Patriotism

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             Among Reikos few possessions are five small animal trinkets. She dismisses them as worthless because of the materialism they represent. The first animal is a dog which can symbolize loyalty and friendship. The second animal figure is a rabbit which is a symbol of love and faithfulness. The bear is a symbol of strength. The last of the animal trinkets, a fox, symbolizes the presence of an enemy or rival among acquaintances. While Reiko considered their solely materialistic value, "the expressions on the small animals faces grew even more lost and forlorn." It is their symbolic values that are becoming lost. This is relevant to Mishimas grievance that Japans values are waning in modern times. .
             Reiko examines the squirrel more closely. Her thoughts show the development of its childish material worth into its symbolism of happiness in the home. This happiness is her husband. Her love and dedication to her husband is the love and dedication he has to Japan. On the night of their wedding, Shinji sits on the floor with his sword laid in front of him. Reiko sits across from him as he tells her that his death could come at any moment as a soldier. When he asks if she can handle this, she goes and retrieves her dagger and places it as Shinji has placed his sword. Just as the Lieutenant has joined the army with the acceptance that he may have to give his life out of love for his country, Reiko has married Shinji knowing that she may have to give her life out of love for the Lieutenant. .
             There is much in the story indicating that Shinji is the symbol of Japan and Reikos love and dedication of him therefore representing ideal patriotism. Shinji is often compared to the sun. He is "the sun about which her whole world revolved." Mishima says that Shinji embodies a "sun-like principle" when describing Reikos reflections on the squirrel. During the Lieutenants suicide, his agony "burned as strong as the summer sun.