Yukio Mishima (1925–1970) — a star of 20th-century literature, the most read Japanese author in the world, a holder of dazzling talent, celebrated both for his works of the widest range and variety of genres (novels, plays, short stories, essays) and for his shocking biography (obsession with bodybuilding, far-right political inclinations, harakiri after a failed attempt at a monarchical coup). «Kyoko's House» — the story of four young people, regulars of a salon (or parishioners of a temple), ruled by the hostess (or priestess) Kyoko. These four — four facets of the author himself: a sensitively perceptive innocent artist; an energetic boxer obsessed with sports; an unappreciated narcissistic actor, enchanted by his own beauty; and a businessman who, pretending to be a careerist, embraces nihilism, despises reality, and believes in the inevitable end of the world. And with them is Kyoko — their mirror, their guide on a journey through the hell of modernity, the mistress of the house where they all find refuge and can bare their souls. It's the early 1950s — the post-war period in Japan has ended, prosperity is taking root and gradually growing from the ruins, but all five mistrust modernity, and looking from Kyoko's balcony, see only rubble. The new era — a wall, a dead end, «a giant gap, shapeless and colorless, like the reflection of a summer sky in a mirror,» as critics wrote; a decade and a half later, the same tone will resonate with Hubert Selby Jr. The four guests and Kyoko will briefly achieve success, but with success comes inevitable downfall, disappointment, and death. One day, the doors of Kyoko's house will close. The end of the world is unavoidable. We still live in its threshold. Fans are still eagerly awaiting an English translation of this novel to this day, while we publish it in Russian for the first time.
