The Decay of the Angel - Yukio Mishima

examination would be required to establish mental
debility, but the lawyer seemed confident of the
results.
And as a matter of fact the change in Honda was
clear. After the incident he stopped going out and he
seemed afraid of everything. It should be easy enough
to establish the symptoms of senile delusions. Tōru
had only to appear before a court of domestic
relations and have Honda declared incompetent, and
the lawyer would be appointed his guardian.
The lawyer consulted a psychiatrist with whom he
was on good terms. Behind Honda’s much-publicized
misconduct the psychiatrist drew a picture of senile
unease. Two ailments emerged, “vicarious sexual
desire,” an obsession like a fire reflected in a mirror,
not to be made light of, and incontinence resulting
from senility. Everything else could be left to the legal
system, said the lawyer. He added that it would be
good if Honda were to begin spending his money
unwisely, in such a way as to give rise to fears that the
estate might be endangered, but unfortunately there
were no such tendencies. Tōru was in any case
worried less about money than about power.