The Decay of the Angel summary

The Beginning of the End

In The Decay of the Angel, we are introduced to Tōru, a young man with an enigmatic past who is taken in by the wealthy Shigekuni Honda. Honda, a character we have seen in the previous books, is convinced that Tōru is the reincarnation of his childhood friend Kiyoaki Matsugae. Despite Tōru's lack of respect for tradition and his wild, unpredictable behavior, Honda becomes obsessed with the idea of guiding him into a life of meaning.

As the story unfolds, we learn that Tōru has been raised in an isolated, rural environment, cut off from modern society. His upbringing has left him with a primal, almost animalistic nature, and he is described as a 'fallen angel' due to his lack of exposure to human civilization. Honda, however, is determined to civilize Tōru, to make him a worthy heir to his fortune.

The Temptation of the Modern World

As Tōru is introduced to modern society, he is overwhelmed by its temptations. He becomes infatuated with a young woman, Yasue, and quickly succumbs to her materialistic desires. Honda, who had hoped to guide Tōru towards a more spiritual and traditional path, is devastated by this turn of events. He realizes that Tōru is not the reincarnation of Kiyoaki, but a new, distinct individual shaped by his own experiences and choices.

Despite Honda's attempts to steer Tōru away from Yasue, their relationship deepens, and Tōru begins to show signs of a growing, albeit superficial, attachment to modern life. He starts to flaunt his wealth and becomes increasingly detached from Honda's attempts to instill in him a sense of spiritual purpose. As Tōru's behavior becomes more erratic, Honda is forced to confront the inevitable decay of his idealized vision of Tōru as a reincarnated Kiyoaki.

The Final Transformation

Events take a dramatic turn when Yasue dies in a car accident, leaving Tōru devastated and disillusioned. He retreats into a remote mountain cabin, where he undergoes a radical transformation. Isolated from the trappings of modern life, Tōru begins to embrace a more ascetic, spiritual existence. He renounces his material possessions and adopts a life of solitude and meditation, a complete contrast to the reckless, pleasure-seeking young man we met at the beginning of the novel.

When Tōru eventually emerges from his seclusion, he is a changed man. He has become a self-proclaimed prophet, preaching a radical philosophy that rejects both the traditional values Honda holds dear and the shallow materialism of modern society. Honda, now an old man, is left to grapple with the realization that he had never truly understood Tōru, and that his attempts to guide him had been futile from the start.

The Cycle of Life and Death

As the novel draws to a close, Tōru's transformation takes on a surreal, otherworldly quality. He seems to exist outside the bounds of normal human experience, embodying an ageless, almost mystical presence. Honda, in contrast, is acutely aware of his own mortality. He recognizes that his obsession with Tōru was a futile attempt to escape the inevitable decay and decline of his own physical and spiritual existence.

In conclusion, The Decay of the Angel is a powerful exploration of the cyclical nature of life and death, tradition and modernity, and the limits of human understanding. Mishima's masterful storytelling takes us on a journey through the complexities of human identity and the unyielding passage of time, leaving us with a haunting sense of the enigmatic and the unknowable.