was a novelist, playwright and drama critic. His pen name was Shōdō Mishima (三島章道 ''Mishima Shōdō'').

Early life

Mishima was born in

Azabu is an area in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Built on a marshy area of foothills south of central Tokyo, its coverage roughly corresponds to that of the former Azabu Ward, presently consisting of nine official districts: Azabu-Jūban, Azabudai, Aza ...

Tōkyō Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital and most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is one of the most populous urban areas in the world. The Greater Tokyo Area, which ...

, to an

aristocratic family Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy. It is normally appointed by and ranked immediately below royalty. Nobility has often been an estate of the realm with many exclusive functions and characteristics. Th ...

. His grandfather

Michitsune Mishima was a Japanese samurai of the Satsuma Domain during the Late Tokugawa shogunate. After the Meiji Restoration he served in the Home Ministry as a bureaucrat and viscount. He is also commonly known as Yahei or Yahée (弥兵衞 ''Yahee''). Hi ...

had been ennobled as a viscount in the new Japanese nobility in 1884, while his father was

Yatarō Mishima Viscount was a Japanese businessman, central banker and the 8th Governor of the Bank of Japan (BOJ). Viscount Mishima was a member of Japan's House of Peers.Masaoka, Naoichi. (1914) ''Japan to America,'' p. 127./ref> Early life Mishima was b ...

, the 8th Governor of the

Bank of Japan The is the central bank of Japan.Louis Frédéric, Nussbaum, Louis Frédéric. (2005). "Nihon Ginkō" in The bank is often called for short. It is headquartered in Nihonbashi, Chūō, Tokyo, Chūō, Tokyo. The said bank is a corporate entity ...

. His mother was Marquis Takauta Shijō (四条隆謌 ''Shijō Takauta'')'s third daughter, Kaneko (加根子), through whom he was related to the old court aristocracy and the greater

Fujiwara clan The was a powerful family of imperial regents in Japan, descending from the Nakatomi clan and, as legend held, through them their ancestral god Ame-no-Koyane. The Fujiwara prospered since ancient times and dominated the imperial court until th ...

. His younger sister was married to

Yoshi Hijikata Marquess was a prominent Japanese theatre director. His real name was .''Britannica Kokusai Dai-hyakkajiten'' article "Hijikata Yoshi". 2007. Britannica Japan Co.'' MyPedia'' article "Hijikata Yoshi". 2007. Hitachi Systems & Services.''Digital D ...

. He was a Peers School graduate, and succeeded his father as the third Viscount Mishima in 1919.

Career

Mishima was a member of the House of Peers and the

House of Councillors The is the upper house of the National Diet of Japan. The House of Representatives (Japan), House of Representatives is the lower house. The House of Councillors is the successor to the pre-war House of Peers (Japan), House of Peers. If the t ...

and was parliamentary vice-minister to the

Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology The , also known as MEXT, is one of the eleven ministries of Japan that compose part of the executive branch of the government of Japan. History The Meiji period, Meiji government created the first Ministry of Education in 1871. In January 2001 ...

Scouting

Mishima formed the nationwide ''Boy Scouts of Japan'' with Count Futara Yoshinori in 1922, with

Shimpei Gotō Shinpei or Shimpei (written: , , , , , or ) is a masculine Japanese given name. Notable people with the name include: *, Japanese politician *, Japanese cyclist *, Japanese footballer *, Japanese politician *, Japanese manga artist *, Japanese po ...

at its helm. He was elected as Associate Board Chairman at age 25. He became the first president of the

Boy Scout Association of Japan A boy is a young male human. The term is commonly used for a child or an adolescent. When a male human reaches adulthood, he is usually described as a man. Definition, etymology, and use According to the ''Merriam-Webster Dictionary'', a boy ...

and also served as the head of the central training grounds. In 1941, he was awarded the

Blue Ribbon Medal Blue is one of the three primary colours in the RYB colour model (traditional colour theory), as well as in the RGB (additive) colour model. It lies between violet and cyan on the spectrum of visible light. The term ''blue'' generally descr ...

for philanthropy. He held a Scouting exhibition in February 1946, the first of its kind since the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. In 1950, he transferred the Boy Scouts Association of Japan headquarters to his

villa A villa is a type of house that was originally an ancient Roman upper class country house that provided an escape from urban life. Since its origins in the Roman villa, the idea and function of a villa have evolved considerably. After the f ...

and home in

West Nasuno West is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some Romance langu ...

Tochigi Prefecture is a landlocked Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Tochigi Prefecture has a population of 1,897,649 (1 June 2023) and has a geographic area of 6,408 Square kilometre, km2 (2,474 Square mile, sq mi ...

. This site is now a permanent camping grounds for the Boy Scouts of Japan known as the

Nasuno Camping Grounds The is a train service operated on the Tōhoku Shinkansen by East Japan Railway Company (JR East) in Japan. It serves all stations between and , a medium-sized city approximately 225 km north of Tokyo.JR Timetable, December 2008 Origin ...

. In 1951, he was elected to serve as the fourth

Chief Scout of Japan The is the major Scouting organization of Japan. Starting with boys only, the organization was known as Boy Scouts of Japan from 1922 to 1971, and as Boy Scouts of Nippon from 1971 to 1995, when it became coeducational in all sections, leading ...

at the National General Assembly.

J. S. Wilson Colonel John Skinner "Belge" Wilson (1888–1969) was a Scottish scouting luminary and friend and contemporary of Robert Baden-Powell, 1st Baron Baden-Powell, General Baden-Powell, recruited by him to head the World Organization of the Scout M ...

presented the

Wood Badge Wood Badge is a Scout leader training program, first implemented by The Scout Association, The Boy Scouts Association in the United Kingdom in 1919 and subsequently adopted, with variations, by some other Scout organizations. Wood Badge Course ...

to Mishima, which he had earned at

Gilwell Park Gilwell Park is The Scout Association's principal camp site and Scout Activity Centre, activity centre in the United Kingdom. It is a site, located in Essex in the Sewardstonebury area of Waltham Abbey within Epping Forest near the border with ...

after the Austrian World Scout Jamboree. In 1953, he received the (きじ章 ''

kijishō The is the highest award for adult leaders in the Scout Association of Japan. It is awarded by the Chief Scout of Japan, awarded for eminent achievement and meritorious service to the Association for a period of at least twenty years. It may be ...

'') from the Boy Scout Association of Japan for meritorious deeds and services. In 1961, he was awarded the ''

Bronze Wolf The Bronze Wolf Award is an award presented by the World Organization of the Scout Movement for outstanding service by an individual to the Scout Movement. Just over 400 people have received the Bronze Wolf since its creation in 1935. WOSM has r ...

'' by the

World Organization of the Scout Movement The World Organization of the Scout Movement (WOSM ) is the largest and, after the Order of World Scouts (formed in 1911), is the second-oldest international organization in the Scout Movement, having been established in 1922. It has 176 members. ...

for exceptional services to world Scouting. From February 25 to March 7, 1965, he wrote his serial ''Scout Jūwa'' (スカウト十話) for the

Mainichi Shimbun The is one of the major newspapers in Japan, published by In addition to the ''Mainichi Shimbun'', which is printed twice a day in several local editions, Mainichi also operates an English-language news website called , and publishes a bilin ...

, his final work. Mishima died on April 20, and a (日本連盟 ''Nippon Remmei'') funeral service was held on April 24. Mishima's handwriting can be found on the stone monument at 'Japan's First Boy Scout Camping Ground' on the banks of

Lake Biwa is the largest freshwater lake in Japan. It is located entirely within Shiga Prefecture (west-central Honshu), northeast of the former capital city of Kyoto. Lake Biwa is an ancient lake, over 4 million years old. It is estimated to be the 13 ...

in Omatsuzaki ( Otsu City,

Shiga Prefecture is a landlocked prefecture of Japan in the Kansai region of Honshu. Shiga Prefecture has a population of 1,398,972 as of 1 February 2025 and has a geographic area of . Shiga Prefecture borders Fukui Prefecture to the north, Gifu Prefecture to th ...

Literature

* 和訳孟子 ''Wayaku Mōshi'' (1918, Daidōkan) * パトロールシステム ''Patrol System'' (1925, author

Roland Philipps Roland Erasmus Philipps, (27 February 1890 – 7 July 1916) was a writer and a leading Scouting, Scout official. He was the second son of John Philipps, 1st Viscount St Davids and his first wife, Leonora Gerstenberg. He was educated at Twyford ...

) * 少年団指揮者教範 ''Shōnendan Shikisha Kyōhan: Aids to Scoutmastership'' (author

Robert Baden-Powell Lieutenant-General Robert Stephenson Smyth Baden-Powell, 1st Baron Baden-Powell, ( ; 22 February 1857 – 8 January 1941) was a British Army officer, writer, founder of The Boy Scouts Association and its first Chief Scout, and founder, with ...

) * 満州及上海に正しき日本を観る附国際聯盟と我裏南洋 ''Manshū Oyobi Shanhai ni Tadashiki Nihon o Miru: Fukokusai Remmei to Wagaura Nan'yō'' (1932, Tōgakusha) * 世界少年団劇集 ''Sekai Shōnendan Gekishū'' (1933, Boy Scouts Association of Japan) * 郊外健児教育 ''Kōgai Kenji Kyōiku'' (1933, author: ロアゾウ, Boy Scouts Association of Japan) * 日満健児工作 ''Nichiman Kenji Kōsaku'' (1934, Tōgakusha) * 伊太利は奮起した ''Itarii wa Funki Shita'' (1939, Jitsugyō no Nihon Sha) * 少年団概論 ''Shōnendan Gairon'' (1939, author: ロアゾウ, Kyōikukenkyūsha) * 世界児童劇集附少年団劇集 ''Sekai Jidō Gekishū: Fushōnendan Gekishū'' (1940, Shōkasha) *　戦時下の世界青少年運動 ''Senjishita no Seikai Shōnendan'' (1940, Nihon Hyōronsha)　 * 少年団指導の理念と実践 ''Shōnendan Shidō no Rinen to Jissen'' (1942, Sangakushobō) * 音なき交響曲 ''Otonaki Kōkyōkyoku'' (1958, Hōbunkan) * 十人百話-9 ボーイスカウト十話 ''Jūnin Hyakuwa-9: Boy Scout Jūwa'' (1965, Mainichi Shimbun)

Films

* 平和の勇士 ''Heiwa no Yūshi'' (1926, Film Institute of Social Education) monochrome, silent film

Operas

* 歌劇ボーイスカウト ''Kajū: Boy Scout'' (1925,

Takarazuka Revue The is a Japanese all-female musical theatre troupe based in Takarazuka, Hyōgo, Takarazuka, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan. Women play all roles in lavish, Broadway theatre, Broadway-style productions of musicals and stories adapted from films, nov ...

/Yukigumi)

Ancestry

External links

no Seikai Shōnendan'' (1940, Nihon Hyōronsha)
��"World Youth Groups During Wartime"

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mishima Michiharu Recipients of the Bronze Wolf Award Scouting in Japan 1897 births 1965 deaths Members of the House of Peers (Japan) Members of the House of Councillors (Japan) Kazoku Japanese Freemasons Scouting pioneers Chief Scouts