The Sound of Waves by Yukio Mishima

In The Sound of Waves, Yukio Mishima creates an exquisite story which has strong idealistic and mythic features. Although Mishima writes of young love and tranquility in The Sound of Waves, his later works are categorized as aggressive and containing violent sexual actions. Even Mishima himself referred to The Sound of Waves as "that great joke on the public" (qtd. in Ishiguro 385). However, one cannot compare this novel to Mishima’s other literary pieces; in order to classify it as romanticized, one must evaluate the usage of imagery, an idealized setting, mythical allusions, and characterizations which establish the romantic-driven qualities in The Sound of Waves.

It is apparent that nature plays a major role throughout The Sound of Waves, as the reader would expect from a Japanese based novel. The reader is first introduced to Shinji at the “flight of stone steps” with “peace blossoms blooming in the shrine garden, dim and wrapped in twilight” (Mishima 6). Mishima’s usage of nature helps reinforce the purity of love between Shinji and Hatsue. On their first encounter, “the sea below them [brims] with a last afterglow” (50) and “the stars [begin] to glitter” (51). Hatsue’s kiss is even compared to seaweed and the “sharp, fresh saltiness” (67) of the sea; these symbols emphasize a parallel between romance and romance.

Mishima also creates the aspect of nature relating to emotion and frequently references weather imagery to convey the thoughts and emotions of Shinji. In particular, when Shinji sees Hatsue naked at the observation tower. During their meeting, a storm is brewing and the waves are “ragging and ripping out...” (70); this mirrors the sexual tension of Shinji. According to Napier, "the language of this passage underli...

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...s, the reader can conclude that Mishima has created a novel, which contains idealized and mythic features, which emphasize the love story between Shinji and Hatsue. Mishima develops a relationship between nature and romance, creates an idealized setting and gives heroic traits to nature and Shinji. Overall, The Sound of Waves contains several unrealistic, but hopeful events, such as nature saving Hatsue from rape; therefore one can classify this novel as romanticized.

Works Cited

1. Mishima, Yukio. The Sound of Waves. Trans. Meredith Weatherby. New York: A.A. Knopf, 1956. Print.

2. Napier, Susan J. Escape from the Wasteland: Romanticism and Realism of Mishima Yukio and Oe Kenzaburo. Cambridge Mass.: Council on East Asian Studies Harvard U, 1991. Print.

3. Shabecoff, Philip. "Everyone in Japan Has Heard of Him." NY Times. N.p., 2 Aug. 1970. Web. 26 May 2014.