Mishima Incident

Mishima Incident
Mishima giving a speech on the balcony
Date	November 25, 1970 (1970-11-25)
Location	Ichigaya-honmura-cho 1-banchi, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo, Japan Japan Ground Self-Defense Force Camp Ichigaya
Goals	Revision of the constitution
Methods	Hostage, Speech
Resulted in	Committing seppuku
Parties
Tatenokai Japan Ground Self-Defense Force
Lead figures
Yukio Mishima Kanetoshi Mashita (益田兼利)
Number
5 about 12
Casualties
Death	2
Injuries	8
Arrested	3

The Mishima Incident (三島事件, Mishima Jiken) occurred on November 25, 1970, where the Japanese author Yukio Mishima committed seppuku after calling on the Japan Self-Defense Forces to stage a coup d'état to abolish Article 9 of the Japanese Constitution and appealing to his own ideas and beliefs about reconstructing true national autonomy. The incident is sometimes called the Tatenokai Incident (楯の会事件, Tatenokai Jiken) after the name of the private militia, Tatenokai, of which Mishima was the captain, as members of that organization also participated in the incident.

This incident not only sent shockwaves through Japanese society, but also became breaking news outside of Japan, where people expressed shock at the unprecedented actions of an internationally renowned author. Mishima's shocking death sent huge ripples through Japanese society and literary circles, and it was said that Mishima's death marked the end of an era. It also had a major impact on Japan's political climate, including the rise to the New Right, which grew out of minzoku-ha. In Japan, in a survey conducted by the monthly magazine Bungei Shunjū in 2000 on the "20 Greatest Events of the 20th Century," the Mishima Incident was ranked second, ahead of global events such as the fall of the Berlin Wall.

This incident was a political protest and a demonstration of their political vision, but the actions themselves were not directly aimed at political terrorism or seizing power with the aim of overthrowing the government, as has become clear from court investigations and Mishima's suicide note. However, this incident is considered to have had historical significance that will have long-lasting repercussions in Japanese society.

Details of the incident

Visit and restraint of commander

The Camp Ichigaya, where the incident took place. At the time of the incident, the sign read "Ground Self-Defense Force, Camp Ichigaya" (陸上自衛隊 市ヶ谷駐とん地) in calligraphy style, with the kanji character "屯" (ton) was written in hiragana "とん" (ton). The Eastern Army Headquarters, that was located here, was relocated to Camp Asaka in 1994.

At around 10:58 am, on November 25, 1970, Yukio Mishima (age 45), along with four other members of the Tatenokai, Masakatsu Morita (age 25), Masayoshi Koga (小賀正義) (age 22), Masahiro Ogawa (小川正洋) (age 22), and Hiroyasu Koga (age 23), passed through the main gate (Yotsuya Gate) of the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force Camp Ichigaya (市ヶ谷駐屯地, Ichigaya Chūtonchi) at Ichigaya Honmura-cho (市谷本村町), Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo, by their car, and arrived at the main entrance leading to the Commandant General's office on the second floor of the Eastern Army Headquarters. They were guided up the front stairs by Major Yasuharu Sawamoto (沢本泰治), who had greeted them, and then shown to the Commandant General's office by Colonel Isamu Hara (原勇) (age 50), head of the Commandant General's Office of Operations.

This visit had been booked for November 21, and Sergeant Ryoichi Nakao (中尾良一) of the Operations Office had contacted the guard post via internal line, saying, "Mr. Yukio Mishima will be arriving by car around 11 o'clock, so please give him a free pass." The gatekeeper, Sergeant Akira Suzuki (鈴木偣), simply exchanged salutes with Mishima in the passenger seat and he was allowed through.

Mishima was invited to sit down on the lounge sofa, where he introduced Masakatsu Morita and the three others to the Commander-in-Chief, Lieutenant General Kanetoshi Mashita (益田兼利) (age 57), by name, one by one, while they stood upright, as "outstanding members" who would be honored at the regular meeting. He then explained the reason he had brought the four along, saying, "The reason I brought these guys today is because, during their trial enlistment in November, they sacrificially carried the injured men down the mountain on their backs, so I wanted to honor them at the regular meeting at Ichigaya Hall (市ヶ谷会館, Ichigaya Kaikan) today, and I brought them along so that I could meet the Commander-in-Chief at a glance. Today is a regular meeting, so we came in formal uniform."

While the Commander, Lieutenant General Mashita and Mishima were sitting across from each other on the sofa talking, the topic turned to the Japanese sword "Seki Magoroku" (関孫六) that Mishima had brought with him. The General Mashita asked, "Is it genuine?" and "Won't you be scolded by the police for carrying such a sword?" Mishima replied, "This sword is a Seki Magoroku that has been remade into a military sword. Would you like to see this certificate?" and showed him the certificate, which read "Seki Kanemoto" (関兼元).

Mishima unsheathed his sword and asked Masayoshi Koga (小賀正義) (nickname "Chibi-Koga") for a tenugui (traditional Japanese thin, strong towel) to wipe off the oil, saying, "Koga, a handkerchief", which was a prearranged signal to begin action. However, General Mashita made an unexpected move by heading toward his desk and saying, "How about washi tissue paper (ちり紙, chirigami)?" Chibi-Koga lost sight of his purpose and had no choice but to approach Mishima and hand him a tenugui. Unable to find a suitable chirigami tissue, General Mashita returned to the sofa and sat down next to Mishima to look at the sword.

Mishima wiped the blade with a tenugui and handed the sword over to the General Mashita. After seeing the hamon (edge pattern), the General Mashita nodded and said, "It's a fine sword. This sword crest is indeed the Three Cidar Trees (三本杉, Sambon sugi)," and returned it to Mishima before returning to his seat. It was now about 11:05 am. Mishima wiped the blade again, handed the tenugui he had used to Chibi-Koga, who had stood nearby, and then, giving instructions with his eyes, he put the sword back into its scabbard with a loud click of the tsuba.

Taking that as a signal, Chibi-Koga, who was pretending to return to his seat, quickly went behind the General Mashita and covered the General Mashita's mouth with the tenugui he was holding, after which Masahiro Ogawa (小川正洋) and Hiroyasu Koga (nickname "Furu-Koga") next tied the General Mashita to a chair with thin rope and restrained him. Chibi-Koga, who was given another tenugui by Furu-Koga, gagged the General Mashita, who refused, saying, "I won't gag you so to stop breathing," and pointed a tantō (short blade) at him.

The General Mashita, thinking that everyone was joking about how strong they had become during ranger training or something, said, "Mr. Mishima, stop joking," but Mishima, with his sword still drawn, glared at the General Mashita with a serious expression, so the General Mashita realized that something was not right. Meanwhile, Masakatsu Morita had barricaded the main entrance to the Commandant General's office, and the three entrances to the Chief of Staff's office and the Vice Chief of Staff's office, all of which had double doors, with desks, chairs, flower pots, etc.

Fight with the staff officers

Major Yasuharu Sawamoto, who was waiting for the right time to serve tea, noticed a noise coming from the Commandant General's room, and Colonel Isamu Hara, who received the report from Sawamoto, went out into the hallway and peeked into the room through the frosted glass window at the front entrance (a strip of cellophane tape had been applied to make it slightly more transparent), where he saw the Tatenokai members standing behind the General Mashita. The General looked as if he was receiving a massage, but his movements were unnatural, so when Hara tried to enter, he found the door locked.

Colonel Hara threw himself against the door, creating a gap of about 20 to 30 centimeters. "Don't come in! Don't come in!" cried Masakatsu Morita from inside the room, and a Demands letter was slid out from under the door. After reading it, Colonel Hara and his staff immediately reported to Vice Chief of Administration Major General Akira Yamazaki (山崎皎) (age 53) and Vice Chief of Defense Colonel Hidenobu Yoshimatsu (吉松秀信) (age 50) that "Mishima and his members have occupied the Commandant General's office and have confined the General Mashita." An emergency call (非常呼集, Hijō Koshu) was made to the staff, and a subordinate of Major Sawamoto contacted the military police (警務隊, Keimu-tai).

Lieutenant Colonel Haruo Kawabe (川辺晴夫) (age 46) and Lieutenant Colonel Nobumasa Nakamura (中村菫正) (age 45) were the first to rush in after using their back to break down the barricade protecting the door to the Chief of Staff's office which led to the left of the Commandant General's office. Mishima immediately drew his military sword, Seki Magoroku, and slashed at their backs and other parts of their bodies. He then fought back against Colonel Hara, Sergeant Toshikazu Kasama (笠間寿一) (age 36), Sergeant Junzō Isobe (磯部順蔵), and others who had charged in with bokkens, shouting "Get out! Don't get in the way!" and "Read the demand!" When fighting back, Mishima lowered his hips and drew his sword closer to him, and instead of swinging it down from above, he slashed with the tip of the blade. The melee left a sword cut near the door handle. The time was about 11:20 am.

While the five men were retreating, seven more men, Colonel Fujio Kiyono (清野不二雄) (age 50), Lieutenant Colonel Kiyoshi Takahashi (高橋清) (age 43), Major Katsumi Terao (寺尾克美) (age 41), Captain Eijiro Mizuta (水田栄二郎), Non-commissioned officer Yoshifumi Kikuchi (菊地義文), Colonel Hidenobu Yoshimatsu (吉松秀信), and Major General Akira Yamazaki (山崎皎), rushed in one after another from the side of the Vice Chief of Staff's office. Vice Chief of Defense Colonel Yoshimatsu said, "What are you doing? Let's talk it out," but the fight continued. Hiroyasu Koga threw small tables and chairs at the men, and Masahiro Ogawa fought back with a special baton (特殊警棒, tokushu keibō).

Morita also fought back with his tantō, but Major Terao ripped it away from him. Mishima quickly supported, slashing at Terao and Lieutenant Colonel Takahashi, who had dragged Morita to the ground. When Colonel Kiyono threw an ashtray at Chibi-Koga, who was watching the General Mashita, Mishima attacked with his sword to Kiyono. Kiyono fought back by throwing a globe, but stumbled and fell. Major General Yamazaki was also slashed, and the JSDF staff officers decided to retreat for the time being, out of concern for the General Mashita's safety. Eight JSDF staff officers were injured in the brawl.

At 11:22 am, a 110 call was made from the Eastern Army Headquarters to the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department's Command Center, and at 11:25 am, the TMPD Public Security Bureau's First Public Security Division (it was under normal conditions, the left-wing extremism Countermeasures Division) used the National Police Agency Security Bureau Chief's office as a temporary headquarters, contacted relevant agencies, and dispatched 120 Riot Police Unit members to JGSDF Camp Ichigaya.

The staff members who had retreated outside, broke the window of the Commandant General's office from the hallway at around 11:30 am to discuss with Mishima. Lieutenant Colonel Matsuo Kunugi (功刀松男) was the first to show his face through the window, and was cut on the forehead by a flagpole that had been thrust out from inside. Then Lieutenant Colonel Yoshimatsu tried to persuade Mishima through the window, but Mishima said, "If you accept this Demands, we will spare General Mashita's life," and threw the Demands letter, which had the same contents as the one Morita had slid out from under the door into the hallway, through the broken window into the hallway.

The Demands mainly contained the following statements:

(1) All JSDF personnel of Camp Ichigaya to be assembled in front of the main building by 11:30 am.

(2) Listen quietly to the speeches as set below.

(a) Mishima's speech (scattering our Geki)

(b) Participated students announce their names.

(c) Mishima's instructions to the remaining members of the Tatenokai

(3) The remaining members of the Tatenokai (who are unrelated to this incident) must be quickly summoned from the Ichigaya Hall to make them attend in line.

(4) For the two-hour period from 11:30 am to 13:10 pm, there to be no obstruction of any kind. As long as no obstruction of any kind is done, we will not launch any attacks.

(5) Once the above conditions have been fully complied with and two hours have elapsed, the Commandant General will be handed over to him in safety. He will be escorted by two or more our guards and handed over to you at the main entrance of the main building while still restrained (to prevent him from committing suicide).

(6) If the above conditions are not met, or there is any risk that they will not be met, Mishima will kill the Commandant General at once, and will commit suicide.

— Yukio Mishima, Demands

The senior staff officers decided to accept Mishima's Demands, and at around 11:34 am, Lieutenant Colonel Yoshimatsu told Mishima, "We have decided to assemble the JSDF personnel." Mishima asked him, "Who are you? What authority do you have?" When Colonel Yoshimatsu introduced himself as "the Vice Chief of Defense and the highest authority on the scene," Mishima looked a little relieved, looked at his watch, and said, "Assemble all the JSDF personnel by 12:00 pm."

While waiting for the JSDF personnel to assemble, Mishima ordered Morita to read the Demands to General Mashita as well. General Mashita, whose hands were numb, asked the rope to be loosened a little, then tried to persuade Mishima by saying, "Why are you doing this? Do you hate the JSDF or me? Depending on the content, I may give the speech on your behalf." Mishima told General Mashita the same content as in Geki, and said, "I don't hate either the JSDF or you. As long as they don't interfere, I won't kill you." He then said, "I have come today to give the JSDF the greatest stimulation and rousing themself."

At this time, it is not known whether Mishima smoked the cigarettes in the Commandant General's office, but he said, "There will be enough time to smoke at the scene," and handed the members two days before the incident, to the Onshi no Tabako, the gift of cigarettes which was given out at the Imperial garden party (園遊会, Enyukai) (Mishima had been invited to the Imperial garden party in the autumn of 1966), to be placed in his briefcase along with his other luggage.

At 11:40 am, an announcement was made over the microphones within the Camp Ichigaya, repeatedly saying, "Those who are not interfere with your operations should assemble in front of the main building entrance." At 11:46 am, the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department gave the order to arrest Mishima and all the others. Police cars and white jeeps of the military police force entered Camp Ichigaya one after another at high speed. By this time, the first reports of the incident had already been broadcast on television and radio.

Speech on the balcony

About 800 to 1000 JSDF personnel who had heard the announcement within the unit began to gather in the front yard in front of the main entrance of the Eastern Army Headquarters building. Some of them had already started eating lunch in the dining hall, but stopped it to join. Confusing information was exchanged among them, with some reporting that "a mob has broken in and someone had been slashed," "the Commandant General has been taken hostage," "the Red Army Faction of Communist League (赤軍派, Sekigunn ha) must have come," and "Is Yukio Mishima there too?"

At about 11:55 am, Masakatsu Morita and Masahiro Ogawa (小川正洋), who wearing hachimaki headbands and white gloves, distributed numerous Geki and hung the banners with their Demands drawn with ink brush strokes from the balcony in front of the Commandant General's office. Two JSDF personnel jumped up and try to pull the banner down, but were unable to reach it. Riot Police Unit members carrying duralumin shields, and the vehicles belonging to newspaper and television reporters were also gathered in the front yard.

On that day, about 30 members of the Tatenokai had come to the Ichigaya Hall in Camp Ichigaya, located only about 50 meters from the Eastern Army Headquarters building, for their regular meeting, but the JSDF senior staff officers did not accept Mishima's demands and instead confined them inside the hall, placing them under police guard and not summoning them to assemble in front of the main entrance of the Eastern Army Headquarters building. A skirmish broke out between the Tatenokai 30 members, who were upset by the ominous situation, and police or the JSDF, and the members of Tatenokai were subdued with pistols.

A siren announcing noon rang out in the sky above Camp Ichigaya, and Mishima stood on the balcony, holding up in his right hand the unsheathed Japanese sword "Seki Magoroku," shining in the sunlight. The sword was only visible for a moment. Mishima wore a white hachimaki headband with a red hinomaru circle, in which the center bearing the kanji for "To be reborn seven times to serve the country" (七生報國, Shichishō hōkoku). Behind him to the right, Morita, wearing the same hachimaki, stood powerfully like a Nio king, gazing straight ahead.

Amidst voices of "It's Mishima," "What's that?" and "You idiot!" Mishima began his speech, raising his white-gloved fist and screaming so that the assembled JSDF personnel could hear. It was a speech urging a revolt to amend the Article 9 of the Japanese Constitution, calling for a return to the "original purpose of the military's founding" to "protect Japan," of which gist was almost the same as the Geki that had been distributed beforehand. In the sky above, several media helicopters, having already heard the strange incident, were circling, making a lot of noise.

Listen, guys. Be quiet. Be quiet. Listen to what I'm saying. A man is staking his life to appeal to you all. Listen. If the Japanese don't stand up here now, if the Japan Self-Defense Forces don't stand up, there will be no constitutional reform. You will forever become just the troops for America. You and Japan... commands will only come from America. It's called civilian control... As for civilian control, it's not civilian control that will be suppressed under the new constitution.
Therefore, I've waited for four years. For the day when the Japan Self-Defense Forces would rise up. ... I've waited for four years ... I'm waiting ... for the last 30 minutes. You are all bushi, aren't you? If you are bushi, why would you protect the "constitution that denies your existence"? Why would you bow down and cringe to the "constitution that denies you" for the sake of the "constitution that denies you yourselves"? As long as this exists, you will never be saved.

— Yukio Mishima, Speech on the balcony

Many of the JSDF personnel shouted at Mishima angrily, saying, "We can't hear you," "Pull back!" "Come down and talk," "What the hell do such you know?" and "You idiot!" When a heckler shouted, "Why did you hurt our comrades?", Mishima immediately responded with fierce forceful voice, saying, "It's because they resisted our demands."

Sergeant K (his name is withheld in the original text), who was present at the scene, clicked his tongue at the noisy hecklers and later said, "I wanted to listen properly to what Yukio Mishima was screaming at the top of his lungs." "There were parts where I couldn't hear what he was saying because of the heckling, but emotionally I understood that Mishima might have had a point," he said, making an assertion that once the command had been given to gather the troops, they should have lined up properly by unit and listened.

I began to feel extremely sad. We, the JSDF personnel, have been looked down upon by the public as strangers under the current constitution for a long time, and we must have more or less grievances among ourselves about the existence of the JSDF, whose mission is to defend our homeland. That hecklers were like the students political demonstration march confronting Riot Police Unit. At the very least, we, the JSDF personnel had gathered here following orders from the command center. (Omitted) The superior officer should have lined up the troops by unit and listened to Mishima's speech. Even if it was a mob, once an order was given to assemble, proper procedures should have been followed. I thought it was presumptuous that the JSDF, in this state, could be called an army to protect Japan.

— Sergeant K, Recollections of Sergeant K

Mishima shouted, "Is there not even one man among you who will rise up with me?" and waited in silence for about 5 to 10 seconds, but the JSDF personnel continued to yell abuse at him, calling him a "Madman!" and "There's no way someone like that exists." The unexpected intensity of the shouts and the noise from the helicopters meant that the speech was cut short after just 10 minutes, much shorter than planned. One has speculated that Mishima cut his speech short because he caught the wind of the Riot Police Unit make to storm into the first floor then.

After wrapping up his speech, Mishima and Morita headed towards the Imperial Palace and chanted "Long live the Emperor!" (天皇陛下万歳, Tennō heika banzai) three times. Even then, the jeers of "Drag him down" and "Shoot him" made their chants nearly inaudible. On that day, the 32nd Infantry Regiment (第32普通科連隊, Dai 32 futsu-ka rentai) under the 1st Division had gone to the East Fuji Maneuver Area, leaving behind about 100 troops, while its 900 elite troops were absent. Based on Morita's information, Mishima mistakenly thought that only the regimental commander was absent. Many of the JSDF personnel gathered in front of the balcony were the persons in charge of communications, materials, supplies, and other duties, and as such were not the "bushi" that Mishima had envisioned and expected. The writer Yaeko Nogami, who watched Mishima's speech on television, has recalled how she felt at the time, saying that if she were his mother, she would have "wanted to run over there and deliver the microphone to him."

Mishima did not use a microphone because he placed an emphasis on getting as close as possible to the spirituality of the Shinpūren rebellion by the God-honoring party (敬神党, Keishintō), one of the parties formed by samurai with the philosophy of Sonnō jōi. He adhered on using his own voice to roar, without using a microphone or loudspeaker. In his dialogue with Fusao Hayashi, Dialogue: Theory about the Japanese (対話・日本人論, Taiwa: Nihonjin ron) (1966), Mishima had spoken passionately about how the Shinpūren samurai placed white fans on their heads when passing under electric wires to oppose Western civilization, and about the meaning of their yamato-damashii in venture fighting with only Japanese swords.

Regarding the reason why the JSDF personnel did not listen carefully to Mishima's speeches, the manga artist Shigeru Mizuki has reflected in 1989, some 20 years later, saying, "The reason why Mishima was not taken seriously by the JSDF personnel, even though he emphasized Bushidō, was probably because the JSDF personnel at the time had also already become inclined toward individualism and hedonism in economically prosperous Japan."

The Weekly magazine Sunday Mainichi (サンデー毎日) reporter Takao Tokuoka (徳岡孝夫) and NHK reporter Munekatsu Date (伊達宗克) had been contacted in advance by Mishima and were promised to come to Ichigaya Hall at 11:00 am on the morning of the day. When Tokuoka and Date arrived at the hall, they were each given an envelope containing Mishima's letter, Geki, and the last commemorative photo of the five men, via Kenichi Tanaka (田中健一) and Kenji Kurata (倉田賢司), respectively, of the Tatenokai members who were close friends of Masakatsu Morita. Mishima had entrusted it to them in case the Geki was confiscated by the police and the incident was covered up. Tokuoka had hidden it inside his sock and had run toward the balcony, had listened to the speech.

Television station personnel who rushed to the front yard have testified that they could barely hear Mishima's speech because of the heckling and noise, but Tokuoka has said, "If only they had been willing to listen, they could have heard it," "Why didn't they calm their minds a little more and listen?" and has said, "We magazine reporters were able to hear the speech relatively well, perhaps our ears are different to those of the television personnel."

Nippon Cultural Broadcasting was the only station to record the entire speech. By tying a microphone to a tree branch, they managed to capture a clear recording of Mishima's voice shouting angrily at the JSDF personnel, "Are you really bushi at all like that!" amid the roar of insults and the noise of news helicopters, and this became a scoop. The recording tape also includes Morita's voice saying, "Everyone please listen."

Committing seppuku

At around 12:10 pm, Mishima returned to the Commandant General's office with Morita from the balcony and muttered to himself, "I probably spoke for about 20 minutes. It seems my message didn't get across." He then stood in front of General Mashita and said, "We have no grudge against you. We did it to return the JSDF to the Emperor. I had no choice but to do this," and unbuttoned his uniform.

Mishima received the tantō that Masayoshi Koga (小賀正義) (Chibi-Koga) was pointed at the General Mashita through Morita, and handed Morita his own unsheathed Japanese sword, "Seki Magoroku", in return. Then, on the red carpet about three meters away from the General Mashita, with his upper body naked, holding the tantō in both hands, sat seiza-style facing the balcony, then tried to dissuade Morita from committing suicide by telling him, words: "Morita, you must live, not die.", "You stop dying."

According to the plan, Mishima would write the character "Martial (武, Bu)" on a piece of square drawing paper (色紙, sikishi) with the blood of seppuku, so Chibi-Koga handed the paper over to Mishima, who replied, "I don't have to do that anymore," with a sad smile, and handed him the expensive watch he was wearing on his right arm, saying, "Koga, I'll give this to you." And Mishima said, "Hmm," putting his energy into the process, and then said, "Yaaaaa" thrust the tantō into his left side belly with both hands, and committed seppuku in a straight line manner (真一文字作法, shin ichimonnji sahō) to the right.

Morita, the kaishakunin standing behind Mishima to the left, was about to commit seppuku himself after Mishima. Perhaps he was hesitant in regards to his respected mentor, but he swung his sword down on Mishima's neck twice; despite this, he only managed to cut it halfway through, and Mishima's body quietly leaned forward. Seeing that Mishima was still alive, Chibi-Koga and Hiroyasu Koga (Furu-Koga) called out, "Morita-san, one more blow," and "Finish him off," and Morita swung his sword down for the third time. The General Mashita was trying to stop their actions, shouting, "Stop it," "Don't kaishaku him, don't finish him off."

Morita, whose kaishaku did not go well, said, "I'll leave it to you, Hiro-chan," and handed the sword to Furu-Koga. Koga decapitated Mishima in one stroke, following the ancient tradition of leaving only a thin layer of skin on the neck. Then, Chibi-Koga used the tantō that Mishima had been holding to cut off the skin of Mishima's neck from his body. During this process, Masahiro Ogawa (小川正洋) kept watch near the main entrance door of the room to make sure that the JSDF staff officers would not interfere with Mishima's seppuku.

Next, Morita also took off his uniform jacket, sat seiza-style next to Mishima's body, and committed seppuku, signaling "Not yet" and "Okay," and upon receiving the signal, Furu-Koga, the kaishakunin, decapitated Morita in one stroke. Afterwards, Chibi-Koga, Ogawa, and Furu-Koga turned the bodies of Mishima and Morita over onto their backs, covered them with their uniforms, and lined up their heads. The General Mashita called to the three, "How about you all worship them?" and, "How about you turn yourself in police?"

The three men removed the ropes from the General Mashita's feet and said, "By order of Mishima Sensei, we will escort you until you are handed over to the JSDF staff officers." When the General Mashita asked, "I won't go wild. Are you going to put me out in front of the people with my hands tied?", the three men obediently released the him from all restraints. Seeing the three men join their hands in prayer toward the heads of Mishima and Morita, and shed tears in silence, the General Mashita said, "Cry as much as you can..." and sat seiza-style, closed his eyes and joined his hands in prayer, saying, "Let me pray for their souls as well."

For Mashita, this was the second time he had witnessed a seppuku. During the war, Mashita served as a staff officer in the Imperial Japanese Army, and just after the war ended he was once asked for observer of the committing seppuku, from his close friend and colleague, Major Makoto Haruke (晴気誠).

A little after 12:20 pm, Ogawa and Furu-Koga came out from the front entrance of the Commandant General's office, supporting the General Mashita from either side, and Chibi-Koga came out into the hallway carrying the Japanese sword, "Seki Magoroku". The three handed the General Mashita to Colonel Yoshimatsu, handed over the Japanese sword, and were arrested on the spot by officers from Ushigome Police Station (牛込警察署, Ushigome Keisatsusho).

Perhaps out of kindness, the police officers did not handcuff the three who were held out their hands. As they were being taken away in a patrol car from the main entrance where a crowd of reporters was waiting, some JSDF officers punched the three on the head, so the police officer stopped them, shouting, "You idiots! What are you doing?"

At 12:23 pm, the police chief entered the Commandant General's office and confirmed the two deaths. Before then, "You were close to Yukio Mishima, weren't you? Go there immediately and persuade him to stop," Security Chief Kuniyasu Tsuchida (土田國保) had instructed to Atsuyuki Sassa (佐々淳行), counselor of the Police Affairs Department (警務部, Keimu bu) and chief of the First Personnel Division. Sassa rushed to the scene from the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department, but was too late in time to stop Mishima from committing suicide. Sassa has recalled what happened when he entered the Commandant General's office to see Mishima's body: "The carpet under my feet made a squelching sound. I looked and saw a sea of blood. The carpet was red, so at first, I couldn't tell it was blood. I can still remember that eerie feeling."

The General Mashita, who was made a hostage, later has said, "I didn't feel hate towards the defendants even at that time," and has added, "Thinking about the country of Japan, thinking about the JSDF, the pure hearts of thinking about our country that did that kind of thing, I want to buy it as an individual."

Among their belongings found at the scene were six strips of paper (短冊, tanzaku) with death poems written on them: two by Mishima, one by Morita, and one each by the remaining members. Although the plan called for Chibi-Koga, Furu-Koga and Ogawa to live, there was always the possibility of something unforeseen developing which might require them also to die. Their death poems are as follows:

益荒男が　たばさむ太刀の　鞘鳴りに　幾とせ耐へて　今日の初霜

(Masurao ga　Tabasamu tachi no　Sayanari ni　Ikutose taete　Kyō no hatsushimo)
The sheaths of swords rattle / As after years of endurance / Brave men set out / To tread upon the first frost of the year.

For how many years / Has the warrior endured / The rattling of / The sword he wears at his side: / The first fall of frost came today. (Translated by Donald Keene)

— Yukio Mishima, Death Poem

散るをいとふ　世にも人にも　さきがけて　散るこそ花と　吹く小夜嵐

(Chiru wo itou　Yo ni mo Hito ni mo　Sakigakete　Chiru koso Hana to　Fuku Sayoarashi)
A small night storm blows / Saying 'falling is the essence of a flower' / Preceding those who hesitate.

Storm winds at night blow / The message that to fall before / The world and before men / By whom falling is dreaded / Is the mark of a flower. (Translated by Donald Keene)

— Yukio Mishima, Death Poem

今日にかけて　かねて誓ひし　我が胸の　思ひを知るは　野分のみかは

(Kyō ni kakete　Kanete chikaishi　Waga mune no　Omoi wo shiruwa　Nowaki nomi kawa)

I have been betting to this day / And have made a vow for a long time to today / I wonder if only the autumn storm would know, (maybe someone would know) / Of the feelings in my heart.

— Masakatsu Morita, Death Poem

火と燃ゆる　大和心を　はるかなる　大みこころの　見そなはすまで

(Hi to moyuru　Yamato gokoro wo　Haruka naru　Ōmikokoro no　Misonawasu made)

My Yamato-damashii, / Burns like fire, / And it will keep burning / Until the far away Emperor's heart could see it.

— Masayoshi Koga, Death Poem

雲をらび　しら雪さやぐ　富士の根の　歌の心ぞ　もののふの道

(Kumo orabi　Shirayuki sayagu　Fuji no ne no　Uta no kokoro zo　Mononofu no michi)

The howling of clouds, / The rustling of white snow, / Seen from the foot of Mount Fuji, / This is the spirit of the song, / The path of warriors.

— Masahiro Ogawa, Death Poem

獅子となり　虎となりても　国のため　ますらをぶりも　神のまにまに

(Shisi to nari　Tora to naritemo　Kuni no tame　Masurao buri mo　Kami no manima ni)

Even if I become a lion, / Or a tiger, / For the sake of my country / My behaving strong and brave man as a Japanese sword, / On God's command.

— Hiroyasu Koga, Death Poem

Yukio Mishima died at the age of 45. Masakatsu Morita died at the age of 25. Morita preferred to pronounce his first-name "Certain victory" (必勝, Hisshō) in on'yomi rather than "Masakatsu" in kun'yomi.

Aftermath of the day

Among the about 30 members of the Tatenokai who were under guard by police and riot police in the Ichigaya Hall, those in Morita's friend group were upset when they heard about the incident, and violently resisted, demanding to be allowed to go to the scene, leading to three of them, who were Kenichi Tanaka (田中健一), Takemi Imai (今井丈美), and Shunichi Nishio (西尾俊一), being arrested for obstruction of justice (公務執行妨害, kōmu shikkō bōgai). The members who remained in the hall were asked to voluntarily accompany (任意同行, ninni dōkō) them, and after lining up and singing the national anthem "Kimigayo", and chanted "Long live the Emperor!" (天皇陛下万歳, Tennō heika banzai) three times, they were taken to Yotsuya Police Station (四谷警察署, Yotsuya keisatsu sho).

Mishima's father, Azusa Hiraoka (平岡梓), learned of the incident on the noon news on television and was watching the screen intently. He misread the kanji characters "beheaded" (介錯, kaishaku), "died" (死亡, shibō) in the news flash captions, "介錯" (kaishaku) for "care" (介抱, kaihō), and was upset and resented the doctor, wondering why Mishima died despite being given care. Meanwhile, Mishima's mother, Shizue (倭文重), and his wife, Yōko (瑤子), who heard about the situation while out, rushed home, and the family was thrown into chaos as if it were a bolt from the blue. Yōko was so shocked that she took to bed.

A little after 12:30 pm, at the press conference held inside the Eastern Army Headquarters, an excited exchange began between the Metropolitan Police Department official who first announced that the two men had committed suicide and the newspaper reporters who were rapidly asking about whether they were alive or dead. Groans and murmurs spread among the reporters, when they learned for the first time that the two men's heads had been decapitated.

Colonel Yoshimatsu also explained the whole story to the reporters. The reporters repeatedly asked questions about the unbelievable circumstances of seppuku and kaishaku. When one of them shouted out a question, "So the head and the body were separated?" Colonel Yoshimatsu echoed his words and responded. With that answer, the reporters had nothing more to ask to need, and quickly dispersed outside to report the news.

The shocking news of the call for a coup and subsequent suicide by seppuku by the famous author, who was active in many fields and was also known as a candidate for the Nobel Prize in Literature, was broadcast simultaneously as breaking news on television and radio both in Japan and abroad, and the newspapers extra editions were distributed in the streets. The television and radio programs were quickly changed to special programs, and telephone discussions between intellectuals and other knowledgeable people were also held. Over nine right-wing groups flocked to the front of the Camp Ichigaya.

At a press conference held at the Defense Agency from 12:30 pm, Minister of Defense Yasuhiro Nakasone called the incident "a very regrettable incident" and criticized Mishima's actions as "an enormous nuisance" and "destructive to democratic order." Prime Minister Eisaku Satō, who heard the news at the Prime Minister's Office, was also surrounded by reporters and commented, "I can only think that he has gone mad. This is out of the ordinary." Until then, Nakasone and Satō had viewed Mishima's trial enlistment in the JGSDF favorably as a positive PR opportunity for the JSDF, but after the incident they made critical remarks in their positions as politicians.

One British journalist, after hearing the words of politicians such as Nakasone and Satō, tearfully told a literary critic Takeshi Muramatsu (村松剛), "Why is there not a single politician who defends Mishima? Mishima has never seemed so great and Japanese politicians have never seemed so small."

After being released, General Mashita appeared before the JSDF personnel and greeted them, waving his left hand high and saying, "I'm sorry for the inconvenience, but as you can see, I'm doing fine. Please don't worry." The personnel responded with cheers of "That's great, that's great" and "All right, you did your best" and then a burst of applause. A Tokyo Shimbun reporter who was covering the scene said that he found the scene unbearable, and wrote the newspaper column about his sense of discomfort with the group's behavior, which was not like that of a "military" group.

Of course, their behaviors were not a mourning for Mishima's suicide. And not a condemnation of the actions of Mishima and others who challenged democracy, nor was it a round of applause indicative of a determination to remain committed to the military of a peaceful nation. It was, so to speak, a sign of back-patting for the "president" who had escaped from the captivity of thugs, and a sign of the team spirit of salarymen.
Instructions were given over the microphone to the remaining JSDF personnel. "Everyone, please go back to work. Please do so," the voice said in a pleading tone, but the personnel showed no signs of leaving. (Omitted) The salaryman-like unity and the disorder state of the JSDF was inadvertently exposed.

— Tokyo Shimbun, Column (November 25, 1970)

Yasunari Kawabata who was close to Mishima, received the news of the incident while out, and at around 1:20 pm, rushed to the Eastern Army Headquarters, but was unable to approach the Commandant General's office as the police were investigating the scene. Surrounded by reporters, Kawabata, looking stunned and exhausted, said, "I am simply shocked. I never imagined something like this would happen – It's a shame he died in this way." Shintaro Ishihara, who was a member of the House of Councillors at the time, also visited the Eastern Army Headquarters but did not enter the office. Ishihara commented to the assembled press corps, "It can only be described as modern-day madness," and "It was a very fruitless act that risked his young lives."

At 2:00 pm, the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department set up the "Special Investigation Headquarters for the Case of the Tatenokai's Infiltration into the JSDF, Illegal Confinement, and Seppuku Suicide" within Ushigome Police Station (牛込警察署, Ushigome Keisatsusho).

One of the JSDF highest-ranking officers concluded his impressions of that day by saying, "The reaction of the JSDF personnel after learning of Mishima's suicide changed completely. Everyone was vague in their words, remained silent with complicated expressions, and seemed stunned. They probably never expected that he would commit suicide. The shock seems to be great."

Sergeant K, who had seen Mishima's speech, spoke briefly, "When I heard that he had committed seppuku, I stood there for about an hour, losing myself in my thoughts." Staff Office Major T also spoke, "I never thought he would die! It was a terrible shock. I had been listening to the speech the whole time, but I could hardly hear it because of the heckling from the younger soldiers. If he was risking his life for words, we should have listened quietly."

At 5:15 pm, Mishima and Morita's heads were each placed in plastic bags, for autopsy, also their bodies were placed in caskets and transported from Camp Ichigaya to Ushigome Police Station, where the bodies were placed. Some ethnic nationalist students and other right-wing groups came to the Police Station to pay their respects, and a temporary altar was set up, but it was soon removed.

The Asahi Shimbun evening paper that day carried a secretly taken photograph showing Mishima and Morita's heads illuminated by the sunlight streaming in through the window.

Shortly after 10 pm, the Metropolitan Police Department began searches of Mishima's residence and Morita's apartment. Mishima's house was searched until around 4 am the following day, November 26. In Mishima's study room, in addition to letters addressed to family, friends, the Tatenokai members, acquaintances including Ivan Morris and Donald Keene, on his desk were found clippings from Promise that I haven't been Fulfilled: 25 years in me (果たし得てゐない約束―私の中の二十五年, Hatashi ete inai Yakusoku: Watashi no naka no 25 nen) (Sankei Shimbun, July 7, 1970 issue) and One Hundred People Who Will Changing the World of the 1970s: Yukio Mishima (Asahi Shimbun, September 22, 1970, issue), and a suicide note-like memo was also found, which read, "If life is limited, I would like to live forever. Mishima Yukio."

A large number of reporters were crowded on the street in front of the closed gate of Mishima's residence, and behind them, female students who were Mishima fans could be seen crying and embracing each other's shoulders. And a group of ethnic nationalist male students in stand-up collared school uniforms stood for a long time, upright and motionless, cheeks wet with tears, trying to hold back sobs.

Autopsy, physical evidence, and arrest charges

On the following day, November 26, Professor Ginjiro Saitō (斎藤銀次郎) performed an autopsy on Mishima's body, and Professor Tadataka Funao (船尾忠孝) performed an autopsy on Morita's body in the forensic autopsy room of Keio University Hospital (慶應義塾大学病院, Keiō gijuku daigaku byōin), from 11:20 am to 1:25 pm. The autopsies determined that the cause of death for both men was "Disconnection of the neck due to a split wound," with the following findings:

Yukio Mishima:
His neck was cut at least three times, with cuts measuring 7 cm, 6 cm, 4 cm and 3 cm. There is an 11.5cm cut on his right shoulder where the sword appears to have missed, and a small chip cut under his left jaw.
His abdomen was cut 5.5cm to the right and 8.5cm to the left, centered on his navel, and was 4cm deep. The left cut reached his small intestine, and ran in a straight line from left to right.
Height 163cm. 45 years old, but has the developed youthful muscles of a 30-something. Brain weighs 1,440g. Blood type A.

— Ginjiro Saitō, Autopsy report (November 26, 1970)

Masakatsu Morita:
The area between the third and fourth cervical vertebrae was cut off with a single slash. The wound on his abdomen was horizontal from left to right, 7cm to the left of his navel, 4cm deep, from there a shallow cut 5.4cm to the right, and a cut 5cm to the right of his navel. A small 0.5cm cut on his right shoulder.
Height 167cm. A young, beautiful body.

— Tadataka Funao, Autopsy report (November 26, 1970)

Mishima committed seppuku in such a dignified manner that about 50 centimeters of his small intestine was exposed. In addition, a sword from kaishaku hit his jaw, shattering his molars, and there were traces of him trying to bite off his tongue.

According to a police inspection, the Japanese sword "Seki Magoroku" used in the kaishaku was bent in an S-shape from the middle to the tip due to the impact of the kaishaku. Also, a former Imperial Japanese Army Sergeant Hiroshi Funasaka (舩坂弘), the president of Shibuya's Taiseidō Bookstore (大盛堂書店, Taiseidō shoten) and the donor of "Seki Magoroku", saw during questioning at Ushigome Police Station that both ends of the rivet of the sword hilt (目釘, mekugi) had been crushed to prevent the blade from being pulled out.

Sword appraisal expert Magoki Watanabe (渡部真吾樹) determined that the sword crest on Mishima's sword is not "Three Cedar Trees (三本杉, Sanbonsugi)", but "Mutual Confusion (互の目乱れ, Gunome-midare)," and that the base fabric of the sword is quite soft, different from the method used by "Seki Magoroku". In addition to Watanabe, other experts have asserted that the sword is not a genuine "Seki Magoroku", and there have also been investigations into the sword's place of origin and provenances, leading to a persistent theory that Mishima had been tricked and given a fake.

The belongings of Masayoshi Koga (小賀正義), Masahiro Ogawa (小川正洋), and Hiroyasu Koga included the Written Directive that Mishima had given each of them, 30,000 yen each in cash (for attorney's fees), one special baton (特殊警棒, tokushu keibō) each, a climbing knife, etc. The Written Directive (命令書, meirei sho) to Masayoshi Koga mainly contained the following words:

Your mission is to escort the hostages together with comrade Hiroyasu Koga, and after safely delivering them, be arrested as a criminal and make an honorable statement in court about the spirit of the Tatenokai.
This incident was planned, devised, and ordered by Mishima, the captain of the Tatenokai, and student leader Masakatsu Morita participated in it. Mishima's suicide with a sword (自刃, jijin) is only natural given my responsibilities as captain, but Masakatsu Morita's jijin is a brave and solemn act that he voluntarily represents all Tatenokai members and the current patriotically motivating young people of Japan, also sets an example and try to demonstrating the spirit of youth to which should be able to make the fierce god (鬼神, oni-gami) weep.
Regardless of Mishima, you should spread Morita's spirit to later generations.

— Yukio Mishima, Written Directive

The three suspects, Masayoshi Koga, Masahiro Ogawa, and Hiroyasu Koga, were sent to prosecutors on November 27 on suspicion of six offenses: Participation in Assisted Suicide; Consensual Homicide (嘱託殺人, Shokutaku satsujin), Unlawful Capture and Confinement (不法監禁, Fuhou Kankin), Criminal Injury (傷害, Shōgai), Assault, Breaking into a Residence (建造物侵入, Kenzōbutsu shinyu), Possession of Firearms or Swords and Other Such Weapons. On December 17, they were indicted on five offenses: Participation in Assisted Suicide; Consensual Homicide, Criminal Injury, Unlawful Capture and Confinement Causing in Injury (監禁致傷, Kankin-chishō), Assault, Obstructing or Compelling Performance of Public Duty (職務強要, Shokumu kyoyō).

After the incident

Reactions

Reactions to the incident came from a wide range of people, including newspaper reports, relations of the Self-Defense Forces, political activists, writers and cultural figures.

Main article: Reactions to the Mishima Incident

Funerals, memorials, trials, etc.

November 26 to the December 1970

After an autopsy was completed at Keio University Hospital (慶應義塾大学病院, Keiō gijuku daigaku byōin) on November 26, the day after the incident, the heads and bodies of both Mishima and Morita's corpses were neatly sutured.

Just before 3 pm, Mishima's corpse was handed over to his younger brother, Chiyuki Hiraoka (平岡千之), in the morgue, and Morita's corpse was handed over to his older brother, Osamu Morita (森田治). Morita's corpse was immediately cremated at a crematorium in Yoyogi, Shibuya-ku. Osamu recollected that his younger brother's dead face looked as if he was sleeping peacefully.

A little after 3:30 pm, Mishima's corpse was taken from the hospital to his home in a police car. His father, Azusa Hiraoka (平岡梓), looked into the coffin, being afraid to see how his son's appearance had changed. However, he found his son's head and body had been sutured neatly, dressed in the Tatenokai uniform, with a guntō firmly clutched at his chest, and his dead face was, to which makeup had been beautifully applied, looked as if he were alive. The Tatenokai uniform and guntō were in accordance with Mishima's will that he entrusted to his friend, Kinemaro Izawa (伊沢甲子麿), and the funeral makeup was applied with special care by police officers on a voluntary, they saying, "We applied the makeup carefully with special feelings, because it is the body of Mishima Sensei, whom we have always respected secretly."

On 27, the next day was friend-pulling day (友引, Tomobiki), a day when crematoriums were closed, so it was decided to hold a private funeral on 26, this day. Several editors from publishing companies asked the family if they could make his death mask, but they were told that this would not be necessary, so this was not done. Mishima's private funeral was held at his home, and in addition to his relatives, Yasunari Kawabata, Kinemaro Izawa, Takeshi Muramatsu (村松剛), Takeo Matsuura (松浦竹夫), Shōhei Ōoka, Shintaro Ishihara, Hyōe Murakami (村上兵衛), Seiji Tsutsumi, Takamitsu Masuda (増田貴光), Takao Tokuoka (徳岡孝夫) and others came to pay their respects. At the foot of the statue of Apollo in the garden of Mishima's residence, about 30 crimson roses had been thrown in memory of Mishima by his fans.

Azusa put the manuscript papers and fountain pen that his son cherished in the casket together, and his casket left the home just after 4 pm. At that time, his mother, Shizue (倭文重), stroked the face of his casket with her fingers and said, "Goodbye, Kōi (公威)-san." Mishima's body was cremated at 6:10 pm at Kirigaya Funeral Hall (桐ヶ谷斎場, Kirigaya saijō) in Shinagawa. The following day, on 27, Shizue told a mourner who came to the Hiraoka home to light incense for the repose of Mishima's soul, with a bouquet of white roses, "You should have brought red roses for a celebration. This was the first time in his life Kōi did something he always wanted to do. Please be happy for him."

On 26, the same day, at the main gate of Waseda University, where Masakatsu Morita studied, a large signboard mourning Mishima and Morita was erected by the "Japan Students' League" (日本学生同盟, Nihon Gakusei Dōmei) and the Waseda University National Defense Club, and portraits of the two men and an incense burner were also placed there.

Morita's wake (通夜, tuya) was also held by the Tatenokai members at around 6 pm on November 26 at Shōtoku-san Taichō-ji Temple (聖徳山諦聴寺, Shōtoku-san Taichō-ji) in Yoyogi. Morita's bones, which Osamu had divided to Tatenokai members, were placed on the altar. Morita's posthumous Buddhist name was "慈照院釈真徹必勝居士" (Jishōin Shaku Shintetsu Hisshō Koji). At the wake, Mishima's suicide note, addressed to all Tatenokai members, was circulated around and everyone read it. Some of the members suggested that if one member committed suicide every year, it would be possible to continue making an appeal to society. Morita's second wake was held the following day, November 27, at his family home in Yokkaichi-shi, Mie Prefecture, and the funeral was held on November 28 at Sea Star (海の星, Umi no Hoshi) Catholic Church, at the request of his Catholic brother Osamu, and Morita's cremains were interred at around 4 pm. Mishima's younger brother, Chiyuki, attended the funeral.

On November 30, the Buddhist memorial service for "7th day after death bardo" (初七日, sho-nanoka) was held at Mishima's home. In his will to his parents, Mishima had stated, "My funeral must be Shinto, but the Hiraoka family's funeral can be Buddhist rite." Also, regarding his posthumous Buddhist name, he had said in his will, "I want the character 'Martial (武, Bu)' to be included the name. The character 'Literature (文, Bun)' is unnecessary." However, his family, feeling that "he had grown up as a man of literature (文人, bunjin)," decided to include the character '文' under the character '武', and so his posthumous Buddhist name became "彰武院文鑑公威居士" (Shobuin Bunkan Kōi Koji).

On December 11, the "Yukio Mishima Memorial Evening" was held at Toshima Public Hall (豊島公会堂, Toshima Kōkaidō) in Ikebukuro by an executive committee headed by Fusao Hayashi. This was the origin of the "Patriotism Memorial" (憂国忌, Yūkoku-ki) memorial service, which would later become an annual event on Mishima's deathday. The hosts were Kōhan Kawauchi and Taisuke Fujishima (藤島泰輔) who was a schoolmate of Crown Prince Akihito, and the executive committee was made up of minzoku-ha students from the "Japan Students' League" and other groups. Over 3,000 people gathered (the organizers said it was 5,000) at the memorial. The venue, that has a capacity of 500 people, was overflowing, and many people also gathered in nearby Nakaikebukuro Park (中池袋公園, Nakaikebukuro Kōen), where they listened to eulogies from attendees broadcast over special speakers covering the situation inside the venue, as well as Mishima's speech before his suicide, which was recorded at the scene of the incident.

January to February 1971

The following year, on January 12, 1971, the Buddhist memorial service for the "49th day after death bardo" (四十九日, Shiju-ku nichi) was held at the Hiraoka family home. On the same day, a "Gathering to remember Mr. Yukio Mishima" was held at the Sankei Hall in Osaka, organized by 10 people including Fusao Hayashi, and was attended by approximately 2,000 people. On January 13, Mishima's wife Yōko came to visit the injured JSDF personnel and offered her apologies.

On January 14, that was also Mishima's birthday, his cremains were buried in the grave of the Hiraoka Family (Location: 10th district, 1st class, 13th side, no.32) at Tama Cemetery in Fuchū-shi. As his birthday was 49 days after the day of his suicide, some researchers have speculated that Mishima may had set his period of bardo for reincarnation.

On January 24, a clear, sunny day from the morning, Mishima's funeral and farewell ceremony was held at Tsukiji Hongan-ji from 1 pm. The chief mourner (喪主, moshu) was his wife Yōko Hiraoka, the funeral committee chairman Yasunari Kawabata, and the master of ceremonies was Takeshi Muramatsu. Around 100 of Mishima's relatives, Morita's family, the Tatenokai members and their families, Mishima's acquaintances, and the first 180 general attendees were able to attend. The altar was designed by the Ikebana artist, Tōko Adachi (安達瞳子), and was simple, with a portrait of Mishima in a black sports shirt at the center, against a black cloth background, and seven large and small flower spheres made from white chrysanthemums.

The memorial addresses (弔辞, chōji) were delivered by eight persons; Funahashi Seiichi (who was replaced by Makoto Hōjō (北條誠) halfway through due to his eye disease), Taijun Takeda, Eikoh Hosoe, the president of Shinchosha Ryōichi Satō (佐藤亮一), Eiko Muramatsu (村松英子), Kinemaro Izawa, a film producer Hiroaki Fujii (藤井浩明), Sazō Idemitsu. Eiko Muramatsu, an actress of Mishima's troupe, sobbed as she paid tribute to her mentor on behalf of the theatrical world.

To me, you were an irreplaceable mentor. Your blood painted the whole polluted skies of modern Japan in brilliant color like a burning rainbow in the evening glow. (Omitted)
Sensei, you were always caring us, without showing it. You showed us the possibility of simultaneously possessing burning passion and a cool-headed intellect. Your clear flame was the light that always guided us. (Omitted) That beautiful flame that you lit with your own body will never go out, but will continue to burn above the heads of those who love and respect you.

— Eiko Muramatsu, Chōji

Other attendees included Taisuke Fujishima, Kishin Shinoyama, Tadanori Yokoo, Toshiro Mayuzumi, Hiroshi Akutagawa, Kosuke Gomi, Nobuo Nakamura, Akiyuki Nosaka, Yasushi Inoue, Masatoshi Nakayama, and Takao Tokuoka. The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) had expressed a desire to broadcast Mishima's funeral live, but the organizing committee declined. Prime Minister Eisaku Satō's wife Hiroko (寛子) had also expressed a desire to attend the funeral in disguise by helicopter, but she could not attend by security concerns due to a rumor that far-left forces would attack the funeral hall.

A temporary nursing facility and a toilet car were set up at the funeral hall, and 100 plainclothes and uniformed police officers, 50 riot police, and 46 security guards were on guard. Over 8,200 members of the public attended the ceremony, paying their respects at a large portrait of Mishima placed at the entrance to the hall. Fans of Mishima ranged from former soldiers to office ladies. Among them was a group of companies that came from Nagoya to attend, raising flags reading "In Memory of Yukio Mishima." This made it the largest funeral ever for a literary figure. The next day, on January 25, the chairman Hiromi Tamagawa (玉川博己) of "Japan Students' League" announced its plan to launch the "Yukio Mishima Study Group" (三島由紀夫研究会, Mishima Yukio Kenkyūkai), and the inaugural meeting was held on February 26, at the Arcadia Ichigaya Private Academy (私学会館, Shigaku Kaikan) in Ichigaya. Shinjuku-ku.

On January 30, an unveiling ceremony was held for the "Memorial Monument of Honor Yukio Mishima & Masakatsu Morita Martyrs" erected in front of the entrance to Matsue Nihon University High School (now Rissho University Sounan High School) in Matsue-shi, Shimane Prefecture. The words "Sincerity (誠, Makoto)," "Restoration (維新, Ishin)," "Patriotism (憂国, Yūkoku)," and "Constitutional amendment (改憲, Kaiken)" were inscribed on the monument.

On February 11, National Foundation Day, a "Memorial service in memory of Yukio Mishima" was held in the grounds of Hachiman Shrine in Kakogawa-shi, Hyogo Prefecture, where Mishima's grandfather's permanent domicile, by members of the local Seicho-no-Ie (now the Mainstream Seicho-no-Ie Movement (生長の家本流運動, Seicho-no-Ie Honryu undo))

On February 28, the Tatenokai's dissolution ceremony was held at the Shinto Misogi Society (神道禊大教会, Sinto Misogi Daikyokai) in Nishi-Nippori (西日暮里), Arakawa-ku, attended by Mishima's wife Yōko and 75 members. Yōko's family, the Sugiyama family, had deep ties to Shinto and connections to the Shinto Misogi Daikyokai, so the ceremony was held there. Kiyoshi Kuramochi (倉持清), a 1st generation member and the leader of 2nd team, read the "Statement", and announced the dissolution of the Tatenokai, conveying the contents of Mishima's will, in which stated, "With the uprising, the Tatenokai will be dissolved." The Japanese swords that Mishima had given to each team leader and that had been kept at the Dojo Saineikan (済寧館) in the Imperial Palace were given to each team leader as keepsakes, through Yōko's consideration.

March to December 1971

On March 23, the first court hearing of the "Tatenokai Incident" trial was held in Courtroom 701 of the Tokyo District Court. In addition to the families of the three defendants, and Azusa Hiraoka, Yōko, and lawyer Naokazu Saitō (斎藤直一), the executor of Mishima's will, attended the hearing. The presiding judge was Osamu Kushibuchi (櫛淵理). The associate judges were Yoshiaki Ishii (石井義明) and Fumio Motoi (本井文夫), the prosecutors were Kazuo Ishii (石井和男) and Toshio Koyama (小山利男), the chief defense lawyer was Asanosuke Kusaka (草鹿浅之介).

The presiding judge, Kushibuchi, was a man of both literary and martial arts (文武両道, bunbu ryōdō), who practiced the Shinto single-mindedness style (神道一心流, Sinto Isshin-ryu) of swordsmanship, learned to read Classical Chinese from an early age, and was well versed in Yangmingism, which also influenced Mishima. In preparation for this trial, Kushibuchi thoroughly read Mishima's books on Yangmingism and Hagakure (Wang Yangming Thought as Revolutionary Philosophy (革命哲学としての陽明学, Kakumei Tetsugaku toshite no Yomeigaku), and On Hagakure: The Samurai Ethic and Modern Japan (葉隠入門, Hagakure Nyūmon) etc.), and focused on the connection between Yangmingism and revolutionary thought.

On June 26, at the strong request of French fans of Mishima's literature, including Gabriel Matzneff, a memorial service "Paris Yūkoku-ki" (パリ憂国忌) was held in Paris, where the poet Emmanuel Rothen recited a poem dedicated to Mishima, The Ritual of Love and Death (Patriotism). The poem was also introduced and recited by Mishima's friend Toshiro Mayuzumi during the trial in response to a question about Mishima's reputation abroad.

On July 7, two days after the seventh court hearing, the three defendants, Masayoshi Koga, Masahiro Ogawa, and Hiroyasu Koga, were released on bail. As they had admitted to the crimes and there was no risk of them destroying evidence or fleeing, the three were released from the Tokyo Detention House at 5 pm and were greeted by Yōko. They held a press conference at the Akasaka Prince Hotel from 7 pm.

On September 20, while visiting the grave, Yōko noticed something unusual about the position of the tombstone. The next day, on 21, a worker from the Tachibanaya Stonemasonry opened the interred part and found that Mishima's cremains had been lost along with the cinerary urn, and reported the matter to the Fuchū Police Station (府中警察署, Fuchū Keisatsu-sho). On December 5 of the same year, the stolen cinerary urn was discovered buried about 40 meters away from the Hiraoka family grave. The cremains were in their original condition, as well as, were the cigars that had been placed with them.

On November 25, the unveiling ceremony for the "Mishima Yukio Literary Monument" was held in the garden of the home of Kiyotaka Miyazaki (宮崎清隆), who was a former Kempeitai Sergeant Major, in Ōmiya-shi, Saitama Prefecture (now Saitama-shi, Saitama Prefecture). The calligraphy (揮毫, kigō) was by Yōko Hiraoka (Sign name was Yōko Mishima). A message that Mishima sent to Miyazaki during his lifetime was published in the "Bookmark of the Yukio Mishima Literary Monument". On the same day, the Hiraoka family held a Shinto-style first death anniversary service at the Palace Hotel in 1 Marunouchi 1-chōme, Chiyoda-ku. In addition to the former Tatenokai members, Tatsumi Hijikata and Akihiro Maruyama also attended this one-year memorial.

The 14th court hearing was held on December 6, and Minister of Defense Yasuhiro Nakasone, who was the chairman of the Liberal Democratic Party's General Affairs Committee, took the stand to testify. Nakasone stated that when he said "it's an enormous nuisance" immediately after the incident, he was speaking in his capacity as a public figure, and that he did it to prevent any disturbances within the JSDF. He also stated that while he did not fully agree with Mishima's views, he believed that Mishima had done it "with the unavoidable Yamato-damashii, knowing that this would happen if he did this," and that he wanted to accept and digest the incident in his own way as a politician, said that "I feel more compassion than hatred."

1972

On April 16, 1972, Yasunari Kawabata committed suicide in his study room at Zushi Marina Apartment in Zushi-shi, Kanagawa Prefecture. That was the day he was scheduled to hand over the preface to his disciple for the Judicial record of the "Mishima Incident" to be published in May, but the preface had been not written.

On April 27, 1972, the 18th and final court hearing of the "Tatenokai Incident" trial, in which a variety of people such as Yasuhiro Nakasone, Takeshi Muramatsu, and Toshiro Mayuzumi had testified as witnesses from the first to the 17th court hearing, was held, and three men, Masayoshi Koga, Masahiro Ogawa, and Hiroyasu Koga, were sentenced to four years in prison sentence. The offenses were "Unlawful Capture and Confinement Causing in Injury (監禁致傷, Kankin-chishō), Violation of the Law concerning Punishment of Physical Violence and Others (暴力行為等処罰ニ関スル法律, Bouryoku-koui nado Shobatsu ni kansuru houritsu), Criminal Injury (傷害, Shōgai), Obstructing or Compelling Performance of Public Duty (職務強要, Shokumu kyoyō), and Participation in Assisted Suicide; Consensual Homicide (嘱託殺人, Shokutaku satsujin)."

The verdict ended with the following statement; "We hope that you, the defendants will remember that 'Martial arts (武, Bu) without knowledge (学, Gaku) are equivalent to the courage of a common man (匹夫の勇, hippu no yū). Literature (文, Bun) without an understanding of true martial arts is nothing but incoherent muttering (譫言, sengen). And, if a person has no benevolence (仁, jin), he will do anything cruel.' We expect that you will not only see things from a one-sided perspective, but will also broaden your perspective to include all of humanity, and devote your efforts to realizing peace and security for the people." When asked by the presiding judge what they planned to do in the future, all three answered, "My life ended on November 25, 1970. I haven't thought about what I would do after that."

In the same year, 1972, an ethnic nationalist group called Issuikai (meaning to hold regular meetings on the first Wednesday of every month) was formed, centered around Tsutomu Abe (阿部勉), who had been a 1st generation Tatenokai member.

And, since 1972, a memorial service "Nowaki-sai" (野分祭) named by Tsutomu Abe after Morita's death poem has been held annually on November 24, sponsored by Issuikai and Yoshio Itō (伊藤好雄) who had been a 1st generation Tatenokai member as a celebrant. The reason the memorial service is held the day before, rather than on the anniversary of his death, is to reflect on Morita's state of mind as he was about to uprise the next day.

1973 to 1979

On July 24, 1973, former Commander, General Kenetoshi Masita (益田兼利), died of intestinal obstruction at the age of 59. According to Mashita's eldest son, Kanehiro (兼弘), Mashita did not resent Mishima until the latter end, and yearned him calling "Mishima-san."

About two and a half years later of the sentence day to four years in prison, in October 1974, the three were released before the end of their four-year sentences. After their release, the three went to meet and apologize to the JSDF officers who were injured in the incident, together with Morita's older brother Osamu.

After Hiroyasu Koga was released, he studied Shinto at Kokugakuin (國學院) and qualified as a Shinto priest at Tsurumi Shrine (鶴見神社, Tsurumi jinja) in Tsurumi-ku, Osaka-shi, Osaka Prefecture. Other former Tatenokai members began to gather at the place where Koga and 2 others held the memorial service for Mishima and Morita at same name shrine in Kanagawa Prefecture, from then on, "Memorial services for Mishima and Morita," conducted only by the former Tatenokai members, began to be held every year. After that, the "Mishima Morita Office" was established as a liaison office between the former members and the Hiraoka family. Kuninori Itō (伊藤邦典), who had been a 1st generation member and was a friend of Hiroyasu Koga, when met him in person after his release from prison, asked him, "What did that incident leave you with?" Koga simply turned his palms up and stared at them as if he was holding the weight of something as the weight of Mishima's and Morita's heads.

On March 29, 1975, Ichirō Murakami (村上一郎), a writer who, like Mishima, viewed the February 26 incident in a positive light and who had strong sympathy for the Mishima Incident, committed suicide slashing the carotid artery in his own throat with a Japanese sword at his home.

On December 16, 1976, Mishima's father, Azusa Hiraoka (平岡梓), died of cirrhosis of the liver at the age of 82.

On March 3, 1977, two former Tatenokai members, Yoshio Itō (伊藤好雄) (a 1st generation member) and Shunichi Nishio (西尾俊一) (a 4th generation member), participated in the Japan Business Federation attack incident (経団連襲撃事件, Keidanren shugeki jiken) leading by Shūsuke Nomura. After being persuaded by Yōko, they surrendered and the incident came to an end.

1980 to 2009

In January 1980, an ideological group called the Kouryu-kai (蛟龍会) was founded by several former Tatenokai members, including Kiyoshi Kuramochi.

On August 9, 1980, the Asahi Shimbun newspaper carried the full text of Mishima's suicide note addressed to Kiyoshi Kuramochi, a 1st generation Tatenokai member, in which he apologized for being unable to act as matchmaker at Kuramochi's wedding due to the incident. On November 24 of the same year, Colonel Kiyokatsu Yamamoto (山本舜勝) and several former members of Tatenokai held a "10th Anniversary Memorial Service for the Martyrs Yukio Mishima and Masakatsu Morita" at the Arcadia Ichigaya Private Academy (私学会館, Shigaku Kaikan) in Ichigaya. Shinjuku-ku.

The inaugural issue of the weekly photo magazine Friday, published in November 1984, featured a close-up of Mishima's severed head. In response, his widow, Yōko, strongly protested to the publisher Kodansha, which prevented publication. In an interview with Munekatsu Date and Takao Tokuoka at the end of the same year, Yōko criticized, "This latest act of photojournalism is the equivalent of a public head hanging (晒し首, sarashi kubi) (in the Edo period). I wonder if the people involved in the editing of that magazine were aware that a public head hanging was a punishment worse than the death penalty."

On October 21, 1987, Mishima's mother, Shizue (倭文重), died of heart failure at the age of 82. On July 31, 1995, Mishima's wife Yōko (瑤子), died of heart failure at the age of 58. And, on January 9, 1996, Mishima's younger brother, Chiyuki (千之), died of pneumonia at the age of 65.

On October 11, 1999, Tsutomu Abe, a founder of Issuikai, died of pancreatic cancer at the age of 53. In late November 1999 and on January 4, 2000, Japanese newspapers carried Mishima's suicide note addressed to all Tatenokai members. On July 18, 2001, Kiyokatsu Yamamoto (山本舜勝) died at the age of 82.

On April 7 and 8, 2001, a memorial symposium, "Rome Yūkoku-ki" (ローマ憂国忌) was held in Rome, Italy. The background to the realization of this event was that Romano Vulpitta (ロマノ・ヴルピッタ), a professor at Kyoto Sangyo University, had introduced Japanese Romantic School (日本浪曼派, Nihon Rōman Ha) and Mishima in his native Italy, which led to research into the values shared between Ancient Rome and Mishima, and Mishima's popularity also increased in Rome.

2010 to present

On November 25, 2010, a "Seimei Shrine" (清明宮, Seimei-guu) was erected at Tsurumi Shrine (鶴見神社, Tsurumi jinja) in Tsurumi-ku, Yokohama-shi, Kanagawa Prefecture, as the shrine that formally enshrines Mishima and Morita by former Tatenokai members. A stone monument with the calligraphy of "Seimei" (清明) that Mishima had left at Sai Shrine (狭井神社, Sai Jinja) in the sacred grounds of Ōmiwa Shrine in Nara Prefecture was also erected at "Seimei Shrine." Tsurumi-ku, Yokohama was also home to a bar called "Pony" (仔馬, Kouma) that Mishima often frequented when he was a new writer.

On September 24, 2013, Hiroshi Mochimaru (持丸博) (whose married family name was Matsuura), a former Tatenokai member and 1st student leader, died of esophageal cancer at the age of 69.

On November 26, 2018, Masahiro Ogawa (小川正洋), a former Tatenokai member and participant in the Mishima Incident, died of heart failure at the age of 70, the day after the anniversary of the deaths of Mishima and Morita. Ogawa's funeral and farewell ceremony was held from 11 am on November 29 at a funeral home in Hamamatsu-shi, Shizuoka Prefecture, where he lived. The chief mourner was his eldest son, Kiichirō (紀一郎). Ogawa referred to Mishima as "Teacher Mishima (三島先生, Mishima Sensei)" throughout his life.

Mishima and the JSDF (The process leading up to the incident)

Mishima's relationship with the Japan Self-Defense Forces started in 1966, and after that, the founding of the militia Tatenokai and other events led to the search for a plan to turn the Self-Defense Forces into a national army, which ultimately led to the Mishima Incident.

Main article: Prelude to the Mishima Incident

Mishima's suicide notes addressed to the Tatenokai members

The suicide note Mishima had written to the Tatenokai member Kiyoshi Kuramochi (倉持清) (whose married family name was Honda), a 1st generation member and the leader of 2nd team, was handed to Kuramochi by Mishima's wife Yōko on the night of the incident. Kuramochi was a person who Mishima trusted, just like the four members who had risen up with Mishima.

Mishima had been asked by Kuramochi to act as the matchmaker at his wedding and he had gladly accepted, so Mishima wrote that it would have been impossible for him to "lead Kuramochi down the path of ruin and death" or to "betray your fiancee and make you act," and he left a will expressing his wish that Kuramochi live a happy life. Kuramochi read the letter in a room in the Mishima residence and was moved to tears by the kindness of his mentor, who had died so concerned about his private life.

My small uprising was the result of much deliberation, and after taking into consideration all the conditions, that I fed our only way into it. At the same time, the way was to one that is predetermined definite death. As someone who had criticized the lack of responsibility of the left-wing students' actions, I had no choice but to take the one path I should take. That is why I had to be extremely strict in selecting the members involved, and I had no choice but to consider keeping the them to a very small number and minimizing the number of casualties as much as possible.
How I had longing for and dreaming of rising up for justice together with the all Tatenokai members. However, the situation had already made this impossible, and since that had happened, I thought it would be humanity not to inform non-participants of anything. I in no way think that I have betrayed you guys. (Omitted) I hope that you will understand my feelings, get a job, get married, and make your way through the waves of life, which is like a vast ocean, without forgetting your true ideals as you grow up.

— Yukio Mishima, Letter to Kiyoshi Kuramochi on November 1945

The envelope containing the letter to Kuramochi was enclosed a suicide note addressed to all Tatenokai members too, which was passed around and everyone read, at Masakatsu Morita's wake held on November 26, the day after the incident. The members who read it recalled that they felt Mishima's consideration for those left behind.

Just as I have often tested your aspirations with harsh words, the dream in my mind was for all Tatenokai members to come together, rise up for justice, and realize the ideas of the association. This was the greatest dream of my life. The Tatenokai should have pooled all its strength to return Japan to its true form. (Omitted) Rejecting the empty theories of the revolutionary youth, we have striven for the path of the warrior, with actions spoken before words. If the time had come, the true worth of the Tatenokai could have been proven before the eyes of the entire nation.
However, the right time was not come, and we lost the opportunity to act together for our ideas. Under the semblance of stability, Japan was showing signs of irreparable cancer in its soul with each passing day, and we had to sit idly by. At the time when we most needed to act, the situation was not on our side. (Omitted)
Even if Japan sinks into the depths of decadence, you are the last young people of Japan who have learned the spirit of the samurai and been trained as samurai. When you abandon your ideals, Japan will perish. I have only thought of teaching you the pride of being a man. I hope that you have once joined the Tatenokai, you will never forget for the rest of your lives what the words "Japanese Male" (日本男児, Nippon Danji) mean. What you gain in your youth is your lifelong treasure. You must never abandon it.

— Yukio Mishima, To you all, who had been members of the Tatenokai on November 1945

Various views on the meaning of Mishima's death

There are many different views about Mishima's death, including that it was an aesthetic suicide for the artist's sake, or that he was politically serious, and while many knowledgeable persons are eager to share their opinions about the mystery of his death, some of his fellow literary figures and left-wing intellectuals at the time remained silent and said nothing, or even chose to ignore the incident, feeling guilty for not taking any action themselves.

Main article: Views on the meaning of Mishima's death

Others, episodes etc.

About Mishima

In the one hour-long interview dialogue with Takashi Furubayashi (古林尚), held at Mishima's residence in Minami Magome (南馬込), Ōta-ku, on the evening of November 18, one week before his suicide, Mishima had repeated two or three times, "You'll see," when the topic turned to the Tatenokai, and when Furubayashi had asked him about his future plans after The Sea of Fertility tetralogy, he had said, "At the moment, I have no plans for next work."

Looking back on that day, Furubayashi has commented on the look on Mishima's face when he had said "I really have no plans" after the dialogue, saying, "I have never seen him look so lonely." and has that Mishima repeatedly had muttered in the dialogue, "I no longer have a single friend in the literary world." Furubayashi also has recalled that after the dialogue, Mishima had said, "I lied when I wrote in my essay that my sister's death was more of a shock than the defeat of Japan. The defeat was a huge shock. I didn't know what to do."

Also, in the dialogue with Furubayashi, Mishima said that "I think of myself as something like Petronius. And, this may sound a bit dramatic, but I think my generation will be the last generation to know true Japanese language. I doubt there will never be come anyone who has the words of the Japanese classics ingrained into them, from here on." It is said that the image of Petronius that Mishima had in his mind was come from Petronius in Henryk Sienkiewicz's historical fiction Quo Vadis.

About other

After the Mishima incident, there were newspaper articles about several high school students and young men who followed in his footsteps and committed suicide. On September 9 of the following year, 1971, the Mainichi Shimbun reported that a high school student in Hachiōji-shi, had poured gasoline over himself and set himself on fire in the schoolyard, carrying two of Mishima's books.

Three years after the incident, on November 20, 1973, a man named Eiji Hijikata (土方英次), who sympathized with Mishima's ideas, committed seppuku in Kitakyushu-shi, Fukuoka Prefecture. The following year, on February 11, 1974, National Foundation Day, Hijikata's nephew, a 25-year-old young man named Masafumi Ohashi (大橋正文), a former Kokushikan University student from Hiroshima-shi, Hiroshima Prefecture who also admired Mishima, committed seppuku at the Main Gate (神門, Shinmon) of Yasukuni Shrine. He was taken to the hospital but died the next day. It is said that there were a considerable number of people who followed Mishima and committed seppuku.

Also, a young editor at Shinchosha left the company, saying, "With Mr. Mishima's death, my life came to an end too." (It is unclear whether he subsequently committed suicide.)

In the case of the murder of a Hirosaki University (弘前医科大学, Hirosaki ika daigaku) professor's wife (弘前大教授夫人殺し事件, Hirosaki dai kyōju fujin gorosi jiken) that occurred in 1949, the real culprit was inspired and reformed himself by the Mishima Incident, and came forward to the police in 1971. As a result, a man who had been serving a prison sentence on a false charge was later acquitted in a retrial.

Naoki Inose, who was a New Left student activist at Shinshu University, came to Tokyo after the Anpo protests, and started a temporary staffing business through an acquaintance to take on the final stages of cleaning and tidying up building construction sites. According to Inose, around 1972, he worked for a few days in a lumber warehouse along the Sumida River with S, a quiet hippie who had come to him in response to a part-time job advertisement. One day, during a conversation after lunch, Inose was asked by S, "What do you think of Yukio Mishima?" Inose was somewhat knowledgeable about the prewar Japanese Romantic School (日本浪曼派, Nihon Rōman Ha), and S seemed to have started the conversation with a sense of familiarity. And S began to talk like to himself, saying in a low voice, "Mishima is amazing, cause, he died," and "He really did it." After that, there was a series of corporate bombings, starting with the Mitsubishi Heavy Industries bombing in 1974. The photographs and profiles of the arrested members of the East Asia Anti-Japan Armed Front were published in the newspapers, and Inose was surprised to see S among them. S (Nodoka Saitō (齋藤和)) was the only member who committed suicide by taking potassium cyanide just before being arrested. Inose has interpreted S's suicide as being influenced by Mishima.

Inspired by the Mishima Incident, actor Ken Takakura was planning to make a film about Mishima. According to Tadanori Yokoo, who was close to Takakura or Mishima, the concrete plans were being finalized and Takakura traveled to Los Angeles many times. "It was as if Mishima was gradually possessing Ken, and I felt that Mishima's spirit was trying to get Ken Takakura to make a film," Yokoo has recalled. However, at the last minute, he was unable to obtain the consent of Mishima's widow Yōko and was forced to abandon the film production. Takakura had no choice but to call Yokoo and invite him to visit Mishima's grave at Tama Cemetery, saying, "Please bring your camera. Let's take pictures together."

After the incident, Shintaro Ishihara was secretly shown photographs of Mishima's unconscious expression as he instructed his members in the Commandant General's office after finishing his speech on the balcony and making final preparations (several photos secretly taken by a JSDF camera crew behind barricades), and 20 years after the incident he said of the photos, "It was a beautiful, perfect portrait," "I was struck by the pure beauty of the face in the photographs," and 50 years after the incident he even told, "They were really beautiful. They showed a natural, nice look, different from his usual intimidating expression."

The building of the Eastern Army Headquarters (Building No. 1), that contained the Commandant General's office at the scene of the Mishima Incident, was demolished in 1994, but part of the building, including the Commandant General's office, has been recreated and preserved as the Ichigaya Memorial Museum (市ヶ谷記念館, Ichigaya Kinenkan) in another corner of the ground, and three sword marks made by Mishima on a pillar during the fight with the JSDF officers still remain there.

According to Boris Akunin, who published a Russian translation of Mishima's Patriotism and an essay about Mishima's life in a magazine in 1988, a prisoner in Minsk committed seppuku by a spoon after reading the essay and Patriotism. Also, Russian writer Eduard Limonov was influenced by Mishima and the Tatenokai, and formed the National Bolshevik Party, earning the nickname "Russian Mishima."

Japan-related Social events before and after the Mishima Incident

• 1958
  • November 9 – Prime Minister Nobusuke Kishi told NBC reporter Brown that "It is time to abolish Article 9 of the Japanese Constitution".
  • December – Communist League was formed. – First Bund (第一次ブント, Dai 1-ji bunto)
• 1959
  • November 27 – 20,000 demonstrators shouting "Stop the U.S.–Japan Security Treaty" stormed into the National Diet Building. – United Action to Stop Revision of the Anpo (安保改定阻止統一行動, Anpo kaitei soshi tōitsu undo)
• 1960
  • January 19 – New Security Treaty signed.
  • October 12 – Japan Socialist Party Chairman Inejirō Asanuma was stabbed to death by right-wing youth Otoya Yamaguchi. – Assassination of Inejirō Asanuma
• 1961
  • February 1 – Over the publication of Shichirō Fukazawa's short story The Tale of an Elegant Dream (風流夢譚, Furyū mutan), a right-wing youth Kazutaka Komori broke into the private home of Chuokoron-Shinsha president Hōji Shimanaka and killed his housekeeper and his wife. – Shimanaka Incident
  • December 12 – An attempted coup d'état occurred by former members of the Imperial Japanese Army. – Sanyū Incident
• 1963
  • July 15 – Right-wing activist Shūsuke Nomura and others broke into the private residence of Liberal Democratic Party member Ichirō Kōno, and set it on fire. – Ichirō Kōno's Residence Arson Incident (河野一郎邸焼き討ち事件, Kōno Ichirō tei Yakiuchi jiken)
• 1964
  • October 16 – During the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, the People's Republic of China conducted its first atomic bomb test in Taklamakan Desert, becoming the world's fifth nuclear-weapon states. – Project 596
• 1965
  • June 22 – The Treaty on Basic Relations Between Japan and the Republic of Korea was signed.
• 1966
  • May 16 – The Cultural Revolution had begun by Mao Zedong in People's Republic of China.
  • June 28 – The Sanrizuka Struggle had begun.
  • December 17 – The three factions of the All-Japan Federation of Student Self-Government Associations was formed, which consists of three factions: the Chukaku-ha, the Socialist Student Union (社会主義学生同盟, Shakai shugi gakusei dōmei), and the Japan Socialist Youth League, Liberation Faction.
• 1967
  • February 11 – Implementation of National Foundation Day.
  • February 28 – Yukio Mishima, Yasunari Kawabata, Jun Ishikawa, and Kōbō Abe issued statements of protest against China's Cultural Revolution.
  • April 15 – Ryokichi Minobe, recommended by the Socialist Party and the Communist Party, was elected governor of Tokyo.
  • June 17 – The People's Republic of China conducted its first hydrogen bomb test.
  • November 12 – New Left factions attempted to block Prime Minister Eisaku Satō from traveling to the U.S. – Haneda Incident (羽田事件, Haneda jiken)
    Tunoshin Yui (由比忠之進) committed suicide by self-immolation in front of the Prime Minister's residence, on the same day.
    After moving to U.S., a meeting was held between Prime Minister Satō and U.S. President Lyndon Johnson, and a joint statement was issued by Japan and U.S. on Security Treaty (Anpo) and Okinawa.
• 1968
  • January 9 – JSDF official and marathoner Kōkichi Tsuburaya committed suicide by slicing his carotid artery with a razor.
  • January 19 – The American Nuclear-powered aircraft carrier Enterprise arrived at Sasebo port. – Struggle to prevent the Enterprise from docking at Sasebo (佐世保エンタープライズ寄港阻止闘争, Sasebo Enterprise kikō soshi tousō)
  • January 29 – Students at the Tokyo University Faculty of Medicine had gone on an indefinite strike in opposition to the registered doctor system replacing the internship system. – The Beginning of the Tokyo University Conflict (東大紛争, Todai funsō)
    Afterwards, anti-Japanese Communist Party New Left students occupied Yasuda Auditorium, and the graduation ceremony to be canceled.
  • February 20–24 – A murder and hostage incident occurred in Shizuoka Prefecture by a Korean resident of Japan, Kim Hi-ro (金嬉老, Kin kiro). – Kim Hi-ro Incident (金嬉老事件, Kin kiro jiken)
  • October 17 – Yasunari Kawabata was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature.
  • October 21 – Approximately 300,000 people participated in the International Anti-War Day (国際反戦デー, Kokusai Hansen dei) demonstration. – Shinjuku riot
  • December 10 – A fake police motorcycle officer stole approximately 300 million yen in bonuses from Tokyo Shibaura Electric (now Toshiba)'s Fuchu factory. – 300 million yen robbery
  • In 1968, campus conflicts (Nihon University conflict (日大紛争, Nichidai funsō), Meiji University conflict (明大紛争, Meidai funsō)), the Anpo protests, and anti-Vietnam War demonstrations intensified across the country.
• 1969
  • January 18–19 – New Left Zenkyōtō students New Left students occupied Yasuda Auditorium at the Tokyo University, leading to the cancellation of the entrance exams for the Tokyo University, and Riot Police Unit stormed in. – "University of Tokyo Yasuda Auditorium Incident" (東大安田講堂事件, Tōdai Yasuda kōdō jiken)
  • August 28 – The Red Army Faction of the Communist League was formed. – Second Bund (第二次ブント, Dai 2-ji bunto)
  • October 21 – Approximately 860,000 people across the country participated in International Anti-War Day. – 10.21 International Anti-War Day Struggle 1969 (10.21国際反戦デー闘争 (1969年), 10.21 Kokusai Hansen dei tousō (1969 nen))
  • November 16–17 – Prime Minister Eisaku Satō traveled to the U.S. to discussion of the Okinawa Reversion. The New Left launched a campaign to prevent Eisaku Satō from visiting the U.S. – Struggle to prevent Prime Minister Satō from visiting the United States (佐藤首相訪米阻止闘争, Satō shusho hobei soshi tousō)
  • In 1969, the Okinawa Reversion Struggle and the movement for Reversion to the Mainland (本土復帰, Hondo fukki) gained momentum. Also, campus conflicts intensified.
• 1970
  • February 3 – Japan signed the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT).
  • March 14 – September 13 – The Japan World Exposition was held in Suita, Osaka Prefecture.
  • March 31 – The JA8315 passenger plane (Yodo-go) was hijacked by members of Red Army Faction. – Yodogo Hijacking Incident
  • May 13–14 – A passenger ship was hijacked at Ujina Port in the Seto Inland Sea. – Setouchi Hijacking Incident (瀬戸内シージャック事件, Setouchi Seajack jiken)
  • June 23 – The Japan-US Security Treaty (Anpo) was automatically extended.
  • August 3 – A huge brawl broke out in Shibuya, between the Chukaku-ha and Kakumaru-ha. – Tokyo University of Education Student Lynching Murder Incident (東京教育大学生リンチ殺人事件, Tokyo kyoiku daigaku-sei rinchi satsujin jiken)
  • November 25 – The Mishima Incident occurred at the Camp Ichigaya of the JGSDF.
  • December 20 – There were incidents of burning U.S. military vehicles and facilities in Koza-shi (now Okinawa-shi in central Okinawa. – Koza riot
• 1971
  • June 17 – The Okinawa Reversion Agreement was signed.
  • July – Henry Kissinger made a secret visit to China.
  • November – 100,000 people and Chukaku-ha participated in a general strike against the Okinawa Reversion Agreement. – Okinawa General Strike Police Officer Murder Incident (沖縄ゼネスト警察官殺害事件, Okinawa zenesuto keisatsu-kan satsugai jiken), Shibuya Riot Incident (渋谷暴動事件, Shibuya bōdō jiken)
• 1972
  • January 24 – Former Sergeant, Shoichi Yokoi was found in Guam.
  • February 3–13 – The 11th Winter Olympics was held in Sapporo-shi, Hokkaido.
  • February 19–28 – A hostage taking incident by the United Red Army occurred at a mountain lodge in Karuizawa-machi, Nagano Prefecture. – Asama-Sansō incident
  • February 21 – US-China Reconciliation. – 1972 visit by Richard Nixon to China
  • April 16 – Yasunari Kawabata committed suicide by gas at his workplace in Zushi-shi, Kanagawa Prefecture.
  • May 15 – Okinawa was returned. – 沖縄返還 (Okinawa henkan)
  • September 29 – Prime Minister Kakuei Tanaka visited the People's Republic of China, and Japan–China Joint Communiqué was signed. – Normalization of Japan-China relations (日中国交正常化, Nicchū kokkō seijo-ka)

Works based on or inspired by the Mishima incident

Film

• Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters directed by Paul Schrader (1985)
  • Starring: Ken Ogata as Yukio Mishima

• 11/25 The Day Mishima Chose His Own Fate directed by Kōji Wakamatsu (2012)
  • Starring: Arata Iura as Yukio Mishima

TV

• New documentary drama Shōwa: Seicho Matsumoto approaches the incident (ニュードキュメンタリードラマ昭和 松本清張事件にせまる) produced by TV Asahi (1984)
  • Narrator: Kei Satō
  • Witnesses: Shigeru Amachi, Donald Keene, Takao Tokuoka (徳岡孝夫), Shūsuke Nomura, Akihiro Miwa, others

Manga, Anime

• Yuuyake Banchō Volume 15 "Both literary and martial arts" (文武両道, bunbu ryōdō) written by Ikki Kajiwara and Illustrated by Toshio Shōji (荘司としお) (1971)

• Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex 2nd GIG (攻殻機動隊 S.A.C. 2nd GIG, Kokaku Kidōtai S.A.C. 2nd GIG) (2004, Production I.G)

Literary works

• The Day He Himself Shall Wipe My Tears Away (みずから我が涙をぬぐいたまう日, Mizukara waga namida wo nuguitamau hi) written by Kenzaburō Ōe (1971, Gunzo, later same title book published in October 1972 by Kodansha, NCID BN04777478

• The Head of Yukio Mishima (三島由紀夫の首, Mishima Yukio no Kubi)) written by Tetsuji Takechi (1972, Toshi shuppan, NCID BN05185496)
  • A mysterious tale of Mishima's head flying over the Kantō region and arguing with the head of Taira no Masakado.

• Nemuri Kyōshirō Heartless (眠狂四郎無情控, Nemuri Kyoshiro Mujokou) written by Renzaburō Shibata (1972, Shinchosha) NCID BN09303448

• The summer never return (帰らざる夏, Kaerazaru natsu) written by Otohiko Kaga (1973, Kodansha) NCID BN05011112
  • Regarding the Mishima Incident, which occurred while Kaga was conceiving this work, he said, "It surprised me, as if the event I had been thinking of writing about in a novel had suddenly become reality. The Mishima incident naturally influenced my writing and made me feel tense."

• Elegy of the Chrysanthemum Emperor: A Novel of Emperor Gotoba (菊帝悲歌―小説後鳥羽院, Kikutei hika: Shosetsu Gotobain) written by Kunio Tsukamoto (塚本邦雄) (1978, Shueisha) NCID BN06638439

• A dirge for the gentle leftist (優しいサヨクのための嬉遊曲, Yasasii Sayoku no tame no kiyuukyoku) written by Masahiko Shimada (1983, Fukutake Shoten) NCID BN11573172

• Teito Monogatari (帝都物語, Teito monogatari) (vol. 5–10) written by Hiroshi Aramata (1985, Kadokawa Shoten) NCID BN01749716
  • A historical fantasy novel. Mishima was appearing in series No.5. He committed seppuku crying out for spiritual defense, then the spirit of Mishima confront the earthbound spirit of Taira no Masakado. In the following series No.6, Mishima reincarnated a woman Michiyo Ohsawa.

• Popoi (ポポイ) written by Yumiko Kurahashi (1987, Fukutake Shoten) NCID BN01559991

• Until he becomes a mummy (ミイラになるまで, Miira ni narumade) written by Masahiko Shimada (1990, Chūō Kōron, later included in Armadillo King (アルマジロ王, Armadillo Ou) published in April 1991 by Shinchosha) NCID BN06445457

• Legend – A Summer Morning, on the Illusionary Shore (伝説――夏の朝、幻の岸辺で, Densetsu: Natsu no asa, Maboroshi no kishibe de) written by Masahito Nakayama (中山雅仁) (1993, Kawade Shobō Shinsha) NCID BA89529155

• Banquet of Revelation (天啓の宴, Tenkei no Utage) written by Kiyoshi Kasai (笠井潔) (1996, Futabasha) NCID BA53022162

• Goodbye, honey (さよなら、ハニー, Sayonara, honey) written by Nori Nakayama (中山紀) (1998, Sinpoosha) ISBN 978-4-7974-0413-5

• Another Patriotism (もうひとつの憂國, Mouhitotsu no Yukoku) written by Yuichi Ogiwara (荻原雄一) (2000, Natsume Shobo) NCID BA52840799
  • This is a fiction story in which the spirit of Lieutenant General Kanetoshi Mashita recalls how, unable to bear the sight of Mishima suffering after Masakatsu Morita's kaishaku had failed, he was in fact the one to perform the final kaishaku.

• ふくみ笑い (Fukumi warai) written by Kō Machida (2002, Gunzo, later included in Dancer of Gongen (権現の踊り子, Gongen no Odoriko) published in March 2003 by Kodansha) NCID BA61838506

• Part 2: The "The Temple of the Golden Pavilion" will probably come out of my stomach. (第二部 僕のお腹の中からはたぶん「金閣寺」が出てくる。, Dai 2 bu Boku no onaka no nakakara wa tabun Kinkaku-ji ga detekuru.) written by Ōtarō Maijō (2003, Gunzo, later included in How to Dismantle the 'Locked Room' (「鍵のかかった部屋」をいかに解体するか, "Kagi no kakatta heya" wo ikani kaitai suruka) published in March 2007 by Basilico) NCID BA81672698

• Fantasista (ファンタジスタ) written by Tomoyuki Hoshino (2003, Shueisha) NCID BA61839393

• Lonely Hearts Killer (ロンリー・ハーツ・キラー) written by Tomoyuki Hoshino (2004, Chuokoron-Shinsha) NCID BA65639137

• Goodbye, my books! (さようなら、私の本よ!, Sayounara, Watashi no honyo!) written by Kenzaburō Ōe (2005, Kodansha) NCID BA73857337

• Infernal Affairs (無間道, Mugendō) written by Tomoyuki Hoshino (2007, Shueisha) NCID BA83993262

• Mishima Reincarnation (三島転生, Mishima tensei) written by Akitomo Ozawa (小沢章友) (2007, Popurasha) NCID BA81401078
  • A story that the maraṇa-bhava (死有, Su) of Mishima, who died at the Camp Ichigaya, floating and looks back on his life.

• Pale Moon (蒼白の月, Sohaku no Tuki) written by Ryo Hirose (広瀬亮) (2009, Bungeisha) ISBN 978-4-7818-0047-9

• Death by Water (水死, Suishi) written by Kenzaburō Ōe (2009, Kodansha) NCID BB00519283

• Impossible (不可能, Fukano) written by Hisaki Matsuura (2011, Kodansha) NCID BB06153231
  • A novel that assumed that Mishima has been survived the Mishima Incident.

• The patriots (憂国者たち―The patriots, Yūkokusha tachi: The patriots) written by Taro Miwa (三輪太郎) (2015, Kodansha) NCID BB20272332

Performance art

• Season of fiery fire / Requiem for someone: Number 1, Mishima (烈火の季節／なにものかへのレクイエム・その壱 ミシマ, Rekka no kisetsu/Nanimonoka eno rekuiemu: Sono ichi Mishima) performed by Yasumasa Morimura (2006)
  • Disguise performance as Mishima

• Classroom of beauty, listen quietly (美の教室、清聴せよ, Bi no kyositsu, seicho seyo)) performed by Yasumasa Morimura (2007)
  • ditto

Poetry

• Harakiri written by István Bálint.
• 3 Tanka poems, Grave of Mishima (ユキオ・ミシマの墓, Mishima Yukio no haka) written by Pierre Pascal (1970)
  • 12 Haiku poems. Appendix of Shinsho Hanayama (花山信勝)'s book Discovering Peace: A Record of Life and Death in Sugamo (平和の発見―巣鴨の生と死の記録, Heiwa no Hakken: Sugamo no Sei to Shi no Kiroku) translated into French.

• The Ritual of Love and Death (Patriotism) (愛と死の儀式（憂国）, Ai to Shi no gishiki (Yūkoku)) written by Emmanuel Rothen (1970)

• Lamentation: Yukio Mishima (哭三島由紀夫, Koku Mishima Yukio) written by {{Nihongo|Akira Asano|浅野晃 (1971)
  • described at the conclusion of the eulogy "Rainbow Gate".

• Yūkoku-ki (憂国忌) written by Shūji Terayama (1971)

• Harakiri (ハラキリ) written by Hiromi Itō (1986)

• It was noon (正午だった, Shogo datta) & Haiku written by Genki Fujii (2007)
  • Reading at the 38th "Patriotism Memorial" (憂国忌, Yūkoku-ki), 37th Anniversary of His Death.

Songs

• Patriotism (憂国, Yūkoku) lyrics by Yoshio Kodama, composition by Masao Koga, singing by Hisao Itō (伊藤久男) (1971)
• Dance of Scarlet Fan (緋扇の舞, Hisen no Mai) lyrics by Shunpo Nomura (野村春畝), composition by Masao Koga, singing by Hisao Itō (1971)
  • A memorial song for Masakatsu Morita.
• Curry rice (カレーライス, Karē raisu) lyrics/composition and singing by Kenji Endo (遠藤賢司) (1971)

See also

• Icarus (イカロス) – A lyric poetry by Mishima that was included in his book Sun and Steel and describes the desire to ascend to heaven (blue sky), and approaching the "sun."
• Kondō Isami – In May 1968, Mishima participated in the 100th anniversary after death of memorial service for Kondō Isami, who was a close friend of Mishima's great-grandfather, Nagai Naoyuki.
• On Hagakure: The Samurai Ethic and Modern Japan (葉隠入門, Hagakure Nyūmon)
• Ōshio Heihachirō Rebellion (大塩平八郎の乱, Ōshio Heihachirō no ran)
• The Dragon Flute (蘭陵王, Ryanryo ou) – Mishima's last short story, depicting an episode from his simple life in the Self-Defense Force barracks, where he listened to a Tatenokai member playing the gagaku piece Prince of Lanling (蘭陵王) on a Dragon flute (龍笛, Ryūteki).
• Rintarō Hinuma (日沼倫太郎) – The person who had been encouraged Mishima to commit suicide.
• Seirankai (青嵐会) – A policy group inspired by the Mishima Incident. It was founded within the Liberal Democratic Party by Shintaro Ishihara, Ichiro Nakagawa and others in 1973.
• Shōwa Restoration
• The Birth of Tragedy
• The Three-no ism (三無主義, Sanmu Shugi) – Around the time of the Mishima incident, high school students were said to have three No ism: "No energy," "No interest," and "No excitement" (or "No sense of responsibility").
• Yalta-Potsdam system (YP体制, YP taisei) – Japan's New Right defined the Postwar democracy (戦後民主主義, Sengo minshu-shugi) system as this, and U.S.-Japan relations as one of the victorious nations of World War II and their comprador governments, and criticized them.

Sources

• Mishima, Yukio (2003). 決定版 三島由紀夫全集 第34巻 評論9 [Definitive Edition Yukio Mishima Complete Works No.34 – Criticisms 9] (in Japanese). Shinchosha. ISBN 978-4-10-642574-5.
• Mishima, Yukio (2003). 決定版 三島由紀夫全集 第36巻 評論11 [Definitive Edition Yukio Mishima Complete Works No.36 – Criticisms 11] (in Japanese). Shinchosha. ISBN 978-4-10-642576-9.
• Mishima, Yukio (2004). 決定版 三島由紀夫全集 第37巻 詩歌 [Definitive Edition Yukio Mishima Complete Works No.37 – Poetry] (in Japanese). Shinchosha. ISBN 978-4-10-642577-6.
• Mishima, Yukio (2004). 決定版 三島由紀夫全集 第38巻 書簡 [Definitive Edition Yukio Mishima Complete Works No.38 – Letters] (in Japanese). Shinchosha. ISBN 978-4-10-642578-3.
• Mishima, Yukio (2004). 決定版 三島由紀夫全集 第39巻 対談1 [Definitive Edition Yukio Mishima Complete Works No.39 – Dialogues 1] (in Japanese). Shinchosha. ISBN 978-4-10-642579-0.
• Mishima, Yukio (2004). 決定版 三島由紀夫全集 第40巻 対談2 [Definitive Edition Yukio Mishima Complete Works No.40 – Dialogues 2] (in Japanese). Shinchosha. ISBN 978-4-10-642580-6.
• Satō, Hideaki; Inoue, Takashi; Yamanaka, Takeshi, eds. (2005). 決定版 三島由紀夫全集 第42巻 年譜・書誌 [Definitive Edition Yukio Mishima Complete Works No.42 – Biographical Sketch and Bibliography] (in Japanese). Shinchosha. ISBN 978-4-10-642582-0.
• Agata, Mitsunori; others (2025). 殉国の行動者 三島由紀夫 [Martyr to the Country: Yukio Mishima] (in Japanese). Asia Shimbunsha. ISBN 978-4-9911961-3-3.
• Agata, Mitsunori; others (2025). Real Japan editorial desk (ed.). 肉体言語―三島由紀夫 憂國、愛國、武士道 [The Language of the Body – Yukio Mishima: Yūkoku, Patriotism, and Bushido] (in Japanese). Asia Shimbunsha. ISBN 978-4-9911961-4-0.
• Akiyama, Shun; others (1990). 三島由紀夫 [Yukio Mishima]. Gunzo – Japanese Authors 18 (in Japanese). Shogakukan. ISBN 978-4-09-567018-8.
• Andō, Takeshi (1996). 三島由紀夫「日録」 ["Daily Record" of Yukio Mishima] (in Japanese). Michitani. ISBN 978-4-915841-39-2.
• Andō, Takeshi (1998). 三島由紀夫の生涯 [The Life of Yukio Mishima] (in Japanese). Natsume Shobo. ISBN 978-4-931391-39-0.
• Chujō, Shōhei, ed. (2005). 三島由紀夫が死んだ日―あの日、何が終り何が始まったのか [The Day Yukio Mishima Died: What Ended and What Began on That Day] (in Japanese). Jitsugyo no Nihon Sha. ISBN 978-4-408-53472-5.
• Chujō, Shōhei, ed. (2005). 続・三島由紀夫が死んだ日―あの日は、どうしていまも生々しいのか [Sequel - The Day Yukio Mishima Died: Why is That Day Still So Vivid to Us] (in Japanese). Jitsugyo no Nihon Sha. ISBN 978-4-408-53482-4.
• Date, Munekatsu (1972). 裁判記録「三島由紀夫事件」 [Judicial Record of the "Mishima Incident"] (in Japanese). Kodansha. NCID BN0140450X.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: ref duplicates default (link)
• Fukushima, Jurō (2005) [1st pub. Shinjinbutu Ōraisha:1975]. 再訂資料・三島由紀夫 [Re-Edition Document - Yukio Mishima] (in Japanese) (Enlarged ed.). Chobunsha. ISBN 978-4-88695-180-9.
• Hamasaki, Yōsuke (2020). 三島由紀夫―なぜ、死んでみせねばならなかったのか [Yukio Mishima: Why did He have to Show His Dying]. The Essence of Postwar Thought (in Japanese). NHK Publishing, Inc. ISBN 978-4-14-081832-9.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: ref duplicates default (link)
• Hara, Ryūichi (2004). 熱海の青年将校―三島由紀夫と私 [A Young Officer in Atami: Yukio Mishima and Me] (in Japanese). Singpoosha. ISBN 978-4-7974-4324-0.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: ref duplicates default (link)
• Hasegawa, Izumi; Takeda, Katsuhiko, eds. (1976). 三島由紀夫事典 [Encyclopedia of Yukio Mishima] (in Japanese). Meiji Shoin. ISBN 978-4-625-40025-4. NCID BN01686605.
• Hijiya-Kirschnereit, Irmela, ed. (2010). MISHIMA!―三島由紀夫の知的ルーツと国際的インパクト [MISHIMA!: The Intellectual Roots of Yukio Mishima and the International Impact] (in Japanese). Shōwado. ISBN 978-4-8122-1064-2.
• Hiraoka, Azusa (1996) [1st pub. 1972]. 伜・三島由紀夫 [My Son – Yukio Mishima]. Bunshu Bunko (in Japanese) (Paperback ed.). Bungeishunjū. ISBN 978-4-16-716204-7.
• Hiraoka, Azusa (1974). 伜・三島由紀夫（没後） [My Son – Yukio Mishima (After death)] (in Japanese). Bungeishunjū. NCID BN03950861.
• Hori, Yukio (1993) [1st pub. 1983]. 戦後の右翼勢力 [Right-wing Forces of Postwar] (in Japanese) (Enlarged ed.). Keiso Shobo. ISBN 978-4-326-35040-7.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: ref duplicates default (link)
• Hosaka, Masayasu (2001) [1st pub. Kodansha:1980]. 三島由紀夫と楯の会事件 [Yukio Mishima and the Tatenokai Incident]. Kadokawa Bunko (in Japanese) (Enlarged/Revised ed.). Kadokawa Shoten. ISBN 978-4-04-355602-1.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: ref duplicates default (link)
• Inose, Naoki (1999) [1st pub. 1995]. ペルソナ―三島由紀夫伝 [Persona: A Biography of Yukio Mishima]. Bunshun Bunko (in Japanese) (Paperback ed.). Bungeishunjū. ISBN 978-4-16-743109-9.
• Inose, Naoki; Satō, Hiroaki (2012). Persona: A Biography of Yukio Mishima. Berkeley, California: Stone Bridge Press. ISBN 978-1-61172-008-2.
• Inoue, Toyoo (2006). 果し得ていない約束―三島由紀夫が遺せしもの [Promise that He hasn't been Fulfilled: What Yukio Mishima Left Behind] (in Japanese). Cosmo no Hon. ISBN 978-4-906380-80-0.
• Inoue, Yasumasa (2011). 冤罪の軌跡―弘前大学教授夫人殺害事件 [Trajectory of a False Charge: Hirosaki University Professor's Wife Murder Case]. Shincho Shinsho 402 (in Japanese). Shinchosha. ISBN 978-4-10-610402-2.
• Inuzuka, Kiyoshi (2020). 三島由紀夫と死んだ男―森田必勝の生涯 [The Man who Died with Yukio Mishima: The Life of Masakatsu Morita] (in Japanese). Shumei University Shuppan-kai. ISBN 978-4-915855-40-5.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: ref duplicates default (link)
• Ishihara, Shintaro (1999). 国家なる幻影―わが政治への反回想 [The Illusion of the Nation: Anti-Reminiscence on My Politics] (in Japanese). Bungeishunjū. ISBN 978-4-16-354730-5.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: ref duplicates default (link)
• Ishihara, Shintaro (2025) [1st pub. Shinchosha:1991]. 三島由紀夫の日蝕 完全版 [The Solar Eclipse of Yukio Mishima – Complete Version] (in Japanese) (Enlarged ed.). Jitsugyo no Nihon Sha. ISBN 978-4-408-65132-3.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: ref duplicates default (link) - It includes six postcards and letters from Mishima that were newly discovered among Ishihara's belongings.
• Itasaka, Gō; Suzuki, Kunio (2010). 三島由紀夫と一九七〇年 [Yukio Mishima and 1970] (in Japanese). Rokusaisha. ISBN 978-4-8463-0772-1.
• Itasaka, Gō (2017). 三島由紀夫は、なぜ昭和天皇を殺さなかったのか [Why Yukio Mishima didn't Kill Emperor Shōwa] (in Japanese). Rokusaisha. ISBN 978-4-8463-1213-8.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: ref duplicates default (link)
• Itō, Katsuhiko (2002). 三島由紀夫の沈黙―その死と江藤淳・石原慎太郎 [The Silence of Yukio Mishima: His Death and Jun Etō, Shintaro Ishihara] (in Japanese). Tōshindo. ISBN 978-4-88713-448-5.
• Kawabata, Yasunari (1982). 川端康成全集 第29巻 評論1 [Yasunari Kawabata Complete Works No.29 - Criticisms 1] (in Japanese). Shinchosha. ISBN 978-4-10-643829-5.
• Kawashima, Masaru (1996). 三島由紀夫 [Yukio Mishima] (in Japanese). Bungeishunjū. ISBN 978-4-16-351280-8.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: ref duplicates default (link)
• Keene, Donald (2019) [1st pub. 2005]. 思い出の作家たち―谷崎・川端・三島・安部・司馬 [Memorable Authors: Tanizaki, Kawabata, Mishima, Abe, and Shiba]. Shincho Bunko (in Japanese) (Paperback ed.). Shinchosha. ISBN 978-4-10-131355-9.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: ref duplicates default (link)
• Kitakage, Yukō (2006). 三島由紀夫と葉隠武士道 [Yukio Mishima and Hagakure Bushido] (in Japanese). Hakua Shobo. ISBN 978-4-89172-683-6.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: ref duplicates default (link)
• Kojima, Chikako (1996) [1st pub. Kōsōsha:1980]. 三島由紀夫と檀一雄 [Yukio Mishima and Kazuo Dan]. Chikuma Bunko (in Japanese) (Paperback ed.). Chikuma Shobō. ISBN 978-4-480-03182-2.
• Komuro, Naoki (1985). 三島由紀夫が復活する [Yukio Mishima will be Resurrected] (in Japanese). Mainichi Communications. NCID BN10913162.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: ref duplicates default (link)
• Kumano, Sumihiko (2020). 三島由紀夫 [Yukio Mishima]. Men and Thoughts 197 (in Japanese). Simizu Shoin. ISBN 978-4-389-42197-7.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: ref duplicates default (link)
• Matsumoto, Tōru (1990). 三島由紀夫 年表作家読本 [Yukio Mishima: Author's Chronological Reader] (in Japanese). Kawade Shobō Shinsha. ISBN 978-4-309-70052-6.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: ref duplicates default (link)
• Matsumoto, Tōru; Satō, Hideaki; Inoue, Takashi, eds. (2000). 三島由紀夫事典 [Encyclopedia of Yukio Mishima] (in Japanese). Bensei Shuppan. ISBN 978-4-585-06018-5.
• Matsuura, Yoshiko; Matsuura, Hiroshi (supervisor) (2020) [1st pub. 2010]. 自決より五十年 三島由紀夫と「楯の会」―「後をたのむ」と託された思い [50 Years after Their Suicide: Yukio Mishima and the Tatenokai – The Feeling of being entrusted with "I'll leave it to you after."] (in Japanese) (Enlarged ed.). Takagi Shobo. ISBN 978-4-88471-819-0.
• Miyazaki, Masahiro (1999). 三島由紀夫「以後」―日本が日本でなくなる日 ["After" Yukio Mishima: The Day When Japan is No Longer Japan] (in Japanese). Namiki Shobo. ISBN 978-4-89063-112-4.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: ref duplicates default (link)
• Miyazaki, Masahiro (2014). 吉田松陰が復活する！―憂国の論理と行動 [Yoshida Shōin will be Resurrected!: The Logic of Patriotism and the Actions] (in Japanese). Namiki Shobo. ISBN 978-4-89063-323-4.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: ref duplicates default (link)
• Mizuki, Shigeru (1994) [1st pub. 1989]. コミック昭和史 第8巻 [Showa: A History of Japan Vol. 8]. Kodansha Bunko (in Japanese) (Paperback ed.). Kodansha. ISBN 978-4-06-185827-5.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: ref duplicates default (link)
• Mochimaru, Hiroshi; Satō, Matsuo (2010). 証言 三島由紀夫・福田恆存 たった一度の対決 [Testimonies: The Only Once Confrontation between Yukio Mishima and Tsuneari Fukuda] (in Japanese). Bungeishunjū. ISBN 978-4-16-373250-3.
• Morita, Masakatsu (2002) [1st pub. 1971]. わが思想と行動―遺稿集 [My Thoughts and Actions: His Posthumous Manuscripts] (in Japanese) (New Format ed.). Nisshin Hōdō. ISBN 978-4-8174-0528-9.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: ref duplicates default (link)
• Murakami, Takeo (2010). 君たちには分からない―「楯の會」で見た三島由紀夫 [You Guys don't Understand: Yukio Mishima that I Saw in "Tatenokai"] (in Japanese). Shinchosha. ISBN 978-4-10-327851-1.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: ref duplicates default (link)
• Muramatsu, Takeshi (1990). 三島由紀夫の世界 [The World of Yukio Mishima] (in Japanese). Shinchosha. ISBN 978-4-10-321402-1.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: ref duplicates default (link)
• Muramatsu, Eiko (2007). 三島由紀夫 追想のうた―女優として育てられて [Yukio Mishima - A Song of Remembrance: Raised as an Actress by Him] (in Japanese). Hankyu Communications. ISBN 978-4-484-07205-0.
• Murata, Haruki (2015). 三島由紀夫が生きた時代―楯の会と森田必勝 [The Period when Yukio Mishima was Alive: The Tatenokai and Masakatsu Morita] (in Japanese). Seirindo. ISBN 978-4-7926-0532-2.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: ref duplicates default (link)
• Nagano, Yūji (2019). 小説 三島由紀夫 [Novel: Yukio Mishima] (in Japanese). Gentosha. ISBN 978-4-344-92529-8.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: ref duplicates default (link) Although the title has the word "novel," not a novel, but a biography.
• Nakagawa, Yusuke (2010). 昭和45年11月25日―三島由紀夫自決、日本が受けた衝撃 [November 25, 1970: Yukio Mishima's Suicide, the Impact on Japan]. Gentosha Shinsho 184 (in Japanese). Gentosha. ISBN 978-4-344-98185-0.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: ref duplicates default (link)
• Nakamura, Akihiko (2015) [1st pub. Bungeishunjū:2000]. 三島事件 もう一人の主役―烈士と呼ばれた森田必勝 [Another Protagonist of the Mishima Incident: Masakatsu Morita who Called an Upright Man] (in Japanese) (Enlarged ed.). WAC inc. ISBN 978-4-89831-729-7.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: ref duplicates default (link)
• Nathan, John (1975) [1st pub. Little, Brown and Company:1974]. Mishima: A Biography. Tut books. North Clarendon, Vermont: Tuttle Publishing. ISBN 978-4805304020.
  • Nathan, John (2000). Mishima: A Biography (New ed.). Boston, Massachusetts: Da Capo Press. ISBN 978-0-306-80977-4.
• Nathan, John (2000) [1st pub. 1976 (an out-of-print book)]. 新版 三島由紀夫─ある評伝 [New Edition – Mishima: A Biography] (in Japanese). Translated by Noguchi, Takehiko (New/Revised ed.). Shinchosha. ISBN 978-4-10-505702-2.
• Nihon Gakusei Shimbun, ed. (1971). 回想の三島由紀夫 [Yukio Mishima in Reminiscence] (in Japanese). Gyōsei Tsūshinsha. NCID BN0927582X.
• Nihon Keizai Shimbun, ed. (2007). 私の履歴書―保守政権の担い手 [My Resume: Leaders in the Conservative Government] (in Japanese). Nikkei Business Publications. ISBN 978-4-532-19373-7.
• Nishi, Hōtaro (2017). 死の貌―三島由紀夫の真実 [The Appearance of Death: The Truth about Yukio Mishima] (in Japanese). Ronsōsha. ISBN 978-4-8460-1669-2.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: ref duplicates default (link)
• Nishi, Hōtaro (2020). 三島由紀夫事件 50年目の証言―警察と自衛隊は何を知っていたか [Yukio Mishima Incident - Testimonies of 50 Years Later: What did the Police and the Self-Defense Forces Know] (in Japanese). Shinchosha. ISBN 978-4-10-353581-2.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: ref duplicates default (link)
• Onishi, Keiko, ed. (2025). 三島由紀夫 神になった男―第一部 「純白」の楯の会 [Yukio Mishima, The Man who Became God: Part 1 - The "Pure White" Tatenokai] (in Japanese). Parade. ISBN 978-4-86522-455-9.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: ref duplicates default (link)
• Okamura, Ao (2020) [1st pub. Gendai Shokan:1990]. 三島由紀夫と森田必勝―楯の会事件 若き行動者の軌跡 [Yukio Mishima and Masakatsu Morita: The Tatenokai Incident, the Trajectory of a Young Activist]. Kōjinsha NF Bunko (in Japanese) (Paperback ed.). Ushio Shobo Kōjin Shinsha. ISBN 978-4-7698-3191-4.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: ref duplicates default (link)
• Okayama, Norihiro (2014). 三島由紀夫外伝 [The Side Story of Yukio Mishima] (in Japanese). Sairyusha. ISBN 978-4-7791-7022-5.
• Okayama, Norihiro (2016). 三島由紀夫が愛した美女たち [The Beauties Yukio Mishima Loved] (in Japanese). Keibunsha. ISBN 978-4-89992-020-5.
• Okayama, Norihiro (2016). 三島由紀夫の源流 [The origins of Yukio Mishima] (in Japanese). Shintensha. ISBN 978-4-7879-6828-9.
• Okuno, Takeo (2000) [1st pub. 1993]. 三島由紀夫伝説 [Legend of Yukio Mishima]. Shincho Bunko (in Japanese) (Revised/Paperback ed.). Shinchosha. ISBN 978-4-10-135602-0.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: ref duplicates default (link)
• Sakurai, Hidenori (2020). 三島由紀夫は何を遺したか [What did Yukio Mishima Leave Behind] (in Japanese). Kizuna Shuppan. ISBN 978-4-86663-128-8.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: ref duplicates default (link)
• Satō, Eisaku (1997). 佐藤栄作日記 第4巻 [Sato Eisaku Diary Vol.4] (in Japanese). The Asahi Shimbun Company. ISBN 978-4-02-257144-1.
• Scott-Stokes, Henry (1975) [1st pub. Ballantine Books:1974]. The Life and Death of Yukio Mishima. Tut books. North Clarendon, Vermont: Tuttle Publishing. ISBN 978-4805303917.
  • Scott-Stokes, Henry (2000). The Life and Death of Yukio Mishima (Enlarged/Revised ed.). New York City: Cooper Square Press. ISBN 978-0-8154-1074-4.
• Scott-Stokes, Henry (1985). 三島由紀夫─死と真実 [The Life and Death of Yukio Mishima] (in Japanese). Translated by Tokuoka, Takao. Diamond, Inc. ISBN 978-4-478-94056-3.
  • Scott-Stokes, Henry (1998). 三島由紀夫─生と死 [The Life and Death of Yukio Mishima] (in Japanese). Translated by Tokuoka, Takao (Enlarged/Revised ed.). Seiryu Publ. ISBN 978-4-916028-52-5.
• Seikai, Ken (2000). 三島由紀夫の帰還―青海健評論集 [The Return of Yukio Mishima: Ken Seikai's Criticism Collection] (in Japanese). Ozawa Shoten. ISBN 978-4-7551-0393-3.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: ref duplicates default (link)
• Shibasaki, Shinzō (2025). 三島由紀夫という迷宮―〈英雄〉を夢みた人 [The Labyrinth, that named Yukio Mishima: A Man Who Dreamed of Being a "Hero"] (in Japanese). Soshisha. ISBN 978-4-7942-2797-3.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: ref duplicates default (link)
• Shibata, Shōji (2012). 三島由紀夫 作品に隠された自決への道 [Yukio Mishima: The Path to Suicide Hidden in His Works] (in Japanese). Shodensha. ISBN 978-4-396-11300-1.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: ref duplicates default (link)
• Shigyō, Sōshū (2025). 永遠の三島由紀夫 [The Eternal Yukio Mishima] (in Japanese). Jitsugyo no Nihon Sha. ISBN 978-4-408-65121-7.
• Shimauchi, Keiji (2010). 三島由紀夫―豊饒の海へ注ぐ [Yukio Mishima: Flows into The Sea of Fertility]. Minerva Japan Biography Selection (in Japanese). Minerva Shobo. ISBN 978-4-623-05912-6.
• Suizu, Kenji (1971). 三島由紀夫の悲劇―病跡学的考察 [The Tragedy of Yukio Mishima: A Pathographic Study] (in Japanese). Toshi Shuppansha. NCID BN04848339.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: ref duplicates default (link)
• Suzuki, Ayumi; Tamura, Tsukasa (supervisor) (2005). 火群のゆくへ―元楯の会会員たちの心の軌跡 [Whereabouts of the Flames: The Trajectories of Their Hearts who once Belonged to the Tatenokai] (in Japanese). Hakurosha. ISBN 978-4-434-07066-2.
• Takemoto, Tadao (1998) [1st pub. 1981]. パリ憂国忌―三島由紀夫VSヨーロッパ [Paris Yūkoku-ki: Yukio Mishima VS Europe] (in Japanese) (3rd ed.). Nippon Kyobunsha. ISBN 978-4-531-06116-7.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: ref duplicates default (link)
• Tokuoka, Takao (1999) [1st pub. 1996]. 五衰の人―三島由紀夫私記 [The Man of the Decay of the Angel: Private Notes about Yukio Mishima] (in Japanese) (Paperback ed.). Bungeishunjū. ISBN 978-4-16-744903-2.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: ref duplicates default (link)
• Yamamoto, Kiyokatsu (2001). 自衛隊「影の部隊」―三島由紀夫を殺した真実の告白 [Japan Self-Defense Forces "A Unit of Shadow": Confession of a Truth that Killed Yukio Mishima] (in Japanese). Kodansha. ISBN 978-4-06-210781-5.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: ref duplicates default (link)
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• Yamadaira, Shigeki (2004). 最後の浪人 阿部勉伝―酒抱きてけふも堕ちなん [A Biography of The Last Rōnin, Tsutomu Abe: With a Sake Bottle in His Arms, He will Fall Again Today] (in Japanese). J's Keibunsha. ISBN 978-4-905848-50-9.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: ref duplicates default (link)
• Yoshida, Kazuaki (1985). 三島由紀夫 [Yukio Mishima]. For Beginners Series 35 (in Japanese). Illustrated by Akira Wakaki. Gendai Shokan. ISBN 978-4-7684-0035-7.
• Yukio Mishima Study Group, ed. (2010). 「憂国忌」の四十年―三島由紀夫氏追悼の記録と証言 [Forty Years of "Yūkoku-ki": Records and Testimonies in Memory of Mr. Yukio Mishima] (in Japanese). Namiki Shobo. ISBN 978-4-89063-262-6.
• Yukio Mishima Study Group, ed. (2020). 「憂国忌」の五十年 [Fifty Years of "Yūkoku-ki"] (in Japanese). Keibunsha Shobo. ISBN 978-4-89992-071-7.
• Yukio Mishima Study Group, ed. (2024). 三島由紀夫 憂国と情念 [Yukio Mishima: His Patriotism and Passion] (in Japanese). Namiki Shobo. ISBN 978-4-89063-455-2.
• Chuokoron-Shinsha, ed. (2010). 中央公論特別編集 三島由紀夫と戦後 [Chūō Kōron Special Edition – Yukio Mishima and the Postwar Period] (in Japanese). Chuokoron-Shinsha. ISBN 978-4-12-004161-7.
• Chuokoron-Shinsha, ed. (2015). 中央公論 2015年1月号 [Chūō Kōron – January 2015 Issue] (in Japanese). Chuokoron-Shinsha. ASIN B00PM72XQK.
• Kawade Shobō Shinsha, ed. (1990). 新文芸読本 三島由紀夫 [New Literary Reader: Yukio Mishima] (in Japanese). Kawade Shobō Shinsha. ISBN 978-4-309-70155-4.
• Kawade Shobō Shinsha, ed. (2020). 文藝別冊 三島由紀夫1970―海を二つに割るように、彼は逝った [Bungei Separate Volume – Yukio Mishima 1970: He Passed Away like Splitting the Sea in Two]. KAWADE Dream Mook (in Japanese). Kawade Shobō Shinsha. ISBN 978-4-309-98005-8.
• K&K Press, ed. (2008). 月刊日本2008年1月号 [Monthly Nippon – January 2008 Issue] (in Japanese). Vol. 12. K&K Press. ASIN B001190EIW.
• Sankei Shimbun Co., Ltd., ed. (2010). 正論 2010年10月号 [The Seiron – October 2010 Issue] (in Japanese). Sankei Shimbun Co., Ltd. ASIN B003Z3CI2W.
• 新潮社 (1990). Shinchosha (ed.). 新潮 12月・特大号 没後二十年 三島由紀夫特集 [Shinchō – December Extra Large Issue: Yukio Mishima 20 Years After His Death] (in Japanese). Shinchosha. doi:10.11501/6078693.
• Seidosha, ed. (2005). ユリイカ 特集 攻殻機動隊 STAND ALONE COMPLEX [Eureka – Special Feature: Ghost in the Shell STAND ALONE COMPLEX] (in Japanese). Seidosha. ISBN 978-4-7917-0139-1.

External links

• Yukio Mishima committed seppuku (NHK Archives)
• SYND 26–11–70 SCENES AFTER MISHIMA SUICIDE on YouTube, AP Archive (0:01:53)