Word: samurais
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...Novelist Yasunari Kawabata. He sang on the stage, produced, directed and acted in movies. Often called "Japan's Hemingway" because of his love for physical contest and the outdoor life, he lifted weights and became proficient at karate and kendo, the ancient swordfighting game once practiced by the samurai warriors. He was a perfectionist, a man of overriding obsessions. One of these obsessions was with his own death...
...General Mashita looked on in helpless horror, Mishima stripped to the waist and knelt on the floor, only inches away. "Don't be a fool, stop it!" the general cried. Mishima paid no heed. He followed to the letter the seppuku, the traditional samurai form of suicide sometimes called harakiri. Probing the left side of his abdomen, he put the ceremonial dagger in place, then thrust it deep into his flesh. Standing behind him, Masakatsu Morita, 25, one of his most devoted followers, raised his sword and with one stroke sent Mishima's severed head rolling...
...real dream was to die a hero's death for Japan. He was born Kimi-take Hiraoka, son of an aristocratic samurai family, and was imbued with a warrior code that apotheosized complete control over mind and body and loyalty to the Emperor. At 18, he felt an almost erotic fascination with the death that, he was certain, awaited him when he would be drafted. But his wish to die for the Emperor was thwarted by a weak body and a frail constitution...
...homosexuality-a subject with which Mishima had a lifelong fascination and, some say, involvement-Mask brought him fame. His best-known work, Temple of the Golden Pavilion, brought him a small fortune as well. From that point on, even his art was devoted to the spirit of the samurai...
...scarecrows were grim and military," he says. "Many wore steel helmets and discarded uniforms." Then came an "American period"-mechanized scarecrows with waving arms affixed to crude clockwork. Now that Japan is more affluent, scarecrows are more elaborate. Some wear business suits; others, inspired by TV films, simulate fierce samurai warriors and angry student demonstrators...