The dramatic climax ofThe Sea of Fertilitytetraology takes place in the late 1960s. Honda, now an aged and wealthy man, discovers and adopts a sixteen-year-old orphan, Toru, as his heir, identifying him with the tragic protagonists of the three previous novels, each of whom died at the age of twenty. Honda raises and educates the boy, yet watches him, waiting.

Yukio Mishima was born into a samurai family and imbued with the code of complete control over mind and body, and loyalty to the Emperor - the same code that produced the austerity and self-sacrifice of Zen. He wrote countless stories and thirty-three plays, in some of which he performed. Several films have been made from his novels, includingThe Sound of Waves, Enjowhich was based onThe Temple of the Golden PavilionandThe Sailor Who Fell From Grace with the Sea. Among his other works are the novelsConfessions of a MaskandThirst for Loveand the short story collectionsDeath in MidsummerandActs of Worship.The Sea of Fertilitytetralogy, however, is his masterpiece. After Mishima conceived the idea ofThe Sea of Fertilityin 1964, he frequently said he would die when it was completed. On 25 November 1970, the day he completedThe Decay of the Angel, the last novel of the cycle, Mishima committed seppuku (ritual suicide) at the age of forty-five. The Sea of Fertility tetralogy, however, is his masterpiece. After Mishima conceived the idea ofThe Sea of Fertilityin 1964, he frequently said he would die when it was completed. On November 25th, 1970, the day he completedThe Decay of the Angel, the last novel of the cycle, Mishima committedseppuku(ritual suicide) at the age of 45.

The fourth and final book in Mishima's landmark tetralogy, The Sea of Fertility>