Vintage Classics: The Temple Of The Golden Pavilion

Because of the boyhood trauma of seeing his mother make love to another man in the presence of his dying father, Mizoguchi becomes a hopeless stutterer. Taunted by his schoolmates, he feels utterly alone until he becomes an acolyte at a famous temple in Kyoto, where he develops an obsession with the temple’s beauty. In the novel’s soaring climax, he tries desperately to free himself from his fixation.

Based on an actual incident, ‘The Temple Of The Golden Pavilion’ is a powerful story of dedication, obsession and sacrifice and brings together Mishima’s preoccupations with violence, desire, religion and national history to dazzling effect.