Mishima and Extremity

Yukio Mishima marks the extreme edge of Japanese literature: a writer of rare talent who grew obsessed with tradition, physical beauty, and the samurai code. He formed a private militia and, in 1970, ended his life by ritual seppuku after a speech to soldiers.

His novels, including The Temple of the Golden Pavilion and the Sea of Fertility tetralogy, probe beauty, decay, and the clash between modern Japan and its imperial past. His life forces an uneasy question: can artistic genius and political extremism live in the same person?