Mishima Yukio (1925-1970) is one of Japan¹s best known novelists who deals explicitly with masculinity and homosexuality.  Mishima has gained attention not only for his writing, but also for his spectacular suicide:  in 1970, Mishima took his own life after taking over the Self-Defense Force army post in Tokyo and performing ritual harakiri (disembowelment).   One of his earliest works, Confessions of a Mask (1949) is a coming of age story that is also a startlingly frank treatment of homosexual masochism.   This paper will explore the role of "demonstration," a concept developed by Theodor Reik, and its metaphorical manifestations including performance,staging and ritual, and the necessity of seeing and being seen in the masochistic tableau created by Mishima in Confessions of a Mask and other works.