Yukio Mishima (1925-1970), one of Japan’s most famous authors and probably the nation’s most notorious, wrote 40 novels, 18 plays, 20 books of short stories, books of essays, hundreds of poems, as well as plays and film scripts before he died at the age of 45.
He also translated and adapted several children’s books that were published as illustrated books including Lewis Carroll’s (1832-1898) Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and several of William Shakespeare’s (1564-1616) plays including: Hamlet (1951) with illustrations by Goro Kurosawa; and A Midsummer’s Night’s Dream (1952) with illustrations by Kazuo Ikeda.
Mishima’s translation of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland was published in 1952 with illustrations by Goro Kumada under the title Fushiginokuni Arisu.
Mishima also adapted and translated Don Quiote by Miguel de Cervantes (1605-1615), which was published in 1955, also as a children’s book by the Tokyo based children’s publisher Akane Shobo, which also published the other books mentioned above.
Japan’s most notorious author Yukio Mishima translated and adapted children’s books including children’s editions of Shakespeare
[UPDATED: 9-3-2026]
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Japan’s most notorious author Yukio Mishima translated and adapted children’s books including children’s editions of Shakespeare
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