The brilliant Japanese  writer, Mishima Yukio, has been described in many ways. He has been called a “fascist,” an “aesthetic terrorist,” and even a “zombie,” (because his reputation refused to die, even after his  spectacular and controversial suicide.)  Even now,  50  years after his death, Mishima remains an enigmatic and fascinating figure. This talk engages with the many masks that Mishima wore throughout his life, as a novelist, playwright, thinker,  actor, body builder and would-be samurai. It attempts to answer the question: Was there a “real” Mishima or was his life a series of performances?