More than two decades after his death, Mishima Yukio is arguably still the most famous writer modern Japan has produced. The reasons for this fame are both complex and controversial. His critics may suggest that his notorious death by seppuku, or ritual suicide, which Mishima performed after having unsuccessfully called for the overthrow of the Japanese government, accounts as much for his renown as do his actual writings. His enthusiasts, whether in Japan or the West, do not dismiss the seppuku but dwell more on the brilliance of his style, the power of his imagination, and the fascination and variety of his themes--they include homosexuality, political terrorism, Zen, and reincarnation--all of which are in marked contrast to much of postwar Japanese fiction. Mishima's work has consistently lamented the barrenness of postwar Japan at the same time as it offered fictional visions of alterity, frequently taken from traditional Japanese...