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,
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