Every country has its leaders of which there are many types. Governmental leaders include presidents, emperors, and prime minsters, as well as the cabinet members of each. Social leaders often include members of the aristocracy, celebrities, and sports heroes. All are influential and ideally should appear as true representatives of their own countries.
Artistic leaders are the painters, sculptors, and writers who express the attitudes and emotions of "their own people." These leaders often receive the least amount of attention and yet probably deserve the largest. The literary leaders, in particular, are worthy of much more acclaim. This paper will be a closer look at two particular countries and perhaps their most worthy literary leaders.
One of the strongest voices of the people of Mexico belongs to Octavio Paz. As the first Mexican writer to win a Nobel prize, Paz has been a prolific writer of poetry and other works for nearly a century. Now in his eighties, Octavio Paz continues to produce works of such beauty, eroticism, and clairvoyance as to truly express the heart and soul of the people of Mexico.
An author who produced some of the most powerful statements in Japan was Yukio Mishima. Mishima successfully combined the aesthetic and the ugly aspects which are characteristic of Japanese culture. Yukio Mishima had a short life, but his words have never lost their value. Mishima took his own life in his mid-forties.
Both Mexico and Japan have distinct and powerful histories which are responsible for creating the attitudes of their own people that continue even today. The origins of both of these countries are wrapped up in mythological stories of gods or goddesses. Both of these countries have had natives pushed aside by conquerors in the advent of their respective civilizations. Today, each of these civilizations give a great deal of respect to the events of their own histories. Leaders such as Octavio Paz and Yukio Mishima help to describe this respect to outsiders. They are also appreciated within their own countries for their ability to express what many can only hold within their hearts.
Mexico has spent nearly its entire life on the edge of something spectacular. Its natives are the result of a mixture of ancestors and it has been difficult for them to discover who or wht they are made of. Poet and diplomat Octavio Paz once said "The whole history of Mexico, from the Conquest to the Revolution, can be regarded as a search for our own selves" (Paz 166).
Japan is also a country of unique people and unique attitudes. There is an aura of mystery which constantly surrounds Japan. A contradictory relationship is apparent in every aspect of Japanese culture, and especially art and literature. This contradiction is the relationship between the beauty and serenity of nature with the ugliness of violence and death.
Yukio Mishima wrote numerous stories, plays, and dramas in which he almost consistently covered the spectrum between the beauty of life and the ugliness of death. It is ironic to note that many of his stories describe events which would later prove to act as premonitions of his own suicide, including hari kiri and decapitation.
The contradictions that are prevelant in modern Mexican culture are the result of the history of that country. As a result of the Spanish conquest of Mexico in the 16th century, "90 percent of Mexicans are mestizos" (Riding 3). Mestizos are those of mixed blood and therefore, mixed heritage. From that conquest and throughout time, Mexican people have spent much of their lives contemplating their own existence.
Although this mixed blood existence is in some ways something many of Mexico's inhabitants would like to forget, history is kept alive in nearly every aspect of daily life. One cannot truly understand the Mexican people without understanding the country's history. Mexico is rich in cultural history. It shows up in architecture, crafts, food, clothing, lifestyles, ceremonies, and even politics. Alan Riding, in his book Distant Neighbors, even said, "it has the only political system that must be understood in a pre-Hispanic context" (4).
Hernan Cortez was a conqueror who legend describes as being mistken by early natives, the Aztecs, for their returning god, Quetzalcoatl. Under this guise, Cortez was able to infiltrate and consume the Aztec culture and all its riches. The relationship between the Aztecs and their conquerer Cortez was one that changed forever the culture of Mexico. Mexican culture is a reflection of these changes (Paz 151). Octavio Paz expressed that "in all aspects of Mexican life there is a vital awareness of the authenticity and originality of our Revolution, but at the same time there is a desire for wholeness and coherence, and these the Revolution did not offer us." This had led to a desire of the Modern mestizos to contribute to the collective rather than the ambitious desires leading to personal sacrifice (156-58).
Modern Japan is also strongly tied to its history, as well as a desire to contribute to the collective rather than to the individual. That country has been run on a strictly followed and clearly understood system of hierarchy. Rules are obeyed with honor. Japan houses a population half that of the United States in a space the size of the state of California. This is especially interesting when one realizes that Japan is able to boast one of the world's lowest crime rates. Much of this is due to the spirit of group participation and honorable behavior and respect to one another.
Like Mexico, Japan's origin comes from stories filled with legendary characters. The goddess, Ameratasu gave the right to rule this country to her grandchildren. These clans came together and pushed out other families. To this day, in order to have any authority in Japan, one must be able to trace his roots directly to Ameratasu. The emperor himself is considered a god and is treated with the appropriate respect.
Japan has a remarkable history of development. There have been many events that have left their influences, but there are four specific events which have created the largest dents in its culture.
Throughout its history, Japan has executed its own development by one distinct method. This method can be described as cultural absorption. Periodically, the country sponsors missions in which individuals will travel to other countries, soak up as much culture as possible, and bring it back to Japan. At that point, Japan will close its doors and isolate itself from the rest of the world. There have been times when this isolation has lasted for several generations. It is during those times that the borrowed characteristics are then assimilated and modified until they become distinctly Japanese.
Japanese authors, such as Yukio Mishima, were fascinated with what history had done to this country's attitudes and emotions. Mishima was caught up in the events of World War II and became preoccupied with the ultimate result of war: death. Yukio Mishima was a law student at the university when Japan's emperor demanded everyone participate in the war effort. After working in a defense factory, Mishima observed that, "techniques of modern science and management, together with the exact and rational thinking of many superior brains, were dedicated to a single end -- Death" (Scott-Stokes 101).
After the bombing of Hiroshima, many citizens of Japan committed suicide. Some did this out of honor. Some did this out of grief. Many did this to avoid living with the occupation of their enemy. It was at this time that Yukio Mishima withdrew into himself. This became more evident when he said, "reality is temporary and fleeting" and that, "I must cling to my sensitivity" (103). Mishima began fantasizing about his own death.
Historically, Japanese authors have often portrayed their culture as dark and depressive. At least by Western definitions, Mishima followed this same pattern. Mishima had a consuming desire to prove that he was not weak. To this end, he did all he could to control everything around him (306). Proving that he was totally in control of his own destiny may have been one of the motives behind his suicide. By taking his life in a graphic and public manner, while he was still young and physically beautiful, Mishima had taken matters into his own hands. He, in fact, "went out in a blaze of glory."
Throughout his works, Yukio Mishima illustrated the paradox of beauty and death by combining eroticism and suicide. This existence of profound conflicts within Mishima are somewhat representative of the culture of Japan.
This paradox may have begun with the existence of the Shogun or the Daimyo. These were warriors who viciously fought bloody battles and came home to write, draw, or paint some of the most intensely beautiful and descriptively sensual works ever to be created in the literary world. Honor was practiced to the highest degree and the end of the mortal life was to be as beautiful and graphic as the beginning had been.
In many ways, Yukio Mishima lived the pattern of the Daimyo. He became a master of the martial arts and Japanese fencing. He crafted and shaped his own body to be a symbol of beauty and strength. His prolific literary works were graphic, intense, romantic, erotic, and immensely powerful. He ended his life violently, bloody, and powerfully.
Many theories have been argued as to the reasons behind Mishima's death, as well as to the circumstances surrounding the highly publicized event. Only he knew the exact reasons. Many possibilities, however, are alluded to throughout his literary works. It is apparent in Mishima's stories that there was honor in dying while young in order to preserve the exquisite beauty of youth.
In order to understand the characteristics and desires of the people of Latin America, a writer of this background must be deeply rooted in his native soil. He will often be committed to anti-imperialism and his works will many times be prophetic. Octavio Paz falls easily into this description. Monegal and Colchie, in their book The Borzoi Anthology of Latin American Literature, described Paz as a man "committed . . . to the cause of social justice" (690). They went on to say that Octavio Paz helped to "redefine a truly modern concept of Latin American culture" (690).
In his poem, "The Day in Udaipur," Paz wrote:
Gods, men and beasts
eat from the same plate.
(Weinberger 183)
This is a profound statement which describes that all creatures come from the same God, and that we are all the same in His image. This is a wonderful symbol of the accepting attitude of the mixed blood and mixed heritage of the people in Mexico. This condition of being mixed is potentially a unique bridge to the brotherhood of all people around the world.
In his poem "Blanco," Paz expressed a sense of the necessity for the mind, the body, and the spirit to work as one. near the end of the poem, a stanza reads:
The spirit
is an invention of the body
The body
is an invention of the world
The world
is an invention of the spirit.
(Monegal and Colchie 700)
One cannot exist without the other and one does not survive without the other.
Octavio Paz was truly a leader among his people in that he had been successful in expressing this culture to the rest of the world. He has shared his opinions and emotions as a result of his "passionate question for an essential Latin American identity" (690). Perhap Paz discovered the true identify of his people. It lies within the human soul and the human heart.
Both Mexico and Japan have experienced radical events throughout their histories. These events have created and shaped the hearts and mines of the people from both countries. Their histories have not been the same. They have, however, contained elements which are similar. Both Mexico and Japan were created from natives being pushed aside. The people from both countries have powerful religious convictions. The people from both Mexico and Japan feel strong ties to their families and to their homes. They have both experienced a richness and community spirit that is not common among most countries of the world.
Until very recently, Octavio Paz was still writing and sharing his dreams and ideals for his country and its people. He did not lose any of his power over words. The works of Octavio Paz continue to influence and love continues to grow with that influence.
Yukio Mishima is no longer here to write either, but his works carry his legacy through generations. His exact motives for his suicide may be a mystery, but his message remains and continues to be passed down.
Truly this is the strongest definition for literary leaders that can be expressed. Octavio Paz and Yukio Mishima are not only representatives of their people, they are representatives of the hearts and mines of people all over the world.
Works Cited
Monegal, Emir Rodriguez, and Thomas Colchie. The Borzoi Anthology of Latin American Literature Vol. II. New York: Alfred A. Knopf Publishers, 1977.
Paz, Octavio. The Labyrinth of Solitude: Life and Thought in Mexico. New York: Grove Press, Inc., 1961.
Riding, Alan. Distant Neighbors: A Portrait of the Mexicans. New York: Random House, Inc., 1984.
Scott-Stokes, Henry. The Life and Death of Yukio Mishima. New York: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 1974.
Weinberger, Eliot, ed. The Collected Poems of Octavio Paz: 1957-1987. New York: New Directories Publishing Corp., 1983.
