Based on the real 1950 burning of Kyoto's Kinkaku-ji, Mishima's novel examines beauty, obsession, and the desire to destroy what is most perfect. His prose is baroque and hypnotic. Published in 1956, it remains his most frequently cited work and a strong argument for calling him Japan's greatest 20th-century novelist.

The case for it, the case against, and the rest of the canon open with Pro.