Yukio Mishima: A BBC Radio Collection: The Damask Drum & more

Enter the haunting, beautiful and provocative world of Yukio Mishima, one of Japan's greatest writers, whose extraordinary life ended as dramatically as his fiction

Considered one of the greatest Japanese writers of the twentieth century, Mishima fused traditional Japanese aesthetics with modern ideas in works that explored sexuality, death, and political change and broke cultural boundaries. His extraordinary life was as provocative as his fiction, culminating in his ritual suicide by seppuku following a failed coup attempt in 1970.

This BBC Radio collection offers a rare opportunity to experience both Mishima's unforgettable storytelling and the remarkable life behind it.

In The Damask Drum, Mishima reimagines a classical Noh play as a haunting tale of unrequited love and longing, using ancient traditions to reflect on modern Japan.

The Peacocks follows a lonely young boy whose fascination with the magnificent birds in his uncle's garden becomes an awakening to beauty, desire and the constraints of family life.

In The Swaddling Clothes, a young wife and mother is haunted by the image of a newborn baby wrapped in newspaper, in a powerful exploration of guilt, motherhood and social inequality.

The Pearl is an elegant tale in which the disappearance of a single pearl exposes hidden tensions, deception and the chaos of human interaction.

In Thermos Flasks, a chance reunion between a businessman and his former geisha lover leads to a night that has unexpected consequences…

Together, these haunting stories explore love, obsession, honour, identity and mortality - themes that defined both Mishima's writing and his remarkable life.

Also included are two exclusive programmes examining the man behind the legend. Death at Midday explores Mishima's place in Japanese literature and the events surrounding his extraordinary death on 25 November 1970, the day he completed his final novel. Witness History: The Death of Yukio Mishima features the recollections of his friend and biographer Henry Scott Stokes, who was living in Japan at the time and reflects on Mishima's enduring fascination with ritual suicide.

Combining unforgettable drama with illuminating documentary, this unique collection is an introduction to one of the twentieth century's most brilliant, enigmatic and influential literary voices.

©2026 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P)2026 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

© 2026 BBC Digital Audio (Lydbog): 9781529988284

Udgivelsesdato

Lydbog: 15. oktober 2026