“From the Wilderness”
by Yukio Mishima (1966)
translated from the Japanese by John Nathan
from the November 4, 2024 issue of The New Yorker

What a wonderful surprise this is: a newly translated story from Yukio Mishima, who has been gone since taking his own life in November, 1970. Not only that, but the translator is John Nathan, who knew Mishima personally, who translated his works in the 1960s, and who wrote a 1974 biography of Mishima. “From the Wilderness” was originally written in 1966, and it will be included in the forthcoming collection Voices of the Fallen Heroes: and Other Stories.

Here is how “From the Wilderness” begins:

One morning in the rainy season, I went to bed at 6 a.m. after working all night and was on the verge of falling asleep when I was startled by the sound of my father’s voice coming through the air-conditioner next to my bed.

I am very excited to read and share thoughts on “From the Wilderness.” Please share your thoughts below!

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