Sun and Steel

Written by the last Japanese to publicly commit seppuku, ritual suicide by cutting the hara or abdomen. Part autobiography part reflections on the search for personal identity, this fascinating document is a key to one of Japan's most flamboyant writers. It traces the tortuous path Mishima took from a sensitive, introverted childhood to a creative maturity as acclaimed novelist and playwright, accomplished swordsman, and self-proclaimed conscience of postwar Japan. Softcover.