Yukio Mishima (三島 由紀夫) was the pen name of Kimitake Hiraoka (平岡 公威), a Japanese author, poet and playwright, also remembered for his ritual suicide by seppuku.
At age six, Mishima enrolled in elite Peers School (Gakushuin 学習院). At 12, Mishima began to write his first stories. He read voraciously the works of Oscar Wilde, Rainer Maria Rilke and numerous classic Japanese authors. After six years at school, he became the youngest member of the editorial board in its literary society. Mishima was attracted to the works of Tachihara Michizō, which in turn created an appreciation for the classical form of the waka. Mishima's first published works included waka poetry, before he turned his attention to prose.
