Yukio Mishima (1925-1970) was a significant cultural figure in postwar Japan. A prolific novelist, poet, and dramatist, his work helped establish Japanese literature in the West, particularly The Sea of Fertility tetralogy, and novels such as The Sailor Who Fell From Grace, The Temple of the Golden Pavilion, and Confessions of a Mask. During his lifetime, Mishima courted controversy for his political views. In 1970, following a failed coup d’etat, Mishima publicly committed seppuku, ritual suicide by disembowelment. Meredith Weatherby (1915-1997) was an American publisher and translator. He spent a large part of his life in Japan and is known in particular for his English translations of the literary works by Yukio Mishima.