Yukio Mishima - The Philosophy of Sun and Steel

Ecstasy, to be thrust out of the corporeal, has long been associated with mystical states of consciousness and beyond. Yukio Mishima, among the most important post-war Japanese writers, would argue near the end of his life that the desire for out-of-body ecstatic experience is profoundly misguided. For him, the Absolute could only truly be experienced in radical embodiment, developing muscle into a classically beautiful physique only to plunge it, at its aesthetic height, into complete destruction through Heroic Death. Mishima would lay out his mysticism of muscle and annihilation, in his 1968 essay Sun and Steel, a work that would explain and pre-figure his own public, ritual death by Seppuku only two years later. A mystical text like virtually no other, Mishima's Sun and Steel remains as controversial as it does challenging now over 50 years since it first appeared.
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[@beepboop204]

:D

[@dianabriggs1032]

I had a "Mishima Moment" in grad school, considering the people in my seminar class and thinking "Everyone here looks sick. We're all neurotic, asthmatic, anemic- everyone is so pale! We're all talking about how stressed we are and how we stayed up till 3am writing. We're all so young, and we look so old. There's something deeply wrong here." I literally went down to Frat Row to watch some guys play football- I felt this powerful need to see people in their prime who actually looked like they were, who seemed healthy and strong, and like they were enjoying their youth and health. Everyone I knew seemed to crawl from desk to desk all day, and I was suddenly struck by how claustrophobic this made me feel. I didn't start lifting or start a right-wing militia, but I did vow to get out more often.

[@tola9727]

Great comment

[@CCootauco]

Nietzsche had the same experience. We're creatures of violence and movement.

[@MrGksarathy]

Thank God for the ending of this comment...

[@djnxfxcx]

@@MrGksarathy 😂

[@debrachambers1304]

"I didn't start lifting or start a right-wing militia, but I did vow to get out more often." Beautifully put.

[@Karrenola]

Yukio Mishima is treated as an extremely sensitive topic here in Japan, where I have lived for many years. But no one here denies the genius of his writing, and all in my circle have read at least two of his works, including Sun and Steel. My favorites, which I read with the help of my university professors, are Haru no Yuki and Kinkakuji. Thanks Justin! All other controversies aside, genius is genius. ❤

[@beepboop204]

Ottoweininger might be someone you wanna take a peeky pooh at. oodles of self-loathing and a very peculiar take on things. "It is only by suffering that the genius understands men"

[@angamaitesangahyando685]

​@@beepboop204 Would you count Mitchell Heisman, too? - Adûnâi

[@ZacharyBittner]

I remember when I first read yukio mishima and loved his books in my early 20s. I met a Japanese girl in college and we were discussing literature and I mentioned how I loved yukio mishima's books and she reacted like I just said I had the complete works of ayn rand. Like just "oh... Uhh... Ok..." And I immediately knew something was up lol

[@dyinoutwest]

@@ZacharyBittner its safe to say he rode the sus bus

[@messmer777]

He was a nasty fascist, and so was Celine-- but both were genius writers despite their moral loathsomeness.

[@TheEsotericaChannel]

Comments focusing on Mishima's politics without reference to Sun and Steel will be moderated. This isn't the place for either endorsing romantic reactionism nor virtue signaling how anti-fascist you are.

[@goetzdushlan1392]

Absolutely. Throwing out the baby with the bathwater happens way too much these days. I (tried!) reading Sun and Steel 25 years ago, so my older self is quite happy to know that I did get those main points enunciated and elucidated by you Justin in the excellent presentation.

[@thetruth4654]

As someone who has struggled with overthinking for just about my entire life, the first moment i got a true escape from this suffering, was through training martial arts. I can have the worst day possible, and after i train my mind has left all of the concerns or fears behind, and all that is left is peace, silence and an almost immeditate rebirth. Mishima`s reflections on the philosophy of the body reminds me of Nietzsche`s vitalism.

[@beepboop204]

i was inspired by the Greeks to the same effect and same result. lifting bro, lifting

[@thetruth4654]

@@beepboop204 I do struggle with lifting, but i will try to start to train more for strength regardless of it`s with weights or if it`s through using the weight of my body.

[@beepboop204]

@@thetruth4654 the point of training is to reach failure. its kinda paradoxical. but its a good sense of control and bodypresentness!

[@smfe]

What martial arts do you recommend?

[@beepboop204]

@@smfe exercising and stretching on your own is a good start. figure out what works for you, i dunno if someone can tell you the "perfect" martial art

[@MisterCynic18]

As someone who's gotten into fitness in recent years I can certainly relate to Mishima's descriptions of encountering the absolute as your body is pushed to it's limits. Even your sight being fixed upon the blue sky was eeriely relatable. The pursuit of physical perfection as a mystical experience is definitely a perspective I was eager to hear about, thanks for putting a spotlight on this.

[@TheEsotericaChannel]

I very much agree as a former martial artist and current lifter

[@dannyglands4565]

I recently ran a mile for the first time in my life and actually broke down crying afterwards as I looked at the sky and trees directly after. Everything seemed more beautiful than it ever had in my life

[@cheri238]

​@TheEsotericaChannel An exilerlating novel, thank you again, TheEstsotericaChannel. I also love "The Tale of Genji" by Lady Murasaka- published in America by The Literary Guild, 1935. I have a first edition my papa left me in his library. ❤ Mr. Justin Sledge, a great contribution you give to all who watch .❤

[@TheEsotericaChannel]

Well done !

[@peerlesspeaks]

I seriously have semi-mystical experiences during some of my leg workouts. I think I'm just hammering my body to the extent that it's just ready to give up and meet its maker lol

[@ozymandiasramesses1773]

I was literally just reading excerpts from from 'Confessions of the Mask'. "What I wanted was to die among strangers, untroubled, beneath a cloudless sky. And yet my desire differed from the sentiments of that ancient Greek who wanted to die under the brilliant sun. What I wanted was some natural, spontaneous suicide. I wanted a death like that of a fox, not yet well versed in cunning, that walks carelessly along a mountain path and is shot by a hunter because of its own stupidity…" -Yukio Mishima

[@Headytopper125]

This book wrecked me

[@beepboop204]

brings me back to both my drug addicted 30s and my undiagnosed post-pubescent mental health mess of late teens and early 20s!

[@BenJuan123]

I’m a little confused now, because this excerpt seems diametrically opposed to the philosophy outlined in this video

[@beepboop204]

@@BenJuan123 how so? can you outline this?

[@BenJuan123]

@@beepboop204​​⁠​​⁠sure - bear in mind I’ve never read Mishima so all I have to refer to right now is this video and the excerpt above. But basically what I took from the video was that Mishima’s whole philosophy was about meticulously crafting your body into a physical and aesthetic apex, and then committing it (very intentionally) to a death filled with glorious purpose (i.e. Heroic Death). The quote above seems to describe the exact opposite - living a carefree and lackadaisical life until you eventually just die by happenstance. Basically I’m just looking for someone to help me reconcile the quote above with the philosophy described in the video - maybe I’m misunderstanding one or both of them, idk

[@jackpayne4658]

On his own last day, Mishima left the final pages of 'The Sea of Fertility' for his publisher. Therein, we find Honda - an elderly judge who has served as an observer figure throughout the last three novels, with all their physical and emotional action. Unlike Mishima, Honda has lived a long, conventionally successful life. He decides to make a last visit to a respected Buddhist abbess who was once the lover of his best friend. And there, his whole life is brought into question. In a sunny Japanese garden, he is left wondering what his life meant - and if he ever existed at all. For me, this is the perfect expression of Mishima's aesthetic nihilism.

[@DJW1981]

The sea of fertility is just mind blowing. I love his work. I own many (but not all) of his books. He's a very mysterious figure and hard to pin down. The movie about his life is good too.

[@jackpayne4658]

@@DJW1981 Mishima always reminds me of Blake's proverb - 'The Road of Excess leads to the Palace of Wisdom' .

[@maxn.7234]

@@DJW1981 I remember reading Decay of the Angel over 25 years ago. The ending was exhilarating in its genius, yet disturbing and unsettling. It was like eating an exquisite 4 course meal, loving every morsel, and feeling sad about it afterwards because the moment has passed and I would never experience something so beautiful again.

[@GildaLee27]

I had to read something by Mishima for a college class and I recall the sense of feeling tricked by the beauty of the prose and imagery into entertaining a cold mind of cruelty, a worldview without mercy. Thank you for another fascinating and well-presented episode Dr Sledge.

[@Nalhek]

Is it the worldview that has no mercy or the reality which it describes? A worldview is what allows one to pretend that the brutality of nature is not part of its true beauty. To see the reality of that brutality requires only that we open our eyes

[@coreyander286]

@@Nalhek The worldview. Nothing about nature requires us to fly planes into ships in order to spread an empire based on the racial supremacy of the Yamato. That's anthropomorphizing nature. It's pareidolia.

[@joejohnson6327]

​@@Nalhek In my experience, people who say they love nature are usually thoroughly blind to its true nature.

[@milascave2]

@@Nalhek He was quite the one for describing the ascetics of violence, the flow of scarlet blood onto pure white cloth. His short story "Patriotism" is possibly the most beautiful story about self mutilation and suicide ever written.

[@rufust.firefly6352]

I rejoiced when I found Sun and Steel. The gym is my Temple. The Cathedral of Iron...the sweat, holy water. The various exercises, the Stations of the Cross. I make my living in intellectual pursuits, but I find the divine in the gym, in the Glorious Sun. Yukio Mishima, my Sensei.

[@salimelrhilani3009]

beautiful

[@louhymlabe2734]

Truly average Mishima enjoyer, poets

[@theCommentDevil]

More recent subscriber here, and i gotta say this has quickly become my favorite channel. Its not easy to find intelligent serious looks into anything esoteric. An added plus is the humor, i laugh all the time

[@beepboop204]

the community is usually pretty cool too

[@eljefeamericano4308]

Welcome!

[@jacobvandam9834]

The fact that you don't skip leg day has me even more convinced that you need to embrace the badassery of the name "Dr. Sledge"

[@TheEsotericaChannel]

For me, leg day is either squat day or dead lift day as well - it's a cardinal sin to miss either.

[@artkoenig9434]

This presentation was an intense and most eloquent dive into the mind of Yukio Mishima. Thank you for your successful efforts!

[@TheModernHermeticist]

It would be interesting to compare and contrast this sort of embodied mysticism with the kind described in Caroline W. Bynum regarding women and food (or the lack thereof), and how the body and its suffering becomes a way to participate in the embodiment of Christ.

[@TheEsotericaChannel]

I was definitely thinking something along those lines especially with some of the more radical beguine mysticism

[@TheModernHermeticist]

@@TheEsotericaChannel Watching this I was also reminded of Ruth Mazo Karras' book 'From Boys to Men.' Karras explores the ways in which social capital was acquired among young males in order to prepare themselves to take their place among the senior males of their respective class and professions. The most interesting idea in the book is that there is not one single form of masculinity, but that there are three dominant and somewhat isolated “masculinities” which all have their roots in the Middle Ages, and which all largely persist intact until today. The first of these is the primal masculinity embodied by the knight (i.e., by the capacity and willingness to do violence). The second form of masculinity, which was of a more sublimated kind, was that embodied by the university scholar or the theologian (i.e., by his distance from the animalistic instincts of non-intellectuals and freshman students). Along the ‘great chain of being,’ one is more advanced the more one resembled God or the angels, and the less one resembled the dogs and the apes (or even the women), and in the monastic or university communities that prioritized such things as knowledge, virtue, and good conduct, this translated as a dominant paradigm for masculinity. Then there was the third, and perhaps most widely popular form of masculinity today: the craftsman, and it was understood as the capacity to effect constructive change in the world, to organize effective communities, and to take care of ones’ own family and employees through dedication and business savvy. Super interesting book, what I consider "gender studies done well." While he lived in an entirely different culture, Mishima seems to have escaped one kind of masculinity and awakened to a different kind. It's just interesting that there are many cases of the opposite happening (e.g. St. Francis fleeing aristocratic warfare and battle to become the mendicant preacher par excellence; St. Ignatius Loyola is a similar case).

[@TheEsotericaChannel]

Great comment - I'm also very interested in figures that are either in-between those roles or men, as you pointed out, that transition roles in their lifetime. Someone like Agrippa is a fascinating case study here.

[@pioire]

this is so interesting! definitely motivation to finally crack open my copy of holy feast and holy fast. i’ve always thought of mishima and simone weil in similar ways, though it’s hard for me to explain why. in my understanding, weil believed in the philosophical purity of the personal embodiment of suffering, vs mishima in strength

[@peterpedersen3988]

16:19 "muscles were no longer needed" - that reminds me very much of Ernst Jünger. Especially with regards to his position that technology has ruined everything, especially warefare and the possibility for heroism. Btw. I very much anticipated this video as soon as I saw it. Thank you very much for doing this!

[@anon2034]

I recommend you Ernst Jünger's "On pain" or "Battle as an inner experience". Both are described as authors part of the "Conservative revolution".

[@lapurta22]

What a most pleasant surprise to see you touch upon the Far East, and Japan in particular. While I am no expert, by any means, I have been enamored of Japanese culture since I was a child, and have learned a thing or two. I can see the threads of Bushido, Shintoism, Buddhism and ancient historic Japanese paradigms running through Mishima-san's personal beliefs, and actions. It's like he embodies a kind of essential Japanese Superman. Thank you for bringing this fascinating character to my attention.

[@LeSadistique]

I met Mishima via-Confessions of a Mask ten years ago, when I was 19. He quoted my two favorite writers. Not only that: my favorite quotes. Dmitri Karamazov's Madonna and Sodoma discourse and my favorite stanza from Oscar Wiilde's The Dole of the King's Daughter. Mishima was like a hot coal in my soul. One that was always there but he lit. He turned my life around. The similarities were uncanny. The same childhood obsession with being killed in battle, the same passion for destruction, the same thirst for learning and at the same time anti-intellectualism. The same WW2 survivor guilt. I have so much to thank him. I agreed with him before meeting him. I never felt such a connection to another human being. I hope I can die a glorious death as he did. Thank you for the video, my friend. And thank you again, Kimitake Hiraoka. For turning me into an aestethic extremist.

[@anon2034]

Become who you are.

[@Squirrelmind66]

The only KZbin channel that makes me feel like a am still a student, discovering worlds I never knew existed.

[@nylaway7170]

You might like Agrippa’s Diary, Gnostic Informant, and/or New Discourses. They all have distinct shticks from Esoterica and from each other but they offer very well researched dives into occult knowledge.

[@nylaway7170]

Also, interestingly enough there’s a conservative commentator named Candace Owens who’s done recent interesting, well-researched stuff on NASA, the music industry, and the CIA’s relationship to the occult. Out of the recommendations I’ve given, this is definitely the most out of left field (or should I right?) and unlike Esoterica but i suppose it can’t hurt to mention it.

[@randyminish111]

I have read several of his works, watched his film, read Sun and Steel, watched the available youtube vids on him. I got to say this is the best essay/comment on Mishima i have read. Very nice work.

[@malcolmarchibald6356]

Love that you have done your work on Mishima. He is one of my favourite writers, and I won't say he gave me a 'life-changing moment' he reinvigorated me and turned me back to how I had been before. Wonderful writer and a very deep thinker. I wish I had 1/100th of the talent.

[@mewying5184]

i wish too

[@Bildgesmythe]

I love this channel! It's wonderful to be introduced to concepts and history I never knew existed.

[@rodneyshackelford7529]

In his tetraology The Sea of Fertility Mishima has the character named Honda travel to India to see acceptance of the decay of the body and the attempt to find beauty and truth through denial of physical beauty, as can be seen in some forms of Hinduism. He knew of other ways to find the eternal. He even wrote about Bushism on occasion. He had another route to take.

[@GiordanoBruno42]

Your channel is simply excellent. I learn a lot and find inspiration for my own creative endeavors 🎉

[@robertbreedlovecraft]

Against the advice of your disclaimer, I watched the video being almost completely unfamiliar of Mishima (I only knew *of* him from a reference in a Metal Gear game). I have to say I totally get why Paul Schrader of all people would make an entire movie about him. Definitely will dive deeper into Mishima's work and finally cross that Schrader movie off my watchlist

[@patriciahayes2664]

Wikipedia has a good entry on Yukio Mishima. I think it's a good place to start for anyone who wants to know more about him. 👍

[@beepboop204]

@@patriciahayes2664 yeeeee. its good for the "incel" philosophers that wikipedia has so many incels working for them hehehe i kid i kid

[@handeggchan1057]

I am very into both martial arts (used to Box for 8 years competitively and have been doing Judo and some BJJ since 2016) and love weight training (see my videos), and Mishima is my favorite author (even though I'm very left wing) partly because of his approach to writing about the body and the mystical connection it can have to the mind. Sun & Steel is fantastic and will really speak to anyone who is enaged in physical pursuits, whether it be bodybuilding, powerlifting, martial arts, distance running, team sports, etc. Love this video, because most vids on him on KZbin are just about his life more than writing or "woah he was so crazy he commited suppuku after a failed Coup!!!"

[@jamesmihalcik1310]

Impressive deep dive. Fantastic explanations and examples. As a "westerner" myself, its often difficult to properly research certain traditions effectively. This was a beautiful example of the outstanding an often unparallel work of this channel. Bravo!

[@judeironheart7252]

dont worry, as i have come to realize, there was a greek philosopher for everything. For example, if you know Plato, you know buddhism essentially. Im sure there's one greek person for this one as well. xD Maybe some spartan philosopher. What im saying is our western culture has it all, truly

[@HamsterPants522]

Thanks for making this. Sun and Steel is a very profound work to me and - although I have different conclusions about what in life is important - Mishima's ideas have been very interesting and given me valuable tools to find more romance in the world and my existence. I share Mishima's admiration of Nietzsche and Bataille, so I've found his life and works to be very interesting with that in mind.

[@mr.bulldops7692]

I count "leg day" as a form of ascetic practice. It's through the pain and practice of "leg day" that we can hope to attain transcendental hip and joint health. Mystical mobility and occult knee cartilage.

[@TheEsotericaChannel]

Occult swolism

[@szilveszterforgo8776]

Never expected a video on Yukio Mishima. I'm so glad that this just happened!

[@Cesaryeyo]

One of my favorite books is The Transmigration of Timothy Archer by Phillip K. Dick. It has a passage dealing with similar themes of people being so far into abstractions and ideas that they lose contact with the actual concrete reality and become sorts of prisoners to words. And that resonates with me. I overthink a lot and love to talk and examine ideas, but when I'm training with my rugby team and just sweating and shouting and having my ass kicked, I feel a contact with reality that goes beyond the deepest abstract examination.

[@alfonso8843]

Curious story, thanks for sharing. I wonder if your experience with rugby is comparable to that of a hunting lion. All instinct and no thought. Kind of like the flow state most athletes go into when performing or an artist when drawing.

[@will-love-lvx]

Interesting subject. Thanks for covering it!

[@Plexippuspetersi92]

There's something about having a body and indulging in bodily experiences that is definitely mystical, maybe even numinuous. David Foster-Wallace once posited that we enjoy watching top-level athletes because it reconcilles us with the physicality of having a body, even if the experience is by proxy.

[@nylaway7170]

@@Plexippuspetersi92 Very interesting! Never thought about it like that.

[@Matatabi6]

This seems to have some parallels to the muscular Christianity of the late 19th century as practiced by people like teddy Roosevelt. Choosing “the strenuous life” transforming himself into “a bull moose” and his obsession with military glory and sacrifice leading him to do things like take pride that his unit in the Spanish American war suffered the highest casualty rate in the us cavalry

[@NuclearFalcon146]

I was taught that he had issue with Western influence polluting Japanese traditionalism. I had no idea that he was HEAVILY influenced by Western philosophers.

[@josedorsaith5261]

Makes sense. Japan didn't view all Westerners as equal and there are woodstain paintings/writings/official decrees that draw a line under who they wanted out of their country. Interestingly, one such text demanding the expulsion of 'Jesuits' is on display in a special shrine at the base of Mt. Fuji.

[@gmccaughry]

Radically different that's for sure; Not my cup of tea but certainly important in the larger sense. Thanks for the awesome video Justin!

[@TheEsotericaChannel]

I agree - someone can be important and I can still radically reject their positions. What's interesting to me is Mishima as mystic, for whatever reason, I've not seen much study of him in that genre.

[@gmccaughry]

@@TheEsotericaChannel Very true, perhaps because certain sensibilites would deem it too controversial a figure to research this way? No idea, but the topic certainly deserves attention.

[@TheEsotericaChannel]

Yeah, it's that weird "if you study reactionaries you must be one or sympathize with them" or something. I think these figures deserve scholarship precisely because they ideas might be dangerous. Scholars burying their heads in the sand certainly hasn't proven a successful strategy.

[@agender7052]

I feel like I see most often, of the fascist thinkers, Mishima being rehabilitated somewhat or having the fascism and misogyny excised to give a fair appraisal of his other ideas. I think just as there are left-Nietzscheans who extract what is best and see Nietzsche by the lights of the best of his own genius to critique AND appreciate him, there is also a real sense that Mishima (lover of Nietzsche and that OG left-Nietzschean, Bataille!) holds much of value when treated similarly.

[@deangajraj]

Exploring Yukio Mishima's radical writings allows us to turn the lens on mystical embodiment, and understand its intricate complexities. Mysticism isn't just an avenue of escape but an appreciation for the mortal and flawed nature of human life. In our tangible world, the ethereal also takes shape. Those willing to explore their inner depths, even in its darkest regions, will find deeper truths. But, the abyss carries a warning - when you look past its threshold, it looks back at you.

[@roys.1889]

I studied his work "Patriotism" in college as part of my Asian literature studies. I wasn't expecting to see his name crop up in an esoterica video but I'm glad it has. I'm more familiar with his short stories, and from that I could discern that he was really good at writing but I never knew he had such an 'Allegory of the Cave'-like understanding of the World (yeah kind of lame philosophical comparison but that's what I got to work with.) His overall philosophy of being a solar being and cultivating his own physical heroism is striking chords with what I recently learned about the philosophical influences of Wuxia and Xianxia, namely the Taoist-Hindu pick-and-mix that was brought over to Japan; specifically the idea that a mortal could achieve 'divinity' (specifically an Asian idea of Divinity which is closer to Greek Heroic worship) and is encouraged to ascend the Chain of Existence through their great works. His choice of words really point to that; 'cultivating.' I wonder if his resentiment of words and his tirade against nocturnal thinkers triumphing over the solar beings is a manifestation of a more generalized distrust and resentiment of the west's encroachment into Japan. It was after all the West's involvement in Japan in the 1840s-1850s that sparked the Genpei War which stole Mishima's chance of experiencing the Edo Japan that World War II and postwar Japan so often invoke. This was fun to watch and listen to and it's giving me a lot of new ideas as I go to bed. Thanks for the video, Chief Sledge.

[@anon2034]

You mean Boshin War. The Genpei War was in the 12th century.

[@roys.1889]

@@anon2034 oh right.. I keep getting those two mixed up lately.

[@anon2034]

@@roys.1889It's alright. :)

[@Reddotzebra]

I guess the true genius is realizing that true contentment comes from finding a way to shut off the continual waterfall of our conscious mind. Especially since it's so focused on being horrified and alert of every little surrounding thing, trying to categorize and find patterns in them, and simultaneously telling itself that it shouldn't necessary be horrified of every little thing.

[@н.джед.т]

It's fascinating how many martial enthusiasms seem to be tied to really poor understanding of the military. I'm not qualified to comment on the mystic values of his ideas, but in a military sense, as a matter of strategy and tactics... Self-annihilation is generally regarded as the hallmark of a Bad Plan. In a military sense, the nocturnal mindset is pretty attractive... "Let's you and him fight!" is a time-honored strategy of success, and talking about why the other guy and the *other* other guy really needs to make it into a death match seems to epitomize Special Operation Forces philosophy in specific. Self-annihilation tends to be a field you don't get many senior leaders in...

[@TheEsotericaChannel]

Yeah in another comment I quoted Patton on not dying for your country but getting some other poor bastard to die for theirs - self destruction is childish

[@complimentary_voucher]

😂 IKR? These are people who've never been punched in the face by an angry drunk at 3am. I have, it sucks arse and didn't really teach me anything about the flesh and chaos except 'I like the teeth I was born with'. Peeps who fetishize this synthetic, prescribed heroism are the epitome of point-missed-entirely.

[@uwu_smeg]

@@complimentary_voucher you see, the point is punching back 😉

[@anon2034]

@@TheEsotericaChannel I think you both misunderstand that the call for "Heroic Death" is a narrative in order to face mortal threats head on. A sort of steeling of the soul. Preparation of the spirit for the physical battle - to be able to kill and (if it comes to this) to die.

[@ruser0084]

@@uwu_smeg As a martial artist, I agree...

[@s.lazarus]

Damn, I feel like working out and sacrificing myself to the sun.

[@GamrGemini]

Thankyou for always exploring fully, the breadth of all that is esoterica. You are truly a gift and may you only continue to grow and flourish!

[@afull375]

This is my favorite part of the week

[@iusedtobegods]

Now I’m gonna be waiting for the Esoterica “workout like a mystic” video series.

[@ryanhollist3950]

One of the most profound spiritual experiences I've had, and the most "ecstatic" of them all, was not an experience of somehow exiting or seeing beyond the physical world. It was an experience where the individual physical form of every object (especially trees) became super salient. The concept of general categories dropped away, and I was hyper aware of the individuality of every thing, especially if it were a type of life. There was no hidden higher realm, no special metaphysics, just everything being it's unique self in physical form and function.

[@jasonmitchell5219]

I actually hope that you do work out as 'creating' and relishing your physique re-homes or resistuates your, often dislocated through years of dissociation, mind, thoroughly back inside the gravity well of your cellular body. It's thought and hence being in action instead of the dead, lifeless and cold universe we are taught about. I thought his books relentlessly and beautifully played off the tensions of opposites into a stark and jarring and difficult to maintain conciliation. Great choice for a video!

[@craniifer]

I used to push myself to insane degrees for the sake of distance running. This guy seems like an interesting read.

[@jamescorbin5638]

I’ve read a few of Mishima‘s works and I’ve watched many of your videos. That the two coincided today is quite the treat. Thanks.

[@vrixphillips]

kinda makes me wonder if his encounter with idealism in greece meeting with his own knowledge of buddhism is what ultimately caused him to decide that no, the ideal cannot be eternal, it must die at the height of its beauty in a heroic death. which is also... kind of theatrical? I mean he wrote plays and literature and the ways of the theatre definitely affected his philosophy and life, I'd say.

[@NoahSpurrier]

Philip Glass’ soundtrack to the film Mishima was very good. Good movie, too.

[@diego777cas]

New workout playlist addition 💪🏽

[@joym.8905]

Just what I go to my KZbin channels for: an introduction to great thinkers I’ve never heard of before. Thank you, Justin!

[@louisjov]

Thank you for your excellent educational videos as always Proud to be a Patron

[@ArcaneCowboy]

So glad you are covering Yukio Mishima! Thank you.

[@theleastaction]

Thanks! Great video.

[@LordRoku-]

thank you for covering this

[@israeltovar3513]

There is a strong pull for self-destruction as a valid response for various extreme situations in life over there in Japan. As Mishima was strongly influenced by Japanese tales of the samurai, samurai often embraced death as the ultimate form of upholding honor. The fugacity and frailty of life, faced by the brutal reality of steel and violence in war or in duel was a source of certain poetry for many. The fact that a kenjutsu and iaijutsu student (the more traditional fencing schools and forms from which kendo and iaido draw from)practiced and perfected their form, their bodies, their technique, their precision, for the ultimate test of combat(in war or duel), where survival meant superiority and demonstration of individual perfection. Death, however, wasn't a measure of failure in itself, if the student exerted himself to the extreme, and fully gave himself out to the pure extasis(or endotasis?)of combat, of death. There was a mental, spiritual death that had to be done before the fight, the warrior was supposed to fight as if he was already death, and then seek the physical death to match it. Modern anime and manga reflect a modern evolution of this thinking, with the heroes having to fully gave themselves to the fight, and when relinquishing their lives, achieve their full, unfettered potential. A master warrior, committed to the fight and dying by the hand of a superior or luckier(a possibility exposed by Miyamoto Musashi) was the apex of perfection, the most beautiful death possible in this life...

[@beepboop204]

fascism seems to go that way: glorifying strength and power and seeking for weakness to be destroyed. if you try to destroy all your weakness, i think you eventually destroy yourself

[@angamaitesangahyando685]

There's something to be said about cultural genersalitions. Yet the fact remains that the Koreans worship a glorious bronze idol, and put the sun in their videos, the Japanese died for their emperor, when the Germans opened their cities for the Americans to walk in without a shot fired. - Adûnâi

[@angamaitesangahyando685]

​@@beepboop204 Last time I checked, the fascist Juche sun-worshippers in Korea are fine, whereas the winners of 1945 are keeling over ever lower. - Adûnâi

[@rexaxis3450]

@@angamaitesangahyando685 The winners control the entirety of the world's economic systems and many nations either directly or by proxy, including Korea. Fascism was an experiment deemed failed, those in power then are in power yet still today.

[@vojtechtax9723]

Watching (or more accurately listening) to this on my way to the gym. Today is gonna be a very good pull day.

[@sernafc]

Amazing work! It's philosophical, mystical and also deeply poetic. Mishima is an undoubtedly controversial figure, yet now you've made impossible for me not to want to find out more about him. But first, yeah, I guess I'll go and get a little sunlight.

[@atombomb6719]

Don't forget lunges and squats 😉 💪🏽

[@TheEsotericaChannel]

Bench Press, Squat, Dead Lift, the rest is commentary

[@MarceloKuroi]

Thanks for this video. I'm in awe with Mishima's novels, specially The Golden Pavilion. I was lucky enough to watch on the big screen Afraid to Die, the movie he was protagonist, his acting is excellent.

[@PseudoPseudoDionysius]

My own area of research is apophasis in modernist literature, so this theme of embodied mysticism in Japanese modernism is a reeeeaaaallllly interesting parallel. Thanks so much for the video.

[@corticallarvae]

The only thing that makes me cry doc is watching the kamikaze rites... regardless of how the soldiers treated my pow grandfather i can objectively and absolutely put that aside when just watching the rite at the end of the war with tojo pushing young men with few planes who could barely fly to embrace the element of air and absovle life fuel from their minds to make the family a whole being again. If you look upon his stomach he has scars in the sepuku path upon his abdomen. As a former funeral director they don't look like creases but preperatory hesitation cuts probably from his most famous film involving his simulations..

[@giomar89]

I find the, let’s say, extended turn of the century fascination with raw sensory experience truly fascinating. That at a time when human abstract thought was revealing its powers in such concrete ways (groundbreaking technological and scientific inventions, the invention of psychology) there’d be a “Romanticism 2.1” really says something about humanity. I’ve read some Mishima, including “Sun and Steel”, but listening to you I realised how similar his description of the world of night, intellectuals, and white ans (and its counterpart) sound to Jung’s descriptions of Intuition and Sensation as cognitive functions (the stuff that has later derived in MBTI and socionics). Thanks for your work!

[@dbarker7794]

I could never make sense of Sun and Steel, but this helped a little. Thanks. Being superficial, I wondered what you think of the movie Mishima by Paul Schrader.

[@TheEsotericaChannel]

It's a great film with an amazing score!

[@phonyugen-kr3pg]

mishima was truly one of the greatest minds to ever step foot on earth

[@scarlettleaves9042]

Wow ! What a great video, very impactful ! I feel deeply mired in the nocturnal and long to engage in the physical, often fantasizing about training in a martial art. I continually seek initiation, as from a philosopher or a great teacher, this is found in books easily enough. In the real physical world, can there realistically be such an accomplished master to teach me alone in the jungle ? Hitting me with a cane perhaps as I balance a heavy pail of water in each hand or some such fantasy ? Such initiations are the stuff of legend, and Hollywood😂 I am drawn to reading this book, as I have never heard of Mishima or his philosophies before. Tomorrow I will jump into a cold body of water, shock my body out of this complacency. A first step anyway toward my own initiation into embodiment. Thank you for the video and the inspiration from this man who stepped over and saw the sun for himself.

[@victoro7056]

One of the most interesting videos you have ever done, love it, need more.

[@aWorkInProgress11]

i love this channel so much - thank you for the work you do

[@Protogonas]

Thank you Dr. Sledge as always for exposing us to things I never knew about! Do you think you'll do a video on Sword Saint Miyamoto Musashi also?

[@TheEsotericaChannel]

I doubt it I don't really have the expertise and I don't read Japanese so I'd be at a real disadvantage to produce anything of scholarly value

[@Protogonas]

@@TheEsotericaChannel Coming back to this comment after reading Sun and Steel, and now I want a lifting shirt that says "Suns Out Guns Out" with Mishima flexing because he truly was the embodiment of that motto. Time for more Sledgehammer tire slams for Dr. Sledge ⚒💪

[@DanyAshby]

I find myself a philosophical and physical inverse mirror reflection of Mishima. As a gender alchemist and sculptor, I have also reshaped my body into a sublime work of art, through my own application of steel to flesh, though mine was sterile, surgical, and not self-administered, and my trajectory has lead me in the opposite direction, away from life-long suicidal ideation and martyr worship, and into a profound commitment to militant self and community defense, and a passion for living life that I had never known or thought possible. My friends and I all wanted to die before we transitioned, but now that we live our true lives, we actually live, and the LAST thing we are going to do is our enemies' work for them. I once idealized it, but now I staunchly believe that suicide is collaboration with the enemy. Years ago, before I got a chance to live as myself, I planned my own jigai ritual suicide, down to learning how to forge the tanto blade in my workshop. I intended to perform it on the steps of the state capital, as a public protest of the bigotry and oppression we go through, but decided to try to live authentically, if I could, first, to see if I could and to see if things might be worth fighting for if it was possible to find peace and self-acceptance. It has been an arduous road, and one that only gets more and more treacherous and hostile to us, but through my self-transformation, I have learned that it IS possible to find that peace, cultivate it and light it within ourselves, reshape our outer self to better reflect our true selves, and pass that light and knowledge on to others. And I am very zealous to protect that light, firstly from my own weakness and frailty, and then from anyone else who might try and snuff it out. Mishima is such a literally and figuratively gut-wrenchingly tragic figure, to me, the poignancy of which I can't put to words adequately. At least not in a youtube comment. He is like a modern kamikaze Daedalus that I am very glad to have only learned of now, after all these years of therapy and HRT, as I literally shudder to think of how my past self might have tried to emulate him. Terrifying indeed.

[@coreyander286]

"We choose death, while you choose life." -Man on tape claiming responsibility for the 2004 Madrid train bombings "What's important is that you choose life... and then live." -Naomi Hunter, _Metal Gear Solid_ "The way [Mishima] questioned the status quo hit home with me. Not that I admired his vision or anything. But it did get me thinking, that's for sure." -Kazuhira Miller, _Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker_ "The perfect body? Are you trying to defeat your foes through laughter?" -Kazuya *_Mishima,_* _Street Fighter X Tekken_

[@DanyAshby]

I really want to thank whoever reported the comment that said "congrats on the mental illness" and got it deleted. That crap can be exhausting to deal with, as there is a pretty regular stream of it drooling from trolls everywhere online, frustrated by my refusal to submit to their narrow worldview, and by my total recovery from and rejection of suicidal ideation, which they frequently tell me I should return to and follow through with. I delight in denying them both. Some people think I'm being paranoid or overly dramatic when I refer to "the enemy" as a trans person, but, amongst several other kinds of loathsome psychic parasites and fascists, terfs, etc... I'm referring to the kind of people who will read my story of recovery and finding inner peace and happiness... and congratulate me on my *illness*. And they claim *I* am the deluded one... maybe I was once... when I thought it was impossible for me to become who I felt like I really was. Thankfully, I realized I *could* transform myself physically and unshackle my mind, and I became that person many years ago, inside and out... and I plan to keep that going for many, many...many more years. Anyway, again, I appreciate the very swift takedown of that comment! Very nice to know y'all have my back, here

[@margaretbreakslegs]

i’m very happy you were able to recover and become yourself, it’s nice to hear a story like yours. i’m starting my own medical journey this year, i hope to find peace and be as noble as you are. keep the light shining, xoxo

[@FelixGWilliams]

Very good video. I am going to make sure I do my lifting today. 💪☀️

[@_..____]

This presentation was a warm and welcome slap in the face. Thank you for this presentation.

[@gabrielbacon1175]

Badass, Justin. Really enjoyed that, the first of your videos for me. Looking forward to more

[@fraterzigmund]

This video has been stuck in my head since the day it dropped. As a Hermetic mystic, engaging with the body has become a major part of my spirituality, with time at the gym framed as a devotional practice dedicated to Mars. I have been developing my own mysticism of the body ever since watching this video as my approach is so different from Mishima's. It has a lot to do with dismantling the ideas of beauty that hold us back from trying to achieve and developing your own confidence and personal power through physical activity. The goal is not to have a "perfect" body but to build a better relationship with the physical parts of one's being. Thinking about doing a KZbin series about it.

[@indigolabsindegoshark]

omg my favorite youtuber talking about my favorite writer

[@KellyBergerDeusVult]

To me, he was a blazing comet that a young me wanted to follow. As i grew, my own aesthetic changed but i thoroughly believe EVERYONE should read him. He is still important to me, and a fulcrum of my own journey.

[@beepboop204]

i like the ones who suffer from Camus to Miller to Weininger to Brodsky, i just feel so much more kinship with them. or the druggies lol

[@TGBurgerGaming]

I really enjoyed listening to this. Thank you.

[@DamionLost]

Thanks!

[@themagicianandthefool1878]

Beautifully done! Excellent episode

[@morrowgan8930]

first Bataille, now Mishima amazing thank you

[@ward1868]

I've been fascinated by Mishima for years and wish more people outside of Japan talked about him! Thanks for doing this; I only wish it was longer :)

[@nicklloyd9221]

Fantastic video. A unique and insightful take on one of my favourite books and authors. Thank you!

[@evanmcarthur3067]

I came upon this guy a few years ago, what an Amazing figure. I don’t think most Japanese like talking about him, I’ve been in Japan for 10 years often normal Japanese people don’t like to talk about such spectacles.

[@coreyander286]

Might as well point out that normal Americans don't like talking about the Unabomber.

[@Cristoferurlaub]

Just listened to the for the first time and I happened to be in the gym at the time. As someone who tries to develop my mind and body, this really hit me on another level. Thank you so much for this video. Seems like I’ve got some homework to do!

[@grewntd]

I watched the movie in the 90s when I was a kid. This video is insightful

[@markdpricemusic1574]

Superb, utterly superb! For those interested in taking it further the divine Alphonso Lingis has a fine essay on Mishima called ''The Insistence on correspondence'' in (I think) ''Foreign Bodies''. Also well worth a look for the body-mysticism of Mishima, Daniel Paul Schreber and others is Brian Dillon's ''Nine Hypochodriac Lives''. The whole set of connections between sickness-unto death, convalescence and a mystical ''higher health'' is fascianting, from Plato''s Myth of Er to the lives and works of Nietzsche and Artaud and Lenkeiwicz's oddly sexualised identification with Saint Antony. Many many many thanks for this episode!

[@thescoobymike]

Never heard of him before and this was a great introduction! I’ve had similar thoughts as him about the restrictiveness of words and art and how in many ways they can confine things and divide us thru semantics. Ironically I could never word these thoughts as well as him.

[@PeterSmith-go9ef]

Thank you for your wonderful review. Mishima is as fascinating as he is divisive, he was once described as his own greatest work of fiction. He said in his earlier years that he wanted to be "the seer not the seen", Sun and Steel contradicts this stated ambition, but then Mishima delighted in being a contrarian. A fascinating book by an intriguing artist, many thanks for your intuitive thoughts on this challenging work.

[@Jc-ww5kg]

Absolutely wonderful! Thank you. Subscribed sir.

[@invasionheadwear]

I'll always smile when you say "I'm Justin Sledge" so casually lol that name is amazing

[@aislynnmari]

I hope your throat feels better soon ❤ thanks for doing this video even though you aren't feeling well

[@TheEsotericaChannel]

Throat? I don't think I was feeling poorly - but thanks for the consideration!

[@aislynnmari]

@@TheEsotericaChannel oh my mistake I thought you said something about a sore throat. Take care of yourself and have fun with leg day. Just finished the video! Love all your insights. Parts of this video really gave goosebumps

[@yorp4161]

Really dind't think you were gonna cover mishima. Very nice

[@RabenkopfRec]

Wow, I never asked for that video, but title looks perfect for me. Thank you!

[@grimmace2131]

Wow! That was fascinating. Thank you.

[@davidantonsavage6207]

Absolutely superlative! Well done sir.

[@oldmanfromscenetwentyfour8164]

Always an Enlightening and Pleasurable dissertation. Thank you.

[@demiurgeatemyhamster]

Fantastic episode ❤

[@jackiemarie5202]

Really appreciate your channel! I recently learned about Hypatia & would love to hear what you have on share on her.

[@cristiancascetta4132]

What a beautiful, deep and original analysis of this complex and (at least to me) enigmatically colossal literary genius|

[@sleethmitchell]

i was a student of mathematics. everything went to hell. immersing myself in the world of kendo in the very early 70s. the way of the warrior is death. always choosing death. and here i am, well past 70. go figure.

[@gumbypokey]

"The way of the Samurai is found in death. Meditation on inevitable death should be performed daily." - Ghost Dog....

[@TheEsotericaChannel]

Ghost Dog, via Hagakure