News Schrader's 'Mishima' to finally premiere in Japan

Photo credit: Warner Bros/Courtesy Everett Collection​

"Mishima" was never officially banned from being shown in Japan, but there were verbal agreements that, for all intents and purposes, "unofficially" banned the film. To understand how that came about and why it is hard to untangle, it's important to understand the difficult circumstances under which Schrader made "Mishima." Mishima was a celebrated cultural figure and well-known for his right-wing ideology and reactionary politics. He was fervent in his belief that Japan had strayed from its traditional culture and politics after World War II, abandoning the sacredness of the Emperor as a result of falling under Western influence after losing the war. As Schrader portrayed in his film, these were beliefs Mishima was ultimately willing to die for in 1970, when he led four members of his personally trained militia onto a Tokyo military base, held its commandant hostage, and tried to inspire the soldiers at the garrison to rise and overthrow Japan's 1947 constitution. After his impassioned speech's inevitable failure, Mishima carried out his plan to commit seppuku at the garrison.

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‘Mishima’ Was Unofficially Banned in Japan, but the Tokyo Film Festival Will Premiere It There This Fall

Paul Schrader on why his masterpiece “Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters" never showed in Japan and shares details of his new film 'Non Compos Mentis.'

www.indiewire.com

Why Mishima: A Life In Four Chapters Is The Greatest Biopic About A Writer I've Ever Seen

There are movies about writers, and then there is Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters.

www.cinemablend.com

Literature  Mishima Yukio (1925-1970)

Renowned poet, actor, reactionaryBorn on 14 January 1925, in Yotsuya, Tokyo, under the name Hiraoka Kimitake (平岡公威), the young Mishima was raised by his grandmother Natsu, an illegitimate granddaughter of Matsudaira Yoritaka (松平頼位), the daimyō of Shishido in Hitachi Province. Her eccentric...

• JREF
• 2 May 2012
• Comments: 1
• Category: Culture & Society

After 40 years, the critically acclaimed film "Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters" finally got a screening in Japan, at the recent Tokyo International Film Festival. It had remained a mystery why the biographical film about writer Yukio Mishima (1925-1970) didn't see the light of day in his home country for decades after its release in 1985. Paul Schrader, the U.S. filmmaker who directed the film, said that was because Mishima was "a taboo subject" at the time of the film's release. Schrader is also known for writing the screenplay for the Academy Award-nominated "Taxi Driver."

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