Mishima, Yukio (Pseudonym of Kimitake Hiraoko) - Mishima, Yukio (Pseudonym of Kimitake Hiraoko) 1925–1970
Mishima, Yukio (Pseudonym of Kimitake Hiraoko) 1925–1970
Mishima was a prolific Japanese novelist, essayist, and playwright who was obsessed, both in his life and his art, with what he called "my heart's leaning toward Death and Night and Blood." As a child he was fascinated by pictures of samaurai warriors committing ritual suicide. Mishima in his work combined elements of both Eastern and Western literature with a desire for a return to the perfection of the past; he created a literature, often autobiographical, which dealt with such contemporary questions as the human capacity for evil and the meaninglessness of life. After an unsuccessful attempt to incite the Japanese army to riot for a return to imperialistic tradition, Mishima committed seppuku, the ritual suicide; it was the only act, he felt, that could affirm his personal convictions and that could make him comprehend his own existence. (See also CLC, Vols. 2, 4, 6, and...
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