Yukio Mishima (三島由紀夫) was a renowned Japanese author, poet, playwright, actor, model, Shintoist, and ultra-nationalist. Born Kimitake Hiraoka on 14 January 1925, he became one of the most important postwar stylists of the Japanese language. Mishima's works are celebrated for their luxurious vocabulary and decadent metaphors, merging traditional Japanese and modern Western literary styles.

His notable works include Confessions of a Mask and The Temple of the Golden Pavilion, as well as the autobiographical essay Sun and Steel. He is also acclaimed for his tetralogy The Sea of Fertility, which comprises the novels Spring Snow, Runaway Horses, The Temple of Dawn, and The Decay of the Angel.

Mishima was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature five times in the 1960s. Despite his literary achievements, his controversial political activities and far-right ideology, including the formation of the Tatenokai ("Shield Society"), a private militia, have left a lasting impact. On 25 November 1970, he attempted a coup d'état and committed suicide by seppuku.