View source for Yukio Mishima

{{Short description|Japanese author and coup attempt leader (1925–1970)}}
{{redirect|Mishima|the film|Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters|other uses}}
{{Eastern name order|Mishima Yukio}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2025}}
{{Infobox person <!-- for more information see [[:Template:Infobox writer/doc]] -->
| name             = Yukio Mishima
| image            = Yukio Mishima, 1955 (cropped 850×950 px).jpg
| caption          = Mishima in 1955
| native_name      = {{Nobold|{{Lang|ja|三島由紀夫}}}}
| native_name_lang = ja
| birth_name       = Kimitake Hiraoka
| birth_date       = {{birth date|1925|1|14|df=y}}
| birth_place      = [[Tokyo]], [[Empire of Japan|Japan]]<ref>{{Harvnb|Matsumoto|1990|p=12}}</ref>
| death_date       = {{death date and age|1970|11|25|1925|1|14|df=y}}
| death_place      = [[Ichigaya]], Tokyo, Japan
| death_cause      = Suicide by [[seppuku]]
| resting_place    = [[Tama Cemetery]], Tokyo
| resting_place_coordinates = <!-- {{coord|LAT|LONG|type:landmark|display=inline}} -->
| education        = [[University of Tokyo]] (LLB)
| occupation       = {{cslist|Writer|actor|model|martial artist|theatre and film director|civil servant|political activist}}
| employer         = {{ubl|[[Ministry of Finance (Japan)|Ministry of Finance]]|Theatre "[[Bungakuza]]"}}
| organization     = [[Tatenokai]]
| module           = {{Infobox writer
 | embed         = yes
 | pen_name      = Yukio Mishima<ref>{{Harvnb|Stokes-e|2000|p=3}}</ref>
 | language      = Japanese
 | period        = [[Contemporary literature|Contemporary]] ([[20th century in literature|20th century]])
 | genres        = {{hlist|novel|novella|short story|drama ([[shingeki]]|[[noh]]|[[kabuki]])|libretto|screenplay|poetry|travelogue|autobiography|literary criticism|essay|lecture|manifesto}}
 | movement      = [[Postmodern literature|Postmodernism]]
 | years_active  = 1938–1970
 | notable_works = {{ubl|''[[Confessions of a Mask]]''|''[[The Temple of the Golden Pavilion]]''|''[[The Sea of Fertility]]''}}
}}
| module2          = {{Infobox martial artist
 | child           = yes
 | martial_art     = 
 | style           = 
 | stance          = 
 | fighting_out_of = 
 | team            = 
 | teacher         = 
 | trainer         = 
 | rank            = {{color box|black}} ''5th [[Dan (rank)|Dan]]–[[Kendo]]''<br>{{color box|black}} ''1st [[Dan (rank)|Dan]]–[[Iaido]]''
 | wrestling       = 
 | years_active    = 
 | students        = 
 | club            = 
 | school          = 
}}
| module3          = {{Infobox Chinese
 | child       = yes
 | headercolor = 
 | kanji       = 三島 由紀夫
 | romaji      = Mishima Yukio
 | hiragana    = みしま ゆきお
}}
| module4          = {{Infobox Chinese
 | child       = yes
 | headercolor = 
 | kanji       = 平岡 公威
 | romaji      = Hiraoka Kimitake
 | hiragana    = ひらおか きみたけ
}}
| signature        = Yukio Mishima signature.png
| signature_size   = 50
}}

{{nihongo|'''Kimitake Hiraoka'''|平岡 公威|Hiraoka Kimitake|extra=14 January 1925{{spaced ndash}}25 November 1970}}, known by his pen name {{nihongo|'''Yukio Mishima'''{{efn|<small>Pronunciations:</small> {{IPAc-en|UK|ˈ|m|ɪ|ʃ|ɪ|m|ə}}, {{IPAc-en|US|-|m|ɑː|,_|ˈ|m|iː|ʃ|i|m|ɑː|,_|m|ɪ|ˈ|ʃ|iː|m|ə}},<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/mishima |title=Mishima |website=Collins English Dictionary |publisher=HarperCollins |access-date=1 June 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190601154550/https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/mishima |archive-date=1 June 2019 |language=en |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.lexico.com/en/definition/mishima,_yukio |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200928091009/https://www.lexico.com/en/definition/mishima,_yukio |url-status=dead |archive-date=28 September 2020 |title=Mishima, Yukio |website=Lexico Dictionaries |language=en |access-date=8 January 2020}} (US) and {{Cite encyclopedia |url=http://www.lexico.com/definition/Mishima,+Yukio |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190601000000/http://www.lexico.com/definition/Mishima,+Yukio |url-status=dead |archive-date=1 June 2019 |title=Mishima, Yukio |dictionary=Oxford Dictionaries UK English Dictionary |publisher=Oxford University Press}}</ref><ref>{{Cite American Heritage Dictionary|Mishima|access-date=1 June 2019}}</ref><ref>{{Cite Merriam-Webster|Mishima|access-date=1 June 2019}}</ref> {{IPA|ja|miɕima|lang}}.}}|三島 由紀夫|Mishima Yukio}}, was a Japanese novelist, playwright, short story writer, actor, martial artist,<ref name="kendoinfo.com">{{cite web|url=https://kendoinfo.wordpress.com/2012/10/22/yukio-mishimas-kendo-history/|title=Yukio Mishima's kendo history |publisher=kendo.info.wordpress.com|date=22 October 2022 |accessdate=2026-01-10}}</ref> model, and the leader of an [[Mishima incident|attempted coup d'état]] that culminated in his ''[[seppuku]]''. 
He is considered one of the most important [[Postwar Japan|postwar]] stylists of the Japanese language. 

Mishima was nominated for the [[Nobel Prize in Literature]] five times in the 1960s—including in 1968 when the award went to his countryman and benefactor [[Yasunari Kawabata]].<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.japantimes.co.jp/culture/2013/05/05/books/book-reviews/revealing-the-many-masks-of-mishima/ |title=Revealing the many masks of Mishima |last=McCarthy |first=Paul |date=5 May 2013 |work=The Japan Times |language=en-US |access-date=8 January 2020 |format=mostly paywalled |archive-date=25 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201125232306/https://www.japantimes.co.jp/culture/2013/05/05/books/book-reviews/revealing-the-many-masks-of-mishima/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Mishima's works include the novels ''[[Confessions of a Mask]]'' and ''[[The Temple of the Golden Pavilion]]'', and the autobiographical essay ''[[Sun and Steel (essay)|Sun and Steel]]''. Mishima's work is characterized by "its luxurious vocabulary and decadent metaphors, its fusion of traditional Japanese and modern [[Western literature|Western literary]] styles, and its obsessive assertions of the unity of beauty, eroticism, and death,"<ref>{{Cite book |last=Rankin |first=Andrew |title=Mishima, Aesthetic Terrorist: An Intellectual Portrait |publisher=University of Hawaii Press |date=2018 |page=119}}</ref> according to the author Andrew Rankin.

Mishima's political activities made him a controversial figure; he remains so in Japan to the present day.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://theculturetrip.com/asia/japan/articles/yukio-mishima-a-conflicted-martyr/ |title=Yukio Mishima: The Turbulent Life Of A Conflicted Martyr |last=Belsky |first=Beryl |website=Culture Trip |date=18 October 2012 |access-date=14 December 2019 |archive-date=3 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240203061939/https://theculturetrip.com/asia/japan/articles/yukio-mishima-a-conflicted-martyr |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://japantoday.com/category/features/opinions/yukio-mishima-the-lost-samurai |title=Yukio Mishima – 'The Lost Samurai' |website=Japan Today|date=12 January 2014 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.japantimes.co.jp/culture/2015/11/21/general/yukio-mishimas-enduring-unexpected-influence/ |title=Yukio Mishima's enduring, unexpected influence |last=Flanagan |first=Damian |date=21 November 2015 |work=The Japan Times |archive-date=20 July 2024 |access-date=14 December 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240720094457/https://www.japantimes.co.jp/culture/2015/11/21/general/yukio-mishimas-enduring-unexpected-influence/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="nyt 1970">{{Cite news |last1=Shabecoff |first1=Philip |title=Everyone in Japan Has Heard of Him |url=https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/books/98/10/25/specials/mishima-mag.html |work=The New York Times |date=2 August 1970 |archive-date=6 April 2023 |access-date=14 December 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230406135500/https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/books/98/10/25/specials/mishima-mag.html |url-status=live }}</ref> From his mid-30s onwards, Mishima's [[far-right politics|far-right]] ideology and [[reactionary]] beliefs became increasingly evident.<ref name="nyt 1970" /><ref name="Jacobin" /><ref>Commentary on Mishima's ideology: 
*{{Cite news |last1=Attanasio |first1=Paul |title='Mishima' Impossible |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1985/10/15/mishima-impossible/84e5f1a6-a2d4-4785-94ff-1d60eb7fbf91/ |access-date=26 April 2023 |newspaper=Washington Post |date=15 October 1985 |archive-date=4 April 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190404041452/https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1985/10/15/mishima-impossible/84e5f1a6-a2d4-4785-94ff-1d60eb7fbf91/ |url-status=live }}
*{{Cite magazine |last1=Dickey |first1=Colin |title=Metaphysics, Protest, and the Politics of Spectacular Failure |url=https://joaap.org/issues.htm |magazine=Journal of Aesthetics and Protest |issue=3 |date=June 2004 |access-date=26 April 2023 |archive-date=21 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231021183516/https://www.joaap.org/issues.htm |url-status=live }} [https://www.joaap.org/new3/dickey.html Direct article link] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230502030558/https://www.joaap.org/new3/dickey.html |date=2 May 2023 }}
*{{Cite magazine |last1=Jones |first1=Nigel |title=A fanatic heart |url=https://thecritic.co.uk/a-fanatic-heart/ |magazine=The Critic Magazine |date=25 November 2020 |access-date=26 April 2023 |archive-date=26 May 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240526062730/https://thecritic.co.uk/a-fanatic-heart/ |url-status=live }}
*{{Cite magazine |last1=Mishan |first1=Ligaya |title=I Don't Think They Heard Me |url=https://www.newyorker.com/books/book-club/i-dont-think-they-heard-me |magazine=The New Yorker |publisher=Condé Nast |date=9 September 2009 |access-date=26 April 2023 |archive-date=11 November 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241111122000/https://www.newyorker.com/books/book-club/i-dont-think-they-heard-me |url-status=live }}
*{{Cite magazine |last1=Schambelan |first1=Elizabeth |title=In the Fascist Weight Room |url=https://www.bookforum.com/print/2502/1968-s-dangerous-and-grandiose-fantasies-19688 |access-date=26 April 2023 |magazine=Book Forum |issue=Summer 2018 |date=2018 |archive-date=22 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230422210044/https://www.bookforum.com/print/2502/1968-s-dangerous-and-grandiose-fantasies-19688 |url-status=live }}
*{{Cite magazine |last1=Shiota |first1=Julia |title=When the Emperor Is a Void: Yukio Mishima and Fascism Today |url=https://aaww.org/emperor-is-a-void-yukio-mishima-julia-shiota/ |magazine=Asian American Writers' Workshop |date=9 March 2020 |access-date=26 April 2023 |archive-date=4 June 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230604101413/https://aaww.org/emperor-is-a-void-yukio-mishima-julia-shiota/ |url-status=live }}
*{{Cite web |author1=((S. R.)) |title=Yukio Mishima |url=https://www.japan-experience.com/plan-your-trip/to-know/understanding-japan/yukio-mishima |website=Japan Experience |date=23 January 2019 |language=en |access-date=26 April 2023 |archive-date=19 April 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240419013857/https://www.japan-experience.com/plan-your-trip/to-know/understanding-japan/yukio-mishima |url-status=live }}
*{{Cite book |last=Hijiya-Kirschnereit |first=Irmela |editor-last=Podoler |editor-first=Guy |title=War and Militarism in Modern Japan |date=2009 |publisher=BRILL; Global Oriental |location=Folkstone |isbn=978-90-04-21300-5 |pages=53–62 |doi=10.1163/ej.9781905246854.i-242.40 |chapter=4. 'The Terrible Weapon of the Gravely Injured' – Mishima Yukio's Literature and the War |quote=In the context of post-war literary and intellectual history, Mishima Yukio tends to be seen as a romantic nihilist and ultra reactionary, a prolific but ultimately predictable writer whose spectacular seppuku accentuated his artistic career. On the other hand, even though his philosophical agenda, as he developed it in a series of essays, seems readily accessible for critical evaluation, his fictional creations do not necessarily conform to this image.}}</ref> He extolled the traditional culture and spirit of Japan, and opposed what he saw as [[Western world|Western]]-style [[Economic materialism|materialism]], along with [[Politics of Japan|Japan's postwar democracy]], [[globalism]], and [[communism]], worrying that by embracing these ideas the Japanese people would lose their "national essence" (''[[kokutai]]'') and distinctive cultural heritage to become a "rootless" people.<ref name="ando-ato">{{Harvnb|Ando|1998|pp=338-339}}</ref><ref name="mura-mon">{{Harvnb|Muramatsu|1990|pp=474–480, 503,508}}</ref><ref>{{Harvnb|Toda|1978|pp=91–105,169–172}}</ref> 

In 1968, Mishima formed the [[Tatenokai]] ("Shield Society"), a private militia, for the purpose of protecting the dignity of [[Emperor of Japan|the emperor]] as a symbol of national identity.<ref name="o-ency-tate">{{Harvnb|O-Encyclo|1976|pp=246–247}}</ref><ref>{{Harvnb|Suzuki|2005|pp=72–80}}</ref><ref>{{Harvnb|Ando|1998|pp=259-261}}</ref><ref>{{Harvnb|Encyclo|2000|pp=210–211, 519–520, 523–524}}</ref> The Tatenokai are interpreted by scholars as attempting to reclaim Japan's prewar values of loyalty. Yukio Mishima believed the traditions that made Japan great had been weakened by postwar Japan. Although the Tatenokai were legally allowed in postwar Japan, their ideology directly opposed the newfound pacifism that was adopted.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Walker |first=Gavin |date=2010-02-01 |title=The Double Scission of Mishima Yukio: Limits and Anxieties in the Autofictional Machine |url=https://doi.org/10.1215/10679847-2009-026 |journal=Positions: Asia Critique |volume=18 |issue=1 |pages=145–169 |doi=10.1215/10679847-2009-026 |issn=1067-9847|url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Igarashi |first=Yoshikuni |url=https://doi.org/10.1515/9781400842988 |title=Bodies of Memory |date=2012-12-31 |publisher=Princeton University Press |isbn=978-1-4008-4298-8 |location=Princeton |doi=10.1515/9781400842988 }}</ref> On 25 November 1970, Mishima and four members of his militia entered a military base in central Tokyo, took its commandant hostage, and unsuccessfully tried to inspire the [[Japan Self-Defense Forces]] to rise up and overthrow [[Article 9 of the Japanese Constitution|Article 9]] of the [[Constitution of Japan|1947 Constitution]] to restore autonomous national defense<ref name="geki" /><ref name="m-jiken">{{Harvnb|Encyclo|2000|pp=604–606}}</ref><ref name="kage">{{Harvnb|Yamamoto|2001|pp=32–43}}</ref><ref name="mura-mon" /> and the divinity of the emperor.<ref name="kage" /><ref name="mura-mon" /> The incident ended with Mishima's suicide by ''[[seppuku]]'', which had been planned.<ref name="m-jiken" /><ref name="kage" />

==Life and work==
===Early life===
[[File:Yukio Mishima 1931.gif|thumb|left|upright|Mishima in his childhood (April 1931, at the age of 6)]]
On 14 January 1925, {{nihongo|Yukio Mishima|三島由紀夫|Mishima Yukio}} was born {{nihongo|Kimitake Hiraoka|平岡公威|Hiraoka Kimitake}} in Nagazumi-cho, Yotsuya-ku of Tokyo City (now part of Yotsuya, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo). His father was {{Nihongo|Azusa Hiraoka|[[:ja:平岡梓|平岡梓]]}}, a government official in the [[Ministry of Agriculture and Commerce]].<ref>{{Harvnb|Ando|1998|pp=7–8}}</ref>  His mother, {{Nihongo|Shizue|[[:ja:平岡倭文重|平岡倭文重]]}}, was the daughter of the 5th principal of the [[Kaisei Academy]]. Shizue's father, {{Nihongo|Kenzō Hashi|[[:ja:橋健三|橋健三]]}}, was a scholar of the [[Chinese classics]], and the Hashi family had served the [[Maeda clan]] for generations in [[Kaga Domain]]. Mishima's paternal grandparents were [[Sadatarō Hiraoka]], the third Governor-General of [[Karafuto Prefecture]], and {{Nihongo|Natsuko (family register name: Natsu)|[[:ja:平岡なつ|平岡なつ]]}}. Mishima received his birth name Kimitake (公威, also read ''Kōi'' in [[on-yomi]]) in honor of [[Furuichi Kōi]] who was a benefactor of Sadatarō.<ref name="azusa2">{{Harvnb|Azusa|1996|pp=31–47}}</ref> He had a younger sister, {{Nihongo|Mitsuko|[[:ja:平岡美津子|平岡美津子]]}}, who died of typhoid fever in 1945 at age 17, and a younger brother, {{Nihongo|Chiyuki|[[:ja:平岡千之|平岡千之]]}}.<ref>{{Harvnb|Inose-j|1999|p=247}}</ref><ref>{{Harvnb|Matsumoto|1990|pp=16–17, 52}}</ref>

Mishima's childhood home was a rented house, though a fairly large two-floor house that was the largest in the neighborhood. He lived with his parents, siblings and paternal grandparents, as well as six maids, a houseboy, and a manservant.

Mishima's early childhood was dominated by the presence of his grandmother, Natsuko, who took the boy and separated him from his immediate family for several years.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.kirjasto.sci.fi/mishima.htm |title=Yukio Mishima |last=Liukkonen |first=Petri |website=Books and Writers (kirjasto.sci.fi) |publisher=Kuusankoski Public Library |location=Finland |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041010211118/http://www.kirjasto.sci.fi/mishima.htm |archive-date=10 October 2004}}</ref> She was the granddaughter of [[Matsudaira Yoritaka (Shishido)|Matsudaira Yoritaka]], the ''[[daimyō]]'' of [[Shishido Domain|Shishido]], which was a branch domain of [[Mito Domain]] in [[Hitachi Province]];{{efn|Yoritaka's eldest son was [[Matsudaira Yorinori (Shishido)|Matsudaira Yorinori]] who died at the age of 33 when he was ordered to commit seppuku by the shogunate during the [[Tengutō Rebellion]], because he was sympathetic to {{Nihongo|''[[Tengu]]-tō''|天狗党}}'s [[Sonnō jōi]].<ref name="etsugu">{{Harvnb|Etsugu|1983|pp=71–140}}</ref>}} this relationship made Mishima a descendant of [[Tokugawa Ieyasu]], the founder of the [[Tokugawa Shogunate]], through his grandmother.<ref name="etsugu" /><ref>Family tree of the Matsudaira family in  {{Harvnb|Etsugu|1983|pp=137–140, 234–235}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://reichsarchiv.jp/%E5%AE%B6%E7%B3%BB%E3%83%AA%E3%82%B9%E3%83%88/%E6%B0%B4%E6%88%B8%E6%94%AF%E6%B5%81%E6%9D%BE%E5%B9%B3%E6%B0%8F%EF%BC%88%E5%AE%8D%E6%88%B8%E8%97%A9%E3%83%BB%E5%BE%A1%E9%80%A3%E6%9E%9D%EF%BC%89#hsyorisuke |script-title=ja:水戸支流松平氏（宍戸藩・御連枝） － Reichsarchiv ～世界帝王事典～ |website=reichsarchiv.jp |date=28 May 2010 |access-date=3 September 2013 |archive-date=6 February 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180206162034/https://reichsarchiv.jp/%e5%ae%b6%e7%b3%bb%e3%83%aa%e3%82%b9%e3%83%88/%e6%b0%b4%e6%88%b8%e6%94%af%e6%b5%81%e6%9d%be%e5%b9%b3%e6%b0%8f%ef%bc%88%e5%ae%8d%e6%88%b8%e8%97%a9%e3%83%bb%e5%be%a1%e9%80%a3%e6%9e%9d%ef%bc%89#hsyorisuke |url-status=live }}</ref> Natsuko's father, {{Nihongo|Nagai Iwanojō|[[:ja:永井岩之丞|永井岩之丞]]}}, had been a [[Supreme Court of Judicature of Japan|Supreme Court]] justice, and Iwanojō's adoptive father, [[Nagai Naoyuki]], had been a [[Hatamoto|bannerman]] of the Tokugawa House during the [[Bakumatsu]].<ref name="etsugu"/> Natsuko had been raised in the household of [[Prince Arisugawa Taruhito]], and she maintained considerable aristocratic pretensions even after marrying Sadatarō, a bureaucrat who had made his fortune in the newly opened colonial frontier in the north, and who eventually became Governor-General of Karafuto Prefecture on [[Sakhalin Island]].<ref name="inose1">{{Harvnb|Inose-j|1999|pp=25–111}}</ref> Sadatarō's father, {{Nihongo|Takichi Hiraoka|[[:ja:平岡太吉|平岡太吉]]}}, and grandfather, {{Nihongo|Tazaemon Hiraoka|平岡太左衛門}}, had been farmers.<ref name="etsugu"/>{{efn|Mishima had told about his bloodline that; "I'm a descendant of the peasants and samurais, and my way of working is like a most hard-working peasant."<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Mishima |first=Yukio |date=10 March 1966 |script-title=ja:フランスのテレビに初主演―文壇の若大将三島由紀夫氏 |trans-title=First starring on French television: Yukio Mishima, the Wakadaishō (whizz kid) of the literary world |language=ja |journal=Mainichi Shimbun }} collected in {{Harvnb|Complete34|2003|pp=31–34}}</ref>}} Natsuko was prone to violent outbursts, occasionally alluded to in Mishima's works,<ref name="HK">{{Cite web |url=http://www.glbtq.com/literature/mishima_y.html |title=Mishima, Yukio (1925–1970) |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150221212112/http://www.glbtq.com/literature/mishima_y.html |archive-date=21 February 2015}}</ref> to which some biographers have traced Mishima's fascination with death.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://jlit.net/authors_works/mishima_yukio.html |title=Yukio Mishima (January 14, 1925 – November 25, 1970 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081121134553/http://jlit.net/authors_works/mishima_yukio.html |archive-date=21 November 2008}}</ref> She did not allow Mishima to venture into the sunlight, engage in any kind of sport, or play with other boys. He spent much of his time either alone or with female cousins and their dolls.<ref name="Shizue">{{Cite magazine |last=Hiraoka |first=Shizue |date=December 1976 |script-title=ja:暴流のごとく―三島由紀夫七回忌に |trans-title=Like as Turbulent water runs: On the sixth anniversary of Yukio Mishima's death |language=ja |magazine=Shinchō |publisher=Shinchosha }}, collected in {{Harvnb|Gunzo18|1990|pp=193–204}}</ref><ref name="HK"/>

Mishima's father, Azusa, had a taste for military discipline, and worried Natsuko's style of childrearing was too soft. When Mishima was returned to his immediate family at age 12, Azusa employed extreme parenting tactics, such as holding young Mishima up close to the side of a speeding steam locomotive.<ref>{{Harvnb|Azusa|1996|pp=45–47}}</ref><ref>{{Harvnb|Ando|1996|p=18}}</ref><ref>{{Harvnb|Complete42|2005|pp=17–18}}</ref> He also raided his son's room for evidence of an "effeminate" interest in literature, and often ripped his son's manuscripts apart.<ref name="azusa3">{{Harvnb|Azusa|1996|pp=62–64, 84–86}}</ref><ref name="oku-manu">{{Harvnb|Okuno|2000|pp=136–138}}</ref> Although Azusa forbade him from writing any additional stories, Mishima continued to write in secret, supported and protected by his mother, who was always the first to read a new story.<ref name="azusa3"/><ref name="oku-manu"/>

When Mishima was 13, Natsuko took him to see his first [[Kabuki]] play: [[Kanadehon Chūshingura|The Treasury of Loyal Retainers]], an allegory of the story of the [[Forty-seven rōnin|47 Rōnin]]. He was taken to his first [[Noh]] play (''[[Mount Miwa|Miwa]]'', a story featuring [[Amano-Iwato]]) by his maternal grandmother {{Nihongo|Tomi Hashi|橋トミ}}. From these early experiences, Mishima enjoyed [[Kabuki]] and [[Noh]]. He began attending performances every month and grew deeply interested in these [[Theatre of Japan|traditional Japanese dramatic art]] forms.<ref name="henre">{{Cite journal |last=Mishima |first=Yukio |date=11 April 1963 |script-title=ja:[[:ja:私の遍歴時代|私の遍歴時代]] 14 |trans-title=My Wandering Years - Chapter 14 |language=ja |journal=Tokyo Shimbun |edition=Evening paper }}, collected in {{Harvnb|Complete32|2003|pp=305–307}}</ref><ref>{{Harvnb|Ando|1998|p=38}}</ref>

===Schooling and early works===
[[File:Self-portrait of Mishima Yukio.jpg|thumb|180px|Mishima's self-portrait drawn in junior high school]]
{{Shōwa Statism}}
Mishima was enrolled at the age of six in the elite [[Gakushūin]], the Peers' School in Tokyo, which had been established in the [[Meiji period]] to educate the Imperial family and the descendants of the old feudal nobility.<ref>* {{Cite web | title = Guide to Yamanakako Forest Park of Literature (Mishima Yukio Literary Museum) | url = http://www.mishimayukio.jp/english/en_guide.html | access-date = 20 October 2009 | archive-date = 2 July 2017 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170702222331/http://www.mishimayukio.jp/english/en_guide.html | url-status = live }}
* {{Cite web |script-title=ja:三島由紀夫の年譜 |url=http://www.mishimayukio.jp/history.html |access-date=20 October 2009 |archive-date=27 August 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100827204300/http://www.mishimayukio.jp/history.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Mishima began to write his first stories aged 12, taking inspiration from myths ([[Kojiki]], [[Greek mythology]], etc.) and the works of numerous classic Japanese authors, as well as [[Raymond Radiguet]], [[Jean Cocteau]], [[Oscar Wilde]], [[Rainer Maria Rilke]], [[Thomas Mann]], [[Friedrich Nietzsche]], [[Charles Baudelaire]], [[Auguste Villiers de l'Isle-Adam|l'Isle-Adam]], and other European authors. He also studied [[German language|German]]. After six years as a pupil, he became the youngest member of the editorial board of its literary society. Mishima was particularly drawn to the works of Japanese poet {{Nihongo|Shizuo Itō|[[:ja:伊東静雄|伊東静雄]]}}, [[Haruo Satō (novelist)|Haruo Satō]], and [[Michizō Tachihara]], who inspired Mishima's appreciation of classical Japanese ''[[waka (poetry)|waka]]'' poetry. Mishima's early contributions to the Gakushūin literary magazine {{Nihongo|''Hojinkai-zasshi''|[[:ja:学習院輔仁会雑誌|輔仁会雑誌]]}}{{efn|輔仁 (''Hojin'') is an East Asian name composed of two characters which individually mean "assistance" and "benevolence".}} included ''[[haiku]]'' and ''waka'' poetry before he turned his attention to prose.<ref>{{Harvnb|Complete42|2005|pp=377–462}}</ref>

In 1941, at the age of 16, Mishima was invited to write a short story for the ''Hojinkai-zasshi'', where he submitted {{Nihongo|''Forest in Full Bloom''|[[:ja:花ざかりの森|花ざかりの森]]|Hanazakari no Mori|}}, a story in which the narrator describes the feeling that his ancestors somehow still live on within him. The story displays several metaphors and aphorisms that would become Mishima's hallmarks.{{efn|At the end of this debut work, a limpid "tranquility" is drawn, and it is often pointed out by some literature researchers that it has something in common with the ending of Mishima's posthumous work ''[[The Sea of Fertility]]''.<ref>{{Harvnb|Okuno|2000|pp=421–450}}</ref><ref>{{Harvnb|Encyclo|2000|pp=335–345}}</ref>}} He also sent a copy of the manuscript to his teacher {{Interlanguage link|清水文雄|lt=Fumio Shimizu|ja}}, who was so impressed that he and his fellow editorial board members decided to publish it in their literary magazine {{Interlanguage link|文藝文化|lt=''Bungei Bunka''|ja}}.<ref name="shimizu"/>

In order to protect him from potential backlash from Azusa, Shimizu and the other editorial board members coined the pen-name Yukio Mishima.<ref name="shimizu">{{Cite journal |last=Shimizu |first=Fumio |date=January 1975 |script-title=ja:「花ざかりの森」をめぐって |trans-title=Over the ''Hanazakari no Mori'' |language=ja |journal=Appendix of "Yukio Mishima Complete Works No.1" |publisher=Shinchosha }} collected in {{Harvnb|N-Reader|1990|pp=22–24}}</ref> They took "Mishima" from [[Mishima Station]], which Shimizu and his fellow ''Bungei Bunka'' board member [[Hasuda Zenmei]] passed through on their way to the editorial meeting which was held in [[Shuzenji, Shizuoka]]. The name "Yukio" came from ''yuki'' ([[:ja:雪|雪]]), the Japanese word for "snow" because of the snow they saw on Mount Fuji as the train passed.<ref name="shimizu" /><ref>{{Cite web |date=2021-03-24 |title=三島由紀夫のペンネームの由来は三島市と関係があるか。 |trans-title=Is the origin of Yukio Mishima's pen name related to Mishima City? |url=https://crd.ndl.go.jp/reference/entry/index.php?id=1000289074&page=ref_view |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20260306132423/https://crd.ndl.go.jp/reference/entry/index.php?id=1000289074&page=ref_view |archive-date=2026-03-06 |access-date=2026-03-06 |website=National Diet Library |language=ja}}</ref> The story was later published as a limited book edition (4,000 copies) in 1944 due to a wartime paper shortage. Mishima had it published as a keepsake to remember him by, as he assumed that he would die in the war.<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Mishima |first=Yukio |date=June 1958 |script-title=ja:「花ざかりの森」出版のころ|trans-title=When I published "Forest in Full Bloom" |language=ja |magazine=Gunzo |publisher=Kodansha }}, collected in {{Harvnb|Complete30|2003|pp=285–286}}</ref><ref>{{Harvnb|Azusa|1996|p=87}}</ref>

In the editorial notes of ''Bungei Bunka'' magazine in 1941, when this debut work was serialized, Hasuda praised Mishima's genius: "This youthful author is a heaven-sent child of eternal Japanese history. He is much younger than we are, but has arrived on the scene already quite mature."<ref name="hasu">{{Cite magazine |last=Hasuda |first=Zenmei |date=September 1941 |script-title=ja:編集後記 |trans-title=Editor's note |language=ja |magazine=Bungei Bunka (Nihonbungaku No Kai) }} collected in {{Harvnb|Jurō|2005|p=116}}</ref> Hasuda, who became something of a mentor to Mishima, was an ardent nationalist and a fan of [[Motoori Norinaga]] (1730–1801), a scholar of ''[[kokugaku]]'' from the [[Edo period]] who preached [[Japanese values|Japanese traditional values]] and devotion to the emperor.<ref>{{Harvnb|Inose-e|2012|pp=86}}</ref> Hasuda had previously fought for the Imperial Japanese Army in China in 1938, and in 1943 he was recalled to active service for deployment as a first lieutenant in the Southeast Asian theater.<ref>{{Harvnb|Inose-e|2012|pp=88}}</ref> At a farewell party thrown for Hasuda by the ''Bungei Bunka'' group, Hasuda offered the following parting words to Mishima: "I have entrusted the future of Japan to you." According to Mishima, these words were deeply meaningful to him, and had a profound effect on the future course of his life.<ref name="mura4-3-4">{{Harvnb|Muramatsu|1990|pp=488–492}}</ref><ref name="ando">{{Harvnb|Ando|1996|p=59}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Mishima |first=Yukio |date=March 1970 |script-title=ja:序|trans-title=Introduction |language=ja |journal="Zenmei Hasuda and His Death" Written by Jirō Odakane }} collected in {{Harvnb|Complete36|2003|pp=60–63}}</ref>

Later in 1941, Mishima wrote an essay about his deep devotion to [[Shintō]], titled {{Nihongo|''The Way of the Gods''|惟神之道|Kannagara no michi|}}.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Mishima |first=Yukio |date=22 September 1960 |script-title=ja:惟神之道|trans-title=[[Shinto|The way of the Gods]] |language=ja |journal=Private Note }} collected in {{Harvnb|Complete26|2003|pp=88–90}}</ref> Mishima's story {{Nihongo|''The Cigarette''|[[:ja:煙草 (小説)|煙草]]|Tabako|}}, published in 1946, describes a homosexual love he felt at school and being teased from members of the school's rugby union because he belonged to the literary society. Another story from 1954, {{Nihongo|''The Boy Who Wrote Poetry''|[[:ja:詩を書く少年|詩を書く少年]]|Shi o kaku shōnen|}}, was similarly based on Mishima's memories of his time at Gakushūin Junior High School.<ref>{{Harvnb|Encyclo|2000|pp=185–187, 222–223}}</ref>

On 9 September 1944, Mishima graduated Gakushūin High School at the top of the class, becoming a graduate representative.<ref name="mitani1-a">{{Harvnb|Mitani|1999|pp=14–15}}</ref><ref name="gradu">{{Cite magazine |last=Mishima |first=Yukio |date=March 1957 |script-title=ja:学習院の卒業式 |trans-title=The graduation ceremony of Gakushūin |language=ja |magazine=Style }}, collected in {{Harvnb|Complete29|2003|p=499}}</ref> Emperor [[Hirohito]] was present at the graduation ceremony, with Mishima later receiving a silver watch from him at the Imperial Household Ministry.<ref name="mitani1-a"/><ref name="gradu"/><ref>{{Harvnb|Complete42|2005|p=95}}</ref><ref>{{Harvnb|Album|1983|p=18}}</ref>

On 27 April 1944, during the final years of World War II, Mishima received a conscription notice for the [[Imperial Japanese Army]], barely passing his conscription examination on 16 May 1944 with a less desirable rating of "second class" conscript. Scholars have argued that Mishima's failure to receive a "first class" rating on his conscription examination (reserved only for the most physically fit recruits), in combination with the illness which led him to be erroneously declared unfit for duty, contributed to an inferiority complex over his frail constitution that later led to his obsession with physical fitness and bodybuilding.<ref>See for example, Tatsumi Okabe, "Revival of Japanese Militarism?" The Institute of South East Asian Studies Occasional Papers No. 22 (July 1974), p. 11.</ref>

Mishima had a cold during his medical check on convocation day (10 February 1945), which the army doctor misdiagnosed as tuberculosis; Mishima was declared unfit for service and sent home.<ref name="sishun">{{Cite magazine |last=Mishima |first=Yukio |date=January 1957 |script-title=ja:わが思春期 |trans-title=My Puberty |language=ja |magazine=Myōjō |publisher=Shueisha }} collected in {{Harvnb|Complete29|2003|pp=373–375}}</ref><ref name="azusa3-akagami">{{Harvnb|Azusa|1996|pp=69–72}}</ref><ref name="matsu-47">{{Harvnb|Matsumoto|1990|p=47}}</ref> Mishima would later hint in his quasi-autobiographical novel ''[[Confessions of a Mask]]'' (1949) that he might have lied to the doctor in order to secure the misdiagnosis.{{sfn|Scott-Stokes|1974|pp=105-106}} Mishima wrote:

<blockquote>Why had I looked so frank as I lied to the army doctor? Why had I said that I'd been having a slight fever for over half a year, that my shoulder was painfully stiff, that I spit blood, that even last night I had been soaked by a night sweat?...Why when sentenced to return home the same day had I felt the pressure of a smile come pushing so persistently at my lips that I had difficulty in concealing it? Why had I run so when I was through the barracks gate? Hadn't my hopes been blasted? What was the matter that I hadn't hung my head and trudged away with heavy feet? I realized vividly that my future life would never attain heights of glory sufficient to justify my having escaped death in the army...{{sfn|Scott-Stokes|1974|pp=105-106}}<ref name=mask>{{Cite book |last=Mishima |first=Yukio |translator-last=Weatherby |translator-first=Meredith |title=Confessions of a Mask |date=1958 |publisher=New Directions |isbn=0-8112-0118-X |page=138}}</ref></blockquote>

The veracity of this account is impossible to know for certain, but what is unquestionable is that Mishima did not speak out against the doctor's diagnosis of tuberculosis.<ref name=six>{{Cite book |last1=Lifton |first1=Robert Jay |last2=Kat |first2=Shichi |last3=Reich |first3= Michael R. |title=Six Lives, Six Deaths: Portraits from Modern Japan |publisher=Yale University Press |date=1979 |page=247 |isbn=0-300-02266-2}}</ref>{{sfn|Scott-Stokes|1974|pp=105-106}} Researchers have speculated that Mishima's guilt at allowing himself to escape death in the war left a lasting impression on his life and writing, possibly contributing to his later suicide.<ref name=six/>{{sfn|Scott-Stokes|1974|pp=105-106}}

The day before his failed medical examination, Mishima had written a farewell message to his family, ending with the words {{Nihongo|"Long live the Emperor!"|[[:ja:万歳|天皇陛下万歳]]|Tennō heika banzai|}}, including hair and nail clippings as mementos for his parents.<ref name="azusa3-akagami"/><ref name="album">photograph of the will in {{Harvnb|Album|1983|p=21}}</ref> The unit that Mishima would have enlisted in was eventually sent to the Philippines, with few survivors.<ref name="sishun"/><ref name="matsu-47"/> Mishima's parents were ecstatic that he did not have to go to war, but Mishima's mood was harder to read, and his mother overheard him express a wish that he could have joined a "[[Japanese Special Attack Units|Special Attack]]" unit.<ref name="azusa3-akagami"/><ref name="matsu-47"/> He also expressed an admiration for [[kamikaze|kamikaze pilots]] and other "special attack" units.<ref name="mitani-tokko">{{Harvnb|Mitani|1999|pp=88–94}}</ref><ref>{{Harvnb|Ando|1996|p=77}}</ref><ref name="hira-1-14">{{Harvnb|Hirano|2023|pp=61–64}}</ref> In a 21 April 1945 letter to a friend, Mishima wrote:
<blockquote>It was through the kamikazes that "modern man" has finally been able to grasp the dawning of the "present day", or perhaps better said, "our historical era" in a true sense, and for the first time the intellectual class, which until now had been the illegitimate child of modernity, became the legitimate heir of history. I believe that all of this is thanks to the kamikazes. This is the reason why the entire cultural class of Japan, and all people of culture around the world, should kneel before the kamikazes and offer up prayers of gratitude.<ref name="letter-makoto">Mishima's letter to Makoto Mitani (April 21, 1945)　{{Harvnb|Complete38|2004|pp=917–918}}</ref><ref name="mitani-tokko"/><ref name="hira-1-14"/></blockquote>

Mishima was deeply affected by Emperor Hirohito's [[Hirohito surrender broadcast|radio broadcast announcing Japan's surrender]] on 15 August 1945, vowing to protect Japanese cultural traditions and to help to rebuild Japanese culture after the destruction of the war.<ref name="letter">Mishima's letters to his friends (Makoto Mitani, Akira Kanzaki) and teacher Fumio Shimizu in August 1945, collected in {{Harvnb|Complete38|2004|pp=604,921–922,}}</ref><ref name="mitani-ketsui">{{Harvnb|Mitani|1999|pp=112–131}}</ref><ref name="ando-ketsui">{{Harvnb|Ando|1996|p=82}}</ref> He wrote in his diary, "Only by preserving Japanese irrationality will we be able contribute to world culture 100 years from now."<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Mishima |first=Yukio |date=16 September 1945 |script-title=ja:戦後語録 |trans-title=Postwar Diary |language=ja |journal=Private Note }} collected in {{Harvnb|Complete26|2003|pp=560–562}}</ref><ref>{{Harvnb|Ando|1996|p=83}}, {{Harvnb|Ando|1998|p=103}}</ref><ref>{{Harvnb|Okuno|2000|p=197}}</ref>
[[File:Mishima Yukio and sister.jpg|thumb|200px|Mishima at age 19, with his sister Mitsuko at age 16 {{avoid wrap|(on 9 September 1944)}}]]
Four days after Japan's surrender, Mishima's mentor Zenmei Hasuda, who had been drafted and deployed to the Malay peninsula, shot and killed his superior officer, who blamed Japan's defeat on the Emperor.<ref name="juro">{{Harvnb|Jurō|2005|pp=99–156}}</ref> Hasuda had long suspected the officer to be a Korean spy.<ref name="juro"/> After shooting him, Hasuda turned his pistol on himself.<ref name="juro"/> Mishima learned of the incident a year later and contributed poetry in Hasuda's honor at a memorial service in November 1946.<ref name="juro"/> On 23 October 1945 (Showa 20), Mishima's beloved younger sister Mitsuko died suddenly at age 17 from typhoid fever after drinking untreated water.<ref name="azusa3-mitsu">{{Harvnb|Azusa|1996|pp=78–80}}</ref><ref>{{Harvnb|Yuasa|1984|pp=111–112}}</ref> Around the same time, he also learned that {{Nihongo|Kuniko Mitani|三谷邦子}}, a classmate's sister whom he had hoped to marry, was engaged to another man.<ref name="mura1-2-3">{{Harvnb|Muramatsu|1990|pp=91–97}}</ref><ref>{{Harvnb|Ando|1996|p=85}}</ref>{{efn|Kuniko Mitani, the sister of {{Nihongo|Makoto Mitani|[[:ja:三谷信|三谷信]]}}, would become the model for "Sonoko" in ''[[Confessions of a Mask]]''.  Mishima wrote about his loss in a letter to his acquaintance, lamenting that "I wouldn't have lived if I didn't write about her."<ref>Mishima's letter to Chikayoshi Ninagawa in 1949, {{Harvnb|Ando|1996|p=120}}, {{Harvnb|Inose-j|1999|p=262}}</ref>}} Mishima used these events as inspiration and motivation for his later literary work.<ref name="shuma">{{Cite magazine |last=Mishima |first=Yukio |date=August 1955 |script-title=ja:終末感からの出発―昭和二十年の自画像 |trans-title=A departure from feelings of ending: a self-portrait in 1945 |language=ja |magazine=Shinchō }}, collected in {{Harvnb|Complete28|2003|pp=516–518}}</ref><ref>{{Harvnb|Ando|1996|pp=85–86}}</ref><ref>{{Harvnb|Ando|1998|pp=103–104}}</ref><ref name="mura1-2-3"/>

At the end of the war, his father Azusa "half-allowed" Mishima to become a novelist. He was worried that his son would become a professional novelist, preferring instead that his son follow in the footsteps of himself and Mishima's grandfather Sadatarō and become a bureaucrat. To this end, he advised his son to enroll in the Faculty of Law instead of the literature department.<ref name="azusa3-hogaku">{{Harvnb|Azusa|1996|pp=64–68}}</ref> Attending lectures during the day and writing at night, Mishima graduated from the University of Tokyo in 1947. He obtained a position in the [[Ministry of Finance (Japan)|Ministry of Finance]] and was set for a promising career as a government bureaucrat. However, after just one year of employment, Mishima had exhausted himself so much that his father agreed to allow him to resign from his post and devote himself to writing full time.<ref name="azusa3-sibuya">{{Harvnb|Azusa|1996|pp=83–84}}</ref>

In 1945, Mishima began the short story {{Nihongo|"A Story at the Cape"|[[:ja:岬にての物語|岬にての物語]]|Misaki nite no Monogatari|}} and continued to work on it throughout World War II. After the war, the story was praised by poet {{Nihongo|Shizuo Itō|[[:ja:伊東静雄|伊東静雄]]}}, whom Mishima respected.<ref>{{Harvnb|Complete38|2004|pp=200–202}}</ref><ref>{{Harvnb|Jurō|2005|p=127}}</ref>

===Post-war literature===
[[File:Mishima Yukio 1948.JPG|left|thumb|200px|Mishima with his cat (''[[Asahigraph]]'', 12 May 1948 issue). He was known as a cat-lover.<ref name="etsugu-neko">{{Harvnb|Etsugu|1983|pp=91–97}}</ref><ref name="nosaka1">{{Harvnb|Nosaka|1991|pp=5–76}}</ref> Yōko (his wife) was jealous of his pet cat, and disliked him petting it.<ref name="etsugu-neko"/><ref name="nosaka1"/>]]
After Japan's defeat in World War II, the country was [[Occupation of Japan|occupied]] by the U.S.-led [[Allies of World War II|Allied Powers]]. At the urging of the occupation authorities, many people who held important posts in various fields were [[Purge (occupied Japan)|purged from public office]]. The media and publishing industry were also censored, and were not allowed to engage in forms of expression reminiscent of wartime Japanese nationalism.{{efn|In the [[occupation of Japan]], [[Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers|SCAP]] executed "[[sword hunt]]", and 3 million swords which had been owned by the Japanese people were confiscated. [[Kendo]] was banned, and even when barely allowed in the form of "bamboo sword competition", SCAP severely banned kendo shouts,<ref name="henkaku">{{Cite journal |last=Mishima |first=Yukio |date=19 January 1970 |script-title=ja:「変革の思想」とは―道理の実現 |trans-title=What is "Idea of Reform": Realization of Reason |language=ja |journal=Yomiuri Shimbun }} collected in {{Harvnb|Complete36|2003|pp=30–38}}</ref> and, they banned [[Kabuki]] which had the revenge theme, or inspired the [[samurai]] spirit.<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Mishima |first=Yukio |date=1970 |script-title=ja:武士道と軍国主義 |trans-title=Bushido and Militarism |language=ja |magazine=Weekly Playboy 1978 August Issue (Posthumous publication) }} collected in {{Harvnb|Complete36|2003|pp=247–266}}</ref>}} In addition, literary figures, including many of those who had been close to Mishima before the end of the war, were branded "war criminal literary figures." In response, many prominent literary figures became leftists, joined the [[Japan Communist Party|Communist Party]] as a reaction against wartime militarism, and began writing [[socialist realism|socialist realist]] literature that might support the cause of socialist revolution.{{sfn|Kapur|2018|pp=181–182}} These newly converted leftists held great influence in the Japanese literary world immediately following the end of the war, which Mishima found difficult to accept, and he denounced them as "opportunists" in letters to friends.<ref>{{Harvnb|Complete38|2004|pp=200–202, 313–318}}</ref><ref name="kimu">{{Harvnb|Kimura|1995|pp=247–267}}</ref><ref>{{Harvnb|Honda1|2005|pp=70–88}}</ref> Although Mishima was just 20 years old at this time, he worried that his type of literature, based on the 1930s {{Nihongo|''Japanese Romantic School''|[[:ja:日本浪曼派|日本浪曼派]]|Nihon Rōman Ha|}}, had already become obsolete.<ref>{{Harvnb|Matsumoto|1990|p=56}}</ref><ref name="henre-ob">{{Cite journal |last=Mishima |first=Yukio |date=7 February 1963 |script-title=ja:私の遍歴時代 5 |trans-title=My Wandering Years - Chapter 5 |language=ja |journal=Tokyo Shimbun |edition=Evening paper }}, collected in {{Harvnb|Complete32|2003|pp=281–284}}</ref>

Mishima had heard that the famed writer [[Yasunari Kawabata]] had praised his work before the end of the war. Uncertain of who else to turn to, Mishima took the manuscripts for {{Nihongo|''The Middle Ages''|[[:ja:中世 (小説)|中世]]|Chūsei|}} and {{Nihongo|''The Cigarette''|[[:ja:煙草 (小説)|煙草]]|Tabako|}} with him, visited Kawabata in [[Kamakura]], and asked for his advice and assistance in January 1946.<ref>{{Harvnb|Matsumoto|1990|p=57}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Mishima |first=Yukio |date=14 February 1963 |script-title=ja:私の遍歴時代 6 |trans-title=My Wandering Years - Chapter 6 |language=ja |journal=Tokyo Shimbun |edition=Evening paper }}, collected in {{Harvnb|Complete32|2003|pp=284–286}}</ref> Kawabata was impressed, and in June 1946, following Kawabata's recommendation, ''The Cigarette'' was published in the new literary magazine {{Nihongo|''Humanity''|[[:ja:人間 (雑誌)|人間]]|Ningen|}}, followed by ''The Middle Ages'' in December 1946.<ref name="chusei">{{Harvnb|Encyclo|2000|pp=230–231}}</ref> ''The Middle Ages'' is set in Japan's historical [[Muromachi Period]] and explores the motif of ''[[shudō]]'' (man-boy love) against a backdrop of the death of the ninth [[Ashikaga shogunate|Ashikaga]] shogun [[Ashikaga Yoshihisa]] in battle at the age of 25, and his father [[Ashikaga Yoshimasa]]'s resultant sadness. The story features the fictional character Kikuwaka, a beautiful teenage boy who was beloved by both Yoshihisa and Yoshimasa, who fails in an attempt to follow Yoshihisa in death by committing suicide. Thereafter, Kikuwaka devotes himself to spiritualism in an attempt to heal Yoshimasa's sadness by allowing Yoshihisa's ghost to possess his body, and eventually dies in a [[Shinjū|double-suicide]] with a ''[[miko]]'' (shrine maiden) who falls in love with him. Mishima wrote the story in an elegant style drawing upon [[medieval Japanese literature]] and the ''[[Ryōjin Hishō]]'', a collection of medieval ''[[imayō]]'' songs. This elevated writing style and the homosexual motif suggest the germ of Mishima's later aesthetics.<ref name="chusei" /> Later in 1948 Kawabata, who praised this work,<ref>{{Harvnb|Honda2|2005|pp=101–103}}</ref> published an autobiographical work {{Nihongo|''Boy''|[[:ja:少年 (川端康成)|少年]]|Shōnen|}} describing his experience of falling in love for the first time with a boy two years his junior.<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Kawabata |first=Yasunari |date=1948 |script-title=ja:少年 |trans-title= Boy  |language=ja |magazine=Human }} collected in {{Harvnb|Kawabata10|1980|pp=141–256}}</ref><ref>{{Harvnb|Itagaki|2016|pp=27–44}}</ref>

[[File:Yukio Mishima 01.jpg|right|thumb|150px|Mishima aged 28{{avoid wrap|(in January 1953)}}]]
In 1946, Mishima began his first novel, {{Nihongo|''Thieves''|[[:ja:盗賊 (小説)|盗賊]]|Tōzoku|}}, a story about two young members of the aristocracy drawn towards suicide. It was published in 1948, and placed Mishima in the ranks of the [[Second Generation of Postwar Writers]]. The following year, he published ''[[Confessions of a Mask]]'', a semi-autobiographical account of a young homosexual man who hides behind a mask to fit into society. The novel was extremely successful and made Mishima a celebrity at the age of 24. In 1947, a brief encounter with [[Osamu Dazai]], a popular novelist known for his suicidal themes, left a lasting impression on him.<ref>{{Harvnb|Stokes-e|2000|pp=89–90}}</ref> Around 1949, Mishima also published a literary essay about Kawabata, for whom he had always held a deep appreciation, in {{Nihongo|''Modern Literature''|[[:ja:近代文学 (雑誌)|近代文学]]|Kindai Bungaku|}}.<ref>{{Harvnb|Encyclo|2000|pp=476–479, 484–485}}</ref>

Mishima enjoyed international travel. In 1952, he took a world tour and published his travelogue as {{Nihongo|''The Cup of Apollo''|[[:ja:アポロの杯|アポロの杯]]|Aporo no Sakazuki|}}. He visited Greece during his travels, a place which had fascinated him since childhood. His visit to Greece became the basis for his 1954 novel ''[[The Sound of Waves]]'', which drew inspiration from the Greek myth of [[Daphnis and Chloe]].'' The Sound of Waves'', set on the small island of "[[Kami-shima]]" where a traditional Japanese lifestyle continued to be practiced, depicts a pure, simple love between a fisherman and a [[ama (diving)|female pearl and abalone diver]]. Although the novel became a best-seller, leftists criticized it for "glorifying old-fashioned Japanese values" and some people began calling Mishima a "fascist."<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Sugimoto |first=Kazuhiro |date=1990 |script-title=ja:『潮騒』：「歌島」の物語 |trans-title="Shiosai": The Story of "Utajima"  |url=https://ci.nii.ac.jp/naid/110000466317/ |language=ja |journal=Journal of College of International Studies, Chubu University |volume=6 |pages=355–364 }}</ref><ref>{{Harvnb|Encyclo|2000|p=153}}</ref><ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Mishima |first=Yukio |date=October 1954 |script-title=ja:新ファッシズム論 |trans-title= New theory about fascism |language=ja |magazine=Bungakukai }} collected in {{Harvnb|Complete28|2003|pp=350–359}}</ref> Looking back on these attacks in later years, Mishima wrote, "The ancient community ethics portrayed in this novel were attacked by progressives at the time, but no matter how much the Japanese people changed, these ancient ethics lurk in the bottom of their hearts. We have gradually seen this proven to be the case."<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Mishima |first=Yukio |date=July 1965 |script-title=ja:「潮騒」執筆のころ |trans-title=Around the time of writing "The Sound of Waves" |language=ja |magazine=Ushio }} collected in {{Harvnb|Complete33|2003|pp=478–480}}</ref>

[[File:Ishihara Mishima.jpg|right|thumb|Yukio Mishima (lower) with [[Shintaro Ishihara]] in 1956 {{avoid wrap|(on the roof of the [[Bungeishunjū]] Building in [[Ginza]] 6-chome)}}]]
Mishima made use of contemporary events in many of his works. ''[[The Temple of the Golden Pavilion]]'', published in 1956, is a fictionalization of the burning down of the [[Kinkaku-ji]] Buddhist temple in Kyoto in 1950 by a mentally disturbed monk.<ref>{{Harvnb|Encyclo|2000|pp=92–97}}</ref>

In 1959, Mishima published the artistically ambitious novel ''[[Kyōko no Ie]]''. The novel tells the interconnected stories of four young men who represented four different facets of Mishima's personality. His athletic side appears as a boxer, his artistic side as a painter, his narcissistic, theatrical side as an actor, and his secretive, nihilistic side as a businessman who goes through the motions of living a normal life while practicing "absolute contempt for reality". According to Mishima, he was attempting to describe the time around 1955 in the novel, when Japan was entering into its era of [[Japanese economic miracle|high economic growth]] and the phrase "The postwar is over" was prevalent.{{efn|In 1956, the Japanese government had issued an economic white paper that famously declared, "The postwar is now over" (''Mohaya sengo de wa nai'').{{sfn|Kapur|2018|p=217}}}}  Mishima explained, "''Kyōko no Ie'' is, so to speak, my research into the nihilism within me."<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Mishima |first=Yukio |date=August 1959 |script-title=ja:「鏡子の家」そこで私が書いたもの |trans-title=Kyōko no Ie, What I wrote in there |language=ja |journal=Advertising Leaflet }} collected in {{Harvnb|Complete31|2003|p=242}}</ref><ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Mishima |first=Yukio |date=29 June 1959 |script-title=ja:日記―裸体と衣裳 「昭和34年6月29日（月）」 |trans-title=Diary: Naked body and Apparel |language=ja |magazine=Shinchō }} collected in {{Harvnb|Complete30|2003|pp=236–240}}</ref> Although the novel was well received by a small number of critics from the same generation as Mishima and sold 150,000 copies in a month, it was widely panned in broader literary circles,{{sfn|Kapur|2018|pp=251–252}}<ref name="ino-kyo"/> and was rapidly branded as Mishima's first "failed work".<ref>{{Harvnb|Muramatsu|1990|pp=279–282}}</ref><ref name="ino-kyo">{{Harvnb|Inose-j|1999|pp=346–347}}</ref> It was Mishima's first major setback as an author, and the book's disastrous reception came as a harsh psychological blow.<ref>Mishima's letter to Yasunari Kawabata on 18 December 1959, collected in {{Harvnb|Complete38|2004|pp=291–292}}</ref><ref name="nagisa">{{Cite magazine |last=Mishima |first=Yukio |date=1968 |script-title=ja:ファシストか革命家か |trans-title=Fascist or Revolutionist|language=ja |magazine=Eiga Geijutsu  }} collected in {{Harvnb|Complete39|2004|pp=729–760}} (dialogue with [[Nagisa Ōshima]])</ref><ref>{{Harvnb|Ando|1998|pp=205–207}}</ref>

Until 1960, Mishima had not written works that were seen as especially political.{{sfn|Kapur|2018|pp=251–252}} In the summer of 1960, Mishima became interested in the massive [[Anpo protests]] against an attempt by U.S.-backed Prime Minister [[Nobusuke Kishi]] to revise the [[Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security Between the United States and Japan]] (known as "[[Anpo]]" in Japanese) in order to cement the [[U.S.–Japan Alliance|U.S.-Japan military alliance]] into place.{{sfn|Kapur|2018|p=250}} Although he did not directly participate in the protests, he often went out in the streets to observe the protestors in action and kept extensive newspaper clippings covering the protests.{{sfn|Kapur|2018|pp=250–251}} In June 1960, at the climax of the protest movement, Mishima wrote a commentary in the ''[[Mainichi Shinbun]]'' newspaper, entitled "A Political Opinion."{{sfn|Kapur|2018|p=251}} In the critical essay, he argued that leftist groups such as the [[Zengakuren]] student federation, the [[Japan Socialist Party|Socialist Party]], and the [[Japan Communist Party|Communist Party]] were falsely wrapping themselves in the banner of "defending democracy" and using the protest movement to advance their own ends.<ref name="seiji-iken">{{Cite journal |last=Mishima |first=Yukio |date=25 June 1960 |script-title=ja:一つの政治的意見|trans-title=A Political Opinion |language=ja |journal=Mainichi Shimbun }} collected in {{Harvnb|Complete31|2003|pp=433–436}}</ref><ref name="jiten-seiji">{{Harvnb|Encyclo|2000|p=305}}</ref><ref name="tekina-b">{{Harvnb|Tekina|2015|pp=20–22}}</ref> Mishima warned against the dangers of the Japanese people following ideologues who told lies with honeyed words.<ref name="seiji-iken"/><ref name="jiten-seiji"/> Although Mishima criticized Kishi as a "nihilist" who had subordinated himself to the United States, Mishima concluded that he would rather vote for a strong-willed realist "with neither dreams nor despair" than a mendacious but eloquent ideologue.<ref name="seiji-iken"/><ref name="jiten-seiji"/>

Shortly after the Anpo Protests ended, Mishima began writing one of his most famous short stories, "[[Patriotism (short story)|Patriotism]]," glorifying the actions of a young, right-wing, ultranationalist Japanese army officer who commits suicide after a failed revolt against the government during the [[February 26 incident]].{{sfn|Kapur|2018|p=251}} The following year, he published the first two parts of his three-part play {{Nihongo|''Tenth-Day Chrysanthemum''|[[:ja:十日の菊|十日の菊]]|Tōka no kiku|}}, which celebrates the actions of the 26 February revolutionaries.{{sfn|Kapur|2018|p=251}}

Mishima's newfound interest in contemporary politics shaped his novel ''[[After the Banquet]]'', also published in 1960, which so closely followed the events surrounding politician [[Hachirō Arita]]'s campaign to become governor of Tokyo that Mishima was sued for invasion of privacy.<ref name="Cooper-ChenKodama1997">{{Cite book|last1=Cooper-Chen|first1=Anne|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hzfVsTpRFBYC&pg=PA187|title=Mass communication in Japan|last2=Kodama|first2=Miiko|publisher=Wiley-Blackwell|date=1997|isbn=978-0-8138-2710-0|page=187|access-date=22 September 2010}}</ref> The next year, Mishima published ''[[The Frolic of the Beasts]]'', a parody of the classical Noh play ''[[Motomezuka]]'', written in the 14th-century by playwright [[Kan'ami|Kiyotsugu Kan'ami]]. In 1962, Mishima produced his most artistically avant-garde work ''[[Beautiful Star (novel)|Beautiful Star]]'', which at times comes close to science fiction. Although the novel received mixed reviews from the literary world, prominent critic [[Takeo Okuno]] singled it out for praise as part of a new breed of novels that was overthrowing longstanding literary conventions in the tumultuous aftermath of the Anpo Protests. Alongside [[Kōbō Abe]]'s ''[[Woman of the Dunes]]'', published the same year, Okuno considered ''A Beautiful Star'' an "epoch-making work" which broke free of literary taboos and preexisting notions of what literature should be in order to explore the author's personal creativity.{{sfn|Kapur|2018|p=213}}

In 1965, Mishima wrote the play ''[[Madame de Sade]]'' that explores the complex figure of the [[Marquis de Sade]], traditionally upheld as an exemplar of vice, through a series of debates between six female characters including the Marquis's wife, the Madame de Sade. At the end of the play, Mishima offers his own interpretation of what he considered to be one of the central mysteries of the de Sade story—the Madame de Sade's unstinting support for her husband while he was in prison and her sudden decision to renounce him upon his release.<ref name="Inose-e 2012 454">{{Harvnb|Inose-e|2012|pp=454}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Mishima |first=Yukio |date=November 1965 |script-title=ja:跋 |trans-title=The Epilogue  |language=ja |journal=Appendix of Madame de Sade |publisher=Kawade Shobō Shinsha }} collected in {{Harvnb|Complete33|2003|pp=585–586}}</ref> Mishima's play was inspired in part by his friend [[Tatsuhiko Shibusawa]]'s 1960 Japanese translation of the Marquis de Sade's novel ''[[Juliette (novel)|Juliette]]'' and a 1964 biography Shibusawa wrote of de Sade.<ref>{{Harvnb|Inose-e|2012|pp=453–454}}</ref> Shibusawa's sexually explicit translation became the focus of a sensational obscenity trial remembered in Japan as the {{Nihongo|"[[Juliette (novel)|Juliette]] Case"|[[:ja:悪徳の栄え事件|サド裁判]]|Sado saiban|}}, which was ongoing as Mishima wrote the play.<ref name="Inose-e 2012 454"/>  In 1994, ''Madame de Sade'' was evaluated as the "greatest drama in the history of postwar theater" by Japanese theater criticism magazine {{Nihongo|''Theater Arts''|[[:ja:シアターアーツ|シアター・アーツ]]}}.<ref>{{Harvnb|Encyclo|2000|p=149}}</ref><ref>{{Harvnb|Taiyo|2010|pp=104–105}}</ref>

Mishima was considered for the [[Nobel Prize for Literature]] in 1963, 1964, 1965, 1967 and 1968 (he and [[Rudyard Kipling]] are the two younger nominees in history),<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.nobelprize.org/nomination/archive/show_people.php?id=12680 |title=Nomination Database: Yukio Mishima |website=Nobel prize |access-date=12 May 2016 |archive-date=1 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221001214719/https://www.nobelprize.org/nomination/archive/show_people.php?id=12680 |url-status=live }}</ref> and was a favorite of many foreign publications.<ref name="Japan Times Nobel">{{Cite news |url=http://www.japantimes.co.jp/culture/2015/08/29/books/mishima-murakami-elusive-nobel-prize/ |title=Mishima, Murakami and the elusive Nobel Prize |last=Flanagan |first=Damian |work=Japan Times |date=29 August 2015 |access-date=12 May 2016}}</ref> However, in 1968 his early mentor Kawabata won the Nobel Prize and Mishima realized that the chances of it being given to another Japanese author in the near future were slim.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.japantimes.co.jp/culture/2013/05/05/books/revealing-the-many-masks-of-mishima/#.UY1fG7_fJlI |title=Revealing the many masks of Mishima |last=McCarthy |first=Paul |website=Japan Times |date=5 May 2013 |access-date=12 May 2016}}</ref> In a work published in 1970, Mishima wrote that the writers he paid most attention to in modern western literature were [[Georges Bataille]], [[Pierre Klossowski]], and [[Witold Gombrowicz]].<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Mishima |first1=Yukio |title=My Mother/Madame Edwarda/The Dead Man |last2=Bataille |first2=Georges |publisher=Marion Boyars |date=1995 |isbn=0-7145-3004-2 |location=London |pages=4, 11}}</ref>

===Acting and modeling===
[[File:Yukio mishima 1961.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Mishima poses for a photograph, 1961]]
Mishima was also an actor, and starred in [[Yasuzo Masumura]]'s 1960 film ''[[Afraid to Die]]'', and he sang the theme song (lyrics by himself; music by [[Shichirō Fukazawa]]).<ref>{{Harvnb|Encyclo|2000|pp=457–458}}</ref><ref>{{Harvnb|Reseach2|2006|pp=139–151}}</ref> He performed in films like ''[[Patriotism (1966 film)|Patriotism or the Rite of Love and Death]]'' directed by himself, 1966, ''[[Black Lizard (film)|Black Lizard]]'' directed by [[Kinji Fukasaku]], 1968 and ''[[Hitokiri (film)|Hitokiri]]'' directed by [[Hideo Gosha]], 1969. Maki Isaka has discussed how his knowledge of performance and theatrical forms influenced short stories including {{Nihongo|''Onnagata''|[[:ja:女方 (小説)|女方]]|Onnagata|}}.<ref> {{Cite book |last=Isaka|first=Maki|date=2023|editor-last=Wolfe |editor-first=Graham |title=The Routledge Companion to Theatre-Fiction |url=https://www.routledge.com/the-routledge-companion-to-theatre-fiction/wolfe/p/book/9781032069906|publisher=Routledge |pages=103–115 |chapter= Mishima Yukio's "Onnagata" as a Shingeki Theatre-Fiction: "Amalgamation" of the Theatrical and the Literary in a Kabuki-World Tale |isbn=9781032069906}} </ref> 

Mishima was featured as the photo model in the photographer [[Eikoh Hosoe]]'s book {{Nihongo|''Ba-ra-kei: Ordeal by Roses''|[[:ja:薔薇刑|薔薇刑]]|Bara-kei|}} and in [[Tamotsu Yatō]]'s photobooks {{Nihongo|''Young Samurai: Bodybuilders of Japan''|体道～日本のボディビルダーたち|Taidō: Nihon no bodybuilder tachi|}} and {{Nihongo|''Otoko: Photo Studies of the Young Japanese Male''|男|Otoko|}}. The American author [[Donald Richie]] gave an eyewitness account of seeing Mishima, dressed in a loincloth and armed with a sword, posing in the snow for one of Tamotsu Yatō's photoshoots.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Richie |first=Donald |title=The Japan journals: 1947–2004 |publisher=Stone Bridge |date=2005 |isbn=978-0-89346-984-9 |location=Berkeley, Calif. |pages=148–149 |oclc=773692477}}</ref>

In the men's magazine ''[[Heibon Punch]]'', Mishima had contributed various essays and criticisms, and he won first place in the "Mr. Dandy" reader popularity poll in 1967 with 19,590 votes, beating [[Toshiro Mifune]] by 720 votes.<ref name="Shiine">{{Harvnb|Shiine|2012|pp=27–33}}
</ref> In the next reader popularity poll, "Mr. International", Mishima ranked second behind French President [[Charles de Gaulle]].<ref name="Shiine"/> At that time in the late 1960s, Mishima was the first celebrity to be described as a "superstar" (''sūpāsutā'') by the Japanese media.<ref>{{Harvnb|Shiine|2012|p=104}}</ref>

===Private life===

[[File:Mishima Yukio.JPG|thumb|right|200px|Mishima at age 30 in his garden, 1955]]
In 1955, Mishima took up weight training to overcome his weak constitution, and his strictly observed workout regimen of three sessions per week was not disrupted for the final 15 years of his life. In his 1968 essay ''[[Sun and Steel (essay)|Sun and Steel]]'',<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.rferl.org/a/inside-the-soviet-kgb-s-secret-war-on-western-books/29894541.html |title=Inside The Soviet KGB's Secret War On Western Books |date=21 April 2019 |work=RadioFreeEurope RadioLiberty |access-date=29 April 2019}}</ref> Mishima deplored the emphasis given by intellectuals to the mind over the body. He later became very skilled ([[Dan (rank)|5th Dan]]) at [[kendo]] (traditional Japanese swordsmanship), and became 2nd Dan in [[battōjutsu]], and [[Shodan (rank)|1st Dan]] in karate. In 1956, he tried boxing for a short period of time. In the same year, he developed an interest in [[UFO]]s and became a member of the {{Nihongo|"Japan Flying Saucer Research Association"|[[:ja:日本空飛ぶ円盤研究会|日本空飛ぶ円盤研究会]]|Nihon soratobu enban kenkyukai|}}.<ref>{{Harvnb|Side|2014|pp=71–74}}</ref> 

In 1954, he fell in love with {{Nihongo|Sadako Toyoda|豊田貞子}}, who became the model for main characters in {{Nihongo|''The Sunken Waterfall''|[[:ja:沈める滝|沈める滝]]|Shizumeru taki|}} and {{Nihongo|''The Seven Bridges''|[[:ja:橋づくし|橋づくし]]|Hashi zukushi|}}.<ref>{{Harvnb|Iwashita|2008|pp=44–53, 148–155, 161–169}}, {{Harvnb|Iwashita|2016|pp=54–57, 216–219}}</ref> Mishima hoped to marry her, but they broke up in 1957.<ref name="kyoko">{{Harvnb|Yuasa|1984|pp=120–122}}</ref><ref>{{Harvnb|Iwashita|2016|pp=240–241, 247–249}}</ref> After briefly considering marriage with [[Empress Michiko|Michiko Shōda]], who later married [[Akihito|Crown Prince Akihito]] and became Empress Michiko,<ref>{{Cite news |last=Sheridan |first=Michael |url=https://www.thetimes.com/comment/register/article/briton-let-author-commit-hara-kiri-dfq6rxtck7f |title=Briton let author commit hara kiri |date=27 March 2005 |work=The Sunday Times |access-date=8 January 2020 |language=en |issn=0956-1382}}</ref> Mishima married {{Nihongo|Yōko|[[:ja:平岡瑤子|瑤子]]||née Sugiyama}}, the daughter of the Japanese-style painter [[Yasushi Sugiyama]], on 1 June 1958.<ref>{{Harvnb|Matsumoto|1990|pp=122–123}}</ref> The couple had two children: a daughter named {{Nihongo|Noriko|[[:ja:平岡紀子|紀子]]}} (born 2 June 1959) and a son named {{Nihongo|Iichirō|[[:ja:平岡威一郎|威一郎]]}} (born 2 May 1962).<ref>{{Harvnb|Matsumoto|1990|pp=131–132, 149}}</ref> Noriko eventually married the diplomat [[Koji Tomita]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Japan to tap South Korea envoy Koji Tomita as U.S. ambassador|url=https://english.kyodonews.net/news/2020/12/4e3fcac5de20-urgent-japan-to-tap-s-korea-envoy-tomita-as-us-ambassador.html|date=7 December 2020|access-date=25 May 2021|publisher=Kyodo News|language=en|archive-date=22 May 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230522220116/https://english.kyodonews.net/news/2020/12/4e3fcac5de20-urgent-japan-to-tap-s-korea-envoy-tomita-as-us-ambassador.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

While working on his novel ''[[Forbidden Colors]]'', Mishima visited gay bars in Japan.{{sfn|Scott-Stokes|1974|p=130}} Mishima's sexual orientation was an issue that bothered his wife, and she always denied his homosexuality after his death.<ref name="film" /> In 1998, the writer {{Nihongo|Jirō Fukushima|[[:ja:福島次郎|福島次郎]]}} published an account of his relationship with Mishima in 1951, including fifteen letters (not love letters) from Mishima.<ref name="itasa9a">{{Harvnb|Itasaka|1998|pp=229–231}}</ref> Mishima's children successfully sued Fukushima and the publisher for copyright violation over the use of Mishima's letters.<ref>{{Harvnb|Complete42|2005|pp=365, 367}}</ref><ref name="itasa9b">{{Harvnb|Itasaka|1998|pp=232–235}}</ref><ref name="JapanTimes">{{Cite news |last=Sato |first=Hiroaki |url=http://www.japantimes.co.jp/opinion/2008/12/29/commentary/suppressing-more-than-free-speech/ |title=Suppressing more than free speech |date=29 December 2008 |work=The View from New York |access-date=6 October 2014 |archive-date=17 December 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131217023016/http://www.japantimes.co.jp/opinion/2008/12/29/commentary/suppressing-more-than-free-speech/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The publisher ''[[Bungeishunjū]]'' had argued that the contents of the letters were "practical correspondence" rather than copyrighted works. However, the ruling for the plaintiffs declared, "In addition to clerical content, these letters describe the Mishima's own feelings, his aspirations, and his views on life, in different words from those in his literary works."<ref name="copy">{{Cite web |url= http://www.translan.com/jucc/precedent-2000-05-23.html |script-title=ja:判決文・三島由紀夫の手紙無断使用事件(２) |website=Japan Uni Copyright Center |language=ja|trans-title=The judgment sentence: The case of unauthorized copying of Mishima's letters |access-date=23 August 2020}}</ref>{{efn|As for the evaluation of Fukushima's book, it is attracting attention as material for learning about Mishima's friendships when writing ''[[Forbidden Colors]]''; however, there were criticisms that this book confused readers because it was written the real names of all characters like a nonfiction, at the same time, Fukushima specified "a novel about Mr. Yukio Mishima", "this work", "this novel" in the introduction and epilogue<ref>{{Harvnb|Fukushima|1998|pp=7, 273}}</ref> or it was advertised as "an autobiographical novel", so the publisher didn't have the confidence to say that everything was true; the only valuable accounts in this book were Mishima's letters.<ref name="itasa9c">{{Harvnb|Itasaka|1998|pp=235–239}}</ref> Also there were vitriolic criticisms that these contents of book was insignificant compared to its exaggerated advertising, or it was pointed out that there were contradictions and unnatural adaptations like a made-up story in the neighborhood of gay bars.<ref name="itasa9c"/> {{Nihongo|Gō Itasaka|[[:ja:板坂剛|板坂剛]]}}, who thinks Mishima was homosexual, said about this book as below, "Fukusima's petty touch only described a petty Mishima, Mishima was sometimes vulgar, but was never a narrow-minded man. The complex which Mishima himself kept holding like a poison in his own (is like available for use at any time), was not always an aversion for him."<ref name="itasa9e">{{Harvnb|Itasaka|1998|pp=240–243}}</ref> [[Jakucho Setouchi]] and [[Akihiro Miwa]] said about this book and Fukusima: "It's the worst way for a man or a woman to write bad words about someone you once liked, and Fukusima is ingrateful, because he had been taken care of in various ways when he was poor, by Mishima and his parents."<ref name="seto">{{Harvnb|Setouchi|2003|pp=161–163}}</ref>}}

In February 1961, Mishima became embroiled in the aftermath of the [[Shimanaka incident]]. In 1960, the author [[Shichirō Fukazawa]] had published the satirical short story {{Nihongo|''The Tale of an Elegant Dream''|[[:ja:風流夢譚|風流夢譚]]|Fūryū Mutan|}} in the mainstream magazine ''[[Chūō Kōron]]''. It contained a dream sequence (in which the emperor and empress are beheaded by a guillotine) that led to outrage from right-wing, ultra-nationalist groups, and numerous death threats against Fukazawa, any writers believed to have been associated with him, and ''Chūō Kōron'' magazine.{{sfn|Kapur|2018|pp=255–259}} On 1 February 1961, [[Kazutaka Komori]], a 17-year-old rightist, broke into the home of [[Hōji Shimanaka]], the president of ''Chūō Kōron'', killed his maid with a knife and severely wounded his wife.{{sfn|Kapur|2018|p=257}} In the aftermath, Fukazawa went into hiding, and dozens of writers and literary critics, including Mishima, were provided with round-the-clock police protection for several months;{{sfn|Kapur|2018|p=259}} Mishima was included because a rumor became widespread that Mishima had personally recommended ''The Tale of an Elegant Dream'' for publication, and even though he repeatedly denied the claim, he received hundreds of death threats.{{sfn|Kapur|2018|p=259}}<!-- claimed to have seen thugs scouting out his home, and began patrolling his yard at night with a samurai sword.{{sfn|Kapur|2018|p=259}} He still doesn't have a sword at that time.--><!-- Mishima's younger brother Chiyuki later became convinced that Mishima's "swing to the right" around this time arose in response to his "profound fear of the Right".{{sfn|Kapur|2018|p=259}} This is quoted from a lie from John Nathan's book. Chiyuki denied and said "I didn't talk like that. Maybe there was a misunderstanding of the words."<ref>{{Harvnb|Muramatsu|1990|pp=312–313}}</ref> --> In later years, Mishima harshly criticized Komori, arguing that those who harm women and children are neither patriots nor traditional right-wingers, and that an assassination attempt should be a one-on-one confrontation with the victim at the risk of the assassin's life.<ref name="teach1-a">{{Cite speech |last=Mishima |first=Yukio |date=16 June 1968 |script-title=ja:国家革新の原理―学生とのティーチ・イン その一 |trans-title=Principle of national innovation |event=Teach in with students (No.1) |language=ja |place=Hitotsubashi University Japanese Culture Study Group }} collected in {{Harvnb|Complete40|2004|pp=204–208, 216–218}}</ref><ref name="komatsu">{{Harvnb|Komatsu|1991|p=375}}</ref><ref name="seishi">{{Harvnb|Reli|1972|pp=54–55}}</ref> Mishima also argued that it was the custom of traditional Japanese patriots (such as [[Otoya Yamaguchi]]) to immediately commit suicide after committing an assassination.<ref name="teach1-a"/><ref name="komatsu"/><ref name="seishi"/>

In 1963, {{Nihongo|"The Harp of Joy Incident"|[[:ja:喜びの琴事件|喜びの琴事件]]|Yorokobi no Koto Jiken|}} occurred within the theatrical troupe [[Bungakuza]], to which Mishima belonged. He wrote a play titled {{Nihongo|''The Harp of Joy''|[[:ja:喜びの琴|喜びの琴]]|Yorokobi no koto|}}, but star actress [[Haruko Sugimura]] and other [[Communist Party]]-affiliated actors refused to perform because the protagonist held [[anti-communist]] views and mentioned criticism about a conspiracy of [[world communism]] in his lines.<ref name="mura3-5-3">{{Harvnb|Muramatsu|1990|pp=361–368}}</ref> As a result of this ideological conflict, Mishima quit Bungakuza and later formed the troupe {{Nihongo|Neo Littérature Théâtre|[[:ja:劇団NLT|劇団NLT]]|Gekidan NLT|}} with playwrights and actors who had quit Bungakuza along with him, including {{Nihongo|Seiichi Yashio|[[:ja:矢代静一|矢代静一]]}}, {{Nihongo|Takeo Matsuura|松浦竹夫}}, and [[Nobuo Nakamura]].<ref name="mura3-5-3"/><ref name="ency-nlt">{{Harvnb|Encyclo|2000|pp=462–463}}</ref> When Neo Littérature Théâtre experienced a schism in 1968, Mishima formed another troupe, the {{Nihongo|Roman Theatre|[[:ja:浪曼劇場|浪曼劇場]]|Rōman Gekijō|}}, and worked with Matsuura and Nakamura again.<ref>{{Harvnb|Encyclo|2000|pp=462–463, 626}}</ref><ref>{{Harvnb|Testi|2011|pp=125–158}}</ref><ref>{{Harvnb|Side|2014|pp=85–89}}</ref>

During the [[1964 Summer Olympics]] in Tokyo, Mishima interviewed various athletes every day and wrote articles as a newspaper correspondent.<ref>{{Harvnb|Complete42|2005|pp=267–268}}</ref><ref>Tokyo Olympics reports are collected in {{Harvnb|Complete33|2003|pp=171–196}}</ref> He had eagerly anticipated the long-awaited return of the Olympics to Japan after the [[1940 Summer Olympics|1940 Tokyo Olympics]] were cancelled due to Japan's war in China. Mishima expressed his excitement in his report on the opening ceremonies: "It can be said that ever since [[Lafcadio Hearn]] called the Japanese "the Greeks of the Orient", the Olympics were destined to be hosted by Japan someday."<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Mishima |first=Yukio |date=11 October 1964 |script-title=ja:東洋と西洋を結ぶ火―開会式 |trans-title=The Fire connecting the East and the West: Opening ceremony |language=ja |journal=Mainichi Shimbun }} collected in {{Harvnb|Complete33|2003|pp=171–174}}</ref>

Mishima hated [[Ryokichi Minobe]], who was a socialist and the governor of Tokyo beginning in 1967.<ref name="side30">{{Harvnb|Side|2014|pp=152–155}}</ref> Influential persons in the conservative [[Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)|Liberal Democratic Party]] (LDP), including [[Takeo Fukuda]] and [[Kiichi Aichi]], had been Mishima's superiors during his time at the [[Ministry of Finance (Japan)|Ministry of Finance]], and Prime Minister [[Eisaku Satō]] came to know Mishima because his wife, Hiroko, was a fan of Mishima's work. Based on these connections LDP officials solicited Mishima to run for the LDP as governor of Tokyo against Minobe, but Mishima had no intention of becoming a politician.<ref name="side30" />

Mishima was fond of [[manga]] and [[gekiga]], especially the drawing style of [[Hiroshi Hirata]], a [[mangaka]] best known for his samurai gekiga; the slapstick, absurdist comedy in [[Fujio Akatsuka]]'s ''[[Mōretsu Atarō]]''; and the imaginativeness of [[Shigeru Mizuki]]'s ''[[GeGeGe no Kitarō]]''.<ref name="gekiga">{{Cite magazine |last=Mishima |first=Yukio |date=1 February 1970 |script-title=ja:劇画における若者論 |trans-title=Theory of Youth in [[Gekiga]] |language=ja |magazine=Sunday Mainichi }} collected in {{Harvnb|Complete36|2003|pp=53–56}}</ref><ref name="manga">{{Cite magazine |last=Mishima |first=Yukio |date=5 March 1956 |script-title=ja:わが漫画 |trans-title=My manga |language=ja |magazine=Manga Yomiuri }} collected in {{Harvnb|Complete29|2003|pp=166–169}}</ref><ref name="ency-manga">{{Harvnb|Encyclo|2000|pp=603–604}}</ref> Mishima especially loved reading the boxing manga ''[[Ashita no Joe]]'' in ''Weekly Shōnen Magazine'' every week.<ref name="onos">{{Cite book|last=Ōno |first=Shigeru |script-title=ja:サンデーとマガジン 創刊と死闘の15年 |publisher=Kobunsha |date=2009 |isbn=978-4-334-03503-7 |language=ja |trans-title=The Sunday and Magazine: 15 years of Start and Struggles }}</ref>{{efn|On one occasion, when Mishima missed the new issue of ''Weekly Shōnen Magazine'' on its release day because he had been shooting the movie ''Black Lizard,'' at midnight he suddenly appeared in the magazine's editorial department and demanded, "I want you to sell to me the ''Weekly Shōnen Magazine'' just released today."<ref name="onos"/>}} ''[[Ultraman (1966 TV series)|Ultraman]]'' and ''[[Godzilla]]'' were his favorite [[kaiju]] fantasies, and he once compared himself to "Godzilla's egg" in 1955.<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Mishima |first=Yukio |date=July 1955 |script-title=ja:作家の日記 |trans-title=Writer's Diary |language=ja |magazine=Shōsetsu Shinchō }} collected in {{Harvnb|Complete28|2003|pp=501–503}}</ref><ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Mishima |first=Yukio |date=December 1955 |script-title=ja:ゴジラの卵―余技・余暇 |trans-title=Godzilla's egg: Hobby/Leisure |language=ja |magazine=Chūōkōron }} collected in {{Harvnb|Complete28|2003|p=667}}</ref><ref>{{Harvnb|Yukito|2014|pp=40–41}}</ref> On the other hand, he disliked [[story manga]] with humanist or cosmopolitan themes, such as [[Osamu Tezuka]]'s ''[[Phoenix (manga)|Phoenix]]''.<ref name="gekiga"/><ref name="manga"/><ref name="ency-manga"/>

Mishima was a fan of science fiction, contending that "science fiction will be the first literature to completely overcome modern humanism".<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Mishima |first=Yukio |date=September 1963 |script-title=ja:一S・Fファンのわがままな希望|trans-title=Selfish hope of one SF fan |language=ja |magazine=Uchūjin }} collected in {{Harvnb|Complete32|2003|pp=582–583}}</ref> He praised [[Arthur C. Clarke]]'s ''[[Childhood's End]]'' in particular. While acknowledging "inexpressible unpleasant and uncomfortable feelings after reading it," he said "I'm not afraid to call it a masterpiece."<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Mishima |first=Yukio |date=March 1970 |script-title=ja:小説とは何か 十 |trans-title=What is the existence of Novels - No.10 |language=ja |magazine=Nami }} collected in {{Harvnb|Complete34|2003|pp=732–737}}</ref>

Mishima traveled to Shimoda on the Izu Peninsula with his wife and children every summer from 1964.<ref>{{Harvnb|Matsumoto|1990|p=158}}</ref><ref name="kuro">{{Harvnb|Scott-Stokes|2012|pp=168–170}}</ref> In Shimoda, Mishima often enjoyed eating local seafood with his friend [[Henry Scott-Stokes]].<ref name="kuro"/> Mishima never showed any hostility towards the US in front of foreign friends like Scott-Stokes, until Mishima heard that the name of the inn where Scott-Stokes was staying was [[Kurofune]] ({{Literal translation|black ship}}), at which point his voice suddenly became low and he said in a sullen manner, "Why? Why do you stay at a place with such a name?". Mishima liked ordinary American people after the war, and he and his wife visited Disneyland as newlyweds.{{efn|After that, Disneyland became Mishima's favorite. And, in the [[Japanese New Year|New Year]] of 1970, the year he was determined to die, he had wanted the whole family with children to revisit the fantasy theme park. But the dream didn't come true because of his wife's objection that she wanted to do it after the completion of ''[[The Sea of Fertility]]''.<ref>{{Harvnb|Kawashima|1996|p=234}}</ref>}} However, he clearly retained a strong sense of hostility toward the "black ships" of [[Matthew C. Perry|Commodore Matthew C. Perry]], who forcibly opened Japan up to unequal international relations at the end of the [[Edo period]], and had destroyed the peace of [[Edo]], where vivid [[chōnin]] culture was flourishing.<ref name="kuro"/>

===Later life===
{{Japanese nationalism sidebar|Intellectuals}}
{{Conservatism in Japan|Intellectuals}}
Mishima's nationalism grew toward the end of his life. In 1966, he published his short story "[[Voices of the Fallen Heroes]]",<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Mishima |first=Yukio |date=June 1966 |script-title=ja:二・二六事件と私 |trans-title="February 26 Incident" and Me |language=ja |journal=Appendix of Voices of the Fallen Heroes |publisher=Kawade Shobō Shinsha }} collected in {{Harvnb|Heroic|2005|pp=243–261}},{{Harvnb|Complete34|2003|pp=107–119}}</ref> in which he denounced Emperor [[Hirohito]] for [[Humanity Declaration|renouncing his own divinity]] after World War II.{{sfn|Keene|2003|p=54}} Mishima argued that the soldiers who had died in the [[February 26 incident]] and the ''[[Kamikaze]]'' had died for their "living god" emperor, and that Hirohito's renunciation of his own divinity meant that all those deaths had been in vain.{{sfn|Keene|2003|p=54}}

In February 1967, Mishima joined his fellow-authors [[Yasunari Kawabata]], [[Kōbō Abe]], and [[Jun Ishikawa]] in issuing a statement condemning China's [[Cultural Revolution]] for suppressing academic and artistic freedom.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Ge|first=She|title=China's Cultural Revolution and Japan's Intelligentsia: Kazumi Takahashi's Humanistic Sensibilities|journal=Comparative Literature Studies|date=2015|volume=52|issue=1|pages=72–73|doi=10.5325/complitstudies.52.1.0065|s2cid=144471902 |url=https://doi.org/10.5325/complitstudies.52.1.0065|url-access=subscription}}</ref><ref>{{Harvnb|Complete42|2005|p=288}}</ref> However, only one Japanese newspaper carried the full text of their statement.<ref name="nishi3-1">{{Harvnb|Nishi|2020|pp=187–207}}</ref>

In September 1967 Mishima and his wife visited India at the invitation of the Indian government. He traveled widely and met with Prime Minister [[Indira Gandhi]] and President [[Zakir Husain (politician)|Zakir Hussain]].<ref name="Inose-e 2012 521–522">{{Harvnb|Inose-e|2012|pp=521–522}}</ref> He left extremely impressed by Indian culture, and what he felt was the Indian people's determination to resist [[Westernization]] and protect traditional ways.<ref>{{Harvnb|Inose-e|2012|pp=522–527}}</ref> Mishima feared that his fellow Japanese were too enamored of modernization and Western-style materialism to protect traditional Japanese culture.<ref name="Inose-e 2012 521–522" /> On his way home from India, Mishima also stopped in Thailand and Laos; his experiences in the three nations became the basis for portions of his novel ''[[The Temple of Dawn]]'', the third in his tetralogy ''[[The Sea of Fertility]]''.<ref>{{Harvnb|Inose-e|2012|pp=521}}</ref>

In a series of critical essays in the late 1960s, Mishima exalted what he viewed as traditional Japanese values. In 1967, he published {{Nihongo|''On [[Hagakure]]: The Samurai Ethic and Modern Japan''|[[:ja:葉隠入門|葉隠入門]]|Hagakure Nyūmon}}, an impassioned plea for a return to [[bushido]], the putative "samurai code" of Japan's past.<ref name=blomberg>{{Cite book |last=Blomberg |first=Catharina |title=The Heart of the Warrior: Origins and Religious Background of the Samurai System in Feudal Japan |publisher=Routledge |date=1995 |isbn=978-1873410066 |page=193}}</ref> Mishima praised the ''[[Hagakure]]'', a treatise on warrior virtues authored by the samurai [[Yamamoto Tsunetomo]] during the [[Edo period]] that valorized the warrior's willingness to die, as being at the core of his literary production and "the source of his vitality as a writer".{{sfn|Keene|2003|p=53}}<ref>{{Harvnb|Must|1998|pp=56–57}}</ref> Mishima concluded, <blockquote>What ''Hagakure'' is insisting is that even a merciless death, a futile death that bears neither flower nor fruit, has dignity as the death of a human being. If we value so highly the dignity of life, how can we not also value the dignity of death? No death may be called futile.<ref name=blomberg/></blockquote>

Mishima's critique of postwar Japan largely is related to the rapid economic growth (economic miracle) displayed by the growth of capitalism. While the economic miracle brought Japan global influence, scholars claim that this created cultural problems. Mishima aligned with the view of cultural decay brought about from this economic growth.<ref name=":0" /> Yukio Mishima perceived Imperial Japan to be a spiritually rich society. Mishima expressed his concerns of Japan abandoning discipline, sacrifice, and national identity in exchange for comfort and consumerism.<ref name=":1">{{Citation |last=Nathan |first=John |chapter=Mishima revisité |date=2025-11-26 |pages=23–39 |chapter-url=https://doi.org/10.3917/herm.siary.2025.02.0023 |access-date=2026-04-29 |publisher=Hermann |doi=10.3917/herm.siary.2025.02.0023 |isbn=979-10-370-4409-9}}</ref> The political consequences of Japan's rapid economic growth had created civil unrest. Postwar Japan was defined by this economic growth and influence from the United States bloated consumerism. Mishima's writings and public affairs shined light upon his views of postwar society crippling the countries future.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Eiji |first1=Oguma |last2=Kapur |first2=Nick |last3=Malissa |first3=Samuel |last4=Poland |first4=Stephen |date=March 2015 |title=Japan's 1968: A Collective Reaction to Rapid Economic Growth in an Age of Turmoil |journal=Asia-Pacific Journal |volume=13 |issue=50 |article-number=e1 |doi=10.1017/s1557466015017441 |doi-access=free |issn=1557-4660}}</ref> 

In {{Nihongo|''On the Defense of Culture''|[[:ja:文化防衛論|文化防衛論]]|Bunka bōei ron|1968}},<ref name="bunbou">{{Cite magazine |last=Mishima |first=Yukio |date=July 1968 |script-title=ja:文化防衛論 |trans-title=On the Defense of Culture |language=ja |magazine=Chūō Kōron }} collected in {{Harvnb|Complete35|2003|pp=15–51}}</ref> Mishima preached the centrality of the emperor to Japanese culture,<ref>{{Cite book |last=Iida |first=Yumiko |date=2002 |title=Rethinking Identity in Modern Japan: Nationalism as Aesthetics |publisher=Routledge |pages=148–149 |isbn=978-0415235211}}</ref> and argued that Japan's [[postwar Japan|postwar era]] was a time of flashy but ultimately hollow prosperity (a "[[Shōwa era|Shōwa]] Genroku"), lacking any truly transcendent literary or poetic talents comparable to the 18th century masters of the original ''[[Genroku]]'' era, such as the playwright [[Chikamatsu Monzaemon]] or the poet [[Matsuo Bashō]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Matsui |first=Midori |date=2002 |editor-last=Lloyd |editor-first=Fran |title=Consuming Bodies: Sex and Contemporary Japanese Art |publisher=Reaktion Books |page=155 |chapter=The Place of Marginal Positionality: Legacies of Japanese Anti-Modernity |isbn=1-86189-147-4}}</ref>

In 1968, Mishima wrote a play titled ''[[My Friend Hitler]]'', in which he depicted the historical figures of [[Adolf Hitler]], [[Gustav Krupp]], [[Gregor Strasser]], and [[Ernst Röhm]] as mouthpieces to express his own views on fascism and beauty.{{sfn|Kapur|2018|pp=251–252}} Mishima explained that after writing the all-female play ''[[Madame de Sade]],'' he wanted to write a counterpart play with an all-male cast.<ref>{{Harvnb|Inose-e|2012|pp=417, 581}}</ref> Mishima wrote of ''My Friend Hitler,'' "You may read this tragedy as an allegory of the relationship between [[Ōkubo Toshimichi]] and [[Saigō Takamori]]" (two heroes of Japan's [[Meiji Restoration]] who initially worked together but later had a falling out).<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Mishima |first=Yukio |date=27 December 1968 |script-title=ja:作品の背景―「わが友ヒットラー」 |trans-title=Background of the work: ''My Friend Hitler'' |language=ja |journal=Tokyo Shimbun }} collected in {{Harvnb|Complete35|2003|pp=319–320}}</ref> Given the play's provocative title, Mishima was repeatedly asked if he intended to express admiration or support for Hitler.<ref>{{Harvnb|Inose-e|2012|p=580}}</ref> Mishima wrote in a program note,<blockquote>To be honest, I feel a terrifying interest in Hitler, but if the question is whether I like or dislike him, I can only answer, I don't like him. Hitler was a political genius but was not a hero. He thoroughly lacked the refreshing, sunny quality indispensable to becoming a hero. Hitler is as gloomy as the twentieth century.<ref>{{Harvnb|Inose-e|2012|pp=580-581}}</ref></blockquote>

That same year, he wrote ''[[Life for Sale]]'', a humorous story about a man who, after attempting suicide, advertises his life for sale.<ref>{{Harvnb|Encyclo|2000|pp=26–27}}</ref> In a review of the English translation, the novelist [[Ian Thomson (writer)|Ian Thomson]] called it a "pulp noir" and a "sexy, camp delight", but also noted that, "beneath the hard-boiled dialogue and the gangster high jinks is a familiar indictment of consumerist Japan and a romantic yearning for the past."<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.standard.co.uk/lifestyle/books/life-for-sale-by-yukio-mishima-review-a4203166.html |title=Life for Sale by Yukio Mishima – review |last=Thomson |first=Ian |author-link=Ian Thomson (writer) |date=1 August 2019 |website=Evening Standard |access-date=26 November 2020 |archive-date=7 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201107232638/https://www.standard.co.uk/lifestyle/books/life-for-sale-by-yukio-mishima-review-a4203166.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

Like many other right-wingers, Mishima was extremely alarmed by the riots and revolutionary actions undertaken by radical "[[New Left in Japan|New Left]]" university students, who [[1968–1969 Japanese university protests|took over dozens of college campuses]] in Japan in 1968 and 1969.<ref>{{Harvnb|Nishi|2020|pp=80–82}}</ref> On 25 February 1968, he and several other right-wingers met at the editorial offices of the recently founded ''[[minzoku-ha]]'' monthly magazine {{Nihongo|''Controversy Journal''|[[:ja:論争ジャーナル|論争ジャーナル]]|Ronsō jaanaru|}}, where they pricked their little fingers and signed a blood oath promising to die if necessary to prevent a left-wing revolution from occurring in Japan.<ref name="h-mochi">Hiroshi Mochimaru, "The Tatenokai and the ''Controversy Journal''" (Appendix of {{Harvnb|Complete32|2003}})</ref><ref>{{Harvnb|Complete42|2005|p=295}}</ref><ref name="Inose-e 2012 540">{{Harvnb|Inose-e|2012|pp=540}}</ref><ref name="azusa5-chi">{{Harvnb|Azusa|1996|pp=171–173}}</ref> Mishima showed his sincerity by signing his birth name, Kimitake Hiraoka, in his own blood.<ref name="h-mochi"/><ref name="Inose-e 2012 540"/><ref name="azusa5-chi"/>

On 13 May 1969, Mishima accepted an invitation to debate with members of the Tokyo University Zenkyōtō on the university's Komaba campus. This debate lasted for 2.5 hours, with both Mishima and the students treating each other amiably and with respect, despite Mishima's initial fears that the students might kill him on the spot for his right-wing views.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Schieder|first=Chelsea Szendi|title=Coed Revolution: The Female Student and the Japanese New Left|publisher=Duke University Press|date=2021|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vscWEAAAQBAJ|pages=110–115|isbn=978-1478011453}}</ref>{{sfn|Scott-Stokes|1974|pp=275-276}}{{efn|A record of this debate was published in June 1969 by Shinchōsha under the title {{Nihongo|''Debate: Yukio Mishima vs. Tokyo University Zenkyōtō - Beauty, Community, and the Tokyo University Struggle''|[[:ja:討論 三島由紀夫vs.東大全共闘―美と共同体と東大闘争|討論 三島由紀夫vs.東大全共闘―美と共同体と東大闘争]]|Tōron: Mishima Yukio vs. Tokyo University Zenkyōtō - bi to kyōdōtai to Todai ronsō|}}.}} At this debate, Mishima told the students, "As long as you refer to the Emperor as 'Emperor,' I will gladly join forces with you," but in the end the ideological differences between Mishima and the students could not be overcome. Mishima ended by saying, "I believe in your passion. I believe in this alone. Even if I believe in nothing else of yours, I want you to know that I believe in this alone."<ref name="Zenkyōtō">{{Nihongo|''Debate: Yukio Mishima vs. Tokyo University Zenkyōtō - Beauty, Community, and the Tokyo University Struggle''|[[:ja:討論 三島由紀夫vs.東大全共闘―美と共同体と東大闘争|討論 三島由紀夫vs.東大全共闘―美と共同体と東大闘争]]|Tōron: Mishima Yukio vs. Tokyo University Zenkyōtō - bi to kyōdōtai to Todai ronsō|}}(Shinchōsha, 1969) pp.9–119, {{Harvnb|Complete40|2004|pp=442–506}}</ref><ref name="sabaku">Yukio Mishima {{Nihongo|''Alogical eulogy for the desert dwellers: closing the debate''|砂漠の住民への論理的弔辞――討論を終へて}} (1969),  collected in {{Nihongo|''Debate: Yukio Mishima vs. Tokyo University Zenkyōtō - Beauty, Community, and the Tokyo University Struggle''|[[:ja:討論 三島由紀夫vs.東大全共闘―美と共同体と東大闘争|討論 三島由紀夫vs.東大全共闘―美と共同体と東大闘争]]|Tōron: Mishima Yukio vs. Tokyo University Zenkyōtō - bi to kyōdōtai to Todai ronsō|}}(Shinchōsha, 1969) pp.124–143, {{Harvnb|Complete35|2003|pp=474–489}}</ref><ref name="hosaka-todai">{{Harvnb|Hosaka|2001|pp=199–213}}</ref><ref name="jiten-zenkyo">{{Harvnb|Encyclo|2000|pp=513–514}}</ref> In an essay written after the debate Mishima said that "they could not escape established leftist thinking" and that "the discussion was inevitably at a stalemate."<ref name="sabaku"/><ref name="hosaka-todai"/><ref name="jiten-zenkyo"/> In this essay, Mishima argued that the supposedly revolutionary Zenkyōtō were themselves "weakening the roots of the revolutionary ideal in Japan" by rejecting the idea of the "Emperor", which Mishima claimed was also "a revolutionary ideal deeply rooted in the consciousness of the Japanese people."<ref name="sabaku"/><ref name="hosaka-todai"/><ref name="jiten-zenkyo"/> Mishima's friends interpreted this essay as him expressing his disappointment with the Zenkyōtō.<ref name="hosaka-todai"/>{{efn|Journalist {{Nihongo|Masayasu Hosaka|[[:ja:保阪正康|保阪正康]]}} argues that the reason "Mishima was disappointed" after this debate was because the Zenkyōtō "was ultimately unwilling to defend their political slogans even at the risk of their own lives" and because of their "worldly speech and self-indulgent behavior", and that Mishima saw through their "limitations".<ref name="hosaka-todai"/>}}

In these days, Mishima wrote many essays and gave many dialogues about Japan and Japanese culture. In a dialogue about what you would die for as a Japanese, he stated that "protecting freedom," "protecting democracy," or "protecting a certain political system" were "secondary issues," not essential issues, and that he could not imagine dying for them.<ref name="pro-ishi">{{Cite journal |last=Mishima |first=Yukio |date=November 1969 |script-title=ja:守るべきものの価値―われわれは何を選択するか（石原慎太郎との対談） |trans-title=The Value of What Should Be Protected: What Choices Should We Make? (A Dialogue with Shintaro Ishihara) |language=ja |journal=Monthly Pen |publisher=Hankyu Communications }} collected in {{Harvnb|Complete40|2004|pp=537–556}} (of that in pp.537–542)</ref><ref name="pro-tok">{{Harvnb|Tokuoka|1999|pp=32–33}}</ref><ref name="pro-rs6">{{Harvnb|Encyclo|2000|pp=447–448}}, {{Harvnb|Reseach6|2008|p=179}}</ref> He argued that the ultimate values that should be protected were the "[[Imperial Regalia of Japan|Three Sacred Treasures]]," which represent the identity of Japanese culture, and the Emperor.<ref name="pro-ishi"/><ref name="pro-tok"/><ref name="pro-rs6"/>

Throughout this period, Mishima continued to work on his magnum opus ''[[The Sea of Fertility]]'' tetralogy of novels, which began appearing in a monthly serialized format in September 1965.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Flanagan|first=Damian|date=22 August 2015|title=Descending to the depths of Yukio Mishima's ''Sea of Fertility''|url=https://www.japantimes.co.jp/culture/2015/08/22/books/descending-depths-yukio-mishimas-sea-fertility/|access-date=19 July 2020|website=The Japan Times|language=en-US}}</ref> The four completed novels were ''[[Spring Snow]]'' (1969), ''[[Runaway Horses]]'' (1969), ''[[The Temple of Dawn]]'' (1970), and ''[[The Decay of the Angel]]'' (published posthumously in 1971). Mishima aimed for a very long novel with a completely different ''raison d'être'' from Western chronicle novels of the 19th and 20th centuries; rather than telling the story of a single individual or family, Mishima boldly set his goal as interpreting the entire human world.<ref name="hojo">{{Cite journal |last=Mishima |first=Yukio |date=26 February 1969 |script-title=ja:「豊饒の海」について |trans-title=About ''The Sea of Fertility'' |language=ja |journal=Mainichi Shimbun |edition=Evening paper }} collected in {{Harvnb|Complete35|2003|pp=410–412}}</ref> In ''The Sea of Fertility'', four stories convey the transmigration of the human soul as the main character goes through a series of reincarnations.<ref name="hojo"/> Mishima hoped to express in literary terms something akin to [[pantheism]].<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Mishima |first1=Yukio |last2=Mitsuo |first2=Nakamura  |script-title=ja:対談・人間と文学 |script-chapter=ja:行動と作品の「根」 |publisher=Kodansha |date=1968 |id={{NCID|BN04404448}} |language=ja|trans-title=Dialogue: Human being and Literatures |trans-chapter=The "Roots" of Actions and Works }} collected in {{Harvnb|Complete40|2004|pp=169–175}} (dialogue with [[Mitsuo Nakamura]])</ref> The novelist [[Paul Theroux]] wrote a blurb for the first edition of the English translation of ''The Sea of Fertility'' as "the most complete vision we have of Japan in the twentieth century" and critic Charles Solomon wrote in 1990 that "the four novels remain one of the outstanding works of 20th-Century literature and a summary of the author's life and work".<ref>{{Cite news|last=Solomon|first=Charles|date=13 May 1990|title=Spring Snow, Runaway Horses, The Temple of Dawn, The Decay of the Angel, by Yukio Mishima|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1990-05-13-bk-118-story.html|access-date=25 November 2020|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|language=en-US}}</ref>

===Coup attempt and suicide===
{{Main|Mishima Incident}}

From 12 April to 27 May 1967, Mishima underwent basic training with the [[Japan Ground Self-Defense Force|Ground Self-Defense Force]] (GSDF).<ref name="Inose-e 2012 486">{{Harvnb|Inose-e|2012|pp=486}}</ref> Mishima had originally lobbied to train with the GSDF for six months, but was met with resistance from the Defense Agency.<ref name="Inose-e 2012 486"/> Mishima's training period was finalized to 46 days, which required using some of his connections.<ref name="Inose-e 2012 486"/> His participation in GSDF training was kept secret, both because the Defense Agency did not want to give the impression that anyone was receiving special treatment, and because Mishima wanted to experience "real" military life.<ref name="Inose-e 2012 486"/><ref name="mura4-1-1"/> Accordingly, Mishima trained under his birth name, Kimitake Hiraoka, and most of his fellow soldiers did not recognize him.<ref name="Inose-e 2012 486"/>

From June 1967, Mishima became a leading figure in a plan to create a 10,000-man {{Nihongo|"Japan National Guard"|祖国防衛隊|Sokoku Bōeitai|}} as a civilian complement to the [[Japan Self-Defense Forces|Self-Defense Forces]]. He began leading groups of right-wing college students to undergo basic training with the GSDF in the hope of training 100 officers to lead the National Guard.<ref name="higun1">{{Harvnb|Suzuki|2005|pp=19–22, 70}}</ref><ref name="JNG-d">{{citation |last=Mishima |first=Yukio |date=1967 |script-title=ja:祖国防衛隊 綱領草案|trans-title= Draft for platform of the Japan National Guard |language=ja }} collected in {{Harvnb|Complete36|2003|p=665}}</ref><ref name="mura4-1-1">{{Harvnb|Muramatsu|1990|pp=421–426}}</ref>

Finding that his plan for a large-scale Japan National Guard with broad public and private support had failed to catch on,<ref>{{Cite book|last=Flanagan|first=Damian|title=Yukio Mishima|publisher=Reaktion Books|date=2014|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DSUmCQAAQBAJ|pages=208|isbn=978-1-78023-419-9}}</ref> Mishima formed the [[Tatenokai]] ("Shield Society"), a private militia composed primarily of right-wing college students, on 5 October 1968. Mishima accepted no outside money, and funded the activities of the Tatenokai using royalties from his writing.<ref>{{Harvnb|Inose-e|2012|pp=540-541, 622}}</ref><ref>{{Harvnb|Murakami|2010|pp=41–45}}</ref><ref>{{Harvnb|Hosaka|2001|pp=218–223}}</ref> The Tatenokai primarily focused on martial training and physical fitness, including traditional [[kendo]] sword-fighting and long-distance running.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Vanguard Performance Beyond Left and Right|last=Jannarone|first=Kimberly|date=2015|publisher=University of Michigan Press|isbn=978-0-472-11967-7|location=Ann Arbor|page=95}}</ref><ref>{{Harvnb|Murata|2015|pp=74–76}}</ref> Live-fire training was also conducted.<ref>{{Harvnb|Murata|2015|pp=87–88}}</ref> Mishima personally oversaw this training. Initial membership was around 50, and was drawn primarily from students from Waseda University and individuals affiliated with the ''Controversy Journal''. The number of Tatenokai members was later increased to exactly 100.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Flanagan|first=Damian|title=Yukio Mishima|publisher=Reaktion Books|date=2014|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DSUmCQAAQBAJ|page=207|isbn=978-1-78023-419-9}}</ref><ref name="higun1"/>

[[File:Mishima Yukio 1969.jpg|left|thumb|200px|Mishima delivering his speech on the balcony, 25 November 1970]]
On 25 November 1970, Mishima and four members of the Tatenokai—[[Masakatsu Morita]], {{Nihongo|Masahiro Ogawa|[[:ja:小川正洋|小川正洋]]}}, {{Nihongo|Masayoshi Koga|[[:ja:小賀正義|小賀正義]]}}, and [[Hiroyasu Koga]]—used a pretext to visit Lieutenant General {{Nihongo|Kanetoshi Mashita|[[:ja:益田兼利|益田兼利]]}}, the commandant of {{Nihongo|Camp Ichigaya|[[:ja:防衛省市ヶ谷地区|防衛省市ヶ谷地区]]}}, a military base in central Tokyo and the headquarters of the Eastern Command of the [[Japan Self-Defense Forces]].<ref name="film">{{Cite news |last=Kakutani |first=Michiko |url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C02E7DD133BF936A2575AC0A963948260&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=all# |title=Mishima: Film Examines an Affair with Death |date=15 September 1985 |work=The New York Times |access-date=8 January 2020}}</ref> Once inside, they barricaded the door to Mashita's office and tied him to his chair. Mishima wore a white ''[[hachimaki]]'' headband with a red ''[[hinomaru]]'' circle in the center bearing the [[kanji]] for {{Nihongo|"To be reborn seven times to serve the country"|[[:ja:七生報国|七生報國]]|Shichishō hōkoku|}}, a reference to the last words of [[Kusunoki Masasue]], the younger brother of the 14th-century imperial loyalist samurai [[Kusunoki Masashige]], as the two brothers died fighting to defend the emperor.<ref>{{Harvnb|Inose-e|2012|p=719}}</ref> 

Holding a prepared manifesto and a banner listing their demands, Mishima stepped out onto the balcony to address the soldiers gathered below. His speech was intended to inspire a coup d'état to restore direct rule to the emperor. He succeeded only in irritating the soldiers, and was heckled, with jeers and the noise of helicopters drowning out some parts of his speech. In his speech, Mishima rebuked the JSDF for its passive acceptance of a constitution that "denies (their) own existence" and shouted "Where has the spirit of the [[samurai]] gone?" In a final written appeal titled ''[[Geki (Mishima)|Geki]]'' that Morita and Ogawa scattered copies of from the balcony, Mishima expressed his dissatisfaction with the half-baked nature of the JSDF: "It is self-evident that the United States would not be pleased with a true Japanese volunteer army protecting the land of Japan."<ref name="geki">Mishima's ''[[Geki (Mishima)|Geki]]'' (last Manifesto) on 25 November 1970 was collected in {{Harvnb|Complete36|2003|pp=402–406}}</ref><ref>{{Harvnb|Sugiyama|2007|pp=204–206}}</ref><ref>{{Harvnb|Hosaka|2001|pp=18–25}}</ref> Scholars argue that Mishima’s rebellion was less about militarism itself and more about resisting Japan’s total submission to U.S. democratic ideals, which he saw as a direct opposition to Japanese imperialistic tradition.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203880425 |title=Perversion and Modern Japan |date=2010-01-21 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-134-03154-2 |editor-last=Cornyetz |editor-first=Nina |doi=10.4324/9780203880425 |editor-last2=Vincent |editor-first2=J. Keith}}</ref> Mishima emphasized the importance of the emperor to Japanese culture. The emperor's loss of status and authority was a significant motivation for Mishima's attempted coup; he argued that this loss reflected a broader loss of national identity and culture.<ref name=":1" />

After he finished reading his prepared speech in a few minutes' time, Mishima cried out {{Nihongo|"Long live the Emperor!"|[[:ja:万歳|天皇陛下万歳]]|Tenno-heika banzai|}} three times. He then retreated into the commandant's office and apologized to the commandant, saying, "We did it to return the JSDF to the Emperor. I had no choice but to do this."<ref name="date5">{{Harvnb|Date|1972|pp=109–116}}</ref><ref name="date6">{{Harvnb|Date|1972|pp=117–122}}</ref><ref name="naka4">{{Harvnb|Nakamura|2015|pp=200–229}}</ref> Mishima then committed seppuku, a form of ritual suicide by disembowelment associated with the samurai. Morita had been assigned to serve as Mishima's second (''[[kaishakunin]]''), cutting off his head with a sword at the end of the rite to spare him unnecessary pain. However, Morita proved unable to complete his task, and after three failed attempts to sever Mishima's head, Hiroyasu Koga had to step in and complete the task.<ref name="date5" /><ref name="date6" /><ref name="naka4" />

According to the testimony of the surviving coup members, originally all four Tatenokai members had planned to commit seppuku along with Mishima.<ref name="saigo">{{Harvnb|Ando|1998|pp=309–310}}</ref> However, Mishima attempted to dissuade them and three of the members acquiesced to his wishes.<ref name="saigo"/> Only Morita persisted, saying, "I can't let Mr. Mishima die alone."<ref name="saigo"/> However, Mishima knew that Morita had a girlfriend and still hoped he might live. Just before his seppuku, Mishima tried one more time to dissuade him, saying "Morita, you must live, not die."<ref name="saigo"/><ref name="mochi-o">{{Harvnb|Mochi|2010|pp=171–172}}</ref>{{efn|This is the survived member {{Nihongo|Masayoshi Koga|[[:ja:小賀正義|小賀正義]]}}'s testimony.<ref name="mochi-o"/>}}{{efn|Morita had a girlfriend named {{Nihongo|Yumiko Shibata|柴田由美子}}.<ref>{{Harvnb|Yumiko|2024|pp=27–35}}</ref><ref name="enta24">{{Harvnb|Reseach24|2024|pp=156–157}}</ref> Her first grandchild was named "Masakatsu".<ref>{{Harvnb|Yumiko|2024|pp=240–241}}</ref><ref name="enta24"/>}} Nevertheless, after Mishima's seppuku, Morita knelt and stabbed himself in the abdomen and Koga acted as ''kaishakunin'' again.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/45824560/chicago-tribune/ |title=Japanese Stunned by Samurai-Style Suicide of Novelist Mishima |date=26 November 1970 |work=Chicago Tribune |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200229012841/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/45824560/chicago-tribune/ |archive-date=29 February 2020 |page=88 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> Another traditional element of the suicide ritual was the composition of [[death poem]]s by the Tatenokai members prior to their entry into the headquarters.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Keene |first=Donald |url=https://archive.org/details/pleasuresofjapan0000keen_a4h4/page/62/mode/2up?q=62&view=theater |title=The Pleasures of Japanese Literature |publisher=Columbia University Press |date=1988 |isbn=0-231-06736-4 |location=New York |page=62 |oclc=18068964 }}</ref>

This coup attempt is called the {{Nihongo|"[[Mishima Incident]]"|[[:ja:三島事件|三島事件]]|Mishima jiken|}} in Japan.{{efn|Immediately after the incident, Yasunari Kawabata rushed to the Ichigaya camp, but was unable to enter the commandant's room during on-the-spot investigation.<ref name="kawa71">{{Cite magazine |last=Kawabata |first=Yasunari |date=January 1971 |script-title=ja:三島由紀夫 |trans-title=Yukio Mishima  |language=ja |magazine=Shincho Extra Edition Yukio Mishima Reader }} collected in {{Harvnb|Gunzo18|1990|pp=229–231}}</ref> (Kawabata insisted that reports claiming "Kawabata was admitted to the bloody death scene" were false.<ref name="kawa71"/>)}}

Mishima had planned his suicide meticulously for at least a year, and no one outside a small group of hand-picked Tatenokai members knew of his plan.<ref name="naka3">{{Harvnb|Nakamura|2015|pp=137–198}}</ref><ref name="juro4">{{Harvnb|Jurō|2005|pp=157–184}}</ref> Mishima had made sure his affairs were in order and left money for the legal defense of the three surviving Tatenokai members involved in the incident.<ref name="juro4"/> Mishima had also arranged for a department store to send his two children Christmas gifts every year until they became adults,<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Kodama |first=Takaya |date=12 December 1970 |script-title=ja:知られざる家庭人・三島由紀夫  |trans-title=Unknown side of family man |language=ja |magazine=Josei Jishin }}</ref><ref>Mitsuo Fujita ”Commentary” (Appendix)  {{Harvnb|Happy|2010|pp=412–413}}</ref> and had asked a publisher to pay the long-term subscription fee for children's magazines in advance and deliver them every month.<ref name="azusa4-p">{{Harvnb|Azusa|1996|pp=153–154}}</ref>

Much speculation has surrounded Mishima's suicide. One of Mishima's biographers, translator [[John Nathan]], suggests that the coup attempt was only a pretext for the ritual suicide of which Mishima had long dreamed.<ref>{{Harvnb|Ito|2006|p=54}}</ref> Mishima's friend [[Henry Scott-Stokes]], another biographer and journalist, noted a meeting with Mishima in his diary entry for 3 September 1970 at which Mishima, with a dark expression on his face, said: <blockquote>Japan has lost its spiritual tradition, and instead has become infested with materialism. Japan is under the curse of a green snake. There is a green snake in the bosom of Japan. There is no way to escape this curse.<ref>{{Harvnb|Scott-Stokes|1985|pp=25–27}}</ref><ref>{{Harvnb|Ando|1998|pp=295–296}}</ref>
</blockquote> In 1990, Scott-Stokes told {{Nihongo|Takao Tokuoka|[[:ja:徳岡孝夫|徳岡孝夫]]}}, who was entrusted with the ''Geki'' by Mishima just before the Mishima Incident, that he understood the meaning of "green snake" was the U.S. dollar.<ref name="Tokuoka 1999-11cap-h">{{Harvnb|Tokuoka|1999|pp=295–296}}</ref>

One researcher has speculated that Mishima chose 25 November for his coup attempt in order to set his period of ''[[bardo]]'' until his reincarnation, such that the 49th day after his death would coincide with his birthday, 14 January.<ref>{{Harvnb|Komuro|1985|pp=229–230}}</ref> Mishima's remains were returned to his family the day after the incident, and were buried in the grave of the Hiraoka family at [[Tama Cemetery]] on what would have been his 46th birthday, 14 January 1971.<ref name="azusa1-a">{{Harvnb|Azusa|1996|pp=7–11}}</ref>

==Legacy==
[[File:170505 Mishima Yukio Literary Museum Yamanakako Japan02n.jpg|thumb|right|220px|Mishima Yukio Literary Museum in Yamanakako, Yamanashi]]
Mishima has been recognized as one of the world's important literary persons of the 20th century.<ref>{{Harvnb|Donald|2012|p=204}}</ref> Mishima wrote 34 novels, approximately 50 plays and 25 books of short stories, more than 35 books of essays, a libretto, and one film.<ref>{{Harvnb|Complete42|2005|pp=540–561}}</ref>

[[File:Grave of Yukio Mishima.jpg|thumb|right|220px|Grave of Yukio Mishima in Tama Cemetery. The inscription reads, "Grave of Hiraoka family".]]
The annual [[Mishima Yukio Prize|Mishima Prize]] was established in 1998 by the literary publisher [[Shinchōsha]] to recognise groundbreaking Japanese literature. On 3 July 1999, the {{Nihongo|"Yukio Mishima Literary Museum"|[[:ja:三島由紀夫文学館|三島由紀夫文学館]]|Mishima Yukio Bungaku-kan|}} opened in Yamanakako.<ref>{{Harvnb|Encyclo|2000|pp=607–609}}</ref>

The [[Mishima Incident]] helped inspire the formation of {{Nihongo|"[[New Right]]"|[[:ja:新右翼|新右翼]]|shin uyoku|}} groups in Japan, such as the "[[Issuikai]]", founded by {{Nihongo|Tsutomu Abe|[[:ja:阿部勉 (民族主義者)|阿部勉]]}}, who was one of Tatenokai members and Mishima's follower. Compared to older pro-American, anti-communist groups such as [[Bin Akao]]'s [[Greater Japan Patriotic Party]], New Right groups such as the Issuikai tended to emphasize ethnic nationalism and [[anti-Americanism]].<ref>{{Harvnb|Itasaka&Suzuki|2010|pp=19–48}}</ref>

A memorial service [[Death anniversary|deathday]] for Mishima, called {{Nihongo|"Patriotism Memorial"|[[:ja:憂国忌|憂国忌]]|Yūkoku-ki|}}, is held every year in Japan on 25 November by the {{Nihongo|"Yukio Mishima Study Group"|三島由紀夫研究会|Mishima Yukio Kenkyūkai|}}, as well as former members of the {{Nihongo|"Japan Student Alliance"|[[:ja:日本学生同盟|日本学生同盟]]|Nihon Gakusei Dōmei|}}.<ref>{{Harvnb|Encyclo|2000|pp=619–620}}</ref> A separate memorial service has also been held annually by former Tatenokai members from 1975 onwards, one year after Masahiro Ogawa, Masayoshi Koga, and Hiroyasu Koga were released on parole.<ref>{{Harvnb|Suzuki|2005|pp=111–188}}</ref>

A variety of cenotaphs and memorial stones have been erected in honor of Mishima's memory in various places around Japan. For example, stones have been erected at Hachiman Shrine in Kakogawa City, Hyōgo Prefecture, where his grandfather's permanent domicile was;<ref>{{Harvnb|Ando|1996|p=428}}</ref> in front of the 2nd company corps at [[JGSDF Camp Takigahara]];<ref>{{Harvnb|Yamamoto|1980|pp=290–298}}</ref> and in one of Mishima's acquaintance's home garden.<ref>{{Harvnb|Matsumoto|1990|p=236}}</ref> There is also a "Monument of Honor Yukio Mishima & Masakatsu Morita" in front of the Rissho University Shonan High school in [[Shimane Prefecture]].<ref name="azusa6">{{Harvnb|Azusa|1996|pp=206–232}}</ref>

The Mishima Yukio [[Shinto shrine|Shrine]] was built in the suburb of Fujinomiya on 9 January 1983.<ref>{{Harvnb|Matsumoto|1990|p=244}}</ref><ref>{{Harvnb|Ando|1996|p=446}}</ref>

A 1985 biographical film by [[Paul Schrader]] titled ''[[Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters]]'' depicts his life and work, however it has not had a theatrical release inside Japan until 2025. A 2012 Japanese film titled ''[[11:25 The Day He Chose His Own Fate]]'' examines Mishima's final day. The 1983 gay pornographic film ''[[Beautiful Mystery]]'' satirized homosexual undertones that were present during Mishima's career.<ref name="TimeOut">{{Cite magazine |title=Beautiful Mystery – Legend of Big Horn |url=https://www.timeout.com/movies/beautiful-mystery-legend-of-big-horn |magazine=Time Out |access-date=23 June 2022 |date=10 September 2012 |archive-date=22 June 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220622185038/https://www.timeout.com/movies/beautiful-mystery-legend-of-big-horn |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Jacobin">{{Cite magazine |last1=Walker |first1=Gavin |title=The Political Afterlives of Yukio Mishima, Japan's Most Controversial Intellectual And Global Icon of The Far Right |url=https://jacobin.com/2020/11/yukio-mishima-far-right-anniversary-death |magazine=Jacobin |access-date=23 June 2022 |date=25 November 2020 |archive-date=22 June 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220622184719/https://jacobin.com/2020/11/yukio-mishima-far-right-anniversary-death |url-status=live }}</ref>

In 2020, a documentary titled {{Nihongo|''Mishima Yukio vs. Tokyo University Zenkyōtō: the Truth Revealed 50 Years Later''|[[:ja:三島由紀夫vs東大全共闘〜50年目の真実〜|三島由紀夫vs東大全共闘〜50年目の真実〜]]|Mishima Yukio vs Todai Zenkyōtō〜50 nen me no Sinjitsu|}} was released, based on the debate between Mishima and members of the University of Tokyo Zenkyōtō on 13 May 1969.

On 14 January 2025, commemorative events to mark the 100th anniversary of Mishima's birth was held at two halls in Tokyo, in which {{Nihongo|Eiko Muramatsu|[[:ja:村松英子|村松英子]]}}, who was an actress of Mishima's troupe, and [[Tadanori Yokoo]], an acquaintance of Mishima, talked at each venue about their memories of him.<ref>{{Cite news |last= |first= |date=14 January 2025 |script-title=ja:三島由紀夫が生誕100年　宮本亜門さん、記念集会で「読むたび心震える」 |trans-title=100th anniversary of Yukio Mishima's birth: Amon Miyamoto at commemorative event: "My heart trembles every time I read his works" |language=ja |url=https://www.sankei.com/article/20250114-JE2A43Y3MNECXND4VWPIIPUUFI/ |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20250203043605/https://www.sankei.com/article/20250114-JE2A43Y3MNECXND4VWPIIPUUFI/ |archive-date=3 February 2025 |newspaper=Sankei Shimbun |access-date=21 March 2025 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last= |first= |date=14 January 2025 |script-title=ja:三島由紀夫生誕100年 横尾忠則さんが生前のエピソード語る |trans-title=100th anniversary of Yukio Mishima's birth: Tadanori Yokoo talked about episodes from his life |language=ja |url=https://www3.nhk.or.jp/shutoken-news/20250114/1000113061.html |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20250114130537/https://www3.nhk.or.jp/shutoken-news/20250114/1000113061.html |archive-date=14 January 2025 |newspaper=NHK News Web |access-date=21 March 2025 }}</ref>

==Awards==
* Shincho Prize from Shinchosha Publishing, 1954,<ref>{{Cite web |last=GradeSaver |date=2021-11-26 |title=The Sound of Waves Study Guide {{!}} GradeSaver |url=https://www.gradesaver.com/the-sound-of-waves |access-date=2026-06-04 |website=www.gradesaver.com |language=en}}</ref> for ''[[The Sound of Waves]]''
* Kishida Prize for Drama from Shinchosha Publishing, 1955<ref>{{Cite web |title=Yukio Mishima {{!}} Legacy Project Chicago |url=https://legacyprojectchicago.org/person/yukio-mishima |access-date=2026-06-04 |website=legacyprojectchicago.org |language=en}}</ref> for {{Nihongo|''Termites' Nest''|[[:ja:白蟻の巣|白蟻の巣]]|Shiroari no Su|}}
* [[Yomiuri Prize]] from Yomiuri Newspaper Co., for best novel, 1956, ''[[The Temple of the Golden Pavilion]]''<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://info.yomiuri.co.jp/contest/clspgl/bungaku.html |script-title=ja:読売文学賞 |work=Yomiuri Shimbun |access-date=26 September 2018 |language=ja |trans-title=Yomiuri Prize for Literature |archive-date=4 April 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190404094519/https://info.yomiuri.co.jp/contest/clspgl/bungaku.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>
* Shuukan Yomiuri Prize for [[Shingeki]] from Yomiuri Newspaper Co., 1958, for {{Nihongo|''Rose and Pirate''|[[:ja:薔薇と海賊|薔薇と海賊]]|Bara to Kaizoku|}}
* Yomiuri Prize from Yomiuri Newspaper Co., for best drama, 1961, {{Nihongo|''The Chrysanthemum on the Tenth (The Day After the Fair)''|[[:ja:十日の菊|十日の菊]]|Tōka no kiku|}}<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-08-15 |title=Yukio Mishima |url=https://www.thephilroom.com/blog/2022/08/15/yukio-mishima/ |access-date=2026-06-04 |website=The Philosophy Room |language=en}}</ref>
* One of six finalists for the [[Nobel Prize in Literature]], 1963.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.nobelprize.org/nomination/literature/1963.html |title=Candidates for the 1963 Nobel Prize in Literature |date=2013 |publisher=Nobel Prize |access-date=3 January 2014 |archive-date=23 August 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160823184514/http://www.nobelprize.org/nomination/literature/1963.html |url-status=live }}</ref>
* Mainichi Art Prize from [[Mainichi Shimbun]], 1964,<ref>{{Cite book |last=Mishima |first=Yukio |url=http://www.librarything.com/work/1754960 |title=Silk and insight |last2=Sato |first2=Hiroaki |last3=Mishima |first3=Yukio |last4=Mishima |first4=Yukio |date=1998 |publisher=M. E. Sharpe |isbn=978-0-7656-0300-5 |series=A Pacific Basin Institute book |location=Armonk, N.Y.}}</ref> for ''[[Silk and Insight]]''
* Art Festival Prize from the Ministry of Education, 1965,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Japanese Ministry of Education Arts Festival Award {{!}} Awards and Honors {{!}} LibraryThing |url=https://www.librarything.com/award/5503/Japanese-Ministry-of-Education-Arts-Festival-Award |access-date=2026-06-04 |website=LibraryThing.com |language=en}}</ref> for ''[[Madame de Sade]]''

==Portrayals==
===Collections of photographs===
* ''Ba-ra-kei: Ordeal by Roses'' ([[:ja:薔薇刑|薔薇刑]]) by [[Eikō Hosoe]] and Mishima (photoerotic collection of images of Mishima, with his own commentary, 1963) (Aperture 2002 {{ISBN|0-89381-169-6}})<ref>{{Harvnb|Encyclo|2000|pp=566–567}}</ref><ref>{{Harvnb|Complete42|2005|p=258}}</ref>
* ''Grafica: Yukio Mishima'' ({{Nihongo|''Grafica Mishima Yukio''|グラフィカ三島由紀夫}}) by [[Kōichi Saitō (photographer)|Kōichi Saitō]], [[Kishin Shinoyama]], [[Takeyoshi Tanuma]], [[Ken Domon]], [[Masahisa Fukase]], [[Eikō Hosoe]], [[Ryūji Miyamoto]] etc. (photoerotic collection of Yukio Mishima) (Shinchosha 1990 {{ISBN|978-4-10-310202-1}})<ref>{{Harvnb|Complete42|2005|p=357}}</ref>
* ''Yukio Mishima's house'' ({{Nihongo|''Mishima Yukio no Ie''|三島由紀夫の家}}) by [[Kishin Shinoyama]] (Bijutsu Shuppansha 1995 {{ISBN|978-4-568-12055-4}})<ref>{{Harvnb|Complete42|2005|p=362}}</ref>
* ''The Death of a Man'' ({{Nihongo|''Otoko no shi''|男の死}}) by Kishin Shinoyama and Mishima (photo collection of death images of Japanese men including a sailor, a construction worker, a fisherman, and a soldier, those were Mishima did modeling in 1970) (Rizzoli 2020 {{ISBN|978-0-8478-6869-8}})<ref>{{Harvnb|Complete42|2005|p=328}}</ref>

===Books===
* ''Reflections on the Death Of Mishima'' by [[Henry Miller]] (1972, {{ISBN|0-912264-38-1}})<ref>[https://ci.nii.ac.jp/ncid/BA10852383 Reflections on the death of Mishima] (CiNii)</ref>
* ''[[The Day He Himself Shall Wipe My Tears Away]]'' ({{Nihongo|''Mizukara waga namida wo nuguitamau hi''|みずから我が涙をぬぐいたまう日}}) by [[Kenzaburō Ōe]] (Kodansha, 1972, {{NCID| BN04777478}}) – In addition to this, Kenzaburō Ōe wrote several works that mention the Mishima incident and Mishima a little.<ref>[https://ci.nii.ac.jp/ncid/BN04777478 みずから我が涙をぬぐいたまう日](CiNii)</ref>
* ''The Head of Yukio Mishima'' ({{Nihongo|''Mishima Yukio no Kubi''|三島由紀夫の首}}) by [[Tetsuji Takechi]] (Toshi shuppann, 1972, {{NCID|BN05185496}}) - A mysterious tale of Mishima's head flying over the [[Kantō region]] and arguing with the head of [[Taira no Masakado]].<ref>[https://cir.nii.ac.jp/crid/1130282270987987712 三島由紀夫の首](CiNii)</ref>
* ''Mishima: A Biography'' by [[John Nathan]] (Boston, Little, Brown and Company 1974, {{ISBN|0-316-59844-5}})<ref>{{Harvnb|Complete-Su|2005|p=709}}</ref><ref name="ando-b">{{Harvnb|Ando|1996|pp=466–470}}</ref>
* {{Cite book|last=Scott-Stokes|first=Henry|title=The Life and Death of Yukio Mishima|publisher=Farrar, Straus and Giroux|date=1974|location=New York |id={{NCID|BA10429419}} }}
* ''La mort volontaire au Japon'', by [[:fr:Maurice Pinguet|Maurice Pinguet]] (Gallimard, 1984 {{ISBN|2070701891}})<ref>[https://ci.nii.ac.jp/ncid/BA00132468 La mort volontaire au Japon] (CiNii)</ref><ref>{{Harvnb|Complete-Su|2005|p=717}}</ref>
* ''Der Magnolienkaiser: Nachdenken über Yukio Mishima'' by [[:de:Hans Eppendorfer|Hans Eppendorfer]] (1984, {{ISBN|3924040087}})<ref>[https://ci.nii.ac.jp/ncid/BA39991224 Der Magnolienkaiser: Nachdenken über Yukio Mishima](CiNii)</ref>
* ''[[Teito Monogatari]]'' (vol. 5–10) by [[Hiroshi Aramata]] (a historical fantasy novel. Mishima appears in series No. 5, and he reincarnates a woman Michiyo Ohsawa in series No. 6), (Kadokawa Shoten 1985 {{ISBN|4-04-169005-6}})<ref>[https://ci.nii.ac.jp/ncid/BN01749716 帝都物語] (CiNii)</ref><ref>[https://ddnavi.com/book/4041690293/ 帝都物語 第伍番 (5) (角川文庫)](Da Vinci News)</ref>
* ''Yukio Mishima'' by Peter Wolfe ("reviews Mishima's life and times, discusses, his major works, and looks at important themes in his novels", 1989, {{ISBN|0-8264-0443-X}})<ref>[https://ci.nii.ac.jp/ncid/BA07712295 Yukio Mishima] (CiNii)</ref>
* ''Escape from the Wasteland: Romanticism and Realism in the Fiction of Mishima Yukio and Oe Kenzaburo'' (Harvard-Yenching Institute Monograph Series, No 33) by [[Susan J. Napier]] (Harvard University Press, 1991 {{ISBN|0-674-26180-1}})<ref>[https://ci.nii.ac.jp/ncid/BA14327851 Escape from the wasteland: romanticism and realism in the fiction of Mishima Yukio and Oe Kenzaburo] (CiNii)</ref>
* ''Deadly Dialectics: Sex, Violence, and Nihilism in the World of Yukio Mishima'' by [[Roy Starrs]] (University of Hawaii Press, 1994, {{ISBN|0-8248-1630-7}} and {{ISBN|0-8248-1630-7}})<ref>[https://ci.nii.ac.jp/ncid/BA23765248 Deadly dialectics: sex, violence, and nihilism in the world of Yukio Mishima] (CiNii)</ref>
* ''Rogue Messiahs: Tales of Self-Proclaimed Saviors'' by [[Colin Wilson]] (Mishima profiled in context of phenomenon of various "outsider" Messiah types), (Hampton Roads Publishing Company 2000 {{ISBN|1-57174-175-5}})<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://www.alibris.com/Rogue-Messiahs-Tales-of-Self-Proclaimed-Saviors-Colin-Wilson/book/5791649 |title=Rogue Messiahs: Tales of Self-Proclaimed Saviors |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Wilson |first=Colin |url=http://archive.org/details/roguemessiahs00wils |title=Rogue messiahs : tales of self-proclaimed saviors |date=2000 |publisher=Charlottesville, VA : Hampton Roads Pub. |others=Internet Archive |isbn=978-1-57174-175-2}}</ref>
* ''Mishima ou la vision du vide'' (Mishima : A Vision of the Void), essay by [[Marguerite Yourcenar]] trans. by [[Alberto Manguel]] 2001 {{ISBN|0-226-96532-5}})<ref>[https://ci.nii.ac.jp/ncid/BA55168817 Mishima : a vision of the void] (CiNii)</ref><ref>{{Harvnb|Complete-Su|2005|p=713}}</ref>
* ''Yukio Mishima, Terror and Postmodern Japan'' by [[Richard Appignanesi]] (2002, {{ISBN|1-84046-371-6}})<ref>{{Cite book |last=Appignanesi |first=Richard |url=https://openlibrary.org/books/OL12563162M/Yukio_Mishima_Terror_and_Postmodern_Japan |title=Yukio Mishima, Terror and Postmodern Japan |date=December 2002 |publisher=Totem Books}}</ref>
* ''Yukio Mishima's Report to the Emperor'' by Richard Appignanesi (2003, {{ISBN|978-0-9540476-6-5}})<ref>{{Cite book |last=Appignanesi |first=Richard |url=http://archive.org/details/yukiomishimasrep0000appi |title=Yukio Mishima's report to the emperor |date=2002 |publisher=London : Sinclair-Stevenson |others=Internet Archive |isbn=978-0-9540476-6-5}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Yukio Mishima's Report to the Emperor - Appignanesi, Richard: 9780954047665 - AbeBooks |url=https://www.abebooks.co.uk/9780954047665/Yukio-Mishimas-Report-Emperor-Appignanesi-0954047664/plp |access-date=2026-06-04 |website=www.abebooks.co.uk |language=en-GB}}</ref>
* {{Cite book |last=Keene |first=Donald |title=Five Modern Japanese Novelists |publisher=Columbia University Press |location=New York |date=2003 |isbn=0-231-12610-7}}
* ''The Madness and Perversion of Yukio Mishima'' by Jerry S. Piven. (Westport, Connecticut, Praeger Publishers, 2004 {{ISBN|0-275-97985-7}})<ref>[https://ci.nii.ac.jp/ncid/BA67559720 The madness and perversion of Yukio Mishima] (CiNii)</ref>
* ''Mishima's Sword – Travels in Search of a Samurai Legend'' by Christopher Ross (2006, {{ISBN|0-00-713508-4}})<ref>[https://ci.nii.ac.jp/ncid/BA7966364X Mishima's sword : travels in search of a samurai legend] (CiNii)</ref>
* ''Mishima Reincarnation'' ({{Nihongo|''Mishima tensei''|三島転生}}) by {{Nihongo|''Akitomo Ozawa''|[[:ja:小沢章友|小沢章友]]}} (Popurasha, 2007, {{ISBN|978-4-591-09590-4}}) – A story in which the spirit of Mishima, who died at the Ichigaya chutonchi, floating and looks back on his life.<ref>[https://ci.nii.ac.jp/ncid/BA81401078 三島転生](CiNii)</ref>
* ''Biografia Ilustrada de Mishima'' by [[Mario Bellatin]] (Argentina, Editorian Entropia, 2009, {{ISBN|978-987-24797-6-3}})<ref>{{Cite book |last=Bellatin |first=Mario |url=https://openlibrary.org/books/OL25019939M/Biograf%C3%ADa_ilustrada_de_Mishima |title=Biografía ilustrada de Mishima |date=2009 |publisher=Editorial Entropía |isbn=978-987-24797-6-3 |edition=1st |location=Buenos Aires, Argentina}}</ref>
* ''Impossible'' ({{Nihongo|''Fukano''|不可能}}) by [[Hisaki Matsuura]] (Kodansha, 2011, {{ISBN|978-4-06-217028-4}}) – A novel that assumed that Mishima has been survived the Mishima Incident.<ref>[https://ci.nii.ac.jp/ncid/BB06153231 不可能](CiNii)</ref>
* ''[[Persona: A Biography of Yukio Mishima]]'' by [[Naoki Inose]] with [[Hiroaki Sato (translator)|Hiroaki Sato]] (Berkeley, California, Stone Bridge Press, 2012, {{ISBN|978-1-61172-008-2}})<ref>[https://ci.nii.ac.jp/ncid/BB11927066 Persona: a biography of Yukio Mishima] (CiNii)</ref>
* ''Yukio Mishima (Critical Lives)'' by Damian Flanagan (Reaktion Books, 2014, {{ISBN|978-1-78023-345-1}})<ref>[https://ci.nii.ac.jp/ncid/BB18313426 Yukio Mishima] (CiNii)</ref>
* ''Portrait of the Author as a Historian'' by Alexander Lee – an analysis of the central political and social threads in Mishima's novels (pages 54–55 "History Today" April 2017)<ref>{{Cite web |title=Portrait of the Author as a Historian: Yukio Mishima {{!}} History Today |url=https://www.historytoday.com/archive/author-historian/portrait-author-historian-yukio-mishima |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20260108233611/https://www.historytoday.com/archive/author-historian/portrait-author-historian-yukio-mishima |archive-date=2026-01-08 |access-date=2026-06-05 |website=www.historytoday.com |language=en}}</ref>
* ''Mishima, Aesthetic Terrorist: An Intellectual Portrait'' by Andrew Rankin (University of Hawaii Press, 2018, {{ISBN|0-8248-7374-2}})<ref>[https://ci.nii.ac.jp/ncid/BB27842326 Mishima, aesthetic terrorist : an intellectual portrait] (CiNii)</ref>
* ''Exquisite Nothingness: The Novels of Yukio Mishima'' by David Vernon (Endellion Press, 2025, {{ISBN|978-1739136130}})<ref>{{Cite web |last=Aitken |first=Cameron |date=2025-09-22 |title=A Review of 'Exquisite Nothingness: The Novels of Yukio Mishima' |url=https://decadentserpent.com/posts/2025-09-22-a-review-of-exquisite-nothingness-the-novels-of-yukio-mishima/ |access-date=2026-06-05 |website=Decadent Serpent |language=en-gb}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Exquisite Nothingness: The Novels of Yukio Mishima - Vernon, David: 9781739136130 - AbeBooks |url=https://www.abebooks.com/9781739136130/Exquisite-Nothingness-Novels-Yukio-Mishima-1739136136/plp |access-date=2026-06-05 |website=www.abebooks.com |language=en}}</ref>

===Film and TV===
* ''[[Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters]]'' (1985), a film directed by [[Paul Schrader]]<ref>{{Harvnb|Complete42|2005|pp=349–350}}</ref>
* ''The Strange Case of Yukio Mishima'' (1985) BBC documentary directed by Michael Macintyre<ref>{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZCMz_WGEol0 |title=BBC Arena: The Strange Case of Yukio Mishima (1985) |date=2022-12-20 |last=Skyjacker |access-date=2026-06-05 |via=YouTube}}</ref>
* ''Yukio Mishima: Samurai Writer'', a BBC documentary on Yukio Mishima, directed by Michael Macintyre, (1985, VHS {{ISBN|978-1-4213-6981-5}}, DVD {{ISBN|978-1-4213-6982-2}})<ref>{{Cite web |title=Yukio Mishima - From Lost Samurai to Literary Genius │Yokogao Magazine |url=https://www.yokogaomag.com/editorial/yukio-mishima-lost-samurai-literary-genius |access-date=2026-06-05 |website=Yokogao Magazine |language=en-US}}</ref>
* ''Miyabi: Yukio Mishima '' (みやび 三島由紀夫) (2005), a documentary film directed by Chiyoko Tanaka<ref>[http://www.movienet.co.jp/movie/opus05/miyabi/index.html みやび 三島由紀夫] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210813064235/http://www.movienet.co.jp/movie/opus05/miyabi/index.html |date=13 August 2021 }}(movienet)</ref>
* ''[[11:25 The Day He Chose His Own Fate]]'' (2012), a film directed by [[Kōji Wakamatsu]]<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.wakamatsukoji.org/11.25/ |title=11・25自決の日 三島由紀夫と若者たち |access-date=13 August 2021 |website=Wakama Sujoki|archive-date=26 April 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120426164436/http://www.wakamatsukoji.org/11.25/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>
* ''Mishima Yukio vs. Zenkyōtō of Tokyo University: the Truth revealed in the 50th year'' ([[:ja:三島由紀夫vs東大全共闘〜50年目の真実〜|三島由紀夫vs東大全共闘〜50年目の真実〜]]) (2020), a documentary film directed by {{Nihongo|''Keisuke Toyoshima''|[[:ja:豊島圭介|豊島圭介]]}}<ref>{{Cite news|last=Hadfield|first=James|date=26 March 2020|title='Mishima: The Last Debate': Careful revival of a battle of wits|url=https://www.japantimes.co.jp/culture/2020/03/26/films/film-reviews/mishima-the-last-debate/|access-date=26 June 2020|work=The Japan Times|language=en-US}}</ref>

===Music===
* ''Harakiri'', by [[Péter Eötvös]] (1973). An opera based on the Japanese translation of [[Stephan Balint|István Bálint]]'s poetry ''Harakiri'' that inspired by Mishima's hara-kiri. This work is included in {{Nihongo|''Ryoko Aoki''|[[:ja:青木涼子|青木涼子]]}}'s album {{Nihongo|''Noh x Contemporary Music''|能×現代音楽}} in June 2014.<ref name="side-ep">{{Harvnb|Side|2014|pp=168–170}}</ref>
* ''String Quartet No.3, "Mishima"'', by [[Philip Glass]]. A reworking of parts of his soundtrack for the film ''Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters'', it has a duration of 18 minutes.<ref>{{Cite web |title=String Quartet No 3 'Mishima' (Glass) - from SIGCD117 - Hyperion Records - MP3 and Lossless downloads |url=https://www.hyperion-records.co.uk/dw.asp?dc=W17344_120117 |access-date=2026-06-05 |website=www.hyperion-records.co.uk}}</ref>
*  ''Sonatas for Yukio – [[C.P.E. Bach]]: Harpsichord Sonatas'', by Jocelyne Cuiller (2011).<ref name="side-ep"/> A program composed of Bach sonatas for each scene of the novel "[[Spring Snow]]".

===Songs===
* {{Nihongo|''Patriotism''|憂国|Yūkoku|}} lyrics by [[Yoshio Kodama]], composition by [[Masao Koga]], singing by {{Nihongo|Hisao Itō|[[:ja:伊藤久男|伊藤久男]]}} (1971)<ref name="kodama">{{Harvnb|20 persons|2025|pp=70–71}}</ref>
* {{Nihongo|''Curry rice''|カレーライス|Karē raisu|}} lyrics/composition and singing by {{Nihongo|Kenji Endo|[[:ja:遠藤賢司|遠藤賢司]]}} (1971)<ref name="irmela-III-d8">{{Harvnb|Irmela|2010|pp=141–143}}</ref>
* "Death and Night and Blood (Yukio)", a song by [[the Stranglers]] from the ''[[Black and White (The Stranglers album)|Black and White]]'' album (1978). (''Death and Night and Blood'' is the phrase from Mishima's novel ''Confessions of a Mask'')<ref>{{Cite magazine|url=http://matsuzack.jougennotuki.com/topics4/topics4.html |title= GYAN GYAN |magazine=web-magazine: matsuzack.jougennotuki.com}}</ref>
* "[[Forbidden Colours]]", a song on ''[[Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence]]'' soundtrack by [[Ryuichi Sakamoto]] with lyrics by [[David Sylvian]] (1983). Inspired by Mishima's novel ''Forbidden Colors''.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Sakamoto |first= Ryuichi |editor-last=Yamashita |editor-first=Kunihiko |script-title=ja:坂本龍一・全仕事 |trans-title=Ryuichi Sakamoto Complete Works |date=1991|publisher=Ohta Publishing |isbn=978-4-87233-046-5 |language=ja}}</ref>
* "Kendo for Yukio Mishima", Japanese bonus track on the album ''[[The Rose Has Teeth in the Mouth of a Beast]]'' by American electronic duo [[Matmos]]. (2006)

===Theatre===
* ''Yukio Mishima'', a play by [[Adam Darius]] and Kazimir Kolesnik, first performed at Holloway Prison, London, in 1991, and later in Finland, Slovenia and Portugal.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Adam Darius and Kazimir Kolesnik {{!}} Le Petit Festival |url=https://lepetitfestival.com/artists-performers/adam-darius-kazimir-kolesnik/ |access-date=2026-06-05 |language=en-US}}</ref>
* ''M'', a ballet spectacle work homage to Mishima by [[Maurice Béjart]] in 1993<ref>{{Harvnb|Complete42|2005|p=360}}</ref>

===Manga and games===
*''[[Yuuyake Banchō]]'' Volume 15 {{Nihongo|"Both literary and martial arts"|[[:ja:文武両道|文武両道]]|bunbu ryōdō|}} written by [[Ikki Kajiwara]] and Illustrated by {{Nihongo|Toshio Shōji|[[:ja:荘司としお|荘司としお]]}} (1971)<ref>{{Cite news |last= |first= |date=12 November 2020 |script-title=ja:三島由紀夫へ、劇画からの熱い「返礼」 |trans-title=To Yukio Mishima, the passionate “returns” from Gekiga |language=ja |url=https://www.yomiuri.co.jp/column/manga/20201110-OYT8T50021/ |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20201112201938/https://www.yomiuri.co.jp/column/manga/20201110-OYT8T50021/ |archive-date=12 November 2020 |newspaper=Yomiuri Shimbun |access-date=8 December 2024 }}</ref>
* ''[[Shin Megami Tensei (video game)|Shin Megami Tensei]]'' by [[Atlus]] (1992) – A character Gotou who started a coup in Ichigaya, modeled on Mishima.
* ''[[Tekken]]'' by [[Namco]] (1994) – Mishima surname comes from Yukio Mishima, and a main character, [[Kazuya Mishima]], had his way of thinking based on Mishima.
*{{Nihongo|''[[Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex#Season 2|Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex]] 2nd GIG''|[[:ja:攻殻機動隊 S.A.C. 2nd GIG|攻殻機動隊 S.A.C. 2nd GIG]]|Kokaku Kidōtai S.A.C. 2nd GIG|}} (2004, [[Production I.G]])<ref>{{Harvnb|Eureka|2005|pp=46–47}}</ref>
* ''Jakomo Fosukari'' ({{Nihongo|''Jakomo Fosukari''|ジャコモ・フォスカリ}}) by [[Mari Yamazaki]] (2012) – The characters modeled on Mishima and [[Kōbō Abe]] appears in.<ref>[https://mantan-web.jp/article/20130111dog00m200042000c.html はじめの1巻：「ジャコモ・フォスカリ」テルマエ・ロマエ作者が描く60年代の日本](Mantanweb)</ref><ref name="side-ep"/>
* ''[[Persona 5]]'' (2016) - A character named after Mishima, named [[Characters of Persona 5#Confidants|Yuki Mishima]], appears. He works to support the main characters from the sidelines and eventually resolves to write a documentary about them.<ref>{{Cite web |title=【PS4新価格版 好評発売中！】P５ - ペルソナ５ - 公式サイト |url=https://persona5.jp/school_life/coop_mishima.html |access-date=15 March 2025 |website=P５ - ペルソナ５ - 公式サイト |language=ja}}</ref>

===Poetry===
* ''Harakiri'', by [[Stephan Balint|István Bálint]].<ref name="side-ep"/>
* 3 ''[[Tanka]]'' poems, {{Nihongo|''Grave of Mishima''|ユキオ・ミシマの墓|Mishima Yukio no haka|}} written by [[Pierre Pascal]] (1970)<ref name="paris-2-2-6">{{Harvnb|Takemoto|1998|pp=117–118}}</ref>
** and 12 ''[[Haiku]]'' poems. Appendix of {{Nihongo|Shinsho Hanayama|[[:ja:花山信勝|花山信勝]]}}'s book {{Nihongo|''Discovering Peace: A Record of Life and Death in Sugamo''|平和の発見―巣鴨の生と死の記録|Heiwa no Hakken: Sugamo no Sei to Shi no Kiroku|}} translated into French.<ref>{{Harvnb|Takemoto|1998|pp=94–95}}</ref>
* {{Nihongo|''The Ritual of Love and Death (Patriotism)''|愛と死の儀式（憂国）|Ai to Shi no gishiki (Yūkoku)|}} written by Emmanuel Rothen (1970)<ref>{{Harvnb|Date|1972|pp=210–214}}</ref><ref name="paris-1-2-8">{{Harvnb|Takemoto|1998|pp=72–76}}</ref>
* {{Nihongo|''Lamentation: Yukio Mishima''|哭三島由紀夫|Koku Mishima Yukio|}} written by {{Nihongo|Akira Asano|[[:ja:浅野晃|浅野晃]]}} (1971)<ref>{{Harvnb|Shincho1|1971|p=192}}</ref><ref name="miyaz-14-d">{{Harvnb|Miyazaki|1999|pp=257–260}}</ref>
** described at the conclusion of the eulogy "Rainbow Gate".<ref name="miyaz-14-d"/>
* {{Nihongo|''Yūkoku-ki''|憂国忌}} written by [[Shūji Terayama]] (1971)<ref name="miyaz-14-d"/>
* {{Nihongo|''Harakiri''|ハラキリ}} written by [[Hiromi Itō]] (1986)<ref name="irmela-III-d8"/>
* {{Nihongo|''It was noon''|正午だった|Shogo datta|}} & ''[[Haiku]]'' written by [[Genki Fujii]] (2007)<ref name="genki">{{Harvnb|Nippon|2008|pp=140–141}}</ref>
**Reading at the 38th {{Nihongo|"Patriotism Memorial"|[[:ja:憂国忌|憂国忌]]|Yūkoku-ki|}}, 37th Anniversary of His Death.<ref name="genki"/>

===Art===
* ''Kou'' ({{Nihongo|''Kou''|恒}}) by {{Nihongo|''Junji Wakebe''|[[:ja:分部順治|分部順治]]}} (1976) – Life-sized male bronze sculpture modeled on Mishima. The work was requested by Mishima in the fall of 1970, he went to Wakebe's atelier every Sunday. It was exhibited at the 6th Niccho Exhibition on 7 April 1976.<ref>{{Harvnb|Complete42|2005|p=317,343}}</ref> In his will, Mishima wrote that he wanted his divided bones buried in a location with a view of [[Mount Fuji]] and the ocean, and that he wanted this bronze statue to be placed there concurrently, but as of 2017, this request had not yet been fulfilled.<ref>{{Harvnb|Nishi|2017|pp=292–297}}</ref>
* ''Season of fiery fire / Requiem for someone: Number 1, Mishima'' ({{Nihongo|''Rekka no kisetsu/Nanimonoka eno rekuiemu: Sono ichi Mishima''|烈火の季節／なにものかへのレクイエム・その壱 ミシマ}}) and ''Classroom of beauty, listen quietly: bi-class, be quiet'' ({{Nihongo|''Bi no kyositsu, seicho seyo''|美の教室、清聴せよ}}) by [[Yasumasa Morimura]] (2006, 2007) – Disguise performance as Mishima<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.tokyoartbeat.com/articles/-/morimurayam|title=森村泰昌 「美の教室－静聴せよ」展|website=Tokyo Art Beat}}</ref><ref name="side-ep"/><ref>{{Harvnb|Irmela|2010|pp=101–103}}</ref>
* ''Objectglass 12'' and ''The Death of a Man'' ({{Nihongo|''Otoko no shi''|男の死}}) by {{Nihongo|''Kimiski Ishizuka''|石塚公昭}} (2007, 2011) – Mishima dolls<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://fugensha.jp/events/20200507ishizuka/|title=【会期延長】没後50年・三島由紀夫へのオマージュ展人形作家・写真家 石塚公昭「椿説 男の死」|date=16 April 2020}}</ref><ref name="side-ep"/>

==See also==
* [[:ja:鉢の木会|Hachinoki kai]] – a chat circle to which Mishima belonged.
* [[:ja:経団連襲撃事件|Japan Business Federation attack]] – an incident in 1977 involving four persons (including one former [[Tatenokai]] member) connected by the [[Mishima Incident]].
* [[Kosaburo Eto]] – Mishima states that he was impressed with the seriousness of Eto's self-immolation, "the most intense criticism of politics as a dream or art."<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Mishima |first=Yukio |date=May 1969 |script-title=ja:[[:ja:若きサムライのための精神講話|若きサムラヒのために]]―政治について |trans-title=Lectures for Young Samurai: About politics |language=ja |magazine=Pocket Punch Oh! }} collected in {{Harvnb|Complete35|2003|pp=58–60}}</ref>
* [[:ja:雲の会|Kumo no kai]] – a literary movement group presided over by [[Kunio Kishida]] in 1950–1954, to which Mishima belonged.
* [[:ja:平岡萬次郎|Manjirō Hiraoka]] – Mishima's grand-uncle. [[Sadatarō Hiraoka]]'s older brother. He was a lawyer and politician.
* [[Mishima Yukio Prize]] – a literary award established in September 1987.
* [[Phaedo]] – the book Mishima had been reading in his later years.
* [[:ja:末げん|Suegen]] – a traditional authentic Japanese style restaurant in [[Shinbashi]] that is known as the last dining place for Mishima and four Tatenokai members (Masakatsu Morita, Hiroyasu Koga, Masahiro Ogawa, Masayoshi Koga).

==Major works==
{{Main|Yukio Mishima bibliography}}

===Literature===
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Japanese title
! English title
! Year (first appeared)
! English translator
! Year (English translation)
! ISBN
|-
| {{ubl|[[:ja:花ざかりの森|花ざかりの森]]|''Hanazakari no Mori''|(short story)}}
| "Forest in Full Bloom"
| 1941
| Andrew Rankin
| 2000
| &nbsp;
|-
| {{ubl|[[:ja:サーカス (小説)|サーカス]]|''Sākasu''|(short story)}}
| "The Circus"
| 1948
| Andrew Rankin
| 1999<ref>{{Harvnb|Encyclo|2000|p=719}}</ref>
|
|-
| {{ubl|[[:ja:盗賊 (小説)|盗賊]]|''Tōzoku''}}
| ''Thieves''
| 1947–1948
| &nbsp;
|
|
|-
| {{ubl|[[:ja:仮面の告白|假面の告白]]|（仮面の告白|''Kamen no Kokuhaku''}}
| ''[[Confessions of a Mask]]''
| 1949
| [[Meredith Weatherby]]
| 1958
| {{ISBNT|0-8112-0118-X}}
|-
| {{ubl|[[:ja:愛の渇き|愛の渇き]]|''Ai no Kawaki''}}
| ''[[Thirst for Love]]''
| 1950
| [[Alfred H. Marks]]
| 1969
| {{ISBNT|4-10-105003-1}}
|-
| {{ubl|[[:ja:純白の夜|純白の夜]]|''Junpaku no Yoru''}}
| ''Pure White Nights''
| 1950
| &nbsp;
|
|
|-
| {{ubl|[[:ja:青の時代 (小説)|青の時代]]|''Ao no Jidai''}}
| ''The Age of Blue''
| 1950
| &nbsp;
|
|
|-
| {{ubl|[[:ja:禁色 (小説)|禁色]]|''Kinjiki''}}
| ''[[Forbidden Colors]]''
| 1951–1953
| Alfred H. Marks
| 1968–1974
| {{ISBNT|0-375-70516-3}}
|-
| {{ubl|[[:ja:真夏の死|真夏の死]]|''Manatsu no shi''|(short story)}}
| ''[[Death in Midsummer (short story)|Death in Midsummer]]''
| 1952
| [[Edward Seidensticker|Edward G. Seidensticker]]
| 1956
| 
|-
| {{ubl|[[:ja:潮騷 (小説)|潮騒]]|''Shiosai''}}
| ''[[The Sound of Waves]]''
| 1954
| [[Meredith Weatherby]]
| 1956
| {{ISBNT|0-679-75268-4}}
|-
| {{ubl|[[:ja:詩を書く少年|詩を書く少年]]|''Shi o Kaku Shōnen''|(short story)}}
| "The Boy Who Wrote Poetry"
| 1954
| Ian H. Levy ([[Hideo Levy]])
| 1977<ref>{{Harvnb|Encyclo|2000|p=721}}</ref>
|
|-
| {{ubl|[[:ja:沈める滝|沈める滝]]|''Shizumeru Taki''}}
| ''The Sunken Waterfall''
| 1955
| &nbsp;
|
|
|-
| {{ubl|[[:ja:金閣寺 (小説)|金閣寺]]|''Kinkaku-ji''}}
| ''[[The Temple of the Golden Pavilion]]''
| 1956
| [[Ivan Morris]]
| 1959
| {{ISBNT|0-679-75270-6}}
|-
| {{ubl|[[:ja:鹿鳴館 (戯曲)|鹿鳴館]]|''Rokumeikan''|(play)}}
| ''[[Rokumeikan (play)|Rokumeikan]]''
| 1956
| Hiroaki Sato
| 2002
| {{ISBNT|0-231-12633-6}}
|-
| {{ubl|[[:ja:鏡子の家|鏡子の家]]|''Kyōko no Ie''}}
| ''[[Kyoko's House]]''
| 1959
| &nbsp;
|
|
|-
| {{ubl|[[:ja:宴のあと|宴のあと]]|''Utage no Ato''}}
| ''[[After the Banquet]]''
| 1960
| [[Donald Keene]]
| 1963
| {{ISBNT|0-399-50486-9}}
|-
| {{ubl|[[:ja:スタア|スタア]]|"Sutā" (novella)}}
| ''[[Star (short story)|Star]]'' (novella)
| 1960<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.japantimes.co.jp/culture/2019/04/27/books/yukio-mishima-tries-personal-branding-rediscovered-star/ |title=Yukio Mishima's attempt at personal branding comes to light in the rediscovered 'Star' |last=Gattig |first=Nicolas |date=27 April 2019 |work=The Japan Times |access-date=3 April 2020}}</ref>
| Sam Bett
| 2019
| {{ISBNT|978-0-8112-2842-8}}
|-
| {{ubl|[[:ja:憂國|憂國]]（憂国）|''Yūkoku''|(short story)}}
| "[[Patriotism (short story)|Patriotism]]"
| 1961
| [[Geoffrey W. Sargent]]
| 1966
| {{ISBNT|0-8112-1312-9}}
|-
| {{ubl|[[:ja:黒蜥蜴 (戯曲)|黒蜥蜴]]|''Kuro Tokage''|(play)}}
| ''[[Black Lizard (film)|The Black Lizard]]''
| 1961
| [[Mark Oshima]]
| 2007
| {{ISBNT|1-929280-43-2}}
|-
| {{ubl|[[:ja:獣の戯れ|獣の戯れ]]|''Kemono no Tawamure''}}
| ''[[The Frolic of the Beasts]]''
| 1961
| Andrew Clare
| 2018
| {{ISBNT|978-0-525-43415-3}}
|-
| {{ubl|[[:ja:美しい星|美しい星]]|''Utsukushii Hoshi''}}
| ''[[Beautiful Star (novel)|Beautiful Star]]''
| 1962
| Stephen Dodd
| 2022<ref>Margolis, Eric. "[https://metropolisjapan.com/yukio-mishima/ The Resurgence of a Japanese Literary Master: Fifty Years after his Death, Yukio Mishima Is Reemerging in Translation]." ''Metropolis''. 31 July 2020.</ref><ref>"[https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/316805/beautiful-star/9780241545560.html]"</ref>
| {{ubl|{{ISBNT|978-0-241-54556-0}} (paperback)|{{ISBNT|978-0-141-99258-7}} (ebook)}}
|-
| {{ubl|[[:ja:肉体の学校|肉体の学校]]|''Nikutai no Gakkō''}}
| ''[[The School of Flesh (novel)|The School of Flesh]]''
| 1963
| &nbsp;
|
|
|-
| {{ubl|[[:ja:午後の曳航|午後の曳航]]|''Gogo no Eikō''}}
| ''[[The Sailor Who Fell from Grace with the Sea]]''
| 1963
| [[John Nathan]]
| 1965
| {{ISBNT|0-679-75015-0}}
|-
| {{ubl|[[:ja:絹と明察|絹と明察]]|''Kinu to Meisatsu''}}
| ''[[Silk and Insight]]''
| 1964
| [[Hiroaki Sato (translator)|Hiroaki Sato]]
| 1998
| {{ISBNT|0-7656-0299-7}}
|-
| {{ubl|[[:ja:三熊野詣|三熊野詣]]|''Mikumano Mōde''|(short story)}}
| "[[Acts of Worship (Mishima)|Acts of Worship]]"
| 1965
| [[John Bester]]
| 1995
| {{ISBNT|0-87011-824-2}}
|-
| {{ubl|[[:ja:孔雀|孔雀]]|''Kujaku''|(short story)}}
| "The Peacocks"
| 1965
| Andrew Rankin
| 1999
| {{ISBNT|1-86092-029-2}}
|-
| {{ubl|[[:ja:サド侯爵夫人|サド侯爵夫人]]|''Sado Kōshaku Fujin''|(play)}}
| ''[[Madame de Sade]]''
| 1965
| [[Donald Keene]]
| 1967
| {{ISBNT|1-86092-029-2}}
|-
| {{ubl|[[:ja:英霊の聲|英霊の聲]]|''Eirei no Koe''|(short story)}}
| "[[Voices of the Fallen Heroes]]"
| 1966
| Paul McCarthy
| 2025
| {{ISBNT|978-0-593-80435-3}}
|-
| {{ubl|[[:ja:朱雀家の滅亡|朱雀家の滅亡]]|''Suzaku-ke no Metsubō''|(play)}}
| ''[[The Decline and Fall of The Suzaku]]''
| 1967
| Hiroaki Sato
| 2002
| {{ISBNT|0-231-12633-6}}
|-
| {{ubl|[[:ja:命売ります|命売ります]]|''Inochi Urimasu''}}
|''[[Life for Sale]]''
| 1968
| Stephen Dodd
| 2019
| {{ISBNT|978-0-241-33314-3}}
|-
| {{ubl|[[:ja:わが友ヒットラー|わが友ヒットラー]]|''Waga Tomo Hittorā''|(play)}}
| ''[[My Friend Hitler]]'' and Other Plays
| 1968
| Hiroaki Sato
| 2002
| {{ISBNT|0-231-12633-6}}
|-
| {{ubl|[[:ja:癩王のテラス|癩王のテラス]]|''Raiō no Terasu''|(play)}}
| {{ill|The Terrace of the Leper King|lt=''The Terrace of the Leper King''|ja|癩王のテラス}}
| 1969
| Hiroaki Sato
| 2002
| {{ISBNT|0-231-12633-6}}
|-
| {{ubl|[[:ja:豊饒の海|豐饒の海]]|（豊饒の海）|''Hōjō no Umi''}}
| ''[[The Sea of Fertility]]'' tetralogy:
| 1965–1971
| &nbsp;
|
| {{ISBNT|0-677-14960-3}}
|-
| 　　I. [[:ja:春の雪 (小説)|春の雪]]{{avoid wrap|''Haru no Yuki''}}
| 　　　1. ''[[Spring Snow]]''
| 1965–1967
| [[Michael Gallagher (translator)|Michael Gallagher]]
| 1972
| {{ISBNT|0-394-44239-3}}
|-
| 　　II. [[:ja:奔馬 (小説)|奔馬]]{{avoid wrap|''Honba''}}
| 　　　2. ''[[Runaway Horses]]''
| 1967–1968
| Michael Gallagher
| 1973
| {{ISBNT|0-394-46618-7}}
|-
| 　　III. [[:ja:暁の寺 (小説)|曉の寺]]{{avoid wrap|''Akatsuki no Tera''}}
| 　　　3. ''[[The Temple of Dawn]]''
| 1968–1970
| [[E. Dale Saunders]] and [[Cecilia S. Seigle]]
| 1973
| {{ISBNT|0-394-46614-4}}
|-
| 　　IV. [[:ja:天人五衰 (小説)|天人五衰]]{{avoid wrap|''Tennin Gosui''}}
| 　　　4. ''[[The Decay of the Angel]]''
| 1970–1971
| [[Edward Seidensticker]]
| 1974
| {{ISBNT|0-394-46613-6}}
|}

===Critical essays===
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Japanese title
! English title
! Year (first appeared)
! English translation, year
! ISBN
|-
| {{ubl|[[:ja:アポロの杯|アポロの杯]]|''Aporo no Sakazuki''}}
| ''The Cup of Apollo''
| 1952
| &nbsp;
|
|-
| {{ubl|[[:ja:不道徳教育講座|不道徳教育講座]]|''Fudōtoku Kyōiku Kōza''}}
| ''Lectures on Immoral Education''
| 1958–1959
| &nbsp;
|
|-
| {{ubl|[[:ja:私の遍歴時代|私の遍歴時代]]|''Watashi no Henreki Jidai''}}
| ''My Wandering Years''
| 1963
| &nbsp;
|
|-
| {{ubl|[[:ja:太陽と鉄|太陽と鐡]]|（太陽と鉄）|''Taiyō to Tetsu''}}
| ''[[Sun and Steel (essay)|Sun and Steel]]''
| 1965–1968
| [[John Bester]]
| {{ISBNT|4-7700-2903-9}}
|-
| {{ubl|[[:ja:葉隠入門|葉隠入門]]|''Hagakure Nyūmon''}}
| ''On Hagakure: The Samurai Ethic and Modern Japan''
| 1967
| [[Kathryn Sparling]], 1977
| {{ISBNT|0-465-09089-3}}
|-
|{{ubl|[[:ja:文化防衛論|文化防衛論]]|''Bunka Bōei-ron''}}
|''On the Defense of Culture''
|1968
| &nbsp;
|
|-
| {{ubl|[[:ja:革命哲学としての陽明学|革命哲学としての陽明学]]|''Kakumei tetsugaku toshiteno Yomegaku''}}
| ''{{ubl|[[Yangmingism|Wang Yangming Thought]]| as Revolutionary Philosophy}}''
| 1970
| Harris I. Martin, 1971<ref>{{Harvnb|Encyclo|2000|p=714}}</ref>
|
|-
|}

===Plays for classical Japanese theatre===
In addition to contemporary-style plays such as ''Madame de Sade'', Mishima wrote for two of the three genres of classical Japanese theatre: [[Noh]] and [[Kabuki]] (as a proud Tokyoite, he would not attend the [[Bunraku]] puppet theatre, always associated with Osaka and the provinces).<ref>{{Cite book |last=Keene |first=Donald |title=Chronicles of My Life: An American in the Heart of Japan |date=2008 |publisher=Columbia University Press |isbn=978-0-231-14440-7 |location=New York |page=104 |oclc=173299185}}</ref>

Although Mishima took themes, titles, and characters from the Noh canon, his twists and modern settings, such as hospitals and ballrooms, startled audiences accustomed to the long-settled originals.

[[Donald Keene]] translated ''[[Five Modern Noh Plays]]'' (Tuttle, 1981; {{ISBN|0-8048-1380-9}}). Most others remain untranslated and so lack an "official" English title; in such cases it is therefore preferable to use the [[rōmaji]] title.

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Year (first appeared)
! Japanese title
! English title
! Genre
|-
| 1950
| {{ubl|[[:ja:邯鄲 (戯曲)|邯鄲]]|''Kantan''}}
| ''The Magic Pillow''
| Noh
|-
| 1951
| {{ubl|[[:ja:綾の鼓 (戯曲)|綾の鼓]]|''[[Aya no Tsuzumi]]''}}
| ''The Damask Drum''
| Noh
|-
| 1952
| {{ubl|[[:ja:卒塔婆小町 (戯曲)|卒塔婆小町]]|''[[Sotoba Komachi (Mishima)|Sotoba Komachi]]''}}
| ''Komachi at the Gravepost''
| Noh
|-
| 1954
| {{ubl|[[:ja:葵の上 (戯曲)|葵の上]]|''[[Aoi no Ue]]''}}
| ''[[The Lady Aoi]]''
| Noh
|-
| 1954
| {{ubl|[[:ja:鰯売恋曳網|鰯賣戀曳網]]|(鰯売恋曳網)|''[[Iwashi Uri Koi Hikiami]]''}}
| ''The Sardine Seller's Net of Love''
| Kabuki
|-
| 1955
| {{ubl|[[:ja:班女 (戯曲)|班女]]|''[[Hanjo]]''}}
| ''The Waiting Lady with the Fan''
| Noh
|-
| 1955
| {{ubl|芙蓉露大内実記|''[[Fuyō no Tsuyu Ōuchi Jikki]]''}}
| ''{{ubl|The Blush on the White Hibiscus Blossom: |Lady Fuyo and the True Account of the Ōuchi Clan}}''
| Kabuki
|-
| 1957
| {{ubl|[[:ja:道成寺 (戯曲)|道成寺]]|''[[Dōjōji (Noh play)|Dōjōji]]''}}
| ''Dōjōji Temple''
| Noh
|-
| 1959
| {{ubl|[[:ja:熊野 (戯曲)|熊野]]|''[[Yuya (play)|Yuya]]''}}
| ''Yuya''
| Noh
|-
| 1960
| {{ubl|[[:ja:弱法師 (戯曲)|弱法師]]|''[[Yoroboshi]]''}}
| ''The Blind Young Man''
| Noh
|-
| 1969
| {{ubl|[[:ja:椿説弓張月 (歌舞伎)|椿説弓張月]]|''Chinsetsu Yumiharizuki''}}
| {{ubl|''A Wonder Tale: The Moonbow'' or ''Half Moon (like a Bow and arrow setting up):'' | ''The Adventures of Tametomo''}}
| Kabuki
|}

===Films===
Mishima starred in multiple films. ''[[Patriotism (1966 film)|Patriotism]]'' was written and funded by himself, and he directed it in close cooperation with Masaki Domoto. Mishima also wrote a detailed account of the whole process, in which the particulars regarding costume, shooting expenses and the film's reception are delved into. ''Patriotism'' won the second prize at the Tours International Short Film Festival in January 1966.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Mishima |first=Yukio |date=April 1966 |script-title=ja:「製作意図及び経過」（『憂國 映画版』） |trans-title=The Production intention and Progress |language=ja |journal=Film Patriotism |publisher=Shinchosha }} collected in {{Harvnb|Complete34|2003|pp=35–64}}</ref><ref>{{Nihongo|Hiroaki Fujii|[[:ja:藤井浩明|藤井浩明]]}} {{Nihongo|''The path that the film Patriotism has taken''|映画『憂国』の歩んだ道|}} {{Harvnb|Complete-Se|2006}} Appendix booklet</ref>

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Year
! Title
! United States release title(s)
! Character
! Director
|-
| 1951
| {{ubl|[[:ja:純白の夜#映画化|純白の夜]]|''Jumpaku no Yoru''}}
| Unreleased in the U.S.
| an extra (dance party scene)
| [[Hideo Ōba]]
|-
| 1959
| {{ubl|[[:ja:不道徳教育講座#映画化|不道徳教育講座]]|''Fudōtoku Kyōikukōza''}}
| Unreleased in the U.S.
| himself as navigator
| [[Katsumi Nishikawa]]
|-
| 1960
| {{ubl|[[:ja:からっ風野郎|からっ風野郎]]|''Karakkaze Yarō''}}
| ''[[Afraid to Die]]''
| {{ubl|Takeo Asahina| (main character)}}
| [[Yasuzo Masumura]]
|-
| 1966
| {{ubl|[[:ja:憂国#映画化|憂国]]|''Yūkoku''}}
| {{ubl|''[[Patriotism (1966 film)|The Rite of Love and Death]]''|''Patriotism''}}
| {{ubl|Shinji Takeyama| (main character)}}
| {{ubl|Yukio Mishima,|[[Domoto Masaki]] (sub)}}
|-
| 1968
| {{ubl|[[:ja:黒蜥蝪#松竹1968年版|黒蜥蜴]]|''Kurotokage''}}
| ''[[Black Lizard (film)|Black Lizard]]''
| Human Statue
| [[Kinji Fukasaku]]
|-
| 1969
| {{ubl|[[:ja:人斬り (映画)|人斬り]]|''Hitokiri''}}
| ''[[Hitokiri (film)|Tenchu!]]''
| [[Tanaka Shinbei]]
| [[Hideo Gosha]]
|}

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{reflist|30em}}

==Sources==
{{refbegin|30em}}
* {{Cite book |last=Mishima |first=Yukio |script-title=ja:決定版 三島由紀夫全集 第26巻 評論1 |publisher=Shinchosha |date=2003 |isbn=978-4-10-642566-0 |language=ja |trans-title=Definitive Edition - Yukio Mishima Complete Works No.26 - Criticisms 1 |ref={{Harvid|Complete26|2003}}}}
* {{Cite book |last=Mishima |first=Yukio |script-title=ja:決定版 三島由紀夫全集 第27巻 評論2 |publisher=Shinchosha |date=2003 |isbn=978-4-10-642567-7 |language=ja |trans-title=Definitive Edition - Yukio Mishima Complete Works No.27 - Criticisms 2 |ref={{Harvid|Complete27|2003}}}}
* {{Cite book |last=Mishima |first=Yukio |script-title=ja:決定版 三島由紀夫全集 第28巻 評論3 |publisher=Shinchosha |date=2003 |isbn=978-4-10-642568-4 |language=ja |trans-title=Definitive Edition - Yukio Mishima Complete Works No.28 - Criticisms 3 |ref={{Harvid|Complete28|2003}}}}
* {{Cite book |last=Mishima |first=Yukio |script-title=ja:決定版 三島由紀夫全集 第29巻 評論4 |publisher=Shinchosha |date=2003 |isbn=978-4-10-642569-1 |language=ja |trans-title=Definitive Edition - Yukio Mishima Complete Works No.29 - Criticisms 4 |ref={{Harvid|Complete29|2003}}}}
* {{Cite book |last=Mishima |first=Yukio |script-title=ja:決定版 三島由紀夫全集 第30巻 評論5 |publisher=Shinchosha |date=2003 |isbn=978-4-10-642570-7 |language=ja |trans-title=Definitive Edition - Yukio Mishima Complete Works No.30 - Criticisms 5 |ref={{Harvid|Complete30|2003}}}}
* {{Cite book |last=Mishima |first=Yukio |script-title=ja:決定版 三島由紀夫全集 第31巻 評論6 |publisher=Shinchosha |date=2003 |isbn=978-4-10-642571-4 |language=ja |trans-title=Definitive Edition - Yukio Mishima Complete Works No.31 - Criticisms 6 |ref={{Harvid|Complete31|2003}}}}
* {{Cite book |last=Mishima |first=Yukio |script-title=ja:決定版 三島由紀夫全集 第32巻 評論7 |publisher=Shinchosha |date=2003 |isbn=978-4-10-642572-1 |language=ja |trans-title=Definitive Edition - Yukio Mishima Complete Works No.32 - Criticisms 7 |ref={{Harvid|Complete32|2003}}}}
* {{Cite book |last=Mishima |first=Yukio |script-title=ja:決定版 三島由紀夫全集 第33巻 評論8 |publisher=Shinchosha |date=2003 |isbn=978-4-10-642573-8 |language=ja |trans-title=Definitive Edition - Yukio Mishima Complete Works No.33 - Criticisms 8 |ref={{Harvid|Complete33|2003}}}}
* {{Cite book |last=Mishima |first=Yukio |script-title=ja:決定版 三島由紀夫全集 第34巻 評論9 |publisher=Shinchosha |date=2003 |isbn=978-4-10-642574-5 |language=ja |trans-title=Definitive Edition - Yukio Mishima Complete Works No.34 - Criticisms 9 |ref={{Harvid|Complete34|2003}}}}
* {{Cite book |last=Mishima |first=Yukio |script-title=ja:決定版 三島由紀夫全集 第35巻 評論10 |publisher=Shinchosha |date=2003 |isbn=978-4-10-642575-2 |language=ja |trans-title=Definitive Edition - Yukio Mishima Complete Works No.35 - Criticisms 10 |ref={{Harvid|Complete35|2003}}}}
* {{Cite book |last=Mishima |first=Yukio |script-title=ja:決定版 三島由紀夫全集 第36巻 評論11 |publisher=Shinchosha |date=2003 |isbn=978-4-10-642576-9 |language=ja |trans-title=Definitive Edition - Yukio Mishima Complete Works No.36 - Criticisms 11 |ref={{Harvid|Complete36|2003}}}}
* {{Cite book |last=Mishima |first=Yukio |script-title=ja:決定版 三島由紀夫全集 第37巻 詩歌 |publisher=Shinchosha |date=2004 |isbn=978-4-10-642577-6 |language=ja |trans-title=Definitive Edition - Yukio Mishima Complete Works No.37 - Poetry |ref={{Harvid|Complete37|2004}}}}
* {{Cite book |last=Mishima |first=Yukio |script-title=ja:決定版 三島由紀夫全集 第38巻 書簡 |publisher=Shinchosha |date=2004 |isbn=978-4-10-642578-3 |language=ja |trans-title=Definitive Edition - Yukio Mishima Complete Works No.38 - Letters |ref={{Harvid|Complete38|2004}}}}
* {{Cite book |last=Mishima |first=Yukio |script-title=ja:決定版 三島由紀夫全集 第39巻 対談1 |publisher=Shinchosha |date=2004 |isbn=978-4-10-642579-0 |language=ja |trans-title=Definitive Edition - Yukio Mishima Complete Works No.39 - Dialogues 1 |ref={{Harvid|Complete39|2004}}}}
* {{Cite book |last=Mishima |first=Yukio |script-title=ja:決定版 三島由紀夫全集 第40巻 対談2 |publisher=Shinchosha |date=2004 |isbn=978-4-10-642580-6 |language=ja |trans-title=Definitive Edition - Yukio Mishima Complete Works No.40 - Dialogues 2 |ref={{Harvid|Complete40|2004}}}}
* {{Cite book |last=Mishima |first=Yukio |script-title=ja:決定版 三島由紀夫全集 第41巻 音声(CD) |publisher=Shinchosha |date=2004 |isbn=978-4-10-642581-3 |language=ja |trans-title=Definitive Edition - Yukio Mishima Complete Works No.41 - Voices (CD) |ref={{Harvid|Complete41|2004}}}}
* {{Cite book |editor1-last=Satō |editor1-first=Hideaki |editor2-last=Inoue |editor2-first=Takashi |editor3-last=Yamanaka |editor3-first=Takeshi |script-title=ja:決定版 三島由紀夫全集 第42巻 年譜・書誌 |publisher=Shinchosha |date=2005 |isbn=978-4-10-642582-0 |language=ja |trans-title=Definitive Edition - Yukio Mishima Complete Works No.42 - Biographical Sketch and Bibliography |ref={{Harvid|Complete42|2005}}}}
* {{Cite book |last=Mishima |first=Yukio |script-title=ja:決定版 三島由紀夫全集 補巻 補遺・索引 |publisher=Shinchosha |date=2005 |isbn=978-4-10-642583-7 |language=ja |trans-title=Definitive Edition - Yukio Mishima Complete Works Supplementary Volume - Addenda, Indexes |ref={{Harvid|Complete-Su|2005}}}}
* {{Cite book |last=Mishima |first=Yukio |script-title=ja:決定版 三島由紀夫全集 別巻 映画「憂国」(DVD) |publisher=Shinchosha |date=2006 |isbn=978-4-10-642584-4 |language=ja |trans-title=Definitive Edition - Yukio Mishima Complete Works Separate Volume - Movie "Patriotism" (DVD) |ref={{Harvid|Complete-Se|2006}}}}
* {{Cite book |last=Mishima |first=Yukio |script-title=ja:[[:ja:英霊の聲|英霊の聲]] オリジナル版 |publisher=Kawade Shobō Shinsha |date=2005 |orig-date=1st pub. 1966 |series=Kawade Bunko |edition=Paperback |isbn=978-4-309-40771-5 |language=ja |trans-title=Voices of the Fallen Heroes - Original Version |ref={{Harvid|Heroes|2005}}}}
* {{Cite book |last=Mishima |first=Yukio |script-title=ja:[[:ja:幸福号出帆|幸福号出帆]] |publisher=Kadokawa Shoten |date=2010 |orig-date=1st pub. Shinchosha:1956 |series=Kadokawa Bunko |edition=Paperback |isbn=978-4-04-121216-5 |language=ja |trans-title=The S.S. Happiness Sets Sail |ref={{Harvid|Happy|2010}}}}
* {{Cite book |editor-last= |script-title=ja:新文芸読本 三島由紀夫 |publisher=Kawade Shobō Shinsha |date=1990 |isbn=978-4-309-70155-4 |language=ja |trans-title=New Literary Reader: Yukio Mishima |ref={{Harvid|N-Reader|1990}}}}
* {{Cite book |editor-last=|script-title=ja:近代作家追悼文集成〈42〉三島由紀夫 |publisher=Yumani Shobo |date=1999 |isbn=978-4-89714-645-4 |language=ja |trans-title=Collection of Memorial Texts for Modern Writers 42: Yukio Mishima |ref={{Harvid|memorial|1999}}}}
* {{Cite book |last1=Agata |first1=Mitsunori |last2=others |script-title=ja:殉国の行動者 三島由紀夫 |publisher=Asia Shimbunsha |date=2025 |isbn=978-4-9911961-3-3 |language=ja |trans-title=Martyr to the Country: Yukio Mishima |ref={{Harvid|20 persons|2025}}}}
* {{Cite book |last1=Akiyama |first1=Shun |author-link=Shun Akiyama |last2=others |script-title=ja:三島由紀夫 |publisher=Shogakukan |date=1990 |series=Gunzo - Japanese Authors 18 |isbn=978-4-09-567018-8 |language=ja |trans-title=Yukio Mishima |ref={{Harvid|Gunzo18|1990}}}}
* {{Cite book |last=Andō |first=Takeshi |script-title=ja:三島由紀夫「日録」|publisher=Michitani |date=1996 |isbn=978-4-915841-39-2 |language=ja |trans-title="Daily Record" of Yukio Mishima |ref={{Harvid|Ando|1996}}}}
* {{Cite book |last=Andō |first=Takeshi |script-title=ja:三島由紀夫の生涯 |publisher=Natsume Shobo |date=1998 |isbn=978-4-931391-39-0 |language=ja |trans-title=The Life of Yukio Mishima |ref={{Harvid|Ando|1998}}}}
* {{Cite book |last=Date |first=Munekatsu |script-title=ja:裁判記録「三島由紀夫事件」 |publisher=Kodansha |date=1972 |id={{NCID|BN0140450X}} |language=ja |trans-title=Judicial Record of the "Mishima Incident" |ref={{Harvid|Date|1972}}}}
* {{Cite book |last=Etsugu |first=Tomoko |script-title=ja:三島由紀夫 文学の軌跡 |publisher=Kōronsha |date=1983 |id={{NCID|BN00378721}} |language=ja |trans-title=Yukio Mishima: Trajectory of His Literature |ref={{Harvid|Etsugu|1983}}}}
* {{Cite book |last=Fukushima |first=Jirō |script-title=ja:三島由紀夫―剣と寒紅|publisher=Bungeishunjū |date=1998 |isbn=978-4-16-317630-7 |language=ja |trans-title=Yukio Mishima: Sword and Winter Red |ref={{Harvid|Fukushima|1998}}}} an out-of-print book for copyright violation
* {{Cite book |last=Fukushima |first=Jurō |script-title=ja:再訂資料・三島由紀夫|publisher=Chobunsha |date=2005 |orig-date=1st pub. Shinjinbutu Ōraisha:1975 |edition=Enlarged |isbn=978-4-88695-180-9 |language=ja |trans-title=Re-Edition Document - Yukio Mishima |ref={{Harvid|Jurō|2005}}}}
* {{Cite book |editor1-last=Hasegawa |editor1-first=Izumi |editor2-last=Takeda |editor2-first=Katsuhiko |script-title=ja:三島由紀夫事典 |publisher=Meiji Shoin |date=1976 |id={{NCID|BN01686605}} |isbn=978-4-625-40025-4 |language=ja |trans-title=Encyclopedia of Yukio Mishima |ref={{Harvid|O-Encyclo|1976}}}}
* {{Cite book |editor-last=Hijiya-Kirschnereit |editor-first=Irmela |editor-link=Irmela Hijiya-Kirschnereit |script-title=ja:MISHIMA!―三島由紀夫の知的ルーツと国際的インパクト |publisher=Shōwado |date=2010 |isbn=978-4-8122-1064-2 |language=ja |trans-title=MISHIMA!: The Intellectual Roots of Yukio Mishima and the International Impact |ref={{Harvid|Irmela|2010}}}}
* {{Cite book |last=Hirano |first=Keiichiro |author-link=Keiichiro Hirano |script-title=ja:三島由紀夫論 |publisher=Shinchosha |date=2023 |isbn=978-4-10-426010-2 |language=ja |trans-title=An Essay on Yukio Mishima |ref={{Harvid|Hirano|2023}}}}
* {{Cite book |last=Hiraoka |first=Azusa |script-title=ja:伜・三島由紀夫 |publisher=Bungeishunjū |date=1996 |orig-date=1st pub. 1972 |series=Bunshu Bunko |edition=Paperback |isbn=978-4-16-716204-7 |language=ja |trans-title=My Son - Yukio Mishima |ref={{Harvid|Azusa|1996}}}}
* {{Cite book |last=Honda |first=Shōgo |script-title=ja:物語 戦後文学史（上） |publisher=Iwanami Shoten |date=2005 |orig-date=1st pub. Shinchosha:1960 |series=Iwanami Gendai Bunko Literature 91 |isbn=978-4-00-602091-0 |language=ja |trans-title=Story: Postwar Literary History |volume=1 |ref={{Harvid|Honda1|2005}}}}
* {{Cite book |last=Honda |first=Shōgo |script-title=ja:物語 戦後文学史（中） |publisher=Iwanami Shoten |date=2005 |orig-date=1st pub. Shinchosha:1962 |series=Iwanami Gendai Bunko Literature 92 |isbn=978-4-00-602092-7 |language=ja |trans-title=Story: Postwar Literary History |volume=2 |ref={{Harvid|Honda2|2005}}}}
* {{Cite book |last=Hosaka |first=Masayasu |script-title=ja:三島由紀夫と楯の会事件 |publisher=Kadokawa Shoten |date=2001 |orig-date=1st pub. Kodansha:1980 |edition=Enlarged/Revised |series=Kadokawa Bunko |isbn=978-4-04-355602-1 |language=ja |trans-title=Yukio Mishima and the Tatenokai Incident |ref={{Harvid|Hosaka|2001}}}}
* {{Cite book |last1=Inose |first1=Naoki |last2=Satō |first2=Hiroaki |title=Persona: A Biography of Yukio Mishima |location=Berkeley, California |publisher=Stone Bridge Press |date=2012 |isbn=978-1-61172-008-2 |ref={{Harvid|Inose-e|2012}}}}
* {{Cite book |last=Inose |first=Naoki |author-link=Naoki Inose |script-title=ja:ペルソナ―三島由紀夫伝 |publisher=Bungeishunjū |date=1999 |orig-date=1st pub. 1995 |series=Bunshun Bunko |edition=Paperback |isbn=978-4-16-743109-9 |language=ja |trans-title=Persona: A Biography of Yukio Mishima |ref={{Harvid|Inose-j|1999}}}}
* {{Cite book |last=Inoue |first=Takashi |script-title=ja:三島由紀夫 幻の遺作を読む―もう一つの『豊饒の海』 |publisher=Kobunsha |date=2010 |series=Kobunsha Shinsho |isbn=978-4-334-03594-5 |language=ja |trans-title=Reading a Never-before-published Phantom Posthumous Work of Yukio Mishima: Another "The Sea of Fertility" |ref={{Harvid|Inoue|2010}}}}
* {{Cite book |editor1-last=Isoda |editor1-first=Kōichi |script-title=ja:新潮日本文学アルバム20 三島由紀夫 |publisher=Shinchosha |date=1983 |series=Shincho Japanese literature Album No.20 |isbn=978-4-10-620620-7 |language=ja |trans-title=Yukio Mishima |ref={{Harvid|Album|1983}}}}
* {{Cite book |last1=Itagaki |first1=Shin |last2=Fukuda |first2=Kiyoto |script-title=ja:川端康成―人と作品 |publisher=Shimizu Shoin |date=2016 |orig-date=1st pub. 1969 |edition=New Binding |series=Century Books - Men and Works 20 |isbn=978-4-389-40109-2 |language=ja|trans-title=Yasunari Kawabata - The Man and His Works |ref={{Harvid|Itagaki|2016}}}}
* {{Cite book |last=Itasaka |first=Gō |script-title=ja:真説・三島由紀夫―謎の原郷 |publisher=Natsume Shobo |date=1998 |isbn=978-4-931391-44-4 |language=ja |trans-title=A True Theory on Yukio Mishima: Mysterious Urheimat |ref={{Harvid|Itasaka|1998}}}}
* {{Cite book |last1=Itasaka |first1=Gō |last2=Suzuki |first2=Kunio |script-title=ja:三島由紀夫と一九七〇年 |publisher=Rokusaisha |date=2010 |isbn=978-4-8463-0772-1 |language=ja |trans-title=Yukio Mishima and 1970 |ref={{Harvid|Itasaka&Suzuki|2010}}}}
* {{Cite book |last=Itō |first=Katsuhiko |script-title=ja:最後のロマンティーク 三島由紀夫 |publisher=Shinyōsha |date=2006 |isbn=978-4-7885-0981-8 |language=ja |trans-title=The Last Romantic: Yukio Mishima |ref={{Harvid|Ito|2006}}}}
* {{Cite book |last=Iwashita |first=Hisafumi |script-title=ja:見出された恋 「金閣寺」への船出 |publisher=Yūzankaku |date=2008 |isbn=978-4-639-02024-0 |language=ja |trans-title=A Love Found: Sailing into "The Temple of the Golden Pavilion" |ref={{Harvid|Iwashita|2008}}}}
* {{Cite book |last=Iwashita |first=Hisafumi |script-title=ja:ヒタメン―三島由紀夫が女に逢う時… |publisher=Yūzankaku |date=2011 |isbn=978-4-639-02197-1 |language=ja |trans-title=The Face with No Mask: When Yukio Mishima Meet with His Woman… |ref={{Harvid|Iwashita|2011}}}}
** {{Cite book |last=Iwashita |first=Hisafumi |script-title=ja:直面（ヒタメン）―三島由紀夫の若き日の恋 |publisher=Bungeishunjū |date=2016 |orig-date=1st pub. Yūzankaku:2011 |series=Bunshun Bunko |edition=Paperback |isbn=978-4-16-790735-8 |language=ja |trans-title=The Face with No Mask (Hitamen): Yukio Mishima's Love in His Youth |ref={{Harvid|Iwashita|2016}}}}
* {{Cite book |last=Kapur |first=Nick |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Re5hDwAAQBAJ |title=Japan at the Crossroads: Conflict and Compromise after Anpo |location=Cambridge, Massachusetts |publisher=Harvard University Press |date=2018 |isbn=978-0-674-98850-7 }} {{isbn|978-0-674-98848-4}}.
* {{Cite book |last=Kawabata |first=Yasunari |script-title=ja:川端康成全集 第10巻 小説10 |publisher=Shinchosha |date=1980 |isbn=978-4-10-643810-3 |language=ja |trans-title=Yasunari Kawabata Complete Works No.10 - Novels 10 |ref={{Harvid|Kawabata10|1980}}}}
* {{Cite book |last=Kawashima |first=Masaru |script-title=ja:三島由紀夫 |publisher=Bungeishunjū |date=1996 |isbn=978-4-16-351280-8 |language=ja |trans-title=Yukio Mishima |ref={{Harvid|Kawashima|1996}}}}
* {{Cite book |last=Keene |first=Donald |author-link=Donald Keene |translator1-last=Tokuoka |translator1-first=Takao |translator2-last=Kakuchi |translator2-first=Yukio |script-title=ja:日本文学史―近代・現代篇（六）|publisher=Chuokoron-Shinsha |date=2012 |orig-date=1st pub. 1992 |edition=Paperback |isbn=978-4-12-205647-3 |language=ja |trans-title=History of Japanese Literature: Modern/Contemporary pieces No.6 |ref={{Harvid|Keene|2012}}}}
* {{Cite book |last=Kimura |first=Tokuzō |script-title=ja:文芸編集者の戦中戦後|publisher=Ōzorasha |date=1995 |isbn=978-4-7568-0007-7 |language=ja |trans-title= Wartime and Postwar of A Literary Editor |ref={{Harvid|Kimura|1995}}}}
* {{Cite book |last=Komatsu |first=Kazuo |script-title=ja:日本ファシズムと「国家改造」論  |publisher=Sekai Shoin |date=1991 |id={{NCID|BN0625039X}} |language=ja |trans-title= Japanese Fascism and the Theories of "National Reform" |ref={{Harvid|Komatsu|1991}}}}
* {{Cite book |last=Komuro |first=Naoki |script-title=ja:三島由紀夫が復活する|publisher=Mainichi Communications |date=1985 |id={{NCID|BN10913162}} |language=ja |trans-title=Yukio Mishima will be Resurrected |ref={{Harvid|Komuro|1985}}}}
* {{Cite book |last=Matsumoto |first=Tōru |script-title=ja:三島由紀夫 年表作家読本 |publisher=Kawade Shobō Shinsha |date=1990 |isbn=978-4-309-70052-6 |language=ja |trans-title=Yukio Mishima: Author's Chronological Reader |ref={{Harvid|Matsumoto|1990}}}}
* {{Cite book |editor1-last=Matsumoto |editor1-first=Tōru |editor2-last=Satō |editor2-first=Hideaki |editor3-last=Inoue |editor3-first=Takashi |script-title=ja:三島由紀夫事典|publisher=Bensei Shuppan |date=2000 |isbn=978-4-585-06018-5 |language=ja |trans-title=Encyclopedia of Yukio Mishima |ref={{Harvid|Encyclo|2000}}}}
* {{Cite book |editor-last=Matsumoto |editor-first=Tōru |script-title=ja:別冊太陽 日本のこころ175―三島由紀夫 |publisher=Heibonsha |date=2010 |isbn=978-4-582-92175-5 |language=ja |trans-title=Separate Volume Taiyo - Hearts of Japan 175: Yukio Mishima |ref={{Harvid|Taiyo|2010}}}}
* {{Cite book |last=Mitani |first=Makoto |script-title=ja:級友 三島由紀夫 |publisher=Chuokoron-Shinsha |date=1999 |orig-date=1st pub. Kasama Shoin:1985 (an out-of-print book) |series=Chuko Bunko |edition=Reprinted |isbn=978-4-12-203557-7 |language=ja |trans-title=My Classmate: Yukio Mishima |ref={{Harvid|Mitani|1999}}}}
* {{Cite book |last=Miyazaki |first=Masahiro |script-title=ja:三島由紀夫「以後」―日本が日本でなくなる日 |publisher=Namiki Shobo |date=1999 |isbn=978-4-89063-112-4 |language=ja |trans-title="After" Yukio Mishima: The Day When Japan is No Longer Japan |ref={{Harvid|Miyazaki|1999}}}}
* {{Cite book |editor-last=Miyoshi |editor-first=Yukio |script-title=ja:三島由紀夫必携 |publisher=Gakutōsha |date=1989 |isbn=978-4-312-00522-9 |language=ja |trans-title=Yukio Mishima Must-Have |ref={{Harvid|Must|1998}}}}
* {{Cite book |last1=Mochimaru |first1=Hiroshi |last2=Satō |first2=Matsuo |script-title=ja:証言 三島由紀夫・福田恆存 たった一度の対決 |publisher=Bungeishunjū |date=2010 |isbn=978-4-16-373250-3 |language=ja |trans-title=Testimonies: The Only Once Confrontation between Yukio Mishima and [[Tsuneari Fukuda]] |ref={{Harvid|Mochi|2010}}}}
* {{Cite book |last=Morita |first=Masakatsu |author-link=Masakatsu Morita |script-title=ja:わが思想と行動―遺稿集 |publisher=Nisshin Hōdō |date=2002 |orig-date=1st pub. 1971 |edition=New Format |isbn=978-4-8174-0528-9 |language=ja |trans-title=My Thoughts and Actions: His Posthumous Manuscripts |ref={{Harvid|Morita|2002}}}}
* {{Cite book |last=Murakami |first=Takeo |script-title=ja:君たちには分からない―「楯の會」で見た三島由紀夫 |publisher=Shinchosha |date=2010 |isbn=978-4-10-327851-1 |language=ja |trans-title=You Guys don't Understand: Yukio Mishima that I Saw in "Tatenokai" |ref={{Harvid|Murakami|2010}}}}
* {{Cite book |last=Muramatsu |first=Takeshi |script-title=ja:三島由紀夫の世界|publisher=Shinchosha |date=1990 |isbn=978-4-10-321402-1 |language=ja |trans-title=The World of Yukio Mishima |ref={{Harvid|Muramatsu|1990}}}}
* {{Cite book |last=Murata |first=Haruki |script-title=ja:三島由紀夫が生きた時代―楯の会と森田必勝 |publisher=Seirindo |date=2015 |isbn=978-4-7926-0532-2 |language=ja |trans-title=The Period when Yukio Mishima was Alive: The Tatenokai and Masakatsu Morita |ref={{Harvid|Murata|2015}}}}
* {{Cite book |last=Nagawa |first=Yumiko |script-title=ja:手記 三島由紀夫様 私は森田必勝の恋人でした|publisher=Shumei University Shuppan-kai |date=2023 |isbn=978-4-915855-47-4 |language=ja |trans-title=Notes: To Mr. Yukio Mishima, I was Masakatsu Morita's Girlfriend |ref={{Harvid|Yumiko|2024}}}} Her maiden name is Shibata.
* {{Cite book |last=Nakamura |first=Akihiko |script-title=ja:三島事件 もう一人の主役―烈士と呼ばれた森田必勝 |publisher=WAC inc. |date=2015 |orig-date=1st pub. Bungeishunjū:2000 |edition=Enlarged |isbn=978-4-89831-729-7 |language=ja |trans-title=Another Protagonist of the Mishima Incident: Masakatsu Morita who Called an Upright Man |ref={{Harvid|Nakamura|2015}}}}
* {{Cite book |last=Nathan |first=John |script-title=ja: Mishima: A Biography |location=Boston/Toronto |publisher=Little, Brown and Company |date=1974 |isbn=978-0-316-59844-6 |ref={{Harvid|Nathan-e|1974}}}}
* {{Cite book |last=Nathan |first=John |translator-last=Noguchi |translator-first=Takehiko |script-title=ja:新版 三島由紀夫─ある評伝 |publisher=Shinchosha |date=2000 |orig-date=1st pub. 1976 (an out-of-print book) |edition=New/Revised |isbn=978-4-10-505702-2 |language=ja |trans-title=New edition - Mishima: A Biography |ref={{Harvid|Nathan-j|2000}}}}
* {{Cite book |last=Nishi |first=Hōtaro |script-title=ja:死の貌―三島由紀夫の真実 |publisher=Ronsōsha |date=2017 |isbn=978-4-8460-1669-2 |language=ja |trans-title=The Appearance of Death: The Truth about Yukio Mishima |ref={{Harvid|Nishi|2017}}}}
* {{Cite book |last=Nishi |first=Hōtaro |script-title=ja:三島由紀夫事件 50年目の証言―警察と自衛隊は何を知っていたか |publisher=Shinchosha |date=2020 |isbn=978-4-10-353581-2 |language=ja |trans-title=Yukio Mishima Incident - Testimonies of 50 Years Later: What did the Police and the Self-Defense Forces Know |ref={{Harvid|Nishi|2020}}}}
* {{Cite book |last=Nosaka |first=Akiyuki |script-title=ja:赫奕たる逆光―私説・三島由紀夫|publisher=Bungeishunjū |date=1991 |orig-date=1st pub. 1987 |series=Bunshun Bunko |edition=Paperback |isbn=978-4-16-711912-6 |language=ja |trans-title=Brilliant Backlight: A Personal Opinion about Yukio Mishima |ref={{Harvid|Nosaka|1991}}}}
* {{Cite book |last=Okayama |first=Norihiro |script-title=ja:三島由紀夫外伝 |publisher=Sairyusha |date=2014 |isbn=978-4-7791-7022-5 |language=ja |trans-title=The Side Story of Yukio Mishima |ref={{Harvid|Side|2014}}}}
* {{Cite book |last=Okuno |first=Takeo |author-link=Takeo Okuno |script-title=ja:三島由紀夫伝説 |publisher=Shincho |date=2000 |orig-date=1st pub. 1993 |series=Shincho Bunko |edition=Revised/Paperback |isbn=978-4-10-135602-0 |language=ja |trans-title=Legend of Yukio Mishima |ref={{Harvid|Okuno|2000}}}}
* {{Cite book|editor-last=Religious Thought Research Society |script-title=ja:日本人の生死観 |publisher=Daizō Shuppan |date=1972 |id={{NCID|BN05030434}} |language=ja |trans-title=Japanese Views on Life and Death |ref={{Harvid|Reli|1972}}}}
* {{Cite book |editor1-last=Satō |editor1-first=Hideaki |editor2-last=Inoue |editor2-first=Takashi |editor3-last=Matsumoto |editor3-first=Tōru |script-title=ja:三島由紀夫と映画〈三島由紀夫研究2〉|publisher=Kanae Shobo |date=2006 |series=Research of Yukio Mishima 2 |isbn=978-4-907846-43-5 |language=ja |trans-title=Yukio Mishima and Movies |ref={{Harvid|Reseach2|2006}}}}
* {{Cite book |editor1-last=Satō |editor1-first=Hideaki |editor2-last=Inoue |editor2-first=Takashi |editor3-last=Matsumoto |editor3-first=Tōru |script-title=ja:三島由紀夫 金閣寺 〈三島由紀夫研究6〉|publisher=Kanae Shobo |date=2008 |series=Research of Yukio Mishima 6 |isbn=978-4-907846-58-9 |language=ja |trans-title=Yukio Mishima, The Temple of the Golden Pavilion |ref={{Harvid|Reseach6|2008}}}}
* {{Cite book |editor1-last=Satō |editor1-first=Hideaki |editor2-last=Yamanaka |editor2-first=Takeshi |editor3-last=Matsumoto |editor3-first=Tōru |script-title=ja:三島由紀夫のエンターテインメント〈三島由紀夫研究24〉|publisher=Kanae Shobo |date=2024 |series=Research of Yukio Mishima 24 |isbn=978-4-907282-97-4 |language=ja |trans-title=Yukio Mishima's Entertainment |ref={{Harvid|Reseach24|2024}}}}
* {{Cite book |editor1-last=Satō |editor1-first=Hideaki |editor2-last=Yamanaka |editor2-first=Takeshi |editor3-last=Matsumoto |editor3-first=Tōru |script-title=ja:同時代の証言 三島由紀夫 |publisher=Kanae Shobo |date=2011 |isbn=978-4-907846-77-0 |language=ja |trans-title=Testimonies of the Contemporaries: Yukio Mishima |ref={{Harvid|Testi|2011}}}}
* {{Cite book |last=Scott-Stokes |first=Henry |title=The Life and Death of Yukio Mishima |location=New York City |publisher=Cooper Square Press |date=2000 |edition=Enlarged/Revised |isbn=978-0-8154-1074-4 |ref={{Harvid|Stokes-e|2000}}}}
* {{Cite book |last=Scott-Stokes |first=Henry |translator-last=Tokuoka |translator-first=Takao |script-title=ja:三島由紀夫─死と真実 |publisher=Diamond, Inc. |date=1985 |isbn=978-4-478-94056-3 |language=ja |trans-title=The Life and Death of Yukio Mishima |ref={{Harvid|Stokes-j|1985}}}}
** {{Cite book |last=Scott-Stokes |first=Henry |translator-last=Tokuoka |translator-first=Takao |script-title=ja:三島由紀夫─生と死 |publisher=Seiryu Publ. |date=1998 |edition=Enlarged/Revised |isbn=978-4-916028-52-5 |language=ja |trans-title=The Life and Death of Yukio Mishima |ref={{Harvid|Stokes-j|1998}}}}
* {{Cite book |last1=Scott-Stokes |first1=Henry |last2=Kase |first2=Hideaki |translator-last=Fujita |translator-first=Hiroyuki |script-title=ja:なぜアメリカは、対日戦争を仕掛けたのか |publisher=Shodensha |date=2012 |series=Shodensha Shinsho |isbn=978-4-396-11287-5 |language=ja |trans-title=Reason Why America Set a Trap of the War against Japan |ref={{Harvid|Scott-Stokes|2012}}}}
* {{Cite book |last=Seikai |first=Ken |script-title=ja:三島由紀夫とニーチェ―悲劇的文化とイロニー |publisher=Seikyūsha |date=1992 |isbn=978-4-7872-9066-3 |language=ja |trans-title=Yukio Mishima and Nietzsche: Tragic Culture and Irony |ref={{Harvid|Seikai|1992}}}}
* {{Cite book |last=Seikai |first=Ken |script-title=ja:三島由紀夫の帰還―青海健評論集|publisher=Ozawa Shoten |date=2000 |isbn=978-4-7551-0393-3 |language=ja |trans-title=The Return of Yukio Mishima: Ken Seikai's Criticism Collection |ref={{Harvid|Seikai|2000}}}}
* {{Cite book |last1=Setouchi |first1=Jakucho |last2=Miwa |first2=Akihiro |script-title=ja:ぴんぽんぱん ふたり話 |publisher=Shueisha |date=2003 |isbn=978-4-08-775295-3 |language=ja |trans-title=Pin-pon-pan: Chatting of Two |ref={{Harvid|Setouchi|2003}}}}
* {{Cite book |last=Shibata |first=Shōji |script-title=ja:三島由紀夫 作品に隠された自決への道 |publisher=Shodensha |date=2012 |isbn=978-4-396-11300-1 |language=ja |trans-title=Yukio Mishima: The Path to Suicide Hidden in His Works |ref={{Harvid|Shibata|2012}}}}
* {{Cite book |last=Shiine |first=Yamato |script-title=ja:完全版 平凡パンチの三島由紀夫 |publisher=Matsurikasha (Kawade Shobō Shinsha) |date=2012 |orig-date=1st pub. 2007 |edition=Enlarged |isbn=978-4-309-90963-9 |language=ja |trans-title= Complete Version: Yukio Mishima from Heibon Punch |ref={{Harvid|Shiine|2012}}}}
* {{Cite book |last=Shimauchi |first=Keiji |script-title=ja:三島由紀夫―豊饒の海へ注ぐ |publisher=Minerva Shobo |date=2010 |series=Minerva Japan Biography Selection |isbn=978-4-623-05912-6 |language=ja |trans-title=Yukio Mishima: Flows into The Sea of Fertility |ref={{Harvid|Shima|2010}}}}
* {{Cite book |last=Sugiyama |first=Takao |script-title=ja:「兵士」になれなかった三島由紀夫 |publisher=Shogakukan |date=2007 |series=Soldier Series |isbn=978-4-09-379773-3 |language=ja |trans-title=Yukio Mishima, who could not Become a "Soldier" |ref={{Harvid|Sugiyama|2007}}}}
* {{Cite book |last1=Suzuki |first1=Ayumi |last2=Tamura |first2=Tsukasa (supervisor) |script-title=ja:火群のゆくへ―元楯の会会員たちの心の軌跡 |publisher=Hakurosha |date=2005 |isbn=978-4-434-07066-2 |language=ja |trans-title=Whereabouts of the Flames: The Trajectories of Their Hearts who once Belonged to the Tatenokai |ref={{Harvid|Suzuki|2005}}}}
* {{Cite book |last=Takemoto |first=Tadao |script-title=ja:パリ憂国忌―三島由紀夫VSヨーロッパ |publisher=Nippon Kyobunsha |date=1998 |orig-date=1st pub. 1981 |edition=3rd |isbn=978-4-531-06116-7 |language=ja |trans-title=Paris Yūkoku-ki: Yukio Mishima VS Europe |ref={{Harvid|Takemoto|1998}}}}
* {{Cite book |last=Tekina |first=Osamu |script-title=ja: ミシマの警告―保守を偽装するB層の害毒 |publisher=Kodansha |date=2015 |isbn=978-4-06-272784-6 |language=ja |trans-title=Mishima's Warnings: The Poison of the B-class Disguised as Conservative |ref={{Harvid|Tekina|2015}}}}
* {{Cite book |last1=Toda |first1=Yoshio |last2=Nagafuji |first2=Takeshi |script-title=ja:よみがえる三島由紀夫―霊の人の文学と武と |publisher=Nippon Kyobunnsha |date=1978 |id={{NCID|BN09146011}} |isbn=978-4531060924 |language=ja |trans-title=Yukio Mishima Resurrected: The Person of Spirit, His Literature and Martial Arts |ref={{Harvid|Toda|1978}}}}
* {{Cite book |last=Tokuoka |first=Takao |script-title=ja:五衰の人―三島由紀夫私記 |publisher=Bungeishunjū |date=1999 |orig-date=1st pub. 1996 |edition=Paperback |isbn=978-4-16-744903-2 |language=ja |trans-title=The Man of the Decay of the Angel: Private Notes about Yukio Mishima |ref={{Harvid|Tokuoka|1999}}}}
* {{Cite book |last=Vernon |first=David |script-title=ja:極上の空：三島由紀夫の小説 |publisher=Endellion Press |date=2025 |id={{NCID|BN10688248}} |isbn=978-1739136130 |language=ja |trans-title=Exquisite Nothingness: The Novels of Yukio Mishima|ref={{Harvid|Vernon|2025}}}}
* {{Cite book |last=Yamamoto |first=Kiyokatsu |script-title=ja:三島由紀夫・憂悶の祖国防衛賦―市ケ谷決起への道程と真相 |publisher=Nihon Bungeisha |date=1980 |id={{NCID|BN10688248}} |isbn=978-4-537-00517-2 |language=ja |trans-title=Yukio Mishima - An Anguish [[Fu (poetry)|Verse]] of Fatherland Defense: The Path to the Ichigaya Uprising and the Truth |ref={{Harvid|Yamamoto|1980}}}}
* {{Cite book |last=Yamamoto |first=Kiyokatsu |script-title=ja:自衛隊「影の部隊」―三島由紀夫を殺した真実の告白|publisher=Kodansha |date=2001 |isbn=978-4-06-210781-5 |language=ja |trans-title=Japan Self-Defense Forces "A Unit of Shadow": Confession of a Truth that Killed Yukio Mishima |ref={{Harvid|Yamamoto|2001}}}}
* {{Cite book |last=Yamauchi |first=Yukito |script-title=ja:三島由紀夫の肉体 |publisher=Kawade Shobō Shinsha |date=2014 |isbn=978-4-309-02318-2 |language=ja |trans-title=Yukio Mishima's Body |ref={{Harvid|Yukito|2014}}}}
* {{Cite book |last=Yuasa |first=Atsuko |script-title=ja:ロイと鏡子|publisher=Chuoukoronsha |date=1984 |isbn=978-4-12-001276-1 |language=ja |trans-title=Roy & Kyoko |ref={{Harvid|Yuasa|1984}}}} {{Nihongo|''Atsuko Yuasa''|湯浅あつ子}} was an old friend of Mishima, and her house was model of {{Nihongo|''Kyōko no Ie''|[[:ja:鏡子の家|鏡子の家]]||"[[Kyōko no Ie]]"}}. Her husband was Japanese TV personality {{Nihongo|Roy James|[[:ja:ロイ・ジェームス|ロイ・ジェームス]]}}.
* {{Cite book |editor-last= |script-title=ja:新潮 1月・臨時増刊 三島由紀夫読本 |publisher=Shinchosha |date=1971 |asin=B00QRZ32NO |language=ja |trans-title=Shinchō – January Extra Special Issue: Yukio Mishima Reader |ref={{Harvid|Shincho1|1971}}}}
* {{Cite book |editor-last= |script-title=ja:ユリイカ 特集 攻殻機動隊 STAND ALONE COMPLEX |publisher=Seidosha |date=2005 |isbn=978-4-7917-0139-1 |language=ja |trans-title=Eureka - Special Feature: Ghost in the Shell STAND ALONE COMPLEX |ref={{Harvid|Eureka|2005}}}}
* {{Cite book |editor-last= |script-title=ja:月刊日本2008年1月号 |publisher=K&K Press |date=2008 |asin=B001190EIW |language=ja |trans-title=Monthly Nippon - January 2008 Issue |volume=12 |ref={{Harvid|Nippon|2008}}}}

{{refend}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Yukio Mishima}}
{{wikiquote}}
* [http://www.mishimayukio.jp/ 三島由紀夫文学館 The Mishima Yukio Literary Museum website] In Japanese only, with the exception of one page (see "English Guide" at top right)
* [http://bungakunomori.jp/facility.php?id=1 山中湖文学の森公園「三島由紀夫文学館」Yamanakako Forest Park of Literature "Mishima Yukio Literary Museum"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200516153534/http://bungakunomori.jp/facility.php?id=1 |date=16 May 2020 }}
* {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091027160204/http://geocities.com/CapitolHill/6824/gnosis.htm |date=27 October 2009 |title=Yukio Mishima: A 20th Century Samurai }}
* {{Books and Writers |id=mishima |name=Yukio Mishima}}
* [http://faculty.washington.edu/kendo/mishima.html Mishima chronology, with links]
* [http://www.meaus.com/MISHIMA.html Yukio Mishima: The Harmony of Pen and Sword], a ceremony commemorating his 70th birthday
* {{YouTube|id=DPAZQ6mhRcU|title=Yukio Mishima speaking in English, On The Samurai Spirit}}, from a 1980s BBC documentary (9:02)
* {{YouTube|id=IasOkulcDQk|title=Rare 1969 interview with Yukio Mishima}}, from Canadian Television (3:59)
* {{YouTube|hLGMm6c_BCA&t|Yukio Mishima on The end of WWII}} – Full NHK Interview in 1966 (9:21)
* [https://www.japantimes.co.jp/culture/2019/04/27/books/yukio-mishima-tries-personal-branding-rediscovered-star/#.XMbHCC-B2i4 Yukio Mishima's attempt at personal branding comes to light in the rediscovered 'Star'], Nicolas Gattig, ''The Japan Times'' (27 April 2019)
*{{IMDb name|nm0592758}}

{{Yukio Mishima}}
{{Shōwa nationalism}}
{{Japanese coups}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Mishima, Yukio}}