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,
Tatenokai Ito and Shunichi Nishio – were believed to have been former members of the Tatenokai. Tatenokai The or Shield Society was a private militia in Japan dedicated to traditional Japanese values and veneration of the Emperor. It was founded and led by the author Yukio Mishima. The Tatenokai was created on October 5, 1968, recruiting its membership primarily from the staff of "Ronsō Journal", an obscure right-wing college newspaper. In an unusual move, the Tatenokai was granted the right to train with the nation's armed forces, the Japan Self-Defense Forces. On November 25, 1970 Mishima and four Tatenokai members briefly