Mishima: the Sound of Waves

English 301

11/18/2012

Mishima: The sound of Waves

"The only thing that really counts in a man is his get-up-and-go. If he's got get-up-and-go he's a real man, and those are the kind of men we need here on Uta-jima. Family and money are all secondary."(Mishima, 175) This is the word of Terukichi Miyata while describing Shinji. Shinji’s readiness and willingness to take on the task was praised by Terukichi. Terukichi Miyata describes shinji’s get-up-and-go attitude as a virtue that is needed on the island. It was actually the author’s voice through Terukchi Miyata, pointing out what qualities the ones the author thinks of as a virtue. In “The sound of Waves”, the story revolves around four main characters: Shinji, Hatsue, Chiyoko, and Yasuo. The characters exemplify Japanese characteristics to show the virtues the author supported in Japanese culture.

Before studying what qualities Mishima thought to be virtuous, it is important to understand the Japanese cultural background. Before Japan opened its port and allowed modernization, Japan was extremely isolated country with its own code of conducts, Bushido. Bushido, “Military-Knight-Ways”, was the code of conduct for Samurai, the ruling class of pre-modern Japan (Nitobe 4). Based heavily on Shintoism and Buddhism, Bushido promoted seven virtues: rectitude, courage, benevolence, respect, honesty, honor, and loyalty (Nitobe 11-12). Bushido was the code for Samurai. However, their principles affected the other class as Nitobe describes, “they kept themselves socially aloof from the populace, they set a moral standard for them and guided them by their example” (160). Despite the modernization and introduction to Western culture, Bushido is still believed to be the “guiding principle of the transition and wil prove the formative force of the new era” (Nitobe 172).

The setting of the book is small island, Uta-jima, after World War II. In its post modern era setting, there is crash of cultures. In the book, the...