Yukio Mishima was born into a samurai family and imbued with the code of complete control over
mind and body and loyalty to the Emperor ¿ the same code that produced the austerity and
self-sacrifice of Zen. He wrote countless short stories and thirty-three plays in some of
which he acted. Several films have been made from his novels including The Sound of Waves
Enjo which was based on T he Temple of the Golden Pavilion and The Sailor Who Fell From
Grace with the Sea . Among his other works are the novels Confessions of a Mask and Thirst For
Love and the short-story collections Death in Midsummer and Acts of Worship . The Sea of
Fertility tetralogy however is his masterpiece. After Mishima conceived the idea of The Sea
of Fertility in 1964 he frequently said he would die when it was completed. On November 25th
1970 the day he completed The Decay of the Angel the last novel of the cycle Mishima
committed seppuku (ritual suicide) at the age of forty-five.
