The figure is Yukio Mishima, real name Kimitake Hiraoka ... Getty Images In his later years, Mishima took up bodybuilding to add bulk to his frail physique (Credit: Getty Images) Behind this ...

I once owned a photograph of Yukio Mishima squatting in the snow ... Mishima’s torso is buffed from years of bodybuilding, his legs almost spindly by comparison. The expression on his face ...

He also threw himself into film, music, dance, bodybuilding and martial arts ... What was he hoping to achieve? Yukio Mishima was born in Tokyo on January 14 1925. His birth name was Hiraoka ...

The figure is Yukio Mishima, real name Kimitake Hiraoka ... It was then that he took up bodybuilding, working out in the gym for two hours a day to add muscle to his frail, 5ft-3in frame.