From there the novel explores the conflicts that rise up between the two, as the tensions between the political world, Kazu's formerly well-ordered life, and Noguchi's integrity flare up.

It is written in a distinctly Japanese style, dwelling on the minutiae of clothing and food in great detail.

The New Yorker called it "the biggest and most profound thing Mishima has done so far in an already distinguished career" upon its translation into English by Donald Keene in 1963.

In a retrospective review in 2016, Iain Moloney of The Japan Times remarked that "it seems odd that a book as innocuous as After the Banquet could have had such an impact.

The Tokyo District Court found in favor of Arita in 1964, Japan's first judicial recognition of the right to privacy.