Japanese literature volcanic island, close to Kagoshima, on the southern tip of the Kyushu island. Osamu Dazai's novel "The Setting Sun" tells of a soldier returning from Manchukuo. Shōhei Ōoka won the Yomiuri Prize for his novel "Fires on the Plain" about a Japanese deserter going mad in the Philippine jungle. Yukio Mishima, well known for both his nihilistic writing and his controversial suicide by seppuku, began writing in the post-war period. Nobuo Kojima's short story "The American School" portrays a group of Japanese teachers of English who, in the immediate aftermath of the war, deal with the American occupation in varying
Yukio Mishima young homosexual who must hide behind a mask in order to fit into society. The novel was extremely successful and made Mishima a celebrity at the age of 24. Around 1949, Mishima published a series of essays in "Kindai Bungaku" on Yasunari Kawabata, for whom he had always had a deep appreciation. His writing gained him international celebrity and a sizable following in Europe and the United States, as many of his most famous works were translated into English. Mishima traveled extensively; in 1952 he visited Greece, which had fascinated him since childhood. Elements from his visit appear in ,