| Mishima Incident | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Mishima giving a speech on the balcony | |||
| Date | November 25, 1970 (1970-11-25) | ||
| Location | Ichigaya-honmura-cho 1-banchi,Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo, Japan Japan Ground Self-Defense Force Camp Ichigaya | ||
| Goals | Revision of theconstitution | ||
| Methods | Hostage, Speech | ||
| Resulted in | Committingseppuku | ||
| Parties | |||
| Lead figures | |||
Kanetoshi Mashita (益田兼利) | |||
| Number | |||
| |||
| Casualties | |||
| Death | 2 | ||
| Injuries | 8 | ||
| Arrested | 3 | ||
TheMishima Incident (三島事件,Mishima Jiken) occurred on November 25, 1970, where the Japanese authorYukio Mishima committedseppuku after calling on theJapan Self-Defense Forces to stage a coup d'état to abolishArticle 9 of the Japanese Constitution and appealing to his own ideas and beliefs about reconstructing true national autonomy.[1][2][3] The incident is sometimes called theTatenokai Incident (楯の会事件,Tatenokai Jiken) after the name of theprivate militia,Tatenokai, of which Mishima was the captain, as members of that organization also participated in the incident.[4][5][6]
This incident not only sent shockwaves through Japanese society, but also became breaking news outside of Japan,[7][8][9] where people expressed shock at the unprecedented actions of an internationally renowned author.[7][8][10] Mishima's shocking death sent huge ripples through Japanese society and literary circles, and it was said that Mishima's death marked the end of an era.[11][12][13] It also had a major impact on Japan's political climate, including the rise to theNew Right, which grew out ofminzoku-ha.[14][15] In Japan, in a survey conducted by the monthly magazineBungei Shunjū in 2000 on the "20 Greatest Events of the 20th Century," the Mishima Incident was ranked second, ahead of global events such asthe fall of the Berlin Wall.[16][a]
This incident was a political protest and a demonstration of their political vision, but the actions themselves were not directly aimed at political terrorism or seizing power with the aim of overthrowing the government, as has become clear from court investigations and Mishima's suicide note.[17][18][19] However, this incident is considered to have had historical significance and long-lasting repercussions in Japanese society.[20][21][22]
At around 10:58 am, on November 25, 1970,Yukio Mishima (age 45), along with four other members of theTatenokai,Masakatsu Morita (age 25), Masayoshi Koga (小賀正義) (age 22), Masahiro Ogawa (小川正洋) (age 22), andHiroyasu Koga (age 23), passed through the main gate (Yotsuya Gate) of theJapan Ground Self-Defense Force Camp Ichigaya (市ヶ谷駐屯地,Ichigaya Chūtonchi) at Ichigaya Honmura-cho (市谷本村町),Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo, by their car, and arrived at the main entrance leading to the Commandant General's office on the second floor of theEastern Army Headquarters.[24][25] They were guided up the front stairs byMajor Yasuharu Sawamoto (沢本泰治), who had greeted them, and then shown to the Commandant General's office byColonel Isamu Hara (原勇) (age 50), head of the Commandant General's Office of Operations.[26][27][b]
This visit had been booked for November 21, and Sergeant Ryoichi Nakao (中尾良一) of the Operations Office had contacted the guard post via internal line, saying, "Mr. Yukio Mishima will be arriving by car around 11 o'clock, so please give him a free pass." The gatekeeper, Sergeant Akira Suzuki (鈴木偣), simply exchanged salutes with Mishima in the passenger seat and he was allowed through.[27][c]
Mishima was invited to sit down on the lounge sofa, where he introduced Masakatsu Morita and the three others to the Commander-in-Chief,Lieutenant General Kanetoshi Mashita (益田兼利) (age 57), by name, one by one, while they stood upright, as "outstanding members" who would be honored at the regular meeting.[31][30] He then explained the reason he had brought the four along, saying, "The reason I brought these guys today is because, during their trial enlistment in November, they sacrificially carried the injured men down the mountain on their backs, so I wanted to honor them at the regular meeting at Ichigaya Hall (市ヶ谷会館,Ichigaya Kaikan) today, and I brought them along so that I could meet the Commander-in-Chief at a glance. Today is a regular meeting, so we came in formal uniform."[31][30]
While the Commander, Lieutenant General Mashita and Mishima were sitting across from each other on the sofa talking, the topic turned to theJapanese sword "Seki Magoroku" (関孫六) that Mishima had brought with him.[32][30] The General Mashita asked, "Is it genuine?" and "Won't you be scolded by the police for carrying such a sword?"[32][30] Mishima replied, "This sword is a Seki Magoroku that has been remade into a military sword. Would you like to see this certificate?" and showed him the certificate, which read "Seki Kanemoto" (関兼元).[32][30]
Mishima unsheathed his sword and asked Masayoshi Koga (小賀正義) (nickname "Chibi-Koga"[33]) for atenugui (traditional Japanese thin, strong towel) to wipe off the oil, saying, "Koga, a handkerchief", which was a prearranged signal to begin action.[31][34] However, General Mashita made an unexpected move by heading toward his desk and saying, "How aboutwashi tissue paper (ちり紙,chirigami)?"[35][30] Chibi-Koga lost sight of his purpose and had no choice but to approach Mishima and hand him atenugui.[36][25] Unable to find a suitablechirigami tissue, General Mashita returned to the sofa and sat down next to Mishima to look at the sword.[35][36]
Mishima wiped the blade with atenugui and handed the sword over to the General Mashita.[35][30] After seeing thehamon (edge pattern), the General Mashita nodded and said, "It's a fine sword. This sword crest is indeed the Three Cedar Trees (三本杉,Sambon sugi)," and returned it to Mishima before returning to his seat.[35][30] It was now about 11:05 am.[31][36] Mishima wiped the blade again, handed thetenugui he had used to Chibi-Koga, who had stood nearby, and then, giving instructions with his eyes, he put the sword back into itsscabbard with a loud click of thetsuba.[30]
Taking that as a signal, Chibi-Koga, who was pretending to return to his seat, quickly went behind the General Mashita and covered the General Mashita's mouth with the tenugui he was holding, after which Masahiro Ogawa (小川正洋) andHiroyasu Koga (nickname "Furu-Koga"[33]) next tied the General Mashita to a chair with thin rope and restrained him.[37][34] Chibi-Koga, who was given anothertenugui by Furu-Koga, gagged the General Mashita, who refused, saying, "I won't gag you so to stop breathing," and pointed atantō (short blade) at him.[35][30]
General Mashita, initially thinking that everyone was joking about how strong they had become during ranger training, said, "Mr. Mishima, stop joking," but Mishima, with his sword still drawn, glared at General Mashita with a serious expression, so the General Mashita realized that something was not right.[35][34] Meanwhile,Masakatsu Morita had barricaded the main entrance to the Commandant General's office, and the three entrances to the Chief of Staff's office and the Vice Chief of Staff's office, all of which had double doors, with desks, chairs, flower pots, etc.[37][34]
Major Yasuharu Sawamoto, who was waiting for the right time to serve tea, noticed a noise coming from the Commandant General's room, and Colonel Isamu Hara, who received the report from Sawamoto, went out into the hallway and peeked into the room through thefrosted glass window at the front entrance (a strip of cellophane tape had been applied to make it slightly more transparent), where he saw the Tatenokai members standing behind the General Mashita.[26][27] The General looked as if he was receiving a massage, but his movements were unnatural, so when Hara tried to enter, he found the door locked.[26][36]
Colonel Hara threw himself against the door, creating a gap of about 20 to 30 centimeters. "Don't come in! Don't come in!" criedMasakatsu Morita from inside the room, and aDemands letter was slid out from under the door.[26][27] After reading it, Colonel Hara and his staff immediately reported to Vice Chief of Administration Major General Akira Yamazaki (山崎皎) (age 53) and Vice Chief of Defense Colonel Hidenobu Yoshimatsu (吉松秀信) (age 50) that "Mishima and his members have occupied the Commandant General's office and have confined the General Mashita."[26][27] An emergency call (非常呼集,Hijō Koshu) was made to the staff, and a subordinate of Major Sawamoto contacted the military police (警務隊,Keimu-tai).[26][27]
Lieutenant Colonel Haruo Kawabe (川辺晴夫) (age 46) and Lieutenant Colonel Nobumasa Nakamura (中村菫正) (age 45) were the first to rush in after using their back to break down the barricade protecting the door to the Chief of Staff's office which led to the left of the Commandant General's office.[31][38] Mishima immediately drew his military sword, Seki Magoroku, and slashed at their backs and other parts of their bodies.[26][30] He then fought back against Colonel Hara, Sergeant Toshikazu Kasama (笠間寿一) (age 36), Sergeant Junzō Isobe (磯部順蔵), and others who had charged in withbokkens, shouting "Get out! Don't get in the way!" and "Read the demand!"[26][38] When fighting back, Mishima lowered his hips and drew his sword closer to him, and instead of swinging it down from above, he slashed with the tip of the blade.[39] The melee left a sword cut near the door handle.[26][40] The time was about 11:20 am.[37]
While the five men were retreating, seven more men, Colonel Fujio Kiyono (清野不二雄) (age 50), Lieutenant Colonel Kiyoshi Takahashi (高橋清) (age 43), Major Katsumi Terao (寺尾克美) (age 41),Captain Eijiro Mizuta (水田栄二郎),Non-commissioned officer Yoshifumi Kikuchi (菊地義文), Colonel Hidenobu Yoshimatsu (吉松秀信), and Major General Akira Yamazaki (山崎皎), rushed in one after another from the side of the Vice Chief of Staff's office.[31][38] Vice Chief of Defense Colonel Yoshimatsu said, "What are you doing? Let's talk it out," but the fight continued.[41][42] Hiroyasu Koga threw small tables and chairs at the men, and Masahiro Ogawa fought back with a special baton (特殊警棒,tokushu keibō).[31][34]
Morita also fought back with histantō, but Major Terao ripped it away from him.[31][30] Mishima quickly supported, slashing at Terao and Lieutenant Colonel Takahashi, who had dragged Morita to the ground.[38][43] When Colonel Kiyono threw an ashtray at Chibi-Koga, who was watching the General Mashita, Mishima attacked with his sword to Kiyono.[38][43] Kiyono fought back by throwing aglobe, but stumbled and fell.[38][43] Major General Yamazaki was also slashed, and the JSDF staff officers decided to retreat for the time being, out of concern for the General Mashita's safety.[41][42] Eight JSDF staff officers were injured in the brawl.[44][30][d]
At 11:22 am, a 110 call was made from theEastern Army Headquarters to theTokyo Metropolitan Police Department's Command Center, and at 11:25 am, theTMPD Public Security Bureau's First Public Security Division (it was under normal conditions, theleft-wing extremism Countermeasures Division) used theNational Police Agency Security Bureau Chief's office as a temporary headquarters, contacted relevant agencies, and dispatched 120Riot Police Unit members to JGSDF Camp Ichigaya.[46][47]
The staff members who had retreated outside, broke the window of the Commandant General's office from the hallway at around 11:30 am to discuss with Mishima.[48][38] Lieutenant Colonel Matsuo Kunugi (功刀松男) was the first to show his face through the window, and was cut on the forehead by a flagpole that had been thrust out from inside.[38] Then Lieutenant Colonel Yoshimatsu tried to persuade Mishima through the window, but Mishima said, "If you accept thisDemands, we will spare General Mashita's life," and threw theDemands letter, which had the same contents as the one Morita had slid out from under the door into the hallway, through the broken window into the hallway.[48][34]
TheDemands mainly contained the following statements:[30][49]
(1)All JSDF personnel of Camp Ichigaya to be assembled in front of the main building by 11:30 am.
(2)Listen quietly to the speeches as set below.
- (a) Mishima's speech (scattering ourGeki)
- (b) Participated students announce their names.
- (c) Mishima's instructions to the remaining members of the Tatenokai
(3)The remaining members of the Tatenokai (who are unrelated to this incident) must be quickly summoned from the Ichigaya Hall to make them attend in line.
(4)For the two-hour period from 11:30 am to 13:10 pm, there to be no obstruction of any kind. As long as no obstruction of any kind is done, we will not launch any attacks.
(5)Once the above conditions have been fully complied with and two hours have elapsed, the Commandant General will be handed over to him in safety. He will be escorted by two or more our guards and handed over to you at the main entrance of the main building while still restrained (to prevent him from committing suicide).
(6)If the above conditions are not met, or there is any risk that they will not be met, Mishima will kill the Commandant General at once, and will commit suicide.
The senior staff officers decided to accept Mishima'sDemands, and at around 11:34 am, Lieutenant Colonel Yoshimatsu told Mishima, "We have decided to assemble the JSDF personnel."[41][51] Mishima asked him, "Who are you? What authority do you have?"[41][38] When Colonel Yoshimatsu introduced himself as "the Vice Chief of Defense and the highest authority on the scene," Mishima looked a little relieved, looked at his watch, and said, "Assemble all the JSDF personnel by 12:00 pm."[41][38]
While waiting for the JSDF personnel to assemble, Mishima ordered Morita to read theDemands to General Mashita as well.[48][52] General Mashita, whose hands were numb, asked the rope to be loosened a little, then tried to persuade Mishima by saying, "Why are you doing this? Do you hate the JSDF or me? Depending on the content, I may give the speech on your behalf."[35] Mishima told General Mashita the same content as inGeki, and said, "I don't hate either the JSDF or you. As long as they don't interfere, I won't kill you."[35][53] He then said, "I have come today to give the JSDF the greatest stimulation and rousing themself."[35][53]
At this time, it is not known whether Mishima smoked the cigarettes in the Commandant General's office, but he said, "There will be enough time to smoke at the scene," and handed the members two days before the incident, to theOnshi no Tabako, the gift of cigarettes which was given out at the Imperial garden party (園遊会,Enyukai) (Mishima had been invited to the Imperial garden party in the autumn of 1966), to be placed in his briefcase along with his other luggage.[54][e]
At 11:40 am, an announcement was made over the microphones within the Camp Ichigaya, repeatedly saying, "Those who are not interfere with your operations should assemble in front of the main building entrance."[48][3] At 11:46 am, the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department gave the order to arrest Mishima and all the others.[47]Police cars and white jeeps of the military police force entered Camp Ichigaya one after another at high speed.[56] By this time, the first reports of the incident had already been broadcast on television and radio.[47]
About 800 to 1000 JSDF personnel who had heard the announcement within the unit began to gather in the front yard in front of the main entrance of the Eastern Army Headquarters building.[24][53] Some of them had already started eating lunch in the dining hall, but stopped it to join.[57] Confusing information was exchanged among them, with some reporting that "a mob has broken in and someone had been slashed,"[47] "the Commandant General has been taken hostage," "theRed Army Faction ofCommunist League (赤軍派,Sekigunn ha) must have come,"[47] and "Is Yukio Mishima there too?"[57]
At about 11:55 am,Masakatsu Morita and Masahiro Ogawa (小川正洋), who wearinghachimaki headbands and white gloves, distributed numerousGeki and hung thebanners with theirDemands drawn withink brush strokes from the balcony in front of the Commandant General's office.[48][3] Two JSDF personnel jumped up and try to pull the banner down, but were unable to reach it.[58]Riot Police Unit members carryingduralumin shields, and the vehicles belonging to newspaper and television reporters were also gathered in the front yard.[59]
On that day, about 30 members of the Tatenokai had come to the Ichigaya Hall in Camp Ichigaya, located only about 50 meters from the Eastern Army Headquarters building, for their regular meeting, but the JSDF senior staff officers did not accept Mishima's demands and instead confined them inside the hall, placing them under police guard and not summoning them to assemble in front of the main entrance of the Eastern Army Headquarters building.[60][61] A skirmish broke out between the Tatenokai 30 members, who were upset by the ominous situation, and police or the JSDF, and the members of Tatenokai were subdued with pistols.[62][63]
A siren announcing noon rang out in the sky above Camp Ichigaya, and Mishima stood on the balcony,[59][f] holding up in his right hand the unsheathed Japanese sword "Seki Magoroku," shining in the sunlight.[57][53] The sword was only visible for a moment.[57] Mishima wore a whitehachimaki headband with a redhinomaru circle, in which the center bearing thekanji for "To be reborn seven times to serve the country" (七生報國,Shichishō hōkoku).[64][57][g] Behind him to the right, Morita, wearing the samehachimaki, stood like a guardian god (仁王立ち,Nio-dachi), gazing straight ahead.[59]
Amidst voices of "It's Mishima," "What's that?" and "You idiot!" Mishima began his speech, raising his white-gloved fist and screaming so that the assembled JSDF personnel could hear.[57] It was a speech urging a revolt to amend theArticle 9 of the Japanese Constitution, calling for a return to the "original purpose of the military's founding" to "protect Japan,"[3][53] of which gist was almost the same as theGeki that had been distributed beforehand.[2][3] In the sky above, several media helicopters, having already heard the strange incident, were circling, making a lot of noise.[3][53]
Listen, guys. Be quiet. Be quiet. Listen to what I'm saying. A man is staking his life to appeal to you all. Listen. If the Japanese don't stand up here now, if the Japan Self-Defense Forces don't stand up, there will be noconstitutional reform. You will forever become just the troops forAmerica. You and Japan... commands will only come from America. It's calledcivilian control... As for civilian control, it's not civilian control that will be suppressed under thenew constitution.
Therefore, I've waited for four years. For the day when the Japan Self-Defense Forces would rise up. ... I've waited for four years ... I'm waiting ... for the last 30 minutes. You are allbushi, aren't you? If you are bushi, why would you protect the "constitution that denies your existence"?[h] Why would you bow down and cringe to the "constitution that denies you" for the sake of the "constitution that denies you yourselves"? As long as this exists, you will never be saved.[i]
Many of the JSDF personnel shouted at Mishima angrily, saying, "We can't hear you," "Pull back!" "Come down and talk," "What the hell do such you know?" and "You idiot!"[3][70] When a heckler shouted, "Why did you hurt our comrades?", Mishima immediately responded with fierce forceful voice, saying, "It's because they resisted our demands."[58][53]
Sergeant K (his name is withheld in the original text), who was present at the scene, clicked his tongue at the noisy hecklers and later said, "I wanted to listen properly to what Yukio Mishima was screaming at the top of his lungs."[71] "There were parts where I couldn't hear what he was saying because of the heckling, but emotionally I understood that Mishima might have had a point," he said, making an assertion that once the command had been given to gather the troops, they should have lined up properly by unit and listened.[71]
I began to feel extremely sad. We, the JSDF personnel, have been looked down upon by the public as strangers under the current constitution for a long time, and we must have more or less grievances among ourselves about the existence of the JSDF, whose mission is to defend our homeland. That hecklers were like thestudents political demonstration march confronting Riot Police Unit. At the very least, we, the JSDF personnel had gathered here following orders from the command center. (Omitted) The superior officer should have lined up the troops by unit and listened to Mishima's speech. Even if it was a mob, once an order was given to assemble, proper procedures should have been followed. I thought it was presumptuous that the JSDF, in this state, could be called an army to protect Japan.
— Sergeant K,Recollections of Sergeant K[71]
Mishima shouted, "Is there not even one man among you who will rise up with me?"[3][53][70] and waited in silence for about 5 to 10 seconds, but the JSDF personnel continued to yell abuse at him,[3][70] calling him a "Madman!" and "There's no way someone like that exists."[3][70] The unexpected intensity of the shouts and the noise from the helicopters meant that the speech was cut short after just 10 minutes, much shorter than planned.[72] One has speculated that Mishima cut his speech short because he caught the wind of the Riot Police Unit make to storm into the first floor then.[73]
After wrapping up his speech, Mishima and Morita headed towards theImperial Palace and chanted "Long live theEmperor!" (天皇陛下万歳,Tennō heika banzai) three times.[48][3] Even then, the jeers of "Drag him down" and "Shoot him" made their chants nearly inaudible.[70][57] On that day, the 32nd Infantry Regiment (第32普通科連隊,Dai 32 futsu-ka rentai) under the1st Division had gone to theEast Fuji Maneuver Area, leaving behind about 100 troops, while its 900 elite troops were absent.[57][74] Based on Morita's information, Mishima mistakenly thought that only the regimental commander was absent.[57] Many of the JSDF personnel gathered in front of the balcony were the persons in charge of communications, materials, supplies, and other duties, and as such were not the "bushi" that Mishima had envisioned and expected.[57][74] The writerYaeko Nogami, who watched Mishima's speech on television, has recalled how she felt at the time, saying that if she were his mother, she would have "wanted to run over there and deliver the microphone to him."[75]
Mishima did not use a microphone because he placed an emphasis on getting as close as possible to the spirituality of theShinpūren rebellion by the God-honoring party (敬神党,Keishintō), one of the parties formed by samurai with the philosophy ofSonnō jōi.[58][76] He adhered on using his own voice to roar, without using a microphone or loudspeaker.[58][76] In his dialogue withFusao Hayashi,Dialogue: Theory about the Japanese (対話・日本人論,Taiwa: Nihonjin ron) (1966), Mishima had spoken passionately about how the Shinpūren samurai placed white fans on their heads when passing under electric wires to oppose Western civilization, and about the meaning of theiryamato-damashii in venture fighting with only Japanese swords.[77][58][j]
Regarding the reason why the JSDF personnel did not listen carefully to Mishima's speeches, themanga artistShigeru Mizuki has reflected in 1989, some 20 years later, saying, "The reason why Mishima was not taken seriously by the JSDF personnel, even though he emphasizedBushidō, was probably because the JSDF personnel at the time had also already become inclined towardindividualism andhedonism in economically prosperous Japan."[78]
TheWeekly magazine Sunday Mainichi (サンデー毎日) reporter Takao Tokuoka (徳岡孝夫) andNHK reporter Munekatsu Date (伊達宗克) had been contacted in advance by Mishima and were promised to come to Ichigaya Hall at 11:00 am on the morning of the day.[79][80] When Tokuoka and Date arrived at the hall, they were each given an envelope containing Mishima's letter,Geki, and the last commemorative photo of the five men, via Kenichi Tanaka (田中健一) and Kenji Kurata (倉田賢司), respectively, of the Tatenokai members who were close friends of Masakatsu Morita.[81][82] Mishima had entrusted it to them in case theGeki was confiscated by the police and the incident was covered up.[81][82] Tokuoka had hidden it inside his sock and had run toward the balcony, had listened to the speech.[56]
Television station personnel who rushed to the front yard have testified that they could barely hear Mishima's speech because of the heckling and noise, but Tokuoka has said, "If only they had been willing to listen, they could have heard it,"[83] "Why didn't they calm their minds a little more and listen?"[83] and has said, "We magazine reporters were able to hear the speech relatively well, perhaps our ears are different to those of the television personnel."[84][k]
Nippon Cultural Broadcasting was the only station to record the entire speech.[83][85] By tying a microphone to a tree branch, they managed to capture a clear recording of Mishima's voice shouting angrily at the JSDF personnel, "Are you reallybushi at all like that!" amid the roar of insults and the noise of news helicopters, and this became a scoop.[85] The recording tape also includes Morita's voice saying, "Everyone please listen."[86][l]
At around 12:10 pm, Mishima returned to the Commandant General's office with Morita from the balcony and muttered to himself, "I probably spoke for about 20 minutes. It seems my message didn't get across."[87][53] He then stood in front of General Mashita and said, "We have no grudge against you. We did it to return the JSDF to theEmperor. I had no choice but to do this," and unbuttoned his uniform.[88][53]
Mishima received thetantō that Masayoshi Koga (小賀正義) (Chibi-Koga) was pointed at the General Mashita through Morita, and handed Morita his own unsheathed Japanese sword, "Seki Magoroku", in return.[53][89] Then, on the red carpet about three meters away from the General Mashita, with his upper body naked, holding thetantō in both hands, satseiza-style facing the balcony,[90] then tried to dissuade Morita from committing suicide by telling him, words: "Morita, you must live, not die.", "You stop dying."[53][91]
According to the plan, Mishima would write the character "Martial (武,Bu)" on a piece of square drawing paper (色紙,sikishi) with the blood ofseppuku, so Chibi-Koga handed the paper over to Mishima, who replied, "I don't have to do that anymore," with a sad smile, and handed him the expensive watch he was wearing on his right arm, saying, "Koga, I'll give this to you."[92][53] And Mishima said, "Hmm," putting his energy into the process,[87][53] and then said, "Yaaaaa" thrust thetantō into his left side belly with both hands, and committedseppuku in a straight line manner (真一文字作法,shin ichimonnji sahō) to the right.[93][53]
Morita, thekaishakunin standing behind Mishima to the left, was about to commitseppuku himself after Mishima. Perhaps he was hesitant in regards to his respected mentor, but he swung his sword down on Mishima's neck twice; despite this, he only managed to cut it halfway through, and Mishima's body quietly leaned forward.[94][89] Seeing that Mishima was still alive, Chibi-Koga andHiroyasu Koga (Furu-Koga) called out, "Morita-san, one more blow," and "Finish him off," and Morita swung his sword down for the third time.[90][3][m] The General Mashita was trying to stop their actions, shouting, "Stop it," "Don'tkaishaku him, don't finish him off."[94][89]
Morita, whosekaishaku did not go well, said, "I'll leave it to you, Hiro-chan," and handed the sword to Furu-Koga.[87][53] Koga decapitated Mishima in one stroke, following the ancient tradition of leaving only a thin layer of skin on the neck.[96][89] Then, Chibi-Koga used thetantō that Mishima had been holding to cut off the skin of Mishima's neck from his body.[89] During this process, Masahiro Ogawa (小川正洋) kept watch near the main entrance door of the room to make sure that the JSDF staff officers would not interfere with Mishima'sseppuku.[97][53]
Next, Morita also took off his uniform jacket, satseiza-style next to Mishima's body, and committedseppuku, signaling "Not yet" and "Okay," and upon receiving the signal, Furu-Koga, thekaishakunin, decapitated Morita in one stroke.[98][3] Afterwards, Chibi-Koga, Ogawa, and Furu-Koga turned the bodies of Mishima and Morita over onto their backs, covered them with their uniforms, and lined up their heads.[48][92] The General Mashita called to the three, "How about you all worship them?" and, "How about you turn yourself in police?"[94][89]
The three men removed the ropes from the General Mashita's feet and said, "By order of Mishima Sensei, we will escort you until you are handed over to the JSDF staff officers."[94][89] When the General Mashita asked, "I won't go wild. Are you going to put me out in front of the people with my hands tied?", the three men obediently released him from all restraints.[94][89] Seeing the three men join their hands in prayer toward the heads of Mishima and Morita, and shed tears in silence, the General Mashita said, "Cry as much as you can..." and satseiza-style, closed his eyes and joined his hands in prayer, saying, "Let me pray for their souls as well."[87][92]
For Mashita, this was the second time he had witnessed aseppuku.[93][99] During the war, Mashita served as a staff officer in theImperial Japanese Army, and just after the war ended he was once asked for observer of the committingseppuku, from his close friend and colleague, Major Makoto Haruke (晴気誠).[94][99]
A little after 12:20 pm, Ogawa and Furu-Koga came out from the front entrance of the Commandant General's office, supporting the General Mashita from either side, and Chibi-Koga came out into the hallway carrying the Japanese sword, "Seki Magoroku".[48][3] The three handed the General Mashita to Colonel Yoshimatsu, handed over the Japanese sword, and were arrested on the spot by officers from Ushigome Police Station (牛込警察署,Ushigome Keisatsusho).[48][89]
Perhaps out of kindness, the police officers did not handcuff the three who were held out their hands.[100][101] As they were being taken away in a patrol car from the main entrance where a crowd of reporters was waiting, some JSDF officers punched the three on the head, so the police officer stopped them, shouting, "You idiots! What are you doing?"[100][101]
At 12:23 pm, the police chief entered the Commandant General's office and confirmed the two deaths. Before then, "You were close to Yukio Mishima, weren't you? Go there immediately and persuade him to stop," Security Chief Kuniyasu Tsuchida (土田國保) had instructed to Atsuyuki Sassa (佐々淳行), counselor of the Police Affairs Department (警務部,Keimu bu) and chief of the First Personnel Division.[102][103] Sassa rushed to the scene from theTokyo Metropolitan Police Department, but was too late in time to stop Mishima from committing suicide.[102][103] Sassa has recalled what happened when he entered the Commandant General's office to see Mishima's body: "The carpet under my feet made a squelching sound. I looked and saw a sea of blood. The carpet was red, so at first, I couldn't tell it was blood. I can still remember that eerie feeling."[102][103]
The General Mashita, who was made a hostage, later has said, "I didn't feel hate towards the defendants even at that time," and has added, "Thinking about the country of Japan, thinking about the JSDF, the pure hearts of thinking about our country that did that kind of thing, I want to buy it as an individual."[94][93]
Among their belongings found at the scene were six strips of paper (短冊,tanzaku) withdeath poems written on them: two by Mishima, one by Morita, and one each by the remaining members.[104] Although the plan called for Chibi-Koga, Furu-Koga and Ogawa to live, there was always the possibility of something unforeseen developing which might require them also to die.[105] Their death poems are as follows:[104]
益荒男が たばさむ太刀の 鞘鳴りに 幾とせ耐へて 今日の初霜(Masurao ga Tabasamu tachi no Sayanari ni Ikutose taete Kyō no hatsushimo)
For how many years / Has the warrior endured / The rattling of / The sword he wears at his side: / The first fall of frost came today.(Translated byDonald Keene)[106]
The sheaths of swords rattle / As after years of endurance / Brave men set out / To tread upon the first frost of the year.
— Yukio Mishima, Death Poem[107][104]
散るをいとふ 世にも人にも さきがけて 散るこそ花と 吹く小夜嵐(Chiru wo itou Yo ni mo Hito ni mo Sakigakete Chiru koso Hana to Fuku Sayoarashi)
Storm winds at night blow / The message that to fall before / The world and before men / By whom falling is dreaded / Is the mark of a flower.(Translated byDonald Keene)[106]
A small night storm blows / Saying 'falling is the essence of a flower' / Preceding those who hesitate.
— Yukio Mishima, Death Poem[108][104]
今日にかけて かねて誓ひし 我が胸の 思ひを知るは 野分のみかは(Kyō ni kakete Kanete chikaishi Waga mune no Omoi wo shiruwa Nowaki nomi kawa)
I have been betting to this day / And have made a vow for a long time to today / I wonder if only the autumn storm would know, (maybe someone would know) / Of the feelings in my heart.[n]
— Masakatsu Morita, Death Poem[104]
火と燃ゆる 大和心を はるかなる 大みこころの 見そなはすまで(Hi to moyuru Yamato gokoro wo Haruka naru Ōmikokoro no Misonawasu made)
MyYamato-damashii, / Burns like fire, / And it will keep burning / Until the far away Emperor's heart could see it.
— Masayoshi Koga, Death Poem[104]
雲をらび しら雪さやぐ 富士の根の 歌の心ぞ もののふの道(Kumo orabi Shirayuki sayagu Fuji no ne no Uta no kokoro zo Mononofu no michi)
The howling of clouds, / The rustling of white snow, / Seen from the foot ofMount Fuji, / This is the spirit of the song, / The path ofwarriors.
— Masahiro Ogawa, Death Poem[104]
獅子となり 虎となりても 国のため ますらをぶりも 神のまにまに(Shisi to nari Tora to naritemo Kuni no tame Masurao buri mo Kami no manima ni)
Even if I become a lion, / Or a tiger, / For the sake of my country / My behaving strong and brave man as a Japanese sword, / On God's command.
— Hiroyasu Koga, Death Poem[104]
Yukio Mishima died at the age of 45.[102] Masakatsu Morita died at the age of 25. Morita preferred to pronounce his first-name "Certain victory" (必勝,Hisshō) inon'yomi rather than "Masakatsu" inkun'yomi.[102][110]
Among the about 30 members of the Tatenokai who were under guard by police andriot police in the Ichigaya Hall, those in Morita's friend group were upset when they heard about the incident, and violently resisted, demanding to be allowed to go to the scene, leading to three of them, who were Kenichi Tanaka (田中健一), Takemi Imai (今井丈美), and Shunichi Nishio (西尾俊一), being arrested for obstruction of justice (公務執行妨害,kōmu shikkō bōgai).[111][112] The members who remained in the hall were asked to voluntarily accompany (任意同行,ninni dōkō) them, and after lining up and singing the national anthem "Kimigayo", and chanted "Long live the Emperor!" (天皇陛下万歳,Tennō heika banzai) three times, they were taken to Yotsuya Police Station (四谷警察署,Yotsuya keisatsu sho).[62][63]
Mishima's father, Azusa Hiraoka (平岡梓), learned of the incident on the noon news on television and was watching the screen intently.[113][114] He misread thekanji characters "beheaded" (介錯,kaishaku), "died" (死亡,shibō) in the news flash captions, "介錯" (kaishaku) for "care" (介抱,kaihō), and was upset and resented the doctor, wondering why Mishima died despite being given care.[113][115] Meanwhile, Mishima's mother, Shizue (倭文重), and his wife, Yōko (瑤子), who heard about the situation while out, rushed home, and the family was thrown into chaos as if it were a bolt from the blue.[113] Yōko was so shocked that she took to bed.[116][117][118]
A little after 12:30 pm, at the press conference held inside theEastern Army Headquarters, an excited exchange began between the Metropolitan Police Department official who first announced that the two men had committed suicide and the newspaper reporters who were rapidly asking about whether they were alive or dead.[119][120] Groans and murmurs spread among the reporters, when they learned for the first time that the two men's heads had been decapitated.[121][120]
Colonel Yoshimatsu also explained the whole story to the reporters. The reporters repeatedly asked questions about the unbelievable circumstances ofseppuku andkaishaku.[121][119] When one of them shouted out a question, "So the head and the body were separated?" Colonel Yoshimatsu echoed his words and responded.[121][120] With that answer, the reporters had nothing more to ask to need, and quickly dispersed outside to report the news.[120]
The shocking news of the call for a coup and subsequent suicide byseppuku by the famous author, who was active in many fields and was also known as a candidate for theNobel Prize in Literature, was broadcast simultaneously as breaking news on television and radio both in Japan and abroad,[121][63] and thenewspapers extra editions were distributed in the streets.[121] The television and radio programs were quickly changed to special programs, and telephone discussions between intellectuals and other knowledgeable people were also held.[122][123] Over nine right-wing groups flocked to the front of the Camp Ichigaya.[124]
At a press conference held at theDefense Agency from 12:30 pm,Minister of DefenseYasuhiro Nakasone called the incident "a very regrettable incident" and criticized Mishima's actions as "an enormous nuisance" and "destructive to democratic order."[125][126] Prime MinisterEisaku Satō, who heard the news at thePrime Minister's Office, was also surrounded by reporters and commented, "I can only think that he has gone mad. This is out of the ordinary."[125][126] Until then, Nakasone and Satō had viewed Mishima's trial enlistment in theJGSDF favorably as a positive PR opportunity for the JSDF, but after the incident they made critical remarks in their positions as politicians.[127][128][o]
One British journalist, after hearing the words of politicians such as Nakasone and Satō, tearfully told a literary critic Takeshi Muramatsu (村松剛), "Why is there not a single politician who defends Mishima? Mishima has never seemed so great and Japanese politicians have never seemed so small."[131]
After being released, General Mashita appeared before the JSDF personnel and greeted them, waving his left hand high and saying, "I'm sorry for the inconvenience, but as you can see, I'm doing fine. Please don't worry."[132][74] The personnel responded with cheers of "That's great, that's great" and "All right, you did your best" and then a burst of applause.[132][74] ATokyo Shimbun reporter who was covering the scene said that he found the scene unbearable, and wrote the newspaper column about his sense of discomfort with the group's behavior, which was not like that of a "military" group.[132][74]
Of course, their behaviors were not a mourning for Mishima's suicide. And not a condemnation of the actions of Mishima and others who challenged democracy, nor was it a round of applause indicative of a determination to remain committed to the military of a peaceful nation. It was, so to speak, a sign of back-patting for the "president" who had escaped from the captivity of thugs, and a sign of the team spirit ofsalarymen.
Instructions were given over the microphone to the remaining JSDF personnel. "Everyone, please go back to work. Please do so," the voice said in a pleading tone, but the personnel showed no signs of leaving. (Omitted) The salaryman-like unity and the disorder state of the JSDF was inadvertently exposed.
— Tokyo Shimbun,Column (November 25, 1970)[132][74]
Yasunari Kawabata who was close to Mishima, received the news of the incident while out,[p] and at around 1:20 pm, rushed to the Eastern Army Headquarters, but was unable to approach the Commandant General's office as the police were investigating the scene.[133] Surrounded by reporters, Kawabata, looking stunned and exhausted, said, "I am simply shocked. I never imagined something like this would happen – It's a shame he died in this way."[134][132]Shintaro Ishihara, who was a member of theHouse of Councillors at the time, also visited the Eastern Army Headquarters but did not enter the office.[135][136] Ishihara commented to the assembled press corps, "It can only be described as modern-day madness," and "It was a very fruitless act that risked his young lives."[137][138]
At 2:00 pm, theTokyo Metropolitan Police Department set up the "Special Investigation Headquarters for the Case of the Tatenokai's Infiltration into the JSDF, Illegal Confinement, andSeppuku Suicide" within Ushigome Police Station (牛込警察署,Ushigome Keisatsusho).[139]
One of the JSDF highest-ranking officers concluded his impressions of that day by saying, "The reaction of the JSDF personnel after learning of Mishima's suicide changed completely.[132] Everyone was vague in their words, remained silent with complicated expressions, and seemed stunned. They probably never expected that he would commit suicide. The shock seems to be great."[132]
Sergeant K, who had seen Mishima's speech, spoke briefly, "When I heard that he had committedseppuku, I stood there for about an hour, losing myself in my thoughts."[132] Staff Office Major T also spoke, "I never thought he would die! It was a terrible shock. I had been listening to the speech the whole time, but I could hardly hear it because of the heckling from the younger soldiers. If he was risking his life for words, we should have listened quietly."[132]
At 5:15 pm, Mishima and Morita's heads were each placed in plastic bags, for autopsy, also their bodies were placed in caskets and transported from Camp Ichigaya to Ushigome Police Station, where the bodies were placed.[63][140] Some ethnic nationalist students and other right-wing groups came to the Police Station to pay their respects, and a temporary altar was set up, but it was soon removed.[124][139]
TheAsahi Shimbun evening paper that day carried a secretly taken photograph showing Mishima and Morita's heads illuminated by the sunlight streaming in through the window.[141][142]
Shortly after 10 pm, the Metropolitan Police Department began searches of Mishima's residence and Morita's apartment.[139] Mishima's house was searched until around 4 am the following day, November 26.[139] In Mishima's study room, in addition to letters addressed to family, friends, the Tatenokai members, acquaintances includingIvan Morris andDonald Keene, on his desk were found clippings fromPromise that I haven't been Fulfilled: 25 years in me (果たし得てゐない約束―私の中の二十五年,Hatashi ete inai Yakusoku: Watashi no naka no 25 nen) (Sankei Shimbun, July 7, 1970, issue) andOne Hundred People Who Will Changing the World of the 1970s: Yukio Mishima (Asahi Shimbun, September 22, 1970, issue), and a suicide note-like memo was also found, which read, "If life is limited, I would like to live forever. Mishima Yukio."[143][144]
A large number of reporters were crowded on the street in front of the closed gate of Mishima's residence, and behind them, female students who were Mishima fans could be seen crying and embracing each other's shoulders.[122] And a group of ethnic nationalist male students in stand-up collared school uniforms stood for a long time, upright and motionless, cheeks wet with tears, trying to hold back sobs.[122]
On the following day, November 26, Professor Ginjiro Saitō (斎藤銀次郎) performed an autopsy on Mishima's body, and Professor Tadataka Funao (船尾忠孝) performed an autopsy on Morita's body in the forensic autopsy room ofKeio University Hospital (慶應義塾大学病院,Keiō gijuku daigaku byōin), from 11:20 am to 1:25 pm.[95][145] The autopsies determined that the cause of death for both men was "Disconnection of the neck due to a split wound," with the following findings:[146][95]
Yukio Mishima:
His neck was cut at least three times, with cuts measuring 7 cm, 6 cm, 4 cm and 3 cm. There is an 11.5cm cut on his right shoulder where the sword appears to have missed, and a small chip cut under his left jaw.
His abdomen was cut 5.5cm to the right and 8.5cm to the left, centered on his navel, and was 4cm deep. The left cut reached hissmall intestine, and ran in a straight line from left to right.
Height 163cm. 45 years old, but has the developed youthful muscles of a 30-something. Brain weighs 1,440g. Blood type A.
Masakatsu Morita:
The area between the third and fourth cervical vertebrae was cut off with a single slash. The wound on his abdomen was horizontal from left to right, 7cm to the left of his navel, 4cm deep, from there a shallow cut 5.4cm to the right, and a cut 5cm to the right of his navel. A small 0.5cm cut on his right shoulder.
Height 167cm. A young, beautiful body.
Mishima committedseppuku in such a dignified manner that about 50 centimeters of his small intestine was exposed.[57] In addition, a sword fromkaishaku hit his jaw, shattering hismolars, and there were traces of him trying to bite off his tongue.[57]
According to a police inspection, the Japanese sword "Seki Magoroku" used in thekaishaku was bent in an S-shape from the middle to the tip due to the impact of thekaishaku.[95][147] Also, a formerImperial Japanese Army Sergeant Hiroshi Funasaka (舩坂弘), the president of Shibuya's Taiseidō Bookstore (大盛堂書店,Taiseidō shoten) and the donor of "Seki Magoroku", saw during questioning at Ushigome Police Station that both ends of the rivet of the sword hilt (目釘,mekugi) had been crushed to prevent the blade from being pulled out.[148][149]
Sword appraisal expert Magoki Watanabe (渡部真吾樹) determined that the sword crest on Mishima's sword is not "Three Cedar Trees (三本杉,Sanbonsugi)", but "Mutual Confusion (互の目乱れ,Gunome-midare)," and that the base fabric of the sword is quite soft, different from the method used by "Seki Magoroku".[146] In addition to Watanabe, other experts have asserted that the sword is not a genuine "Seki Magoroku", and there have also been investigations into the sword's place of origin and provenances, leading to a persistent theory that Mishima had been tricked and given a fake.[149]
The belongings of Masayoshi Koga (小賀正義), Masahiro Ogawa (小川正洋), andHiroyasu Koga included theWritten Directive that Mishima had given each of them, 30,000 yen each in cash (for attorney's fees), one special baton (特殊警棒,tokushu keibō) each, a climbing knife, etc. TheWritten Directive (命令書,meirei sho) to Masayoshi Koga mainly contained the following words:[150][151]
Your mission is to escort the hostages together with comrade Hiroyasu Koga, and after safely delivering them, be arrested as a criminal and make an honorable statement in court about the spirit of the Tatenokai.
This incident was planned, devised, and ordered by Mishima, the captain of the Tatenokai, and student leader Masakatsu Morita participated in it. Mishima's suicide with a sword (自刃,jijin) is only natural given my responsibilities as captain, but Masakatsu Morita'sjijin is a brave and solemn act that he voluntarily represents all Tatenokai members and the current patriotically motivating young people of Japan, also sets an example and try to demonstrating the spirit of youth to which should be able to make the fierce god (鬼神,oni-gami) weep.
Regardless of Mishima, you should spread Morita's spirit to later generations.
The three suspects, Masayoshi Koga, Masahiro Ogawa, and Hiroyasu Koga, were sent to prosecutors on November 27 on suspicion of six offenses: Participation in Assisted Suicide; Consensual Homicide (嘱託殺人,Shokutaku satsujin),Unlawful Capture and Confinement (不法監禁,Fuhou Kankin),Criminal Injury (傷害,Shōgai), Assault,Breaking into a Residence (建造物侵入,Kenzōbutsu shinyu),Possession of Firearms or Swords and Other Such Weapons.[123][153] On December 17, they were indicted on five offenses: Participation in Assisted Suicide; Consensual Homicide, Criminal Injury, Unlawful Capture and Confinement Causing in Injury (監禁致傷,Kankin-chishō), Assault, Obstructing or Compelling Performance of Public Duty (職務強要,Shokumu kyoyō).[154][153]
Reactions to the incident came from a wide range of people, including newspaper reports, relations of the Self-Defense Forces, political activists, writers and cultural figures.
After an autopsy was completed atKeio University Hospital (慶應義塾大学病院,Keiō gijuku daigaku byōin) on November 26, the day after the incident, the heads and bodies of both Mishima and Morita's corpses were neatly sutured.[155][156]
Just before 3 pm, Mishima's corpse was handed over to his younger brother, Chiyuki Hiraoka (平岡千之), in the morgue, and Morita's corpse was handed over to his older brother, Osamu Morita (森田治).[156][145] Morita's corpse was immediately cremated at a crematorium inYoyogi,Shibuya-ku.[145] Osamu recollected that his younger brother's dead face looked as if he was sleeping peacefully.[156]
A little after 3:30 pm, Mishima's corpse was taken from the hospital to his home in a police car.[123][145] His father, Azusa Hiraoka (平岡梓), looked into the coffin, being afraid to see how his son's appearance had changed.[157] However, he found his son's head and body had been sutured neatly, dressed in the Tatenokai uniform, with aguntō firmly clutched at his chest,[157][145] and his dead face was, to which makeup had been beautifully applied, looked as if he were alive.[157][158] The Tatenokai uniform andguntō were in accordance with Mishima's will that he entrusted to his friend, Kinemaro Izawa (伊沢甲子麿),[159][160] and the funeral makeup was applied with special care by police officers on a voluntary, they saying, "We applied the makeup carefully with special feelings, because it is the body of Mishima Sensei, whom we have always respected secretly."[157][158]
On 27, the next day was friend-pulling day (友引,Tomobiki), a day when crematoriums were closed, so it was decided to hold a private funeral on 26, this day.[157][155] Several editors from publishing companies asked the family if they could make his death mask, but they were told that this would not be necessary, so this was not done.[155] Mishima's private funeral was held at his home, and in addition to his relatives,Yasunari Kawabata, Kinemaro Izawa, Takeshi Muramatsu (村松剛), Takeo Matsuura (松浦竹夫),Shōhei Ōoka,Shintaro Ishihara, Hyōe Murakami (村上兵衛),Seiji Tsutsumi, Takamitsu Masuda (増田貴光), Takao Tokuoka (徳岡孝夫) and others came to pay their respects.[161][145] At the foot of the statue ofApollo in the garden of Mishima's residence, about 30 crimson roses had been thrown in memory of Mishima by his fans.[161][q]
Azusa put the manuscript papers and fountain pen that his son cherished in the casket together, and his casket left the home just after 4 pm.[155][145] At that time, his mother, Shizue (倭文重), stroked the face of his casket with her fingers and said, "Goodbye, Kōi (公威)-san."[162][155][r] Mishima's body was cremated at 6:10 pm at Kirigaya Funeral Hall (桐ヶ谷斎場,Kirigaya saijō) inShinagawa.[123][145][s] The following day, on 27, Shizue told a mourner who came to the Hiraoka home to light incense for the repose of Mishima's soul, with a bouquet of white roses, "You should have brought red roses for a celebration. This was the first time in his life Kōi did something he always wanted to do. Please be happy for him."[165][166]
On 26, the same day, at the main gate ofWaseda University, where Masakatsu Morita studied, a large signboard mourning Mishima and Morita was erected by the "Japan Students' League" (日本学生同盟,Nihon Gakusei Dōmei) and the Waseda University National Defense Club, and portraits of the two men and an incense burner were also placed there.[167][168]
Morita's wake (通夜,tuya) was also held by the Tatenokai members at around 6 pm on November 26 at Shōtoku-san Taichō-ji Temple (聖徳山諦聴寺,Shōtoku-san Taichō-ji) in Yoyogi.[169][145] Morita's bones, which Osamu had divided to Tatenokai members, were placed on the altar.[170][t] Morita'sposthumous Buddhist name was "慈照院釈真徹必勝居士" (Jishōin Shaku Shintetsu Hisshō Koji).[156] At the wake, Mishima'ssuicide note, addressed to all Tatenokai members, was circulated around and everyone read it.[171] Some of the members suggested that if one member committed suicide every year, it would be possible to continue making an appeal to society.[172][173] Morita's second wake was held the following day, November 27, at his family home inYokkaichi-shi,Mie Prefecture, and the funeral was held on November 28 at Sea Star (海の星,Umi no Hoshi)Catholic Church, at the request of his Catholic brother Osamu, and Morita's cremains were interred at around 4 pm.[153] Mishima's younger brother, Chiyuki, attended the funeral.[153]
On November 30, the Buddhist memorial service for "7th day after deathbardo" (初七日,sho-nanoka) was held at Mishima's home.[123][153] In his will to his parents, Mishima had stated, "My funeral must beShinto, but the Hiraoka family's funeral can beBuddhist rite."[148][153] Also, regarding his posthumous Buddhist name, he had said in his will, "I want the character 'Martial (武,Bu)' to be included the name. The character 'Literature (文,Bun)' is unnecessary."[148][153] However, his family, feeling that "he had grown up as a man of literature (文人,bunjin)," decided to include the character '文' under the character '武', and so his posthumous Buddhist name became "彰武院文鑑公威居士" (ShobuinBunkan Kōi Koji).[148][153]
On December 11, the "Yukio Mishima Memorial Evening" was held at Toshima Public Hall (豊島公会堂,Toshima Kōkaidō) inIkebukuro by an executive committee headed byFusao Hayashi.[174][175] This was the origin of the "Patriotism Memorial" (憂国忌,Yūkoku-ki) memorial service, which would later become an annual event on Mishima'sdeathday.[176][175] The hosts wereKōhan Kawauchi and Taisuke Fujishima (藤島泰輔) who was a schoolmate of Crown PrinceAkihito, and the executive committee was made up ofminzoku-ha students from the "Japan Students' League" and other groups.[174] Over 3,000 people gathered (the organizers said it was 5,000) at the memorial.[174][176] The venue, that has a capacity of 500 people, was overflowing, and many people also gathered in nearby Nakaikebukuro Park (中池袋公園,Nakaikebukuro Kōen), where they listened to eulogies from attendees broadcast over special speakers covering the situation inside the venue, as well as Mishima's speech before his suicide, which was recorded at the scene of the incident.[174][176]
The following year, on January 12, 1971, the Buddhist memorial service for the "49th day after deathbardo" (四十九日,Shiju-ku nichi) was held at the Hiraoka family home.[177] On the same day, a "Gathering to remember Mr. Yukio Mishima" was held at theSankei Hall inOsaka, organized by 10 people including Fusao Hayashi, and was attended by approximately 2,000 people.[177] On January 13, Mishima's wife Yōko came to visit the injured JSDF personnel and offered her apologies.[178][177]
On January 14, that was also Mishima's birthday, his cremains were buried in the grave of the Hiraoka Family (Location: 10th district, 1st class, 13th side, no.32) atTama Cemetery inFuchū-shi.[157][177] As his birthday was 49 days after the day of his suicide, some researchers have speculated that Mishima may had set his period ofbardo forreincarnation.[179][180]
On January 24, a clear, sunny day from the morning, Mishima's funeral and farewell ceremony was held atTsukiji Hongan-ji from 1 pm.[181][177] The chief mourner (喪主,moshu) was his wife Yōko Hiraoka, the funeral committee chairman Yasunari Kawabata, and the master of ceremonies was Takeshi Muramatsu.[177] Around 100 of Mishima's relatives, Morita's family, the Tatenokai members and their families, Mishima's acquaintances, and the first 180 general attendees were able to attend.[177] The altar was designed by theIkebana artist, Tōko Adachi (安達瞳子), and was simple, with a portrait of Mishima in a black sports shirt at the center, against a black cloth background, and seven large and small flower spheres made from white chrysanthemums.[148][177]
The memorial addresses (弔辞,chōji) were delivered by eight persons;Funahashi Seiichi (who was replaced by Makoto Hōjō (北條誠) halfway through due to his eye disease),Taijun Takeda,Eikoh Hosoe, the president ofShinchosha Ryōichi Satō (佐藤亮一), Eiko Muramatsu (村松英子), Kinemaro Izawa, a film producer Hiroaki Fujii (藤井浩明),Sazō Idemitsu.[177] Eiko Muramatsu, an actress of Mishima's troupe, sobbed as she paid tribute to her mentor on behalf of the theatrical world.[182][183]
To me, you were an irreplaceable mentor. Your blood painted the whole polluted skies of modern Japan in brilliant color like a burning rainbow in the evening glow. (Omitted)
Sensei, you were always caring us, without showing it. You showed us the possibility of simultaneously possessing burning passion and a cool-headed intellect. Your clear flame was the light that always guided us. (Omitted) That beautiful flame that you lit with your own body will never go out, but will continue to burn above the heads of those who love and respect you.
— Eiko Muramatsu,Chōji[183]
Other attendees included Taisuke Fujishima,Kishin Shinoyama,Tadanori Yokoo,Toshiro Mayuzumi,Hiroshi Akutagawa,Kosuke Gomi,Nobuo Nakamura,Akiyuki Nosaka,Yasushi Inoue,Masatoshi Nakayama, and Takao Tokuoka.[181] TheBritish Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) had expressed a desire to broadcast Mishima's funeral live, but the organizing committee declined.[181] Prime Minister Eisaku Satō's wife Hiroko (寛子) had also expressed a desire to attend the funeral in disguise by helicopter, but she could not attend by security concerns due to a rumor that far-left forces would attack the funeral hall.[184][185]
A temporary nursing facility and a toilet car were set up at the funeral hall, and 100 plainclothes and uniformed police officers, 50 riot police, and 46 security guards were on guard.[186][177] Over 8,200 members of the public attended the ceremony, paying their respects at a large portrait of Mishima placed at the entrance to the hall.[186][177] Fans of Mishima ranged from former soldiers to office ladies.[181] Among them was a group of companies that came fromNagoya to attend, raising flags reading "In Memory of Yukio Mishima."[181] This made it the largest funeral ever for a literary figure.[186][187] The next day, on January 25, the chairman Hiromi Tamagawa (玉川博己) of "Japan Students' League" announced its plan to launch the "Yukio Mishima Study Group" (三島由紀夫研究会,Mishima Yukio Kenkyūkai),[181] and the inaugural meeting was held on February 26, at the Arcadia Ichigaya Private Academy (私学会館,Shigaku Kaikan) inIchigaya.Shinjuku-ku.[177]
On January 30, an unveiling ceremony was held for the "Memorial Monument of Honor Yukio Mishima & Masakatsu Morita Martyrs" erected in front of the entrance to Matsue Nihon University High School (nowRissho University Sounan High School) inMatsue-shi,Shimane Prefecture.[188][189] The words "Sincerity (誠,Makoto)," "Restoration (維新,Ishin)," "Patriotism (憂国,Yūkoku)," and "Constitutional amendment (改憲,Kaiken)" were inscribed on the monument.[188]
On February 11,National Foundation Day, a "Memorial service in memory of Yukio Mishima" was held in the grounds of Hachiman Shrine inKakogawa-shi,Hyogo Prefecture, where Mishima's grandfather's permanent domicile, by members of the localSeicho-no-Ie (now the Mainstream Seicho-no-Ie Movement (生長の家本流運動,Seicho-no-Ie Honryu undo))[189][190]
On February 28, the Tatenokai's dissolution ceremony was held at theShintoMisogi Society (神道禊大教会,Sinto Misogi Daikyokai) in Nishi-Nippori (西日暮里),Arakawa-ku, attended by Mishima's wife Yōko and 75 members.[169][191] Yōko's family, theSugiyama family, had deep ties to Shinto and connections to the Shinto Misogi Daikyokai, so the ceremony was held there.[192] Kiyoshi Kuramochi (倉持清), a 1st generation member and the leader of 2nd team, read the "Statement", and announced the dissolution of the Tatenokai, conveying the contents of Mishima's will, in which stated, "With the uprising, the Tatenokai will be dissolved."[169][192] The Japanese swords that Mishima had given to each team leader and that had been kept at theDojo Saineikan (済寧館) in theImperial Palace were given to each team leader as keepsakes, through Yōko's consideration.[171]
On March 23, the first court hearing of the "Tatenokai Incident" trial was held in Courtroom 701 of theTokyo District Court.[193][194] In addition to the families of the three defendants, and Azusa Hiraoka, Yōko, and lawyer Naokazu Saitō (斎藤直一), the executor of Mishima's will, attended the hearing.[193][194] The presiding judge was Osamu Kushibuchi (櫛淵理).[195][194] The associate judges were Yoshiaki Ishii (石井義明) and Fumio Motoi (本井文夫), the prosecutors were Kazuo Ishii (石井和男) and Toshio Koyama (小山利男), the chief defense lawyer was Asanosuke Kusaka (草鹿浅之介).[195][194]
The presiding judge, Kushibuchi, was a man of both literary and martial arts (文武両道,bunbu ryōdō), who practiced the Shinto single-mindedness style (神道一心流,Sinto Isshin-ryu) of swordsmanship, learned to readClassical Chinese from an early age, and was well versed inYangmingism, which also influenced Mishima.[195][194] In preparation for this trial, Kushibuchi thoroughly read Mishima's books on Yangmingism andHagakure (Wang Yangming Thought as Revolutionary Philosophy (革命哲学としての陽明学,Kakumei Tetsugaku toshite no Yomeigaku), andOn Hagakure: The Samurai Ethic and Modern Japan (葉隠入門,Hagakure Nyūmon) etc.), and focused on the connection between Yangmingism and revolutionary thought.[194]
On June 26, at the strong request of French fans of Mishima's literature, includingGabriel Matzneff, a memorial service "Paris Yūkoku-ki" (パリ憂国忌) was held in Paris, where the poet Emmanuel Rothen recited a poem dedicated to Mishima,The Ritual of Love and Death (Patriotism).[196][197] The poem was also introduced and recited by Mishima's friendToshiro Mayuzumi during the trial in response to a question about Mishima's reputation abroad.[196][194]
On July 7, two days after the seventh court hearing, the three defendants, Masayoshi Koga, Masahiro Ogawa, and Hiroyasu Koga, were released on bail.[198][199] As they had admitted to the crimes and there was no risk of them destroying evidence or fleeing, the three were released from theTokyo Detention House at 5 pm and were greeted by Yōko.[200] They held a press conference at theAkasaka Prince Hotel from 7 pm.[198]
On September 20, while visiting the grave, Yōko noticed something unusual about the position of the tombstone.[201][200] The next day, on 21, a worker from the Tachibanaya Stonemasonry opened the interred part and found that Mishima's cremains had been lost along with the cinerary urn, and reported the matter to the Fuchū Police Station (府中警察署,Fuchū Keisatsu-sho).[202][201] On December 5 of the same year, the stolen cinerary urn was discovered buried about 40 meters away from the Hiraoka family grave.[202][201] The cremains were in their original condition, as well as, were the cigars that had been placed with them.[201][140]
On November 25, the unveiling ceremony for the "Mishima Yukio Literary Monument" was held in the garden of the home of Kiyotaka Miyazaki (宮崎清隆), who was a formerKempeitai Sergeant Major, inŌmiya-shi,Saitama Prefecture (nowSaitama-shi, Saitama Prefecture).[189][203] The calligraphy (揮毫,kigō) was by Yōko Hiraoka (Sign name was Yōko Mishima).[189][203] A message that Mishima sent to Miyazaki during his lifetime was published in the "Bookmark of the Yukio Mishima Literary Monument".[203] On the same day, the Hiraoka family held a Shinto-style first death anniversary service at thePalace Hotel in 1Marunouchi 1-chōme,Chiyoda-ku.[202][201] In addition to the former Tatenokai members,Tatsumi Hijikata andAkihiro Maruyama also attended this one-year memorial.[204]
The 14th court hearing was held on December 6, and Minister of DefenseYasuhiro Nakasone, who was the chairman of theLiberal Democratic Party's General Affairs Committee, took the stand to testify.[205] Nakasone stated that when he said "it's an enormous nuisance" immediately after the incident, he was speaking in his capacity as a public figure, and that he did it to prevent any disturbances within the JSDF.[205][206] He also stated that while he did not fully agree with Mishima's views, he believed that Mishima had done it "with the unavoidableYamato-damashii, knowing that this would happen if he did this," and that he wanted to accept and digest the incident in his own way as a politician, said that "I feel more compassion than hatred."[205][206]
On April 16, 1972,Yasunari Kawabata committed suicide in his study room at Zushi Marina Apartment inZushi-shi,Kanagawa Prefecture.[207] That was the day he was scheduled to hand over the preface to his disciple for theJudicial record of the "Mishima Incident" to be published in May, but the preface had been not written.[208][209][u]
On April 27, 1972, the 18th and final court hearing of the "Tatenokai Incident" trial, in which a variety of people such as Yasuhiro Nakasone, Takeshi Muramatsu, and Toshiro Mayuzumi had testified as witnesses from the first to the 17th court hearing, was held, and three men, Masayoshi Koga, Masahiro Ogawa, and Hiroyasu Koga, were sentenced to four years in prison sentence.[210][194] The offenses were "Unlawful Capture and Confinement Causing in Injury (監禁致傷,Kankin-chishō), Violation of the Law concerning Punishment of Physical Violence and Others (暴力行為等処罰ニ関スル法律,Bouryoku-koui nado Shobatsu ni kansuru houritsu),Criminal Injury (傷害,Shōgai), Obstructing or Compelling Performance of Public Duty (職務強要,Shokumu kyoyō), and Participation in Assisted Suicide; Consensual Homicide (嘱託殺人,Shokutaku satsujin)."[210][194]
The verdict ended with the following statement; "We hope that you, the defendants will remember that 'Martial arts (武,Bu) without knowledge (学,Gaku) are equivalent to the courage of a common man (匹夫の勇,hippu no yū). Literature (文,Bun) without an understanding of true martial arts is nothing but incoherent muttering (譫言,sengen). And, if a person has no benevolence (仁,jin), he will do anything cruel.'[v] We expect that you will not only see things from a one-sided perspective, but will also broaden your perspective to include all of humanity, and devote your efforts to realizing peace and security for the people."[212][211] When asked by the presiding judge what they planned to do in the future, all three answered, "My life ended on November 25, 1970. I haven't thought about what I would do after that."[199]
In the same year, 1972, an ethnic nationalist group calledIssuikai (meaning to hold regular meetings on the first Wednesday of every month) was formed, centered around Tsutomu Abe (阿部勉), who had been a 1st generation Tatenokai member.[213][214]
And, since 1972, a memorial service "Nowaki-sai" (野分祭) named by Tsutomu Abe after Morita's death poem has been held annually on November 24, sponsored byIssuikai and Yoshio Itō (伊藤好雄) who had been a 1st generation Tatenokai member as a celebrant.[215][216] The reason the memorial service is held the day before, rather than on the anniversary of his death, is to reflect on Morita's state of mind as he was about to uprise the next day.[215]
On July 24, 1973, former Commander, General Kenetoshi Masita (益田兼利), died of intestinal obstruction at the age of 59.[217][218] According to Mashita's eldest son, Kanehiro (兼弘), Mashita did not resent Mishima until the latter end, and yearned him calling "Mishima-san."[219][218]
About two and a half years later of the sentence day to four years in prison, in October 1974, the three were released before the end of their four-year sentences.[199][220] After their release, the three went to meet and apologize to the JSDF officers who were injured in the incident, together with Morita's older brother Osamu.[221]
After Hiroyasu Koga was released, he studied Shinto at Kokugakuin (國學院) and qualified as a Shinto priest at Tsurumi Shrine (鶴見神社,Tsurumi jinja) inTsurumi-ku,Osaka-shi,Osaka Prefecture.[171][222] Other former Tatenokai members began to gather at the place where Koga and 2 others held the memorial service for Mishima and Morita at same name shrine inKanagawa Prefecture, from then on, "Memorial services for Mishima and Morita," conducted only by the former Tatenokai members, began to be held every year.[171][223] After that, the "Mishima Morita Office" was established as a liaison office between the former members and the Hiraoka family.[171] Kuninori Itō (伊藤邦典), who had been a 1st generation member and was a friend of Hiroyasu Koga, when met him in person after his release from prison, asked him, "What did that incident leave you with?" Koga simply turned his palms up and stared at them as if he was holding the weight of something as the weight of Mishima's and Morita's heads.[224][225]
On March 29, 1975, Ichirō Murakami (村上一郎), a writer who, like Mishima, viewed theFebruary 26 incident in a positive light and who had strong sympathy for the Mishima Incident, committed suicide slashing thecarotid artery in his own throat with a Japanese sword at his home.[226][227]
On December 16, 1976, Mishima's father, Azusa Hiraoka (平岡梓), died of cirrhosis of the liver at the age of 82.[207]
On March 3, 1977, two former Tatenokai members, Yoshio Itō (伊藤好雄) (a 1st generation member) and Shunichi Nishio (西尾俊一) (a 4th generation member), participated in theJapan Business Federation attack incident (経団連襲撃事件,Keidanren shugeki jiken) leading byShūsuke Nomura.[216][228] After being persuaded by Yōko, they surrendered and the incident came to an end.[216][228]
In January 1980, an ideological group called the Kouryu-kai (蛟龍会) was founded by several former Tatenokai members, including Kiyoshi Kuramochi.[5][229]
On August 9, 1980, theAsahi Shimbun newspaper carried the full text of Mishima's suicide note addressed to Kiyoshi Kuramochi, a 1st generation Tatenokai member, in which he apologized for being unable to act asmatchmaker at Kuramochi's wedding due to the incident.[230][231] On November 24 of the same year, Colonel Kiyokatsu Yamamoto (山本舜勝) and several former members of Tatenokai held a "10th Anniversary Memorial Service for the Martyrs Yukio Mishima and Masakatsu Morita" at the Arcadia Ichigaya Private Academy (私学会館,Shigaku Kaikan) in Ichigaya. Shinjuku-ku.[232][233]
The inaugural issue of the weekly photo magazineFriday, published in November 1984, featured a close-up of Mishima's severed head.[234][235] In response, his widow, Yōko, strongly protested to the publisherKodansha, which prevented publication.[234] In an interview with Munekatsu Date and Takao Tokuoka at the end of the same year, Yōko criticized, "This latest act of photojournalism is the equivalent of a public head hanging (晒し首,sarashi kubi) (in theEdo period). I wonder if the people involved in the editing of that magazine were aware that a public head hanging was a punishment worse than the death penalty."[234]
On October 21, 1987, Mishima's mother, Shizue (倭文重), died of heart failure at the age of 82.[207] On July 31, 1995, Mishima's wife Yōko (瑤子), died of heart failure at the age of 58.[207][192] And, on January 9, 1996, Mishima's younger brother, Chiyuki (千之), died of pneumonia at the age of 65.[207][236]
On October 11, 1999, Tsutomu Abe, a founder ofIssuikai, died ofpancreatic cancer at the age of 53.[237][214] In late November 1999 and on January 4, 2000, Japanese newspapers carried Mishima's suicide note addressed to all Tatenokai members.[238][239] On July 18, 2001, Kiyokatsu Yamamoto (山本舜勝) died at the age of 82.[240]
On April 7 and 8, 2001, a memorial symposium, "Rome Yūkoku-ki" (ローマ憂国忌) was held inRome, Italy.[241][242] The background to the realization of this event was that Romano Vulpitta (ロマノ・ヴルピッタ), a professor atKyoto Sangyo University, had introducedJapanese Romantic School (日本浪曼派,Nihon Rōman Ha) and Mishima in his native Italy, which led to research into the values shared betweenAncient Rome and Mishima, and Mishima's popularity also increased in Rome.[243]
On November 25, 2010, a "Seimei Shrine" (清明宮,Seimei-guu) was erected at Tsurumi Shrine (鶴見神社,Tsurumi jinja) inTsurumi-ku,Yokohama-shi, Kanagawa Prefecture, as the shrine that formally enshrines Mishima and Morita by former Tatenokai members.[222] A stone monument with the calligraphy of "Seimei" (清明) that Mishima had left at Sai Shrine (狭井神社,Sai Jinja) in the sacred grounds ofŌmiwa Shrine inNara Prefecture was also erected at "Seimei Shrine."[222] Tsurumi-ku, Yokohama was also home to a bar called "Pony" (仔馬,Kouma) that Mishima often frequented when he was a new writer.[222]
On September 24, 2013, Hiroshi Mochimaru (持丸博) (whose married family name was Matsuura), a former Tatenokai member and 1st student leader, died ofesophageal cancer at the age of 69.[244]
On November 26, 2018, Masahiro Ogawa (小川正洋), a former Tatenokai member and participant in the Mishima Incident, died of heart failure at the age of 70, the day after the anniversary of the deaths of Mishima and Morita.[245][246] Ogawa's funeral and farewell ceremony was held from 11 am on November 29 at a funeral home inHamamatsu-shi,Shizuoka Prefecture, where he lived.[245][246] The chief mourner was his eldest son, Kiichirō (紀一郎).[245][246] Ogawa referred to Mishima as "Teacher Mishima (三島先生,MishimaSensei)" throughout his life.[246]
Mishima's relationship with theJapan Self-Defense Forces started in 1966, and after that, the founding of the militiaTatenokai and other events led to the search for a plan to turn the Self-Defense Forces into a national army, which ultimately led to the Mishima Incident.
The suicide note Mishima had written to the Tatenokai member Kiyoshi Kuramochi (倉持清) (whose married family name was Honda), a 1st generation member and the leader of 2nd team, was handed to Kuramochi by Mishima's wife Yōko on the night of the incident.[247][231] Kuramochi was a person who Mishima trusted, just like the four members who had risen up with Mishima.[247][248]
Mishima had been asked by Kuramochi to act as the matchmaker at his wedding and he had gladly accepted, so Mishima wrote that it would have been impossible for him to "lead Kuramochi down the path of ruin and death" or to "betray your fiancee and make you act," and he left a will expressing his wish that Kuramochi live a happy life.[247][231] Kuramochi read the letter in a room in the Mishima residence and was moved to tears by the kindness of his mentor, who had died so concerned about his private life.[247][231]
My small uprising was the result of much deliberation, and after taking into consideration all the conditions, that I fed our only way into it. At the same time, the way was to one that is predetermined definite death. As someone who had criticized the lack of responsibility of the left-wing students' actions, I had no choice but to take the one path I should take. That is why I had to be extremely strict in selecting the members involved, and I had no choice but to consider keeping the them to a very small number and minimizing the number of casualties as much as possible.
How I had longing for and dreaming of rising up for justice together with the all Tatenokai members. However, the situation had already made this impossible, and since that had happened, I thought it would be humanity not to inform non-participants of anything. I in no way think that I have betrayed you guys. (Omitted) I hope that you will understand my feelings, get a job, get married, and make your way through the waves of life, which is like a vast ocean, without forgetting your true ideals as you grow up.
The envelope containing the letter to Kuramochi was enclosed a suicide note addressed to all Tatenokai members too, which was passed around and everyone read, atMasakatsu Morita's wake held on November 26, the day after the incident.[171][248] The members who read it recalled that they felt Mishima's consideration for those left behind.[171][248]
Just as I have often tested your aspirations with harsh words, the dream in my mind was for all Tatenokai members to come together, rise up for justice, and realize the ideas of the association. This was the greatest dream of my life. The Tatenokai should have pooled all its strength to return Japan to its true form. (Omitted) Rejecting the empty theories of the revolutionary youth, we have striven for the path of the warrior, with actions spoken before words. If the time had come, the true worth of the Tatenokai could have been proven before the eyes of the entire nation.
However, the right time was not come, and we lost the opportunity to act together for our ideas. Under the semblance of stability, Japan was showing signs of irreparable cancer in its soul with each passing day, and we had to sit idly by. At the time when we most needed to act, the situation was not on our side. (Omitted)
Even if Japan sinks into the depths of decadence, you are the last young people of Japan who have learned the spirit of the samurai and been trained as samurai. When you abandon your ideals, Japan will perish. I have only thought of teaching you the pride of being a man. I hope that you have once joined the Tatenokai, you will never forget for the rest of your lives what the words "Japanese Male" (日本男児,Nippon Danji) mean. What you gain in your youth is your lifelong treasure. You must never abandon it.
There are many different views about Mishima's death, including that it was an aesthetic suicide for the artist's sake, or that he was politically serious, and while many knowledgeable persons are eager to share their opinions about the mystery of his death, some of his fellow literary figures and left-wing intellectuals at the time remained silent and said nothing, or even chose to ignore the incident, feeling guilty for not taking any action themselves.[251]
In the one hour-long interview dialogue with Takashi Furubayashi (古林尚), held at Mishima's residence in Minami Magome (南馬込),Ōta-ku, on the evening of November 18, one week before his suicide, Mishima had repeated two or three times, "You'll see," when the topic turned to the Tatenokai,[252][253][254] and when Furubayashi had asked him about his future plans afterThe Sea of Fertility tetralogy, he had said, "At the moment, I have no plans for next work."[255][252][253]
Looking back on that day, Furubayashi has commented on the look on Mishima's face when he had said "I really have no plans" after the dialogue, saying, "I have never seen him look so lonely."[252][253][254] and has that Mishima repeatedly had muttered in the dialogue, "I no longer have a single friend in the literary world."[252][253][254] Furubayashi also has recalled that after the dialogue, Mishima had said, "I lied when I wrote in my essay that my sister's death was more of a shock than the defeat of Japan. The defeat was a huge shock. I didn't know what to do."[252][253][254]
Also, in the dialogue with Furubayashi, Mishima said that "I think of myself as something likePetronius. And, this may sound a bit dramatic, but I think my generation will be the last generation to know true Japanese language. I doubt there will never be come anyone who has the words of the Japanese classics ingrained into them, from here on."[255][256][257] It is said that the image of Petronius that Mishima had in his mind was come from Petronius inHenryk Sienkiewicz's historical fictionQuo Vadis.[256][258]
After the Mishima incident, there were newspaper articles about several high school students and young men who followed in his footsteps and committed suicide.[188][259] On September 9 of the following year, 1971, theMainichi Shimbun reported that a high school student inHachiōji-shi, had poured gasoline over himself and set himself on fire in the schoolyard, carrying two of Mishima's books.[188]
Three years after the incident, on November 20, 1973, a man named Eiji Hijikata (土方英次), who sympathized with Mishima's ideas, committedseppuku inKitakyushu-shi,Fukuoka Prefecture.[260] The following year, on February 11, 1974,National Foundation Day, Hijikata's nephew, a 25-year-old young man named Masafumi Ohashi (大橋正文), a formerKokushikan University student fromHiroshima-shi,Hiroshima Prefecture who also admired Mishima, committedseppuku at the Main Gate (神門,Shinmon) ofYasukuni Shrine.[260] He was taken to the hospital but died the next day.[260] It is said that there were a considerable number of people who followed Mishima and committedseppuku.[261]
Also, a young editor atShinchosha left the company, saying, "With Mr. Mishima's death, my life came to an end too." (It is unclear whether he subsequently committed suicide.)[262]
In the case of the murder of a Hirosaki University (弘前医科大学,Hirosaki ika daigaku) professor's wife (弘前大教授夫人殺し事件,Hirosaki dai kyōju fujin gorosi jiken) that occurred in 1949, the real culprit was inspired and reformed himself by the Mishima Incident, and came forward to the police in 1971.[263] As a result, a man who had been serving a prison sentence on a false charge was later acquitted in a retrial.[264]
Naoki Inose, who was a New Left student activist atShinshu University, came to Tokyo after theAnpo protests, and started a temporary staffing business through an acquaintance to take on the final stages of cleaning and tidying up building construction sites.[265][266] According to Inose, around 1972, he worked for a few days in a lumber warehouse along the Sumida River with S, a quiet hippie who had come to him in response to a part-time job advertisement.[265][266] One day, during a conversation after lunch, Inose was asked by S, "What do you think of Yukio Mishima?" Inose was somewhat knowledgeable about the prewarJapanese Romantic School (日本浪曼派,Nihon Rōman Ha), and S seemed to have started the conversation with a sense of familiarity. And S began to talk like to himself, saying in a low voice, "Mishima is amazing, cause, he died," and "He really did it."[265][266] After that, there was a series of corporate bombings, starting with theMitsubishi Heavy Industries bombing in 1974.[265][266] The photographs and profiles of the arrested members of theEast Asia Anti-Japan Armed Front were published in the newspapers, and Inose was surprised to see S among them.[265][266] S (Nodoka Saitō (齋藤和)) was the only member who committed suicide by taking potassium cyanide just before being arrested. Inose has interpreted S's suicide as being influenced by Mishima.[265][266]
Inspired by the Mishima Incident, actorKen Takakura was planning to make a film about Mishima.[267] According toTadanori Yokoo, who was close to Takakura or Mishima, the concrete plans were being finalized and Takakura traveled to Los Angeles many times.[267] "It was as if Mishima was gradually possessing Ken, and I felt that Mishima's spirit was trying to get Ken Takakura to make a film," Yokoo has recalled.[267] However, at the last minute, he was unable to obtain the consent of Mishima's widow Yōko and was forced to abandon the film production.[267] Takakura had no choice but to call Yokoo and invite him to visit Mishima's grave atTama Cemetery, saying, "Please bring your camera. Let's take pictures together."[267]
After the incident,Shintaro Ishihara was secretly shown photographs of Mishima's unconscious expression as he instructed his members in the Commandant General's office after finishing his speech on the balcony and making final preparations (several photos secretly taken by a JSDF camera crew behind barricades), and 20 years after the incident he said of the photos, "It was a beautiful, perfect portrait," "I was struck by the pure beauty of the face in the photographs,"[268][269] and 50 years after the incident he even told, "They were really beautiful. They showed a natural, nice look, different from his usual intimidating expression."[270]
The building of the Eastern Army Headquarters (Building No. 1), that contained the Commandant General's office at the scene of the Mishima Incident, was demolished in 1994,[271] but part of the building, including the Commandant General's office, has been recreated and preserved as the Ichigaya Memorial Museum (市ヶ谷記念館,Ichigaya Kinenkan) in another corner of the ground, and three sword marks made by Mishima on a pillar during the fight with the JSDF officers still remain there.[272][273]
According toBoris Akunin, who published a Russian translation of Mishima'sPatriotism and an essay about Mishima's life in a magazine in 1988, a prisoner inMinsk committedseppuku by a spoon after reading the essay andPatriotism.[274] Also, Russian writerEduard Limonov was influenced by Mishima and the Tatenokai, and formed theNational Bolshevik Party, earning the nickname "Russian Mishima."[274][w]
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