Yukio Mishima

Pseudonym of Kimitake Hiraoka (1925-1970), Japanese novelist, whose central theme is the dichotomy between traditional Japanese values and the spiritual barrenness of contemporary life. Born in Tokyo, he failed to qualify for military service during World War II and worked in an aircraft factory instead. After the war he studied law and for a short time was employed in the finance ministry.

Mishima's first novel, the partly autobiographical Confessions of a Mask (1949; trans. 1958), was widely acclaimed and successful enough to enable its author to become a full-time writer. The Temple of the Golden Pavilion (1956; trans. 1963) portrays a young man obsessed with both religion and beauty; The Sailor Who Fell from Grace with the Sea (1963; trans. 1965) is a gruesome tale of adolescent jealousy; and his four-volume epic The Sea of Fertility (1970; trans. 1972-1975), consisting of Spring Snow, Runaway Horses, The Temple of Dawn, and The Decay of the Angel, is about the transformation of Japan into a modern but sterile society. Mishima, who organized the Tatenokai, a society stressing physical fitness and the martial arts, committed ritual suicide. His death was regarded as his final protest against modern Japanese weakness.