The authors compare the life histories, literary contributions & suicidal behaviors of Yasunari Kawabata & Yukio Mishima, two famous authors. Because of the Japanese tradition of Seppuka & the cultural belief in ancesters which results in the blurring of the border between life & death, suicide for both seemed to be a constructive act–making a trip to another world for Kawabata & influencing social change for Mishima. (NBB)