Mishima's calligraphy

Mishima visited & stayed in Sai shrine in Nara in 1966 to do research for one of his last novels, "Runaway Horses"

And to show his gratitude & respect, he made calligraphy of "清明（Pure and Bright）"

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The below is for only those who read the novel

• In the novel, a flower/lily plays an important role. It's actually not a fictional thing. The shine has a special area where they take care of the lily which blooms in May/June

• One of the baseline concepts of "Runaway Horses" is 荒魂(Aramitama). I thought Mishima took it from somewhere, but actually 荒魂 is enshrined in this shine. Then now made sense why Mishima chose this shrine for his research

Visiting the place brings new information that can't be obtained from books or internet