in my opinion, it's important to fix what's wrong
so we can go back to our natural stale.
Regrettably this country is rife with the wrong, unjust and the unnatural.
Article 9 of the Constitution prohibits the right of belligerency.
A decision was made not to maintain any kind of armed forces
and not to engage in any act of belligerency.
But we have the Self-Defense Forces.
The Security Treaty we ratified with America poses a great contradiction.
SOCIALIST PARTY SECRETARY, ASANUMA STABBED BY A 17-YEAR-OLD MINOR
On November 2, 1960, a 17-year-old boy hanged himself in juvenile detention.
He'd stabbed the Socialist Party Secretary 20 days earlier.
His name was Otoya Yamaguchi.
SEVEN LIVES FOR MY COUNTRY! LONG LIVE THE EMPEROR!
YUKIO MISHIMA
PATRIOTISM BY YUKIO MISHIMA
11125 THE DAY HE CHOSE HIS OWN FATE YUKIO MISHIMA AND HIS YOUNG FOLLOWERS
MIE PREFECTURE, 1963
Morita, did you meet Minister Kono?
No, I couldn't
I waited for hours...
What for?
He could be the next Prime Minister.
So I want to be his intern.
I'll go to V\/aseda University like him and make Japan what it should be.
What do you mean?
A country to live by and live for!
It's ﬂawed now.
WASEDA UNIVERSITY, 1966
In January 1966 at Waseda University
the students organized their first all-out strike to gain control
of the student hall and to protest rising tuition fees.
The strike lasted 150 days.
This is Morita. He's a freshman, class president.
Morita. Nice to meet you.
Masaku Morita. My name means "Always wins."
- Sit down. - Thank you.
We're concerned about the situation at Waseda.
What is your opinion?
As I told Saito,
the destructive activities of the New Left radicals are intolerable!
They're wrecking the campus!
You're right.
That's not the way to protest tuition hikes.
Those leftists will kill the V\/aseda Spirit.
We have to put a stop to it and restore order.
That's exactly why we're here.
Join us, Morita.
It'd be my honor, thank you!
STRIKE!
We rise under the banner of neo-ethnic nationalism to confront
communism and the All-Student-Alliance.
The left-wing radicals are expanding.
They take advantage of the colonial Constitution,
support intellectual regression and polarize Japan.
The Meiji Revolution heroes can teach us how to maintain
historical continuity, cultural integrity
and ethnic autonomy, all embodied in the Emperor.
They revitalized our history.
To attain these goals we established the Japan Students' League, or J.S.L.
At a grass roots level, we'll restore ethnic nationalism with activism.
We'll organize student movements, the very engine of our history.
It's exquisite!
It was made by Magoroku.
You can have it.
In gratitude for all you've done.
"Patriotism," your last novel, is a masterpiece.
It's one of our bestsellers.
Thank you.
"Patriotism" is the last of a trilogy.
The first two novels were about the young officers who attempted
the failed 2126 coup in 1936.
With "Patriotism" I concluded the 1936 coup d'etat theme.
Now I'll write my magnum opus.
Why did His Majesty choose to renounce his claim to divinity?
Do you think you'll win the Nobel Prize?
Sir?
I'm not all together sure.
Mr. Tanizaki is a tough competitor.
I'm Mochimaru. The editor of the Debate Journal referred me to you.
I'm here to ask a favour of you.
Why don't you sit down?
Your "Patriotism" was most impressive.
I'd be grateful if you'd write an article for our J.S.L. magazine.
The J.S.L. was founded to uphold ethnic nationalism
and to protect the nation from the communists!
Very well. First, sit down.
This is Yoko, my wife.
- Nice to meet you. - Likewise.
Have some tea.
Thank you.
Your concern for the nation resonates with mine.
I'll do it.
And don't worry about paying me.
Thank you, sir.
Do you know what beauty is? It's your innocence and purity.
It was with innocence
that the officers carried out the coup d'etat for the Emperor.
With corruption rife in Japan, only the military can make changes.
Now the Self-Defense Forces are our national defense.
This is between us.
I'll undergo Army training to discipline myself as a soldier.
Perhaps I'm possessed by the spirit of Major lsobe from "Patriotism."
Perhaps he's making me do this.
- Mochimaru. - Yes, sir.
Have you ever held a sword?
No.
Hold this.
Sword are not to be marveled at like a piece of art.
They are alive.
Only living swords will deliver us from the intellectuals' hypocrisy
that's plagued the nation since the Security Treaty was ratified in 1960.
JGSDF CAMP FUJI
Captain Fukuoka, this is Mr. Yukio Mishima, the novelist.
You will train him while he's with us.
- Okay? - Yes, sir.
Captain. My real name is Kimitake Hiraoka.
Train me as Hiraoka, a recruit. Not Mishima the novelist.
Sir, I'll call you Ranger Hiraoka during the drill.
The training field is immense!
I'll run, if you'll excuse me.
No! I'm no good!
Pathetic!
This has to change!
This is to show my appreciation to my instructors.
Help yourselves.
You too, Dean.
After joining the Self Defense Forces I've realized how great they are.
It's a man's world! It's Japan as it should be!
Come now, sir, that's enough ﬂattery.
You can't squeeze anything more out of me.
Can you do the honors?
I've already had a sip! Here's to us!
To us!
This is good sake.
In 3 years, the U.S.-Japan Security Treaty will be renewed.
In the meantime the students will continue to protest.
When the police can't contain them, you'll be needed.
Then your forces could become the official national force!
We must change Japan for the better.
And I'll be there to fight with you.
I'll be the first!
As you know, we can't be involved in politics.
We're just officials in the public service.
We're under the Ministry of Defense, which is actually run by the police.
A coup d'état is out of the question.
The 2126 coup failed, because Japan had already been modernized.
Coups only work in underdeveloped countries.
That's my opinion.
Underdeveloped!
I can't argue with an intellectual like you.
I'm being ﬂattered by a famous novelist.
Go on.
Yes, a master novelist.
It was 1967. The Vietnam War raged on more intensely.
Every day, U. S. aircraft took off from US. bases in Japan.
OCT. 8, 1967 ZENGAKUREN PROTEST AGAINST PRIME MINISTER'S VIETNAM VISIT.
More citizens protested each day.
A NEED FOR A MILITIA
I read it.
Sir, writing is one thing, but putting it into action is another...
You're a great writer. That's what you should devote yourself to.
I hear you might win the Nobel Prize.
Your objectives might be achieved through writing.
Colonel Yamamoto. I've given up on writing.
I'm not interested in the Nobel Prize either.
As the U.S.-Japan Security treaty will be renewed in 1970
I can only think about its impact on Japan's future and its military forces.
Very well.
I can help you with basic training.
We'll meet again.
I appreciate it.
SITUATION AT A RESORT HOTEL
MAN TOOK GUESTS AS HOSTAGES
FEB. 20, 1968 THE KWON HYI-RO HOSTAGE CASE
One way to get attention is to take hostages.
One man can draw so much attention.
WE PLEDGE HEREUNDER, ON FEB. 25, 1968
TO FORM THIS FOUNDATION TO SERVE THE EMPERORS JAPAN
IN OUR CAPACITY AS HONORABLE JAPANESE MEN.
KIMITAKE HIRAOKA, KAZUHIKO NAKATSUJI,
KIYOSHI BANDAI, HIROSHI MOCHIMARU
Sorry, I'm late.
- Been waiting long? - It's okay.
Sorry.
Please sit.
I was contacted by Mochimaru, the Debate Journal editor.
Their military drill starts in March.
Five members dropped out.
But the J.S.L. doesn't approve of Mr. Mishima's militia concept.
So I won’t join them.
It's not that we disapprove of Mishima's militia.
I want Mr. Mishima to know that.
I want you to join them as a conciliatory gesture, Morita.
Then I'll join.
- One, two, one, two! - Let's go!
Louder!
Morita!
- Are you okay? - Sorry.
I'll help you.
- Come on! - Thank you!
- One, two, one, two! - Let's go!
Louder!
What's wrong?
Shape up!
Listen up.
This is Colonel Yamamoto. He'll help us with our training.
Attention!
Salute!
At ease.
We're crossing!
Kuramochi!
Hold on to me, Kuramochi.
Hold on to me!
You can do it!
Thank you.
I wonder how you'll bring the drama of your life to a close.
You know the answer.
As they say. The way of the samurai warrior is death.
I'll keep doing what I'm doing.
Everyone! Help yourselves.
Thank you.
We have wine, too.
Oh, not enough glasses?
Thank you.
Thank you, ma'am.
Go ahead.
Everybody fixed?
Kuramochi, come on.
Let's eat.
It's delicious!
- Is it good? - Yes!
Good.
Over to Morita!
You're a good singer.
Masakatsu Morita!
Here I go!
When a man puts obligation and compassion on a scale
Obligation wins, that's a man's code of honor
Merciful Buddha knows everything I've done...
My friends!
From here we can see two of the islands stolen by the Soviet Union.
Kaigara Island and Suisho Island belong to Japan!
Behind the fog
lie the islands that are Japanese territory.
When WWII ended, the Soviet imperialists even attempted to
take over Hokkaido Island with no legal or historical claim.
Looking at those stolen islands now...
SOVIET INVADERS LEAVE OUR TERRITORY!
...our ethnic pride boils in our blood with anger!
Hey!
You two!
That's my boat!
We want to reclaim the stolen territory.
Those islands?
Yes, sir.
The Soviet bastards took advantage of us.
They claimed our islands when Japan was occupied at the end of WWII.
It's unforgivable!
We'll get back what's ours!
Can you give us the ignition key?
Listen, boys. As soon as you leave land
you'll be arrested by the Soviets.
You wouldn't be back for at least 6 months. Is that what you want?
Guerrilla warfare.
Conventional warfare.
Offense and
defense.
The strategies that come down the chain of command
are informed by intelligence.
This is important.
Let's have a break.
Thank you, Colonel.
Colonel Yamamoto.
Yes?
I have a question.
Tell me how to kill.
How do you successfully kill an enemy with a sword?
Morita. Disabling an enemy with a sword is ineffective in modern warfare.
Well then? How and whom should I kill for Japan?
Who is the biggest threat to Japan?
Only if you can accept your death you can kill.
In fact
I haven't found my true enemy yet.
Sir, that sounds like apathy...
Our credo is:
One, maintain our military spirit!
Two, tirelessly attain military knowledge!
Three, learn military techniques. This is the basis of our corps.
The name of our corps is Shield Society.
All personnel will do at least a month of Self-Defense Force training.
Camaraderie unites us.
Members must keep a neat appearance, be refined and disciplined.
Hiroshi Mochimaru is your student captain!
October 5, 1968, Mishima founded the Shield Society.
It was a military organization of civilians.
Its goal was to train commanders for the militia.
It was financed solely by Mishima.
FIRST-EVER NOBEL LITERARY PRIZE FOR A JAPANESE!
OCT. 17, 1968 YASUNARI KAWABATA WON THE NOBEL PRIZE FOR LITERATURE
OCT. 21, 1968 SHINJUKU RIOT ON INTERNATIONAL ANTI-WAR DAY
Reporting, Chief!
The Middle Core and the Marxist-Leninist Faction took a train
to Yoyogi and walked to Shinjuku Station.
Reporting!
The Socialist Students League raided the Ministry of Defense and went to Shinjuku.
Mr. Mishima!
The activists gathered at the East Gate and moved at about 9 pm.
They vandalized movie billboards and stormed the terminal.
The police just watched!
They did nothing to control the mob.
The agitators got the mob riled up!
This is the communists indirect invasion!
It's time for us to strike!
Yes!
The Shield Society's activities have only begun.
We're not equipped to fight yet.
It's too early.
Reporting!
They're being arrested for disorderly conduct!
No Self-Defense Forces?
Mr. Mishima.
That's how the night will proceed.
The police will make arrests to contain the situation.
So the Self-Defense Forces will not be deployed.
Chief, I advise you to dismiss your personnel tonight.
Are you telling me to ignore their burning desire to fight?
ON JAN. 18 AND19, 1969 THE TOKYO UNIVERSITY BARRICADES WERE REMOVED.
1 won't object to violence committed either by the right wing or the left.
To deny the use of violence unconditionally
is the Communist Party's ideology.
Agreed;
Our political beliefs are opposite.
But I detest the rhetoric of audacious intellectuals,
who control Japanese people with their ideologies.
Agreed!
TOKYO UNIVERSITY JOINT STRUGGLE COUNCIL VS. MISHIMA
I can't accept everything you've done,
but I applaud your achievements. You challenge intellectual superiority.
Which originates in pre-WWII ideology.
Professor Mishima argues...
I mean Mr. Mishima...
I called him professor unconsciously.
But in comparison to the professors around here
he surely deserves the title.
That's my rationale.
His criticism of post-V\/I/\/II intellectuals is accurate.
So on what point do we differ?
That's revealed when we see ourselves in relation to other intellectuals.
Wait a minute!
I came here today because I thought we were going to beat Mishima up!
Agreed!
Listen to yourself!
Here you are discussing interrelationships as abstract!
It's all a conceptual game for you.
Aren't revolutions about redefining ideas?
She's right!
I read your books but they're boring.
Agreed!
Since "Patriotism", he writes sentimentally about the Emperor.
He's trapped in the days of imperialist rule.
So he embarrasses himself by imitating the Self-Defense Forces.
Agreed!
Let me be serious here.
During your occupation of Yasuda Auditorium
you didn't acknowledge the Emperor.
If you had I would have happily joined your cause and revolution.
In fact, the current Emperor isn't my ideal Emperor unfortunately.
I want the Emperor to reassume the role of a divine entity.
Nonsense!
You can only write when your creativity overlaps with your idea of the Emperor!
That's right.
Nonsense!
So if Japan wouldn't exist, you wouldn't.
That's okay.
I was born in Japan. So I want to die as a samurai.
Go, samurai!
The Emperor is just an idealized symbol for Mishima.
Granted that the Emperor is absolute and transcends reality
the idea of the Emperor collapsed in the reality of history.
Mishima must take political action to resume his relation to reality.
Despite our opinions of the Emperor
Mishima should eliminate that relation which is the Establishment.
Agreed!
Your logic is solid, but...
I will not follow logic.
What do you mean?
I've been pushed to the point where all I'm left with is pride.
If you accepted the Emperor I'd be willing to be your ally.
But you don't, so that's where we stand.
That's how it goes.
And if you concurred with our social revolution
we'd ask you to join us.
That's right!
I agree with your attempts to destroy conventions.
I think I've been doing that as a novelist.
But you treat me as the embodiment of the Establishment.
That pleases me and I find it oddly ﬂattering.
I accept the fervor of your beliefs, I put my faith in it.
Even if I don't believe in anything else you do.
Will you join our revolution or not?
- Well, will you? - Answer now!
I will not join your revolution.
Nonsense!
Get out of here!
Leave!
RESIGNATION
I devoted 3 years of my college life to being a J.S.L. leader.
Through our activism we met Mr. Mishima to whom we're indebted.
So we want to return the favour.
To do so we'll have to leave the J.S.L.
We have no regrets.
You mean you'll only commit to the Shield Society now?
Yes. My apologies for leaving.
I read your recent article on Anti-Revolution.
You wrote that you put faith in your followers.
I agree with you.
You also wrote that effectiveness was insignificant.
What ideology rejects effectiveness?
It sounds as if you're merely toying with ideas and words.
Fighting with a sword and risking your life is what's significant.
The act is the point.
That act will find followers.
If your goal is to change Japan, you must win your fights.
You'll need tanks, missiles and arms to suppress the enemy.
Spirituality without means is empty.
'(You're wrong!
You're utterly missing the point!
Our objective is to protect Japan's culture with our ﬂesh.
And only swords symbolize that.
I wrote, I put my faith in my followers
which means I believe in those who protect Japan's traditional values.
Mr. Mishima, never mind him.
He sounds offensive but he's a good officer.
When the time comes, he'll serve you well.
Excuse me.
Morita!
Look at this!
NATIONALIST AGITATOR EXPELLED
MASAKATSU MORITA SOLD HIS SOUL TO THE COMMUNISTS!
I wouldn't sell my soul...
To the Communists?
Keep UP!
How far 'til the point?
Five kilometers to go.
Keep UP!
Sir.
I must confess and apologize to you.
What is it?
When I read your work I understand almost nothing.
That's not important.
When I'm with you boys, I'm not a novelist or author.
I'm just a man who has the same affinity with our country.
I feel relieved.
Even if I'm the last one, I'll follow you.
We do not value knowledge.
What matters is determination, action and a beautiful mind.
That exists in a beautiful body.
An ailing body plagues the mind.
I exercise all the time.
Morita.
What do you believe in?
I believe in Japan.
Good.
To live beautifully in Japan means thinking about how to die for Japan.
Yes, sir.
- Go and get warm. - Thank you.
I appreciate it.
GIVE OKINAWA BACK TO JAPAN!
APR. 28, 1969 THE OKINAWA DAY DEMONSTRATION
THE COUNTER-TERRORISM LEGISLATION WAS ENFORCED.
Our Code of Conduct.
Shield Society members enter the Emperor's palace to protect it.
The Shield Society...
Hold it, Mr. Mishima!
That's the last resort.
We should never initiate action.
The mob will not storm the palace.
The police are arresting anybody who joins the riot.
What we have to do instead...
is to prepare ourselves by training for close quarters combat.
Can't Self-Defense Forces soldiers act on your own sense of justice?
Can't you bleed unless you're ordered to?
How about will?
Don't you take initiative as a military man?
If not, you're nothing but an office worker.
Morita.
Sir, this is for you.
L, MASAKATSU MORITA, AM ALWAYS READY TO DIE FOR YOU.
Sir.
I'll go wherever you go.
You're a good swordsman.
You'll be strong.
Show me how to become truly strong.
Morita, true strength is a beautiful thing.
I can't understand!
If I were like you, I could stand strong!
Slow down, Morita.
I can't slow down!
Japan is changing as the leftists increase their power!
Stay calm.
I'm making plans.
With no plans, we'd be wiped out.
I wouldn't mind that!
To show my feelings for Japan
and to stand by your side is all I want.
Morita, youth needn't be bound to foolishness.
I'm ready.
I will be a vivid proof of life.
It smells nice.
I've got some news.
Finally I'm officially engaged.
To Yoshiko?
Congratulations, Mochimaru!
I knew this day would come.
How about children?
When you have a child, you can use a character from my name.
This is wonderful.
Any wedding plans?
You have any?
Not yet.
You're getting married! Finally...
Mr. Mishima.
I must apologize about the Debate Journal scandal.
The editors were desperate to keep the journal going.
Let's not talk about that now...
Mochimaru.
You know Kiyoharu Tanaka boasts that he funds the Shield Society?
The editors, Nakatsuji and Banda used the Shield Society's name
to get money from Tanaka for their journal.
I finance the Society! You know that.
Those two understand nothing about the spirit of the Society!
They betrayed me.
Do you want them to resign their membership?
Yes. if they don't quit voluntarily, I'll ask them to.
Is that so?
If editor-in-chief Nakasuji leaves the Shield Society,
as his deputy, I'd be obliged to resign too.
No need for you to quit.
Actually I have a job waiting for me when I graduate.
At a security company.
You'd take a 9-to-5 job?
Yes.
I will distance myself from the Society and the Journal.
But I'll continue my nationalist activities.
Mochimaru.
We built the Shield Society together.
I'll pay Yo"-
You can stay as an administrator after you graduate.
You'll get paid monthly, enough to raise a family with Yoshiko.
Sir.
I appreciate your concern.
But I want to be a nationalist who is his own man.
Should passion...
submerge...
in absurdity?
The Society now has its 4th generation of recruits.
A larger personnel makes our group more effective.
Now the Society's up and running, I, Hiroshi Mochimaru, will resign.
I will continue my support from outside the Society.
I appoint Morita as the new Student Captain!
2ND ANNUAL INTERNATIONAL ANTI-WAR DAY
On October 21, 1969
activists opposing the Security Treaty and the Vietnam War
attempted a riot in Shinjuku, as they had done a year earlier.
With the police confront, Shinjuku seemed to be under martial law.
The protests failed, resulting in over 1, 600 arrests across Japan.
Sir...
Dismissed!
Sir.
This riot was to be the New Left's definitive victory.
But the police contained them.
The Self-Defense Forces no longer protect this country.
They have been replaced by a powerful police bureaucracy!
The Self-Defense Forces will never be deployed to maintain order.
We'll never have a chance to rise.
And with Mochimaru no longer with us...
What is the Shield Society supposed to do now?
Surround the Diet with the S.D.F.
and demand an amended Constitution.
An operation like that would require arms other than swords.
Besides I don't want any casualties in the Diet.
Then we have no reason to exist.
Morita.
Imagine you are at an U.S. base with left-wing protesters.
If a G.l. killed the protestors, what would you do?
I'd kill the G.l. then slice open my own belly.
Death is culture.
We don't see sin in our lives like the Christians do.
Because we know life is beautiful.
So death must be beautiful too!
I'm not afraid to die either.
But...
I fear the silent grip of time.
NOV. 5 POLICE ARRESTED 53 RED ARMY SOLDIERS IN RAID
THE RAF WAS PREPARING TO RAID THE PRIME MINISTERS MANSION
NOV. 16 and 17 POLICE ARRESTED 2,093 PROTESTERS
OPPOSED TO THE PRIME MINISTER'S VISIT TO THE U.S.
You want to ask me something?
I don't have much time, so why not
ask me your most pressing question.
I'll answer that.
There's only one thing I want to ask you, sir.
When will you die?
SEVEN LIVES FOR MY COUNTRY!
RED ARMY HIJACKED JAL FLIGHT
We're late again...
Sir.
The Red Army has done it!
They certainly have.
It's time for us to act too.
Without the Self-Defense Forces...
We don't need them!
We'll be on our own.
Well, sir?
Even if we acted, it'd be meaningless without the Forces present.
The Forces created us.
That's our home to return to.
None of that matters.
Let's do it.
Sir.
Sir!
I'm prepared to die.
So am I!
I gave my life to you. I can hear it screaming.
Okay, Morita!
There's no second time!
To consider survival is a corruption!
The final action will be executed only by a determined few.
We'll inform them but not the remaining Society members.
Yes.
I understand.
Who do you trust most among the Society members?
So what was it that you wanted to tell me?
Tanaka...
Who is it?
Kenichi, how have you been!
Dad!
I was in Tokyo on business, so I dropped by.
Great!
Your mother's been worried, you don't write!
She wanted me to see if you're okay.
How's mother doing?
Oh, she's fine!
Dad, this is Morita.
I'm Morita.
Thanks for being a good friend to my son.
You're welcome.
- I brought fish. - Fish!
Let's have some sake, Dad.
I'll go buy some.
Get some snacks.
Thank you!
I'll be right back.
Stay here.
You surprised me, Dad!
Mr. Morita.
Are you and my son activists?
Mr. Morita.
My son's enthusiastic, he lets his interest consume him.
We only have him, he's our only son.
I wish you wouldn't involve him in activism.
Please.
I beg you.
Excuse me.
I remembered that I have an engagement.
You wanted to talk about something...
Well...
It's okay, it can wait.
I appreciate your lasting support.
Don't mention it.
It's been almost 4 years since we began.
Our training with the Self-Defense Forces achieved its initial goals.
I'm stopping the student's training for a while.
It's easy to organize a group.
It's so hard to maintain it!
Maybe it's time you brought it to an end.
You should go back to writing.
But Mr. Kawabata got the Nobel Prize...
Was your wife disappointed?
No! Yoko doesn't have those kind of longings!
She'd have no trouble carrying on if I wasn't around.
You're not planning anything, are you?
Captain Fukuoka.
If you'd been on the hijacked ﬂight what would you have done?
Let's not talk about this.
You're an honest man.
Do you mind?
I'd prefer not to answer your question.
Will you do it?
You can come with us.
You'd do it over my dead body.
Colonel Yamamoto, you're a cold-hearted man.
Would you have any regrets about joining the final action?
No.
No regrets.
So you'll do it?
Yes.
Masayoshi Koga will also join us in the final action. Okay?
Yes.
First we get the soldiers on side.
We'll go to the Diet to demand an amended Constitution.
We'll raid the Eastern Army HQ.
We can raid their armory.
The 32nd Regiment is part of the Eastern Army.
They have an armory.
Can I kill any soldiers who interfere?
No. That is out of the question.
They're not our enemies.
First we take control of the armory.
Then we take the Commander. They won't interfere.
There aren't enough of us to take the armory and the Commander.
We should choose.
They might open fire to protect the armory.
Will we carry firearms?
We'll have to reevaluate what's possible.
Koga!
Yes?
What's wrong, Morita?
Please...
Give your life
to me.
I beg you!
Morita, I appreciate that you asked me.
My life is yours.
WE PLEDGE TO FORM THIS FOUNDATION TO SERVE THE EMPERORS JAPAN
What we're going to do might not have any impact.
Some will call us lunatics.
But I don't fear isolation.
We'll leave desperation behind.
We can't wait for the public to accept our ideology.
We'll do this...
even if nobody understands.
All of you, except Morita, have a new assignment.
The three of you will protect the Commander.
Return the Commander unharmed once we've completed our action.
Sir! Are you telling us to live?
Let me go with you, sir!
None of us are afraid of the consequences.
We're ready.
Sir!
I have a favour to ask the three of you.
It's not about me...
It's about him.
Keep Morita's spirit alive for future generations.
In court, tell the public about the glory of the Shield Society.
Even if it's your direct order I refuse to obey, sir!
If you leave us, our hearts will die with you.
I won't know how to die alone!
Listen.
It shouldn't matter if we live or die. We're one.
We'll be reunited in the end, wearing the Society uniform...
We must be prepared for the worst.
The guards might open fire on us.
We will go in, aware that death is only a step away.
SEVEN LIVES FOR MY COUNTRY!
Hand these over tomorrow.
FOR THE PRESS. FOR YOUR EYES ONLY.
He will be waiting at lchigaya at exactly 11 am.
I can't come.
Understood.
Listen, Tanaka...
Yes?
Never mind.
To us!
Have you read the directive?
Yes.
Very well. Let's go.
THE GARDEN IS STILL IN THE SUMMER SUN.
THE SEA OF FERTILITY, NOV. 25, 1970
We'll be dead in three hours.
I thought I'd feel emotional. But I feel completely normal.
We're quite upbeat, aren't we?
If this was a yakuza movie, we'd hear a theme song right now.
When a man puts obligation and compassion on a scale
Obligation wins, that's a man's code of honor
Merciful Buddha knows everything I've done...
MY PASSION FOR MY COUNTRY BURNS UNTIL THE EMPEROR SEES IT FROM AFAR. MASAYOSHI KOGA
THE SAMURAl'S HEART, THE CLOUDS CRY, THE SNOW HYMNS MT. FUJI. MASAHIRO OGAWA
AS GOD WILLS, I'LL BE A TIGER OR LION TO FIGHT FOR MY COUNTRY. HIROYASU KOGA
THE BREEZE THAT CROSSES THE FIELD KNOWS THE HEART I KEPT SECRET FOR TODAY. MASAKATSU MORITA
AFTER YEARS IN THE SCABBARD, THE SWORD EMERGES LIKE THE FIRST FROST. YUKIO MISHIMA
THE SHIELD SOCIETY'S MONTHLY MEETING
I'm Tanaka.
Captain Mishima ordered me to be on time. I apologize.
Right...
May I see your card?
TAKAO TOKUOKA THE SUNDAY MAINICHI MAGAZINE
From the Captain.
Excuse me.
Apologies for my ill manners, but let me cut to the chase.
It's not self promotion that I dragged you away from work.
As our mission will take place in the Self-Defense Forces HQ
there might be attempts to cover it up.
We may have to abort our action at any point.
In that case I'll go home as if nothing's happened.
That's why! haven 't made my manifesto known to the public.
So I have to rely on our friendship.
Commander, Mr: Mishima is here.
Keep the photos and manifesto from the authorities.
Make them public as you see fit.
The manifesto shouldn't be edited or censored for the public.
It's been a while, Commander.
We estimate then M! take Mo hours...
I brought in some young men.
- With no interference, but that's unlikely. - I want you to meet them.
Our action may seem insane to the world,
but it's purely out of our concern for the nation.
I believe you will understand.
Excuse me.
This is the Magoroku sword I told you about.
Have a look.
It's the real thing!
Allow me.
That's the famous three-cedar mark...
Thank you.
Don't resist!
Commander!
What's going on?
Commander!
Smash it.
Stay back!
Read and accept our terms!
Then the Commander will live.
"Our terms.
We request the following:
A. Gather all personnel at the base at HQ by 11:30 am.
B. Listen to our speech."
MY apologies.
"C. Summon the remaining Shield Society members to join the soldiers.
D. Do not interfere to take hostile action between 11:10 and 13:10.
When our mission is complete and our terms are met in 2 hours
the Commander will be released unharmed.
If the terms are not adhered to in any regard
Mishima will kill the Commander and then himself."
What will we...
I agree to your terms. I'll summon all personnel.
Who are you? What's you position?
Deputy Chief of Staff. I have the highest authority.
Gather your men by noon.
No offensive or disruptive action should occur until 13:30.
What about the Commander?
If you follow our terms, he'll live.
Understood. Keep your word.
Now the ruling party
think they can control any demonstration with the police!
You won't be deployed!
They don't need you!
That means we won't be able to get the Constitution amended!
Do you follow my logic?
Since the 10121 demonstration!
Since the 10121 demonstration
the military forces are being used to enforce the Constitution.
You waited 20 humiliating years for it to be amended! But no more!
It's no longer a viable political agenda.
They took it away!
Why didn't you see that?
I've waited one year for you to resent the situation!
But no more amendments!
You'll never be official forces.
You lost your cause.
For that I grieve!
What are your forces for?
To protect Japan!
What does it mean?
To protect Japan
is to protect the history and tradition that the Emperor stands for!
Listen to me!
Listen!
Be quiet!
Shut up!
Be quiet!
Listen!
Listen quietly!
A man's appealing to you at the cost of his life!
Are you ready?
Listen!
If Japan and the Self-Defense Forces don't stand up now
we'll never have another chance to amend the Constitution.
You'll be part of the American Military forever.
Who controls the civilians?
Who wants you to be quiet?
Who wants you to quietly accept the current Constitution?
I have been waiting for four years
for you to stand up against the oppression!
I have 30 minutes.
My last 30 minutes and I'm waiting!
You're samurai!
Aren't you samurai?
If you're samurai, why do you protect a Constitution that denies you?
Don't be yes men to your deniers!
You'll never be vindicated as long as it exists!
Never! The current Constitution is a political conspiracy!
It lets you pretend that you're constitutional but you're not!
You're unconstitutional!
You're unlawful!
It's a conspiracy!
Finally the Self-Defense Forces have become
protectors of their deniers! Don't you see that?
Why don't you see that?
I waited for you to break free from it!
But you're near-sighted, deluded and blind to the truth.
You'll never stand up for Japan.
You don't know you've been enslaved by a constitution that ruined Japan.
Is there any man who will fight with me?
None of you will.
What does it mean to be brave? What does a sword mean to you?
Are you men?
Are you samurai?
You are not samurai!
I see that none of you will join our fight to have the Constitution amended.
I have lost all hope for you.
Right here I will hail His Highness, the Emperor!
Long live the Emperor!
This isn't personal.
I tried to return your forces to the Emperor.
I will redeem myself with death.
We had to do this...
Assist me at the end.
Koga! Help me with this...
Please.
Stop this absurdity at once!
Don't do it!
Not yet...
Now.
Mr. Mishima...
Morita...
5 YEARS LATER
I knew that's how you bring your life to a close.
But nothing changed...
Thank you.
Mr. Koga.
I want to ask you one thing.
Yes, ma'am.
On that day five years ago...
What did you feel when you left my husband's body behind?
What did you leave behind?
Selected bibliography of Yukio Mishima
ARATA IURA
SHINOSUKE MITSUSHIMA
TAKATSUGU IWAMA, TASUKU NAGAOKA SHUZUNOSUKE
HIDEO NAKAIZUMI, ICHIRO HASHIMOTO YUKI HIRANO, SHINJI SUZUKI
Subtitle editing and timing by miikki for ADC
Special thanks to ikeda69