[1][2][3] The story of Patriotism centers around the experiences of Lieutenant Shinji Takeyama and his young wife, Reiko, and their ritualistic suicide following the February 26 Incident, a mutiny by members of the Imperial Japanese Army in 1936.
The writing reflects on the interlacing of mundanity and beauty, as the intensity of passion that the husband and wife share for one another is related to the description of the couple in the photograph taken at their wedding.
[4] The contradictory nature of Mishima's upbringing and the social context of Japan during the time in which he wrote Patriotism also motivated him to take a larger political stance in his writing.
These values revolve around the principles of Bushido (武士道), a supposed moral code of conduct for samurais that influenced nationalism until its abandonment in the second World War.
[7] "Patriotism" was later included alongside "Star" and 百万円煎餅 ("Hyakuman'en senbei") in the short story collection スタア (Sutā), which was published on 30 January 1961 by Shinchosha.