Political extremism in Japan his prewar, divine status, and repudiation of Article 9. Many, if not most, right-wingers had intimate connections with Japan's gangster underground, the yakuza. Japanese right-wing extremists (Uyoku dantai) are notable for their use of black buses, which often carry loudspeakers broadcasting nationalistic slogans. The ritual suicide of one of Japan's most prominent novelists, Mishima Yukio, following a failed attempt to initiate a rebellion among Self-Defense Forces units in November 1970, shocked and fascinated the public. Mishima and his small private army, the Shield Society (Tatenokai), hoped that a rising of the Self-Defense Forces would inspire a nationwide affirmation of the
Yukio Mishima He also had roles in films including "Yukoku" (directed by himself, 1966), "Black Lizard" (directed by Kinji Fukasaku, 1968) and "Hitokiri" (directed by Hideo Gosha, 1969). He also sang the theme song for "Afraid to Die" (lyrics by himself; music by Shichirō Fukazawa). Mishima was featured as a photo model in "Ba-ra-kei: Ordeal by Roses" by Eikoh Hosoe, as well as in "Young Samurai: Bodybuilders of Japan" and "Otoko: Photo Studies of the Young Japanese Male" by Tamotsu Yatō. American author Donald Richie gave a short lively account of Mishima, dressed in a loincloth and armed with a sword, posing