Sea of Abundance. A Tetralogy

Yukio Mishima (1925–1970) — a star of 20th-century literature, the most widely read Japanese author in the world, endowed with brilliant talent, renowned for both his works of the broadest range and diversity of genres (novels, plays, stories, essays) and his astonishing biography (obsession with bodybuilding, far-right political views, harakiri after an unsuccessful attempt at a monarchical coup). The tetralogy "Sea of Abundance" is the pinnacle of his writing and a kind of creative testament; here Mishima, in his own words, "expressed all his ideas," after which he had "nothing left to write about." Upon finishing the last novel of the tetralogy, he put a period at the end of his life.
"Sea of Abundance" contains the quintessence of Mishima's aesthetic system, combining samurai-Shinto elements with images of European antiquity, the influence of esoteric Buddhism, and even Hinduism. The cornerstone of this aesthetic has always been the theme of death and beauty — Mishima's heroes strive to comprehend the terrible and indeterminate enigma of beauty that exists outside of morality, outside of ethics, and is capable of enslaving and destroying the human personality.

The plot of "Sea of Abundance" is built on the idea of reincarnation, progressively revealing itself through a story of tragic love, idealistic self-sacrifice, mystical obsession, and the shattering of illusions...