The Decay of The Angel - Notes

Notes

  • The book, serialised in the monthly magazine Shincho, was begun in 1970 after Mishima had resolved on suicide. It was probably finished by August, when he showed the manuscript to Donald Keene while holidaying in Shimoda.
  • Until shortly after World War II, Japanese people usually reckoned age by number of different years lived in rather than by birthdays. In Decay of the Angel, age is definitely being reckoned using birthdays.

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