The Strange Case of Yukio Mishima - 1985 - BBC - Arena - documentary

This BBC produced documentary about Yukio Mishima highlights the many known major aspects of his life and personality. Mishima was a pen name he adopted en route to his chosen life as a writer. He eventually became recognized as one of Japan's most prolific post-World War II writers, producing stories, plays and novels. He became tortured by his bisexuality/homosexuality and shyness around people as a young man. Both of these played a role in his work as did many other eventful occurrences throughout his life. Mishima had an admirable dedication to the forgotten samurai way of life and ideals, which later turned into an unhealthy obsession, culminating in the storming of a general's garrison on November 25, 1970. It was Mishima's way of combining beauty, art, and action; ultimately the garrison forced to assemble and listen to his speech on that day rejected him. Mishima gave his life for his ideals, however misguided and twisted one might think him to be. His literary output of 40 novels, 18 plays (both for Noh and Kabuki theater), 20 books of short stories, 20 books of essays, and a film remain a testament to his talent despite his simultaneous tendency, at times, to be commercial, controversial, and unconventional.

Yukio Mishima (三島 由紀夫 Mishima Yukio?) is the pen name of Kimitake Hiraoka (平岡 公威 Hiraoka Kimitake?, January 14, 1925 – November 25, 1970), a Japanese author, poet, playwright, actor, and film director. Mishima is considered one of the most important Japanese authors of the 20th century; he was nominated three times for the Nobel Prize in Literature and was poised to win the prize in 1968 although lost the award to his fellow countryman Yasunari Kawabata, presumably because of his radical right-wing activities. His avant-garde work displayed a blending of modern and traditional aesthetics that broke cultural boundaries, with a focus on sexuality, death, and political change. He is also remembered for his ritual suicide by seppuku after a failed coup d'état attempt, known as the "Mishima Incident".