Forbidden Colors
- This article is about the novel. For the song, see Forbidden Colours. For the concept in color theory, see Impossible colors.
 First edition cover | |
| Author | Yukio Mishima |
|---|---|
| Original title | Kinjiki (禁色) |
| Translator | Alfred H. Marks |
| Country | Japan |
| Language | Japanese |
| Publisher | Alfred A. Knopf (US Eng. trans) |
Publication date |
1951 (Part 1), 1953 (Part 2) |
Published in English | 1968 |
| Media type | Print (Hardback & Paperback) |
| Pages | 403 p. (US hardback edition) |
| ISBN | ISBN 0-436-28153-8 (US hardback edition) |
| OCLC | 629740 |
Forbidden Colors (禁色 Kinjiki) is a 1951 novel (禁色 Part 2 秘楽 (Higyō) "Secret Pleasure" was published in 1953) by the Japanese writer Yukio Mishima,[1] translated into English in 1968. The name kinjiki is a euphemism for homosexuality. The kanji 禁 means "forbidden" and 色 in this case means "erotic love", although it can also mean "color". The word "kinjiki" also means colors which were forbidden to be worn by people of various ranks in the Japanese court. It describes a marriage of a gay man to a young woman. Like Mishima's earlier novel Confessions of a Mask, it is generally considered somewhat autobiographical.
Themes
There are many elements Mishima touches on. Two involving the main characters, Yuichi and Shunsuke, are:
- Homosexuality: Yuichi's pursuit of his homosexual nature is a driving force of the narrative. Shunsuke's contempt for women leads him to admire Yuichi, whom he feels is incapable of loving women.
- Misogyny: Both Yuichi and Shunsuke have contempt for women, and this drives their behavior.
The most basic thematic element is the clash of opposites:
- Beauty and Ugliness: Yuichi is considered the pinnacle of beauty, while Shunsuke considers himself to be extremely ugly.
- Youth and Aging: The young and old are played against each other. The youthful Yuichi and elderly Shunsuke are at odds, though they are conspirators. The young Kyoko and the mature Mrs. Kaburagi are played against each other for Yuichi's affection.
- Life and Death: Shunsuke is obsessed with death and feels it is more powerful than life.
- Double Lives/Alter-Egos: Yuichi's entrance into the world of Tokyo's homosexuals causes him problems, as he must hide his nature from his wife and the world at large.
Adaptations
The first butoh piece was an adaptation of Kinjiki by Tatsumi Hijikata, which premiered in 1959.
The title of the novel was used by David Sylvian and Ryuichi Sakamoto as the name of their theme song for the film soundtrack of Merry Christmas Mr Lawrence, a film set in a Japanese POW camp in Java which includes exploration of homoerotic themes.
Notes
- ↑ Sato, Hideaki; Inoue, Takashi (2005). 決定版 三島由紀夫全集・第42巻・年譜・書誌 [Final edition-Yukio Mishima complete works No.42-Biographical sketch and Bibliography] (in Japanese). Shinchosha. pp. 540–541.
