Golden Temple

In "The Golden Temple", Yukio Mishima takes us on a deep journey into the human soul, as he deals with the life of the young man Mizoguchi, who lives in constant internal conflict. Mishima tells a true story that affected Japan in 1950 AD, when a Japanese monk burned down the famous Kinkakuji Temple. Through this incident, the narrator sets out to discuss the psychological journey of Mizoguchi, who grew up under multiple difficulties, starting with his troubled childhood and his suffering from stuttering, which made him a victim of the ridicule of his colleagues. The novel delves into his conflicting feelings between love and hate, beauty and perfection, and ends with an outburst of anger that leads him to burn the Golden Temple, which represents ideal beauty to him. The novel reflects the internal contradictions of the human soul and the individual''s struggle with himself, making it one of the most prominent literary works in Japan.