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Yukio Mishima

Japanese author (1925-1970) · Japan · Writers · Died at 45

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A novelist nominated five times for the Nobel Prize, then the leader of a failed coup. On 25 November 1970, Mishima walked into a Tokyo military base with four followers, took a hostage, demanded the army restore the emperor's divinity - and when no one rose, performed seppuku as planned.

WritersWriter / AuthorLiteratureFictionTheatreScreenwritingPoetryMovies

A life in dates

1970Died25 November 19701968“Just let matters slide. How much better to accept each sweet drop of the honey that was Time, than to stoop to the vulgarity latent in every decision.”In their wordsSpring Snow (1968), as translated by Michael Gallagher (1972).

1966“According to Eshin's "Essentials of Salvation," the Ten Pleasures are but a drop in the ocean when compared to the joys of the Pure Land.”In their words"The Priest of Shiga Temple and His Love" in Death in Midsummer, and Other Stories (1966), p. 59.

1965“I've never done much, but I've lived my whole life thinking of myself as the only real man.”In their wordsRyuji, the sailor in The Sailor Who Fell From Grace With The Sea (1965), p. 38.

ACA National Arts FestivalAward1964Mainichi art awardAward1959“What transforms this world is - knowledge. Do you see what I mean? Nothing else can change anything in this world.”In their wordsThe Temple of the Golden Pavilion (1959).

“There is something that even now strikes me as strange. Originally I was not possessed by gloomy thoughts. My concern, what confronted me with my real problem, was beauty alone.”In their wordsThe Temple of the Golden Pavilion (1959).

“We Japanese must reveal the true form of our imperial land, in which the sovereign and the people are gloriously united.”In their wordsKyoko's House (1959), quoted in John Nathan, Mishima: A Biography (1974), p. 162

1956Yomiuri PrizeAward1955Kishida Theatre AwardAward1954Shinchosha literature awardAward1925Born14 January 1925

Also in Deutsch

Photos 12

Mishima in his childhood (April 1931, at the age of 6)Mishima in his childhood (April 1931, at the age of 6)Mishima's self-portrait drawn in junior high schoolMishima's self-portrait drawn in junior high schoolMishima at age 19, with his sister at age 16 (on 9 September 1944)Mishima at age 19, with his sister at age 16 (on 9 September 1944)Mishima with his cat (Asahigraph, 12 May 1948 issue). He was known as a cat-lover.[100][101] Yōko (his wife) was jealous of his pet cat, and disliked him petting it.[100][101]Mishima with his cat (Asahigraph, 12 May 1948 issue). He was known as a cat-lover.[100][101] Yōko (his wife) was jealous of his pet cat, and disliked him petting it.[100][101]Mishima aged 28(in January 1953)Mishima aged 28(in January 1953)Yukio Mishima (lower) with Shintaro Ishihara in 1956 (on the roof of the Bungeishunjū Building in Ginza 6-chome)Yukio Mishima (lower) with Shintaro Ishihara in 1956 (on the roof of the Bungeishunjū Building in Ginza 6-chome)

In their own words 10

,
Yukio Mishima
,
10 statements, newest first

  1. Just let matters slide. How much better to accept each sweet drop of the honey that was Time, than to stoop to the vulgarity latent in every decision.

    1968, Spring Snow (1968), as translated by Michael Gallagher (1972)., Own words

  2. According to Eshin's "Essentials of Salvation," the Ten Pleasures are but a drop in the ocean when compared to the joys of the Pure Land.

    1966, "The Priest of Shiga Temple and His Love" in Death in Midsummer, and Other Stories (1966), p. 59., Own words

  3. I've never done much, but I've lived my whole life thinking of myself as the only real man.

    1965, Ryuji, the sailor in The Sailor Who Fell From Grace With The Sea (1965), p. 38., Own words

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Awards

ACA National Arts Festival1965
Mainichi art award1964
Yomiuri Prize1956
Kishida Theatre Award1955
Shinchosha literature award1954
Golden Arrow Award
Star on Playwrights' Sidewalk

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About this person

Born Kimitake Hiraoka on 14 January 1925, he wrote under the pen name Yukio Mishima and became one of postwar Japan's most important stylists - luxurious vocabulary, decadent metaphors, a fusion of traditional Japanese and modern Western forms. Novels like Confessions of a Mask and The Temple of the Golden Pavilion brought him international attention; by the 1960s he was nominated for the Nobel five times, including in 1968 when it went to his countryman Yasunari Kawabata. But from his mid-30s his far-right ideology sharpened: he opposed Western materialism, postwar democracy, and what he saw as Japan's loss of national essence. In 1968 he formed the Tatenokai, a private militia meant to protect the emperor's symbolic dignity and reclaim prewar values of loyalty. On 25 November 1970, Mishima and four members entered a military base in central Tokyo, took the commandant hostage, and tried to inspire the Self-Defense Forces to overthrow Article 9 and restore autonomous defense. No one followed. He committed seppuku that day, as he had planned.

Country
Japan
Category
Writers
Type
Writer / Author
Status
deceased
Dates
Lived 1925 to 1970 · aged 45

In common with Yukio

Kunie TanakaAlso in Tenchu! (1969)Kinji FukasakuAlso in Black Lizard (1968)Tatsuya NakadaiAlso in Conflagration (1958)Ruriko AsaokaAlso in Thirst for Love (1967)Ayako WakaoAlso in Afraid to Die (1960)Hiroshi KawaguchiAlso in Les Mesdemoiselles (1961)

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