Yukio Mishima on it through the end of World War II. In January 1946, he visited famed writer Yasunari Kawabata in Kamakura, taking with him the manuscripts for and "Tabako", and asking for Kawabata's advice and assistance. In June 1946, following Kawabata's recommendations, "Tabako" was published in the new literary magazine . Also in 1946, Mishima began his first novel, , a story about two young members of the aristocracy drawn towards suicide. It was published in 1948, placing Mishima in the ranks of the Second Generation of Postwar Writers. He followed with "Confessions of a Mask", a semi-autobiographical account of a
Yukio Mishima which was published in 1954, and drew inspiration from the Greek legend of Daphnis and Chloe. Mishima made use of contemporary events in many of his works. "The Temple of the Golden Pavilion" published in 1956 is a fictionalization of the burning of the famous temple in Kyoto. "Utage no ato" ("After the Banquet"), published in 1960, so closely followed the events surrounding politician Hachirō Arita's campaign to become governor of Tokyo that Mishima was sued for invasion of privacy. In 1962, Mishima's most avant-garde work, "Utsukushii hoshi" ("Beautiful Star"), which at times comes close to science fiction, was published