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,
Tetsuji Takechi censorship message in the film, and did not wish to be provoked into another embarrassing public confrontation with the outspoken director. Though he had won his court case, Takechi had become known as a risky and dangerous entity in the film world. Newspapers refused to advertise his films, and Takechi spent the next decade concentrating on writing projects. After his friend, the writer Yukio Mishima, committed "hara-kiri" in 1970, Takechi wrote "The Head Of Yukio Mishima", a best-selling, fictionalized version of the incident. In 1972, he again appeared in an acting role for director Kaneto Shindō in his Art Theatre