Yukio Mishima Cemetery in Fuchū, Tokyo. Much speculation has surrounded Mishima's suicide. At the time of his death he had just completed the final book in his "Sea of Fertility" tetralogy. He was recognized as one of the most important post-war stylists of the Japanese language. Mishima wrote 34 novels, about 50 plays, about 25 books of short stories, and at least 35 books of essays, one libretto, as well as one film. A 1985 biographical film by Paul Schrader titled "" depicts his life and work; however, it has never been given a theatrical presentation in Japan. On July 3, 1999,
Yahiko Mishima around 150-cm. During the domestic qualifying trials for the 1912 Stockholm Olympics held at what later became Haneda Airport, Mishima was initially selected to be part of the referee committee, but decided to participate in the event as a contestant instead, taking first place in the 100, 400 and 800 meter races, and placed second in the 200 meter race. Although a number of qualifying events had taken placed, support for the Olympics was not forthcoming from the Japanese Ministry of Education, and the budget was limited to sending only two athletes to Stockholm. Mishima and long-distance runner Shizo Kanakuri