Kinjiki

About “Kinjiki”

Forbidden Colors is a 1951 novel by Japanese writer Yukio Mishima, with a sequel titled "Secret Pleasure" published in 1953. The title, "Kinjiki," is a euphemism for homosexuality. The word combines "forbidden" and "erotic love," and also refers to colors banned for certain social ranks in the Japanese court. The story follows a gay man who marries a young woman. Like Mishima's earlier work Confessions of a Mask, it is considered semi-autobiographical. The novel was translated into English in 1968.