The Sound of Waves (1956)

By Mishima Yukio 

Translated by Meredith Weatherby

Vintage

(Novel)

Mishima’s quiet but passionate romance presents us with the tiny island of Uta-Jima, a tiny island at the Gulf of Ise. The people of the island live by fishing. The women dive for lace seaweed and abalone while the men fish for octopus, halibut, sole, etc. The town has electric light run off a diesel generator; when it fails, they light their homes by candlelight. The island features a lighthouse and the Yoshiro Shrine Watutsumi-no-Mikoto, the god of the sea. Though the lighthouse was used for sighting targets for naval guns, and several men–including the hero’s father — were killed by an American fighter plane, the island seems largely unaffected by the Sino-Japanese War and World War II and it is easy to imagine that the novel represents an idealized view of what Japan could have been had it avoided the cataclysms of the first half of the 20th century. Mishima presents us with the simplest of stories, a love triangle as a poor boy of noble spirit strives against a lazy heir to win the attention of a high-status beauty. It is also a study of the old ways and the mores of the islanders. They are pious people of tremendous courage. They sacrifice and pray to their gods, see spirits in the forest, and believe the superstitions of sailors are essential truths. Visiting the mainland is like stepping into a modern age that is wondrous, but only leaves the islanders more nostalgic for home. Shinji is the strong young man who fishes for octopus from the decks of the Taihei-maru. Hatsue is the beautiful daughter of Terukichi Miyata, owner of the merchant vessel Utajima-maru. Yasuo, the nephew of Terukichi, is the rival. Mishima portrays the two lovers with naked admiration for the exquisite perfection of their bodies, attention to their ardor, and an overwhelming reverence for their child-like innocence. 

The boy was only eighteen, having finished high school just last year. He was tall and well-built beyond his years, and only his face revealed his youthfulness. Skin can be burned no darker by the sun than his was burned. He had the well-shaped nose characteristic of the people of his island, and his lips were cracked and chapped. His dark eyes were exceedingly clear, but their clarity was not that of intellectuality, it was a gift that the sea bestows upon those who make their livelihood upon it; as a matter of fact, he had made notably bad grades in school. He was still wearing the same clothes he fished in each day‹a pair of trousers inherited from his dead father and a cheap jumper. (6)