Yukio Mishima (1925–1970) was one of the giants of Japanese letters as well as an outspoken Right-wing nationalist. Mishima shocked the world on November 25, 1970, when he and members of his private militia, the Tatenokai or Shield Society, took hostage the commander of the Japan Self-Defense Force’s Ichigaya Camp. Mishima then delivered a speech... Read More

I read with great interest Guillaume Durocher’s recent Unz Review article on Yukio Mishima’s commentary on the Hagakure, the eighteenth-century guide to Bushido, or Japanese warrior ethics. I rate Durocher’s work very highly, and as someone who once shared his interest in Mishima, and Japanese culture more generally, I expected the piece to be well-informed,... Read More

For as long as I have known about him, I have been fascinated by the Japanese writer and artist Yukio Mishima. I think the first time I heard of him was when my favorite history professor, an older fellow specializing in East Asia, spoke in exhilarating terms of Mishima, all the while naughtily adding :... Read More