If we try to find a worldwide famous Japanese novelist, there wouldn’t be many. Maybe Yukio Mishima is one of the few.

I’ve never read the translated books of Yukio Mishima. But I can imagine how it would be a hard work to translate his idea in the different language.

His stories are expressed by using very special words in Japanese, which are almost impossible for standard Japanese to read Mishima’sbooks without JAPANESE dictionary. His stories are exactly described by using only-one suitable words for express the situation of the stories. It’s like an art. No other words match better than Mishima’s choice.

Mishima was a very inteligent novelist, so his expression vocabrary was spreading wide.  Mishima knew how to express human soul and spirit by the Japanese language, or words. So for us readers, we need to struggle with his chosen words to understand correctly about his inner world. 

Yes, to read his novels was like to know his mind through his severely selected words.

That’s why I wonder how much correct meaning could be possible in translation into other language on his artistic works of novels.

Of course, it’s impossible. Language is based on the history and culture of the people, so as far as Mishima used Japanese for his books, 100% correct meaning of his intention can’t be translated. It’s all the same for any novelist in the world.

However, when we read very hard philosophical books written in French or German, we thought we understood what the author wanted to say in spite that translation can’t convey 100% correct meaning. But it was much better than we read nothing because those TRANSLATED books opened our mind and broaden our horizons.

There are Mishima fans in the world. For them, it’s surely hard to read the books in Japanese as it’s hard even for Japanese people.

Even in the translated books, judging from our experience, it’s much better if Yukio Mishima is read by people n the world because it surely gives idea of what the Japanese people are.