Kazu had the utmost respect for her husband's character, but it was hard for her to see wherein lay the difference between his politics and those she had seen and heard at [her restaurant] the Setsugoan. Her glimpses of Conservative Party politicians at the Setsugoan had inculcated in Kazu a splendid notion of the nature of their work. Politics meant pretending to step out to the men's room and then completely disappearing, forcing a man's back to the wall while cheerfully sharing the same fire, making a show of laughter when one is angry, or flying into a rage when one is not in the least upset, sitting for a long time without saying a word, quietly flicking specks of dust off one's corner sleeve . . . in short, acting very much like a geisha. The exaggerated odor of secrecy clinging to politics confirmed its resemblance to the business of romance; politics and love affairs were in fact as alike as peas in a pod . . . (p 102)
Yukio Mishima. After the Banquet.
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