When a boy… discovers that he is more given into introspection and consciousness of self than other boys his age, he easily falls into the error of b… - Yukio Mishima

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When a boy… discovers that he is more given into introspection and consciousness of self than other boys his age, he easily falls into the error of believing it is because he is more mature than they. This was certainly a mistake in my case. Rather, it was because the other boys had no such need of understanding themselves as I had: they could be their natural selves, whereas I was to play a part, a fact that would require considerable understanding and study. So it was not my maturity but my sense of uneasiness, my uncertainty that was forcing me to gain control over my consciousness. Because such consciousness was simply a steppingstone to aberration and my present thinking was nothing but uncertain and haphazard guesswork.

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About Yukio Mishima

Yukio Mishima (January 14, 1925 – November 25, 1970) was the pen name of Kimitake Hiraoka, a Japanese author, poet, playwright, actor, model, film director, nationalist, and founder of the Tatenokai.

Biography information from Wikiquote

Also Known As

Pen Names: 榊山保 三島由紀夫
Native Name: 三島 由紀夫 平岡 公威
Alternative Names: Mishima Yukio Kimitake Hiraoka Hiraoka Kimitake

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Additional quotes by Yukio Mishima

Separation is painful, but so is its opposite. And if being together brings joy, then it is only proper that separation should do the same in its own way.

If the cause of decay was illness, then the fundamental cause of that, the flesh, was illness too. The essence of the flesh was decay. It had its spot in time to give evidence of destruction and decay.

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..and certain that life consisted of a few simple signals and decisions; that death took root at the moment of birth and man’s only recourse thereafter was to water and tend it; that propagation was a fiction; consequently, society was a fiction too; that fathers and teachers, by virtue of being fathers and teachers, were guilty of a grievous sin.

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