Mishima, Yukio

Mishima, Yukio ( 1925 – 70 ),
Japanese novelist. Although married, with children, Mishima's work is suffused with a strong homoerotic sensibility. His first—and some say his best—novel, Confessions of a Mask ( 1949 ), deals directly with homosexuality, as does Forbidden Colours ( 1954 ). Even his later, political activities, culminating in his ritual samurai-style suicide, reflect his aesthetic and sexual preoccupations.