Mishima or the Perception of Emptiness

November 24, 1970, Misima is meticulously preparing for his death. He is forty-five years old. He has many works. His fame spread all over the world. He wants his suicide to strictly comply with the centuries-old traditions and ritual requirements of his country, Japan, the religious, social, literary and political environment in which he has chosen to live. A friend disembowels him with his own hands before beheading him. A terrible death, but at the same time, it is the author's reunion with the metaphysical emptiness that has fascinated him since his youth.
Marguerite Yourcenar, with her sharp intelligence, pursues this personal adventure that she feels is both close and foreign. It is a kind of tribute in which a great Western writer sheds light on both the work and certain moments of the life of another great writer from the East, revealing his passions, victories, weaknesses, inner collapses and courage.