Yukio Mishima before his failed coup

Yukio Mishima was as Japanese playwright, novelist, actor and film-maker whose life was the subject of the Paul Schrader film Mishima: A Life In four Parts,1985.

His novella The Sailor Who Fell From Grace with the Sea was filmed by Lewis John Carlino in 1976.

Mishima’s childhood was dominated by his grandmother, a woman whose occasional violent outbursts are thought to be the reason for his obsession with death.

At 12 he enrolled in the exclusive Peers school. He was made head of poetry after six years. His works were soon published.

He faked some of the effects of tubercolosis to avoid fighting in world war ii.