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Illustrated portrait of Omi

A character in Confessions of a Mask

Omi

The older schoolboy whose physical confidence embodies the masculinity Kochan both desires and envies.

The book

Cover of Confessions of a Mask by Yukio Mishima
Confessions of a MaskYukio Mishima, 1949

A young man performs the life expected of him and hopes the performance will eventually become real.

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Who they are in the book

Spoiler-free

Omi is an older, physically mature schoolboy whose roughness, confidence, and disregard for rules fascinate Kochan.

He is less a developed confidant than an image of the masculinity Kochan finds attractive and inaccessible.

How the book draws them

Appearance, manner, and tone — as the book sketches them, in our words.

  • BuildBroad shoulders and physical assurance distinguish him from Kochan.
  • DressHe wears his school uniform with deliberate roughness.
  • ExpressionA slightly mocking confidence makes him socially commanding.
  • School statusHe is older and more physically mature than the narrator.
What happens to OmiHow the book leaves them, what happened after, and what the record says. Open when you're ready.

Omi is expelled and leaves the main action, but his image remains psychologically important to Kochan.

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