between the mind and the forces of nature, including the inevitable forces of life and death.
In modern contexts, this quote resonates with the idea that love is not always born from ease or happiness, but from moments of suffering or loss. In the face of tragedy, unrequited love, or existential questioning, people often experience a deeper sense of connection or awakening that leads to profound emotional experiences. Mishima’s view of love as a struggle against the incomprehensible reflects the belief that true love is often discovered during life’s most challenging moments, where individuals are forced to confront their own limitations and the uncertainties of existence.
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