Yukio Mishima

Yukio Mishima (三島由紀夫 Mishima Yukio), was the public name of Kimitake Hiraoka (平岡公威 Hiraoka Kimitake), (January 14, 1925 - November 25, 1970), a Japanese author and rightist political activist, notable for both his nihilistic post-war writing and the circumstances of his suicide.

Postwar Literature

Mishima began his first novel, Tōzoku (Thieves), in 1946 and published it in 1948. It was followed up by Kamen no Kokuhaku (Confessions of a Mask), an autobiographical work about a young latent homosexual who must hide behind a mask in order to fit into society. The novel was extremely successful and made Mishima a celebrity at the age of 24.

Related Topics:
1946 - 1948 - Autobiographical - Homosexual

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Mishima was a very disciplined and versatile writer: He wrote not only novels and popular serial novellas, short stories and literary essays but also highly acclaimed traditional Kabuki plays.

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His writing gained him international celebrity and a sizable following in Europe and America, as many of his most famous works were translated into English.

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He travelled extensively and was nominated for the Nobel Prize for Literature three times and was the darling of many foreign publications. However, in 1968 his friend Yasunari Kawabata won the Prize and Mishima realized that the chances of it being given to another Japanese author in the near future were slim. It is also believed that Mishima wanted to leave the prize to the aging and severely ill Kawabata, out of respect for the man who had first introduced him to the literary circles of Tokyo in the 40's.

Related Topics:
Nobel Prize - Yasunari Kawabata

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