Translating YUKIO MISHIMA – Masks, Identities, Ideals

Yukio MISHIMA (1925-1970) wrote numerous novels, stories, screenplays, and poems. He is considered one of the most important writers of the 20th century. In his texts, he broke taboos, he was a nude model and a film director but also a nationalist and political activist who founded his own militia. MISHIMA's dazzling figure, spectacular even in his ritual suicide, is still controversially discussed today. Ursula Gräfe and Nora Bierich have translated several of his texts into German. In conversation with Karin Betz, they tell us what makes MISHIMA’s person, work, and language so special – accompanied by text excerpts and film clips.