Mishima Incident


The Mishima Incident occurred on November 25, 1970, where the Japanese author Yukio Mishima committed seppuku after calling on the Japan Self-Defense Forces to stage a coup d'état to abolish Article 9 of the Japanese Constitution and appealing to his own ideas and beliefs about reconstructing true national autonomy. The incident is sometimes called the Tatenokai Incident after the name of the private militia, Tatenokai, of which Mishima was the captain, as members of that organization also participated in the incident.
This incident not only sent shockwaves through Japanese society, but also became breaking news outside of Japan, where people expressed shock at the unprecedented actions of an internationally renowned author. 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. It also had a major impact on Japan's political climate, including the rise to the New Right, which grew out of minzoku-ha. In Japan, in a survey conducted by the monthly magazine Bungei Shunjū in 2000 on the "20 Greatest Events of the 20th Century," the Mishima Incident was ranked second, ahead of global events such as the fall of the Berlin Wall.
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. However, this incident is considered to have had historical significance and long-lasting repercussions in Japanese society.

Details of the incident

Visit and restraint of commander

At around 10:58 am, on November 25, 1970, Yukio Mishima, along with four other members of the Tatenokai, Masakatsu Morita, Masayoshi Koga, Masahiro Ogawa, and Hiroyasu Koga, passed through the main gate of the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force Camp Ichigaya at Ichigaya Honmura-cho, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo, by their car, and arrived at the main entrance leading to the Commandant General's office on the second floor of the Eastern Army Headquarters. They were guided up the front stairs by Major Yasuharu Sawamoto, who had greeted them, and then shown to the Commandant General's office by Colonel Isamu Hara, head of the Commandant General's Office of Operations.
This visit had been booked for November 21, and Sergeant Ryoichi Nakao 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, simply exchanged salutes with Mishima in the passenger seat and he was allowed through.
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, by name, one by one, while they stood upright, as "outstanding members" who would be honored at the regular meeting. 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 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."
While the Commander, Lieutenant General Mashita and Mishima were sitting across from each other on the sofa talking, the topic turned to the Japanese sword "Seki Magoroku" that Mishima had brought with him. The General Mashita asked, "Is it genuine?" and "Won't you be scolded by the police for carrying such a sword?" 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".
Mishima unsheathed his sword and asked Masayoshi Koga for a tenugui to wipe off the oil, saying, "Koga, a handkerchief", which was a prearranged signal to begin action. However, General Mashita made an unexpected move by heading toward his desk and saying, "How about washi tissue paper?" Chibi-Koga lost sight of his purpose and had no choice but to approach Mishima and hand him a tenugui. Unable to find a suitable chirigami tissue, General Mashita returned to the sofa and sat down next to Mishima to look at the sword.
Mishima wiped the blade with a tenugui and handed the sword over to the General Mashita. After seeing the hamon, the General Mashita nodded and said, "It's a fine sword. This sword crest is indeed the Three Cedar Trees," and returned it to Mishima before returning to his seat. It was now about 11:05 am. Mishima wiped the blade again, handed the tenugui he had used to Chibi-Koga, who had stood nearby, and then, giving instructions with his eyes, he put the sword back into its scabbard with a loud click of the tsuba.
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 and Hiroyasu Koga next tied the General Mashita to a chair with thin rope and restrained him. Chibi-Koga, who was given another tenugui by Furu-Koga, gagged the General Mashita, who refused, saying, "I won't gag you so to stop breathing," and pointed a tantō at him.
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. 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.

Fight with the staff officers

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 the frosted glass window at the front entrance, where he saw the Tatenokai members standing behind the General Mashita. 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.
Colonel Hara threw himself against the door, creating a gap of about 20 to 30 centimeters. "Don't come in! Don't come in!" cried Masakatsu Morita from inside the room, and a Demands letter was slid out from under the door. After reading it, Colonel Hara and his staff immediately reported to Vice Chief of Administration Major General Akira Yamazaki and Vice Chief of Defense Colonel Hidenobu Yoshimatsu that "Mishima and his members have occupied the Commandant General's office and have confined the General Mashita." An emergency call was made to the staff, and a subordinate of Major Sawamoto contacted the military police.
Lieutenant Colonel Haruo Kawabe and Lieutenant Colonel Nobumasa Nakamura 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. Mishima immediately drew his military sword, Seki Magoroku, and slashed at their backs and other parts of their bodies. He then fought back against Colonel Hara, Sergeant Toshikazu Kasama, Sergeant Junzō Isobe, and others who had charged in with bokkens, shouting "Get out! Don't get in the way!" and "Read the demand!" 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. The melee left a sword cut near the door handle. The time was about 11:20 am.
While the five men were retreating, seven more men, Colonel Fujio Kiyono, Lieutenant Colonel Kiyoshi Takahashi, Major Katsumi Terao, Captain Eijiro Mizuta, Non-commissioned officer Yoshifumi Kikuchi, Colonel Hidenobu Yoshimatsu, and Major General Akira Yamazaki, rushed in one after another from the side of the Vice Chief of Staff's office. Vice Chief of Defense Colonel Yoshimatsu said, "What are you doing? Let's talk it out," but the fight continued. Hiroyasu Koga threw small tables and chairs at the men, and Masahiro Ogawa fought back with a special baton.
Morita also fought back with his tantō, but Major Terao ripped it away from him. Mishima quickly supported, slashing at Terao and Lieutenant Colonel Takahashi, who had dragged Morita to the ground. When Colonel Kiyono threw an ashtray at Chibi-Koga, who was watching the General Mashita, Mishima attacked with his sword to Kiyono. Kiyono fought back by throwing a globe, but stumbled and fell. 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. Eight JSDF staff officers were injured in the brawl.
At 11:22 am, a 110 call was made from the Eastern Army Headquarters to the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department's Command Center, and at 11:25 am, the TMPD Public Security Bureau's First Public Security Division used the National Police Agency Security Bureau Chief's office as a temporary headquarters, contacted relevant agencies, and dispatched 120 Riot Police Unit members to JGSDF Camp Ichigaya.
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. Lieutenant Colonel Matsuo Kunugi 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. Then Lieutenant Colonel Yoshimatsu tried to persuade Mishima through the window, but Mishima said, "If you accept this Demands, we will spare General Mashita's life," and threw the Demands 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.
The Demands mainly contained the following statements:
The senior staff officers decided to accept Mishima's Demands, and at around 11:34 am, Lieutenant Colonel Yoshimatsu told Mishima, "We have decided to assemble the JSDF personnel." Mishima asked him, "Who are you? What authority do you have?" 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."
While waiting for the JSDF personnel to assemble, Mishima ordered Morita to read the Demands to General Mashita as well. 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." Mishima told General Mashita the same content as in Geki, and said, "I don't hate either the JSDF or you. As long as they don't interfere, I won't kill you." He then said, "I have come today to give the JSDF the greatest stimulation and rousing themself."
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 the Onshi no Tabako, the gift of cigarettes which was given out at the Imperial garden party, to be placed in his briefcase along with his other luggage.
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." At 11:46 am, the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department gave the order to arrest Mishima and all the others. Police cars and white jeeps of the military police force entered Camp Ichigaya one after another at high speed. By this time, the first reports of the incident had already been broadcast on television and radio.

Speech on the balcony

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. Some of them had already started eating lunch in the dining hall, but stopped it to join. Confusing information was exchanged among them, with some reporting that "a mob has broken in and someone had been slashed," "the Commandant General has been taken hostage," "the Red Army Faction must have come," and "Is Yukio Mishima there too?"
At about 11:55 am, Masakatsu Morita and Masahiro Ogawa, who wearing hachimaki headbands and white gloves, distributed numerous Geki and hung the banners with their Demands drawn with ink brush strokes from the balcony in front of the Commandant General's office. Two JSDF personnel jumped up and try to pull the banner down, but were unable to reach it. Riot Police Unit members carrying duralumin shields, and the vehicles belonging to newspaper and television reporters were also gathered in the front yard.
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. 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.
A siren announcing noon rang out in the sky above Camp Ichigaya, and Mishima stood on the balcony, holding up in his right hand the unsheathed Japanese sword "Seki Magoroku," shining in the sunlight. The sword was only visible for a moment. Mishima wore a white hachimaki headband with a red hinomaru circle, in which the center bearing the kanji for "To be reborn seven times to serve the country". Behind him to the right, Morita, wearing the same hachimaki, stood like a guardian god, gazing straight ahead.
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. It was a speech urging a revolt to amend the Article 9 of the Japanese Constitution, calling for a return to the "original purpose of the military's founding" to "protect Japan," of which gist was almost the same as the Geki that had been distributed beforehand. In the sky above, several media helicopters, having already heard the strange incident, were circling, making a lot of noise.
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!" 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."
Sergeant K, 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." "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.
Mishima shouted, "Is there not even one man among you who will rise up with me?" and waited in silence for about 5 to 10 seconds, but the JSDF personnel continued to yell abuse at him, calling him a "Madman!" and "There's no way someone like that exists." 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. 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.
After wrapping up his speech, Mishima and Morita headed towards the Imperial Palace and chanted "Long live the Emperor of Japan three times. Even then, the jeers of "Drag him down" and "Shoot him" made their chants nearly inaudible. On that day, the 32nd Infantry Regiment under the 1st Division had gone to the East Fuji Maneuver Area, leaving behind about 100 troops, while its 900 elite troops were absent. Based on Morita's information, Mishima mistakenly thought that only the regimental commander was absent. 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. The writer Yaeko 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."
Mishima did not use a microphone because he placed an emphasis on getting as close as possible to the spirituality of the Shinpūren rebellion by the God-honoring party, one of the parties formed by samurai with the philosophy of Sonnō jōi. He adhered on using his own voice to roar, without using a microphone or loudspeaker. In his dialogue with Fusao Hayashi, Dialogue: Theory about the Japanese, 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 their yamato-damashii in venture fighting with only Japanese swords.
Regarding the reason why the JSDF personnel did not listen carefully to Mishima's speeches, the manga artist Shigeru 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 emphasized Bushidō, was probably because the JSDF personnel at the time had also already become inclined toward individualism and hedonism in economically prosperous Japan."
The Weekly magazine Sunday Mainichi reporter Takao Tokuoka and NHK reporter Munekatsu Date 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. 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 and Kenji Kurata, respectively, of the Tatenokai members who were close friends of Masakatsu Morita. Mishima had entrusted it to them in case the Geki was confiscated by the police and the incident was covered up. Tokuoka had hidden it inside his sock and had run toward the balcony, had listened to the speech.
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," "Why didn't they calm their minds a little more and listen?" 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."
Nippon Cultural Broadcasting was the only station to record the entire speech. 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 really bushi at all like that!" amid the roar of insults and the noise of news helicopters, and this became a scoop. The recording tape also includes Morita's voice saying, "Everyone please listen."

Committing seppuku

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." He then stood in front of General Mashita and said, "We have no grudge against you. We did it to return the JSDF to the Emperor. I had no choice but to do this," and unbuttoned his uniform.
Mishima received the tantō that Masayoshi Koga was pointed at the General Mashita through Morita, and handed Morita his own unsheathed Japanese sword, "Seki Magoroku", in return. Then, on the red carpet about three meters away from the General Mashita, with his upper body naked, holding the tantō in both hands, sat seiza-style facing the balcony, then tried to dissuade Morita from committing suicide by telling him, words: "Morita, you must live, not die.", "You stop dying."
According to the plan, Mishima would write the character "Martial arts" on a piece of square drawing paper with the blood of seppuku, 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." And Mishima said, "Hmm," putting his energy into the process, and then said, "Yaaaaa" thrust the tantō into his left side belly with both hands, and committed seppuku in a straight line manner to the right.
Morita, the kaishakunin standing behind Mishima to the left, was about to commit seppuku 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. Seeing that Mishima was still alive, Chibi-Koga and Hiroyasu Koga called out, "Morita-san, one more blow," and "Finish him off," and Morita swung his sword down for the third time. The General Mashita was trying to stop their actions, shouting, "Stop it," "Don't kaishaku him, don't finish him off."
Morita, whose kaishaku did not go well, said, "I'll leave it to you, Hiro-chan," and handed the sword to Furu-Koga. Koga decapitated Mishima in one stroke, following the ancient tradition of leaving only a thin layer of skin on the neck. Then, Chibi-Koga used the tantō that Mishima had been holding to cut off the skin of Mishima's neck from his body. During this process, Masahiro Ogawa kept watch near the main entrance door of the room to make sure that the JSDF staff officers would not interfere with Mishima's seppuku.
Next, Morita also took off his uniform jacket, sat seiza-style next to Mishima's body, and committed seppuku, signaling "Not yet" and "Okay," and upon receiving the signal, Furu-Koga, the kaishakunin, decapitated Morita in one stroke. 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. The General Mashita called to the three, "How about you all worship them?" and, "How about you turn yourself in police?"
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." 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. 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 sat seiza-style, closed his eyes and joined his hands in prayer, saying, "Let me pray for their souls as well."
For Mashita, this was the second time he had witnessed a seppuku. During the war, Mashita served as a staff officer in the Imperial Japanese Army, and just after the war ended he was once asked for observer of the committing seppuku, from his close friend and colleague, Major Makoto Haruke.
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". 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.
Perhaps out of kindness, the police officers did not handcuff the three who were held out their hands. 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?"
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 had instructed to Atsuyuki Sassa, counselor of the Police Affairs Department and chief of the First Personnel Division. Sassa rushed to the scene from the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department, but was too late in time to stop Mishima from committing suicide. 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."
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."
Among their belongings found at the scene were six strips of paper with death poems written on them: two by Mishima, one by Morita, and one each by the remaining members. 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. Their death poems are as follows:
Yukio Mishima died at the age of 45. Masakatsu Morita died at the age of 25. Morita preferred to pronounce his first-name "Certain victory" in on'yomi rather than "Masakatsu" in kun'yomi.

Aftermath of the day

Among the about 30 members of the Tatenokai who were under guard by police and riot 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, Takemi Imai, and Shunichi Nishio, being arrested for obstruction of justice. The members who remained in the hall were asked to voluntarily accompany them, and after lining up and singing the national anthem "Kimigayo", and chanted "Long live the Emperor!" three times, they were taken to Yotsuya Police Station.
Mishima's father, Azusa Hiraoka, learned of the incident on the noon news on television and was watching the screen intently. He misread the kanji characters "beheaded", "died" in the news flash captions, "介錯" for "care", and was upset and resented the doctor, wondering why Mishima died despite being given care. Meanwhile, Mishima's mother, Shizue, and his wife, Yōko, 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. Yōko was so shocked that she took to bed.
A little after 12:30 pm, at the press conference held inside the Eastern 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. Groans and murmurs spread among the reporters, when they learned for the first time that the two men's heads had been decapitated.
Colonel Yoshimatsu also explained the whole story to the reporters. The reporters repeatedly asked questions about the unbelievable circumstances of seppuku and kaishaku. When one of them shouted out a question, "So the head and the body were separated?" Colonel Yoshimatsu echoed his words and responded. With that answer, the reporters had nothing more to ask to need, and quickly dispersed outside to report the news.
The shocking news of the call for a coup and subsequent suicide by seppuku by the famous author, who was active in many fields and was also known as a candidate for the Nobel Prize in Literature, was broadcast simultaneously as breaking news on television and radio both in Japan and abroad, and the newspapers extra editions were distributed in the streets. The television and radio programs were quickly changed to special programs, and telephone discussions between intellectuals and other knowledgeable people were also held. Over nine right-wing groups flocked to the front of the Camp Ichigaya.
At a press conference held at the Defense Agency from 12:30 pm, Minister of Defense Yasuhiro Nakasone called the incident "a very regrettable incident" and criticized Mishima's actions as "an enormous nuisance" and "destructive to democratic order." Prime Minister Eisaku Satō, who heard the news at the Prime 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." Until then, Nakasone and Satō had viewed Mishima's trial enlistment in the JGSDF favorably as a positive PR opportunity for the JSDF, but after the incident they made critical remarks in their positions as politicians.
One British journalist, after hearing the words of politicians such as Nakasone and Satō, tearfully told a literary critic Takeshi Muramatsu, "Why is there not a single politician who defends Mishima? Mishima has never seemed so great and Japanese politicians have never seemed so small."
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." 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. A Tokyo 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.
Yasunari Kawabata who was close to Mishima, received the news of the incident while out, 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. 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." Shintaro Ishihara, who was a member of the House of Councillors at the time, also visited the Eastern Army Headquarters but did not enter the office. 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."
At 2:00 pm, the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department set up the "Special Investigation Headquarters for the Case of the Tatenokai's Infiltration into the JSDF, Illegal Confinement, and Seppuku Suicide" within Ushigome Police Station.
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. 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."
Sergeant K, who had seen Mishima's speech, spoke briefly, "When I heard that he had committed seppuku, I stood there for about an hour, losing myself in my thoughts." 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."
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. 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.
The Asahi 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.
Shortly after 10 pm, the Metropolitan Police Department began searches of Mishima's residence and Morita's apartment. Mishima's house was searched until around 4 am the following day, November 26. In Mishima's study room, in addition to letters addressed to family, friends, the Tatenokai members, acquaintances including Ivan Morris and Donald Keene, on his desk were found clippings from Promise that I haven't been Fulfilled: 25 years in me and One Hundred People Who Will Changing the World of the 1970s: Yukio Mishima, and a suicide note-like memo was also found, which read, "If life is limited, I would like to live forever. Mishima Yukio."
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. 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.

Autopsy, physical evidence, and arrest charges

On the following day, November 26, Professor Ginjiro Saitō performed an autopsy on Mishima's body, and Professor Tadataka Funao performed an autopsy on Morita's body in the forensic autopsy room of Keio University Hospital, from 11:20 am to 1:25 pm. 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:
Mishima committed seppuku in such a dignified manner that about 50 centimeters of his small intestine was exposed. In addition, a sword from kaishaku hit his jaw, shattering his molars, and there were traces of him trying to bite off his tongue.
According to a police inspection, the Japanese sword "Seki Magoroku" used in the kaishaku was bent in an S-shape from the middle to the tip due to the impact of the kaishaku. Also, a former Imperial Japanese Army Sergeant Hiroshi Funasaka, the president of Shibuya's Taiseidō Bookstore and the donor of "Seki Magoroku", saw during questioning at Ushigome Police Station that both ends of the rivet of the sword hilt had been crushed to prevent the blade from being pulled out.
Sword appraisal expert Magoki Watanabe determined that the sword crest on Mishima's sword is not "Three Cedar Trees", but "Mutual Confusion," and that the base fabric of the sword is quite soft, different from the method used by "Seki Magoroku". 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.
The belongings of Masayoshi Koga, Masahiro Ogawa, and Hiroyasu Koga included the Written Directive that Mishima had given each of them, 30,000 yen each in cash, one special baton each, a climbing knife, etc. The Written Directive to Masayoshi Koga mainly contained the following words:
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, False imprisonment, Bodily harm, Assault, Home invasion, Possession of Firearms or Swords and Other Such Weapons. On December 17, they were indicted on five offenses: Participation in Assisted Suicide; Consensual Homicide, Criminal Injury, Unlawful Capture and Confinement Causing in Injury, Assault, Obstructing or Compelling Performance of Public Duty.

After the incident

Reactions

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.

Funerals, memorials, trials, etc.

November 26 to the December 1970

After an autopsy was completed at Keio University Hospital on November 26, the day after the incident, the heads and bodies of both Mishima and Morita's corpses were neatly sutured.
Just before 3 pm, Mishima's corpse was handed over to his younger brother, Chiyuki Hiraoka, in the morgue, and Morita's corpse was handed over to his older brother, Osamu Morita. Morita's corpse was immediately cremated at a crematorium in Yoyogi, Shibuya-ku. Osamu recollected that his younger brother's dead face looked as if he was sleeping peacefully.
A little after 3:30 pm, Mishima's corpse was taken from the hospital to his home in a police car. His father, Azusa Hiraoka, looked into the coffin, being afraid to see how his son's appearance had changed. However, he found his son's head and body had been sutured neatly, dressed in the Tatenokai uniform, with a guntō firmly clutched at his chest, and his dead face was, to which makeup had been beautifully applied, looked as if he were alive. The Tatenokai uniform and guntō were in accordance with Mishima's will that he entrusted to his friend, Kinemaro Izawa, 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."
On 27, the next day was friend-pulling day, a day when crematoriums were closed, so it was decided to hold a private funeral on 26, this day. 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. Mishima's private funeral was held at his home, and in addition to his relatives, Yasunari Kawabata, Kinemaro Izawa, Takeshi Muramatsu, Takeo Matsuura, Shōhei Ōoka, Shintaro Ishihara, Hyōe Murakami, Seiji Tsutsumi, Takamitsu Masuda, Takao Tokuoka and others came to pay their respects. At the foot of the statue of Apollo in the garden of Mishima's residence, about 30 crimson roses had been thrown in memory of Mishima by his fans.
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. At that time, his mother, Shizue, stroked the face of his casket with her fingers and said, "Goodbye, Kōi-san." Mishima's body was cremated at 6:10 pm at Kirigaya Funeral Hall in Shinagawa. 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."
On 26, the same day, at the main gate of Waseda University, where Masakatsu Morita studied, a large signboard mourning Mishima and Morita was erected by the "Japan Students' League" and the Waseda University National Defense Club, and portraits of the two men and an incense burner were also placed there.
Morita's wake was also held by the Tatenokai members at around 6 pm on November 26 at Shōtoku-san Taichō-ji Temple in Yoyogi. Morita's bones, which Osamu had divided to Tatenokai members, were placed on the altar. Morita's [dharma name|posthumous Buddhist name] was "慈照院釈真徹必勝居士". At the wake, Mishima's suicide note, addressed to all Tatenokai members, was circulated around and everyone read it. Some of the members suggested that if one member committed suicide every year, it would be possible to continue making an appeal to society. Morita's second wake was held the following day, November 27, at his family home in Yokkaichi-shi, Mie Prefecture, and the funeral was held on November 28 at Sea Star Catholic Church, at the request of his Catholic brother Osamu, and Morita's cremains were interred at around 4 pm. Mishima's younger brother, Chiyuki, attended the funeral.
On November 30, the Buddhist memorial service for "7th day after death bardo" was held at Mishima's home. In his will to his parents, Mishima had stated, "My funeral must be Shinto, but the Hiraoka family's funeral can be Buddhist rite." Also, regarding his posthumous Buddhist name, he had said in his will, "I want the character 'Martial arts' to be included the name. The character 'Literature' is unnecessary." However, his family, feeling that "he had grown up as a man of literature," 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".
On December 11, the "Yukio Mishima Memorial Evening" was held at Toshima Public Hall in Ikebukuro by an executive committee headed by Fusao Hayashi. This was the origin of the "Patriotism Memorial" memorial service, which would later become an annual event on Mishima's deathday. The hosts were Kōhan Kawauchi and Taisuke Fujishima who was a schoolmate of Crown Prince Akihito, and the executive committee was made up of minzoku-ha students from the "Japan Students' League" and other groups. Over 3,000 people gathered at the memorial. The venue, that has a capacity of 500 people, was overflowing, and many people also gathered in nearby Nakaikebukuro Park, 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.

January to February 1971

The following year, on January 12, 1971, the Buddhist memorial service for the "49th day after death bardo" was held at the Hiraoka family home. On the same day, a "Gathering to remember Mr. Yukio Mishima" was held at the Sankei Hall in Osaka, organized by 10 people including Fusao Hayashi, and was attended by approximately 2,000 people. On January 13, Mishima's wife Yōko came to visit the injured JSDF personnel and offered her apologies.
On January 14, that was also Mishima's birthday, his cremains were buried in the grave of the Hiraoka Family at Tama Cemetery in Fuchū-shi. As his birthday was 49 days after the day of his suicide, some researchers have speculated that Mishima may had set his period of bardo for reincarnation.
On January 24, a clear, sunny day from the morning, Mishima's funeral and farewell ceremony was held at Tsukiji Hongan-ji from 1 pm. The chief mourner was his wife Yōko Hiraoka, the funeral committee chairman Yasunari Kawabata, and the master of ceremonies was Takeshi Muramatsu. 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. The altar was designed by the Ikebana artist, Tōko Adachi, 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.
The memorial addresses were delivered by eight persons; Funahashi Seiichi, Taijun Takeda, Eikoh Hosoe, the president of Shinchosha Ryōichi Satō, Eiko Muramatsu, Kinemaro Izawa, a film producer Hiroaki Fujii, Sazō Idemitsu. Eiko Muramatsu, an actress of Mishima's troupe, sobbed as she paid tribute to her mentor on behalf of the theatrical world.
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. The British Broadcasting Corporation had expressed a desire to broadcast Mishima's funeral live, but the organizing committee declined. Prime Minister Eisaku Satō's wife Hiroko 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.
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. 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. Fans of Mishima ranged from former soldiers to office ladies. Among them was a group of companies that came from Nagoya to attend, raising flags reading "In Memory of Yukio Mishima." This made it the largest funeral ever for a literary figure. The next day, on January 25, the chairman Hiromi Tamagawa of "Japan Students' League" announced its plan to launch the "Yukio Mishima Study Group", and the inaugural meeting was held on February 26, at the Arcadia Ichigaya Private Academy in Ichigaya. Shinjuku-ku.
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 in Matsue-shi, Shimane Prefecture. The words "Sincerity," "Restoration," "Patriotism," and "Constitutional amendment" were inscribed on the monument.
On February 11, National Foundation Day, a "Memorial service in memory of Yukio Mishima" was held in the grounds of Hachiman Shrine in Kakogawa-shi, Hyogo Prefecture, where Mishima's grandfather's permanent domicile, by members of the local Seicho-no-Ie
On February 28, the Tatenokai's dissolution ceremony was held at the Shinto Misogi Society in Nishi-Nippori, Arakawa-ku, attended by Mishima's wife Yōko and 75 members. Yōko's family, the Sugiyama family, had deep ties to Shinto and connections to the Shinto Misogi Daikyokai, so the ceremony was held there. Kiyoshi Kuramochi, 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." The Japanese swords that Mishima had given to each team leader and that had been kept at the Dojo Saineikan in the Imperial Palace were given to each team leader as keepsakes, through Yōko's consideration.

March to December 1971

On March 23, the first court hearing of the "Tatenokai Incident" trial was held in Courtroom 701 of the Tokyo District Court. In addition to the families of the three defendants, and Azusa Hiraoka, Yōko, and lawyer Naokazu Saitō, the executor of Mishima's will, attended the hearing. The presiding judge was Osamu Kushibuchi. The associate judges were Yoshiaki Ishii and Fumio Motoi, the prosecutors were Kazuo Ishii and Toshio Koyama, the chief defense lawyer was Asanosuke Kusaka.
The presiding judge, Kushibuchi, was a man of both literary and martial arts, who practiced the Shinto single-mindedness style of swordsmanship, learned to read Classical Chinese from an early age, and was well versed in Yangmingism, which also influenced Mishima. In preparation for this trial, Kushibuchi thoroughly read Mishima's books on Yangmingism and Hagakure, and focused on the connection between Yangmingism and revolutionary thought.
On June 26, at the strong request of French fans of Mishima's literature, including Gabriel Matzneff, a memorial service "Paris Yūkoku-ki" was held in Paris, where the poet Emmanuel Rothen recited a poem dedicated to Mishima, The Ritual of Love and Death . The poem was also introduced and recited by Mishima's friend Toshiro Mayuzumi during the trial in response to a question about Mishima's reputation abroad.
On July 7, two days after the seventh court hearing, the three defendants, Masayoshi Koga, Masahiro Ogawa, and Hiroyasu Koga, were released on bail. As they had admitted to the crimes and there was no risk of them destroying evidence or fleeing, the three were released from the Tokyo Detention House at 5 pm and were greeted by Yōko. They held a press conference at the Akasaka Prince Hotel from 7 pm.
On September 20, while visiting the grave, Yōko noticed something unusual about the position of the tombstone. 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. On December 5 of the same year, the stolen cinerary urn was discovered buried about 40 meters away from the Hiraoka family grave. The cremains were in their original condition, as well as, were the cigars that had been placed with them.
On November 25, the unveiling ceremony for the "Mishima Yukio Literary Monument" was held in the garden of the home of Kiyotaka Miyazaki, who was a former Kempeitai Sergeant Major, in Ōmiya-shi, Saitama Prefecture. The calligraphy was by Yōko Hiraoka. A message that Mishima sent to Miyazaki during his lifetime was published in the "Bookmark of the Yukio Mishima Literary Monument". On the same day, the Hiraoka family held a Shinto-style first death anniversary service at the Palace Hotel in 1 Marunouchi 1-chōme, Chiyoda-ku. In addition to the former Tatenokai members, Tatsumi Hijikata and Akihiro Maruyama also attended this one-year memorial.
The 14th court hearing was held on December 6, and Minister of Defense Yasuhiro Nakasone, who was the chairman of the Liberal Democratic Party's General Affairs Committee, took the stand to testify. 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. He also stated that while he did not fully agree with Mishima's views, he believed that Mishima had done it "with the unavoidable Yamato-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."

1972

On April 16, 1972, Yasunari Kawabata committed suicide in his study room at Zushi Marina Apartment in Zushi-shi, Kanagawa Prefecture. That was the day he was scheduled to hand over the preface to his disciple for the Judicial record of the "Mishima Incident" to be published in May, but the preface had been not written.
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. The offenses were "False imprisonment, Violation of the Law concerning Punishment of Physical Violence and Others, Bodily harm, Obstructing or Compelling Performance of Public Duty, and Participation in Assisted Suicide; Consensual Homicide."
The verdict ended with the following statement; "We hope that you, the defendants will remember that 'Martial arts without knowledge are equivalent to the courage of a common man. Literature without an understanding of true martial arts is nothing but incoherent muttering. And, if a person has no benevolence, he will do anything cruel.' 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." 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."
In the same year, 1972, an ethnic nationalist group called Issuikai was formed, centered around Tsutomu Abe, who had been a 1st generation Tatenokai member.
And, since 1972, a memorial service "Nowaki-sai" named by Tsutomu Abe after Morita's death poem has been held annually on November 24, sponsored by Issuikai and Yoshio Itō who had been a 1st generation Tatenokai member as a celebrant. 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.

1973 to 1979

On July 24, 1973, former Commander, General Kenetoshi Masita, died of intestinal obstruction at the age of 59. According to Mashita's eldest son, Kanehiro, Mashita did not resent Mishima until the latter end, and yearned him calling "Mishima-san."
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. 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.
After Hiroyasu Koga was released, he studied Shinto at Kokugakuin and qualified as a Shinto priest at Tsurumi Shrine in Tsurumi-ku, Osaka-shi, Osaka Prefecture. 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 in Kanagawa Prefecture, from then on, "Memorial services for Mishima and Morita," conducted only by the former Tatenokai members, began to be held every year. After that, the "Mishima Morita Office" was established as a liaison office between the former members and the Hiraoka family. Kuninori Itō, 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.
On March 29, 1975, Ichirō Murakami, a writer who, like Mishima, viewed the February 26 incident in a positive light and who had strong sympathy for the Mishima Incident, committed suicide slashing the carotid artery in his own throat with a Japanese sword at his home.
On December 16, 1976, Mishima's father, Azusa Hiraoka, died of cirrhosis of the liver at the age of 82.
On March 3, 1977, two former Tatenokai members, Yoshio Itō and Shunichi Nishio, participated in the Japan Business Federation attack incident leading by Shūsuke Nomura. After being persuaded by Yōko, they surrendered and the incident came to an end.

1980 to 2009

In January 1980, an ideological group called the Kouryu-kai was founded by several former Tatenokai members, including Kiyoshi Kuramochi.
On August 9, 1980, the Asahi 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 as matchmaker at Kuramochi's wedding due to the incident. On November 24 of the same year, Colonel Kiyokatsu Yamamoto 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 in Ichigaya. Shinjuku-ku.
The inaugural issue of the weekly photo magazine Friday, published in November 1984, featured a close-up of Mishima's severed head. In response, his widow, Yōko, strongly protested to the publisher Kodansha, which prevented publication. 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. 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."
On October 21, 1987, Mishima's mother, Shizue, died of heart failure at the age of 82. On July 31, 1995, Mishima's wife Yōko, died of heart failure at the age of 58. And, on January 9, 1996, Mishima's younger brother, Chiyuki, died of pneumonia at the age of 65.
On October 11, 1999, Tsutomu Abe, a founder of Issuikai, died of pancreatic cancer at the age of 53. In late November 1999 and on January 4, 2000, Japanese newspapers carried Mishima's suicide note addressed to all Tatenokai members. On July 18, 2001, Kiyokatsu Yamamoto died at the age of 82.
On April 7 and 8, 2001, a memorial symposium, "Rome Yūkoku-ki" was held in Rome, Italy. The background to the realization of this event was that Romano Vulpitta, a professor at Kyoto Sangyo University, had introduced Japanese Romantic School and Mishima in his native Italy, which led to research into the values shared between Ancient Rome and Mishima, and Mishima's popularity also increased in Rome.

2010 to present

On November 25, 2010, a "Seimei Shrine" was erected at Tsurumi Shrine in Tsurumi-ku, Yokohama-shi, Kanagawa Prefecture, as the shrine that formally enshrines Mishima and Morita by former Tatenokai members. A stone monument with the calligraphy of "Seimei" that Mishima had left at Sai Shrine in the sacred grounds of Ōmiwa Shrine in Nara Prefecture was also erected at "Seimei Shrine." Tsurumi-ku, Yokohama was also home to a bar called "Pony" that Mishima often frequented when he was a new writer.
On September 24, 2013, Hiroshi Mochimaru, a former Tatenokai member and 1st student leader, died of esophageal cancer at the age of 69.
On November 26, 2018, Masahiro Ogawa, 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. Ogawa's funeral and farewell ceremony was held from 11 am on November 29 at a funeral home in Hamamatsu-shi, Shizuoka Prefecture, where he lived. The chief mourner was his eldest son, Kiichirō. Ogawa referred to Mishima as "Teacher Mishima" throughout his life.

Mishima and the JSDF (The process leading up to the incident)

Mishima's relationship with the Japan Self-Defense Forces started in 1966, and after that, the founding of the militia Tatenokai 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.

Mishima's suicide notes addressed to the Tatenokai members

The suicide note Mishima had written to the Tatenokai member Kiyoshi Kuramochi, 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. Kuramochi was a person who Mishima trusted, just like the four members who had risen up with Mishima.
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. 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.
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, at Masakatsu Morita's wake held on November 26, the day after the incident. The members who read it recalled that they felt Mishima's consideration for those left behind.

Various views on the meaning of Mishima's death

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.

Others, episodes etc.

About Mishima

In the one hour-long interview dialogue with Takashi Furubayashi, held at Mishima's residence in Minami Magome, 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, and when Furubayashi had asked him about his future plans after The Sea of Fertility tetralogy, he had said, "At the moment, I have no plans for next work."
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." and has that Mishima repeatedly had muttered in the dialogue, "I no longer have a single friend in the literary world." 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."
Also, in the dialogue with Furubayashi, Mishima said that "I think of myself as something like Petronius. 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." It is said that the image of Petronius that Mishima had in his mind was come from Petronius in Henryk Sienkiewicz's historical fiction Quo Vadis.

About other

After the Mishima incident, there were newspaper articles about several high school students and young men who followed in his footsteps and committed suicide. On September 9 of the following year, 1971, the Mainichi Shimbun reported that a high school student in Hachiōji-shi, had poured gasoline over himself and set himself on fire in the schoolyard, carrying two of Mishima's books.
Three years after the incident, on November 20, 1973, a man named Eiji Hijikata, who sympathized with Mishima's ideas, committed seppuku in Kitakyushu-shi, Fukuoka Prefecture. The following year, on February 11, 1974, National Foundation Day, Hijikata's nephew, a 25-year-old young man named Masafumi Ohashi, a former Kokushikan University student from Hiroshima-shi, Hiroshima Prefecture who also admired Mishima, committed seppuku at the Main Gate of Yasukuni Shrine. He was taken to the hospital but died the next day. It is said that there were a considerable number of people who followed Mishima and committed seppuku.
Also, a young editor at Shinchosha left the company, saying, "With Mr. Mishima's death, my life came to an end too."
In the case of the murder of a that occurred in 1949, the real culprit was inspired and reformed himself by the Mishima Incident, and came forward to the police in 1971. As a result, a man who had been serving a prison sentence on a false charge was later acquitted in a retrial.
Naoki Inose, who was a New Left student activist at Shinshu University, came to Tokyo after the Anpo protests, and started a temporary staffing business through an acquaintance to take on the final stages of cleaning and tidying up building construction sites. 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. 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 prewar Japanese Romantic School, 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." After that, there was a series of corporate bombings, starting with the 1974 [Mitsubishi Heavy Industries bombing|Mitsubishi Heavy Industries bombing] in 1974. The photographs and profiles of the arrested members of the East Asia Anti-Japan Armed Front were published in the newspapers, and Inose was surprised to see S among them. S 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.
Inspired by the Mishima Incident, actor Ken Takakura was planning to make a film about Mishima. According to Tadanori Yokoo, who was close to Takakura or Mishima, the concrete plans were being finalized and Takakura traveled to Los Angeles many times. "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. 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. Takakura had no choice but to call Yokoo and invite him to visit Mishima's grave at Tama Cemetery, saying, "Please bring your camera. Let's take pictures together."
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, 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," 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."
The building of the Eastern Army Headquarters, that contained the Commandant General's office at the scene of the Mishima Incident, was demolished in 1994, but part of the building, including the Commandant General's office, has been recreated and preserved as the Ichigaya Memorial Museum 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.
According to Boris Akunin, who published a Russian translation of Mishima's Patriotism and an essay about Mishima's life in a magazine in 1988, a prisoner in Minsk committed seppuku by a spoon after reading the essay and Patriotism. Also, Russian writer Eduard Limonov was influenced by Mishima and the Tatenokai, and formed the National Bolshevik Party, earning the nickname "Russian Mishima."

Japan-related Social events before and after the Mishima Incident

Tunoshin Yui committed suicide by self-immolation in front of the Prime Minister's residence, on the same day.
After moving to U.S., a meeting was held between Prime Minister Satō and U.S. President Lyndon Johnson, and a joint statement was issued by Japan and U.S. on Security Treaty and Okinawa.
  • 1968
  • *January 9 – JSDF official and marathoner Kōkichi Tsuburaya committed suicide by slicing his carotid artery with a razor.
  • *January 19 – The American Nuclear-powered aircraft carrier Enterprise |Enterprise] arrived at Sasebo port. – Struggle to prevent the Enterprise from docking at Sasebo
  • *January 29 – Students at the Tokyo University Faculty of Medicine had gone on an indefinite strike in opposition to the registered doctor system replacing the internship system. – The Beginning of the Tokyo University Conflict
Afterwards, anti-Japanese Communist Party New Left students occupied Yasuda Auditorium, and the graduation ceremony to be canceled.

Film

  • Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters directed by Paul Schrader
  • *Starring: Ken Ogata as Yukio Mishima
  • 11/25 The Day Mishima Chose His Own Fate directed by Kōji Wakamatsu
  • *Starring: Arata Iura as Yukio Mishima

    TV

  • New documentary drama Shōwa: Seicho Matsumoto approaches the incident produced by TV Asahi
  • *Narrator: Kei Satō
  • *Witnesses: Shigeru Amachi, Donald Keene, Takao Tokuoka, Shūsuke Nomura, Akihiro Miwa, others

    Manga, Anime

  • Yuuyake Banchō Volume 15 "Both literary and martial arts" written by Ikki Kajiwara and Illustrated by Toshio Shōji
  • ''Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex#Season 2

    Literary works

  • The Day He Himself Shall Wipe My Tears Away written by Kenzaburō Ōe written by Tetsuji Takechi
  • *A mysterious tale of Mishima's head flying over the Kantō region and arguing with the head of Taira no Masakado.
  • Nemuri Kyōshirō Heartless written by Renzaburō Shibata
  • The summer never return written by Otohiko Kaga
  • *Regarding the Mishima Incident, which occurred while Kaga was conceiving this work, he said, "It surprised me, as if the event I had been thinking of writing about in a novel had suddenly become reality. The Mishima incident naturally influenced my writing and made me feel tense."
  • Elegy of the Chrysanthemum Emperor: A Novel of Emperor Gotoba written by Kunio Tsukamoto
  • A dirge for the gentle leftist written by Masahiko Shimada
  • Teito Monogatari written by Hiroshi Aramata
  • *A historical fantasy novel. Mishima was appearing in series No.5. He committed seppuku crying out for spiritual defense, then the spirit of Mishima confront the earthbound spirit of Taira no Masakado. In the following series No.6, Mishima reincarnated a woman Michiyo Ohsawa.
  • Popoi written by Yumiko Kurahashi
  • Until he becomes a mummy written by Masahiko Shimada
  • Legend – A Summer Morning, on the Illusionary Shore written by Masahito Nakayama
  • Banquet of Revelation written by Kiyoshi Kasai
  • Goodbye, honey written by Nori Nakayama
  • Another Patriotism written by Yuichi Ogiwara
  • *This is a fiction story in which the spirit of Lieutenant General Kanetoshi Mashita recalls how, unable to bear the sight of Mishima suffering after Masakatsu Morita's kaishaku had failed, he was in fact the one to perform the final kaishaku.
  • ふくみ笑い written by Kō Machida
  • Part 2: The "The Temple of the Golden Pavilion" will probably come out of my stomach. written by Ōtarō Maijō
  • Fantasista written by Tomoyuki Hoshino
  • Lonely Hearts Killer written by Tomoyuki Hoshino
  • Goodbye, my books! written by Kenzaburō Ōe
  • Infernal Affairs written by Tomoyuki Hoshino
  • Mishima Reincarnation written by Akitomo Ozawa
  • *A story that the Bhava of Mishima, who died at the Camp Ichigaya, floating and looks back on his life.
  • Pale Moon written by Ryo Hirose
  • Death by Water written by Kenzaburō Ōe
  • Impossible written by Hisaki Matsuura
  • *A novel that assumed that Mishima has been survived the Mishima Incident.
  • The patriots written by Taro Miwa

    Performance art

  • Season of fiery fire / Requiem for someone: Number 1, Mishima performed by Yasumasa Morimura
  • * Disguise performance as Mishima
  • Classroom of beauty, listen quietly) performed by Yasumasa Morimura
  • *ditto

    Poetry

  • Harakiri written by István Bálint.
  • 3 Tanka poems, Grave of Mishima written by Pierre Pascal
  • *12 Haiku poems. Appendix of Shinsho Hanayama's book Discovering Peace: A Record of Life and Death in Sugamo translated into French.
  • The Ritual of Love and Death written by Emmanuel Rothen
  • Lamentation: Yukio Mishima written by Akira Asano
  • *described at the conclusion of the eulogy "Rainbow Gate".
  • Yūkoku-ki written by Shūji Terayama
  • Harakiri written by Hiromi Itō
  • It was noon & Haiku written by Genki Fujii
  • *Reading at the 38th "Patriotism Memorial", 37th Anniversary of His Death.

    Songs

  • Patriotism lyrics by Yoshio Kodama, composition by Masao Koga, singing by Hisao Itō
  • Dance of Scarlet Fan lyrics by Shunpo Nomura, composition by Masao Koga, singing by Hisao Itō
  • *A memorial song for Masakatsu Morita.
  • Curry rice lyrics/composition and singing by Kenji Endo