Runaway Horses 2: The Sea of Fertility Tetralogy

Published by Dar Al-Adab (and translated into Arabic by Kamel Youssef Hussein), Runaway Horses (Honba) is the intense, action-driven second installment in Yukio Mishima’s masterpiece tetralogy, The Sea of Fertility. Set in 1932 against the backdrop of Japanese militarism and political unrest, the story focuses on Isao Iinuma, a fiery nineteen-year-old Kendo master. Shigekuni Honda, now a middle-aged judge, encounters Isao and recognizes distinct birthmarks indicating he is the reincarnation of his deceased teenage friend, Kiyoaki Matsugae. Unlike the romantic Kiyoaki, Isao is consumed by a violent right-wing nationalism and a zeal to cleanse Japan of Western capitalist corruption. Isao forms a clandestine group to assassinate prominent financial leaders and restore absolute imperial authority, viewing ritual suicide (seppuku) as the highest expression of purity. When the plot is exposed, Honda resigns from the bench to act as Isao's defense attorney in a tense legal battle.

It offers an unforgettable, visceral meditation on political extremism, loyalty, and samurai aesthetics, providing deep insights into Mishima's personal obsession with absolute action and martyrdom.

Ideal for lovers of classical Japanese literature, readers of political thrillers and philosophical epics, and scholars exploring interwar Japanese history, martial traditions, and postcolonial identity.