Yukio Mishima
Born 14 January 1925 · Died 25 November 1970
From Tokyo, Japan · Nationality: Japan · Writes fiction and nonfiction
Kimitake Hiraoka (平岡 公威, Hiraoka Kimitake; 14 January 1925 – 25 November 1970), known by his pen name Yukio Mishima (三島 由紀夫, Mishima Yukio), was a Japanese writer, playwright, actor, martial artist, model, and the leader of an attempted coup d'état that culminated in his ritual suicide by seppuku.
Mishima is considered one of the most important postwar stylists of the Japanese language. He was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature five times in the 1960s. His works include the novels Confessions of a Mask and The Temple of the Golden Pavilion, and the autobiographical essay Sun and Steel.
Mishima's political activities made him a controversial figure. From his mid-30s onwards, his far-right ideology and reactionary beliefs became increasingly evident.
Quotes
“All my life I have been acutely aware of a contradiction in the very nature of my existence. For forty-five years I struggled to resolve this dilemma by writing plays and novels. The more I wrote, the more I realized mere words were not enough. So I found another form of expression.”
As quoted in Mishima : A Life in Four Chapters 1985 . “I want to make a poem of my life.”
As quoted by Mishima's biographer, Henry Scott-Stokes in the documentary Yukio M “The most appropriate type of daily life for me was a day-by-day world destruction; peace was the most difficult and abnormal state to live in.”
Sun and Steel, p. 57 “There is no virtue in curiosity. In fact, it might be the most immoral desire a man can possess.”
Confessions of a Mask, p. 222 “At no time are we ever in such complete possession of a journey, down to its last nook and cranny, as when we are busy with preparations for it. After that, there remains only the journey itself, which is nothing but the process through which we lose our ownership of it.”
Confessions of a Mask, p. 118
Quotes from Wikiquote (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Books by Yukio Mishima in order
Books by Yukio Mishima in the order they were published, from Thirst for Love (1951) to Life for Sale (2019).
- 1Thirst for Love
Thirst for Love1951 - 2The Sound of Waves
The Sound of Waves1956 - 3The Temple of the Golden Pavillion
The Temple of the Golden Pavillion1956 - 4Five Modern No Plays
Five Modern No Plays1957 - 5Confessions of a Mask
Confessions of a Mask1958 - 6After the Banquet
After the Banquet1960 - 7Forbidden Colours
Forbidden Colours1964 - 8The Sailor Who Fell From Grace With the Sea
The Sailor Who Fell From Grace With the Sea1965 - 9Death in Midsummer, and Other Stories
Death in Midsummer, and Other Stories1966 - 10The Way of the Samurai
The Way of the Samurai1967 - 11The Sea of Fertility
The Sea of Fertility1968 - 12Spring Snow. Translated from the Japanese by Michael Gallagh
Spring Snow. Translated from the Japanese by Michael Gallagher1969 - 13Sun & Steel
Sun & Steel1970 - 14Sun and Steel
Sun and Steel1970 - 15The Temple of Dawn
The Temple of Dawn1970 - 16Spring Snow
Spring Snow1972 - 17My Friend Hitler and Other Plays of Mishima Yukio
My Friend Hitler and Other Plays of Mishima Yukio2002 - 18La Escuela De La Carne
La Escuela De La Carne2012 - 19Life for Sale
Life for Sale2019 - 20Acts of Worship
Acts of Worship - 21Decay of Angel
Decay of Angel - 22Patriotism
Patriotism - 23Runaway Horses
Runaway Horses - 24The Temple of the Golden Pavilion
The Temple of the Golden Pavilion