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Go Mishima
(1921 - January 5, 1989) Japan

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Artist

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Go (or Goh) Mishima started his carrier in mid 60's on pre-gay magazine "Huzoku-Kitan". Passing through coterie gay magazine "Bara" and Japanese first commercial gay magazine "Barazoku", when Japanese second commercial gay magazine "Sabu" started in mid 70's, Mishima started full-scale activity.

Mishima was a godfather of "Sabu", and he continued to draw the pictures of magazine's cover for 20 years. The guys who were drawn by Mishima were always short hair, sharp eyes, thick eyebrows, muscular and hairy bodies with well tanned skin, often wore Japanese traditional underwear rokusyaku-fundoshi, and sometimes tattooed.

Go Mishima artThis style is similar to the style of heroes of Japanese outlaw stories and movies. Mishima's drawings were loved very much by Japanese gays who liked Japanese traditional type's masculine guys who look like above heroes, and they modelled themselves on his art. Mishima was also good at bondage drawings, and now, most of Japanese BDSM club's general costume is rokusyaku-fundoshi as he drew.

In a sense, Mishima's works decided the macho styles of Japanese gay, as Tom of Finland's works did that in American/European cultures.

While Mishima lived, two art books were published from different company. In those days, though it was very unusual for the books for gays to be published in Japan. These facts show us how popular Mishima was among the gay people.

The characteristic of Mishima's arts are their minimal styles. Mishima never drew the background, and the composition of his drawings were very simple. His drawings hadn't the storylines and the situations, even when he illustrated the novels. He continued drawing only the charms of guys.

Therefore if readers don't like the man whom Mishima drew, they will feel that his arts are very boring. In fact, I also feel that his drawings are too quiet sometimes. A facial expression of Mishima's guy hardly changes, even when he is being tortured or doing Harakiri. It may concern with Mishima's main occupation what was drawing a face of a Japanese traditional doll. In any event, the biggest charm of Mishima's art is the beauties of minimalism.

Especially, his brush and ink drawings by the Japanese traditional way are most wonderful things. On the white and wide paper, the drawn lines are smooth like flowing water, the body hair which swirled beautifully is delicate, the partial coloration is bright.

Go Mishima, was a genius in the art of drawing the male physique. He was known as an eccentric man with the spirit of a master artist. He would meet with only those he found favorable. His art had a fine line work and was richly vibrant in colors. His long term devotion to drawing erotic male physiques is amazing. He also exhibited his work at a one man show in New York, which received favorable reviews.

Eccentric and reclusive, Mishima was especially fond of sake, and this indulgence proved to be his undoing. Suffering from cirrhosis of the liver, he was admitted to Kitashinagawa Hospital in Tokyo, where he died. Following Mishima's wishes, his body was donated to medical research, and there was no funeral.

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