“The era we live in is a rare one, where politics causes history to weather away.”
- 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
「われわれが住んでいる時代は政治が歴史を風化してゆくまれな時代である。」
English
“The era we live in is a rare one, where politics causes history to weather away.”
Explanation
In this quote, Mishima observes a unique aspect of the modern era, where politics plays a significant role in causing history to be forgotten or erased over time. He suggests that in contemporary times, political forces are actively involved in the process of reinterpreting or distorting history, causing it to fade or lose its original meaning. Unlike past eras, where history was often preserved and cherished, the political agendas of the present may seek to either rewrite history or simply ignore it in favor of shaping the present and future.
Mishima’s words point to the instrumentalization of history by political powers, where historical events and figures are sometimes manipulated or disregarded in order to serve current political ideologies. This weathering away of history could refer to the loss of historical memory, or the distortion of facts in order to maintain the status quo or promote a specific narrative. Mishima may be criticizing a tendency in the modern world where politics becomes so dominant that it overshadows historical truths or lessons from the past.
In a modern context, this quote could speak to the manipulation of history for political purposes, such as historical revisionism or the selective commemoration of certain events while downplaying others. It also reflects a societal tendency to focus more on current issues at the expense of a deeper understanding of history. Mishima’s words suggest that a society focused too much on political concerns can lose sight of the valuable insights that history offers, allowing it to decay or be distorted in the process.
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