Novel
Confessions of a Mask
仮面の告白
Yukio Mishima · 1949
Synopsis
The narrator, Kochan, claims to remember his own birth, and an image of a knight that attracts him turns out to be that of Joan of Arc. A frail adolescent, unable to keep up with his classmates in physical exercises, he is troubled by his attraction to boys, in particular to his friend Omi, and would like to be like the others, according to the English publisher. To hide this inclination, he courts a young woman, Sonoko, while the war reaches Tokyo.
Context
The novel was published by Kawade Shobō on 5 July 1949; it was the author's second, and it brought him fame. It is regarded as partly autobiographical: the author said he had wanted to dissect himself alive, and some characters have real models, such as Sonoko, inspired by the younger sister of a friend. He himself compared it to Stendhal's Armance. Meredith Weatherby translated it into English for New Directions in 1958, and the French translation by Renée Villoteau was made from that version.
Who it is for
A short novel, in the first person, for those interested in coming-of-age narratives and in confession under a mask.
Prizes and reception
A great success on publication, it made its author a celebrity, according to the New World Encyclopedia.
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