The Sound of Waves

The Sound of Waves (1954), a novel by Yukio Mishima, is a coming of age story about a boy who falls in love with the beautiful daughter of a wealthy ship owner.

Shinji lives with his mother on the coast. They are a family of pearl divers, supporting themselves after Shinji’s father was killed in WWII. Content to be a fisherman, he lives a peaceful life with his mentor and his fellow apprentice.

His life changes one day when a local ship owner, Terukichi decides to bring back the daughter, Hatsue, whom he had adopted away, because his son has died. She was living with other pearl divers and learned their trade. She is beautiful and talented and captures many hearts, including Shinji's. When Terukichi decides that he will adopt whomever Hatsue marries as his son, the stakes move even higher. However, Hatsue falls in love with Shinji.



The lighthouse keeper’s daughter, Chiyoki, returns from college to see that Shinji has fallen in love; she is heartbroken. She takes advantage of Yasuo, a cruel rival suitor of Hatsue, and uses him to spread rumors that Shinji will steal Hatsue’s virginity. Yasuo is enraged at this thought, and one day while Hatsue is filling a water bucket at the public bath, he tries to rape her. As he tries to rip her clothes off, he is stung by hornets; he promises to carry the bucket for her if she never tells what happened.

Terukichi hears the rumor, and he forbids Shinji and Hatsue from seeing each other. They continue to communicate through friends by using secret letters. Shinji’s mother knows that he would never deliberately lie, and so she tries to see Terukichi. He refuses to listen to her, further straining everyone’s relationship.

Chiyoko is filled with remorse just before returning to college. She asks Shinji if he finds her unattractive, and when he absently replies that she is pretty, she feels that she has ruined his only chance for happiness.



Terukichi employs Yasuo and Shinji on one of his fishing boats, a strange move considering his feelings for Shinji. The boat encounters a storm out at sea, and Shinji is brave enough to stay with the ship and bring it back safely. Chiyoko sends her mother a letter explaining that she was the source of the rumors and that she cannot come back in person. She cannot stand the thought of seeing Shinji unhappy. Her mother rushes to Terukichi afraid that her daughter will be so distraught shewill commit suicide.

When the mother reveals Chiyoko’s deception, Terukichi reveals that he intends to marry Hatsue to Shinji. The captain of the ship loves Shinji, and he was able to bring the ship home safely. Terusays that the only thing that matters is another man’s will and that Shinji is the best choice of husband for her.

Shinji is allowed to visit Hatsue again. He tells her that he might take the first mate exam, and when he does, they can be married. She agrees, and they go up to the lighthouse to look at the stars for a while. The keeper of the lighthouse politely leaves them alone.



This story is, at its core, a coming of age story. Shinji had no real ambition beyond being a fisherman until he met Hatsue. He feels ill at ease over his feelings of love for her, but ultimately this leads him to a position on a fishing boat. That circumstance is what allows him to prove his strength as he brings the ship to safety during a storm.

It is also about the power of our first love. Shinji does not wish to explore or to venture much beyond his current life. He feels that his life is good enough the way it is. When he meets Hatsue, he begins to reach beyond his present circumstances, reveling in the love of this faraway woman. He cannot sleep or eat, and wonders if he is sick. These feelings are so foreign to him. The book shines a favorable light on love and its power to create positive change in people.

The two lovers are also separated at first by their social class. Shinji is a poor fisherman, and Hatsue is part of a wealthy ship owning family. Terukichi is reluctant for Shinji to marry Hatsue because his social class is wrong, and he intends to adopt whoever marries Hatsue so that he can keep the family name going.



Once he realizes Shinji’s tenacity, he decides that his attitude about life and his courage are more important than his social class. He admires Shinji’s character and knows that Shinji will make Hatsue the best husband. Social class is not as important as it seemed in the beginning. In the end, their love and Shinji’s character ensure they will be together.

Mishima’s novel is a moving portrait of first love, coming of age, and a simple life turned upside down by finding a partner. It deftly portrays what it is like to be shaken up by the sudden emergence of strong feelings and the closure of finally being with the one you love.