The Sailor Who Fell from Grace with the Sea by Yukio Mishima (Kodansha)

Yukio Mishima is one of Japan’s most prolific writers. He has written over fifteen novels including the “Sea of Fertility” tetralogy which includes “Spring Snow”, “Runaway Horses”, “The Temple of Dawn” and “The Decay of the Angel”. He was also a poet, a playwright, an actor, and a model. He was also a very right-wing nationalist and created a group called the “Tatenokai” whose main purpose was to restore the Emperor to his seat of power. One of his most famous acts that Mishima is known for aside from his books was his committing seppuku or ritual suicide after his group’s failed attempt to have the Japan Self-Defense Force join in his cause to reverse Japan’s 1947 Constitution. 

I first read this when I was in my teens. I think the subject matter of this particular book was a little advanced for my junior high mind at the time but it was suggested reading by my mother. To be honest, I didn't enjoy it (probably because I didn't understand it at the time). I found it dull, depressing, and I couldn't understand the actions of its protagonist. 

As an adult, I have a better understanding of the plot and the actions of its protagonist - an adolescent named Noboru Kuroda. Kuroda lives in Yokohama and his group of friends are all good students at the school they attend but they are also a gang. They believe in strong morals and Noboru is their leader. One day Noboru finds a peephole in his chest drawer and uses it to spy on his mother who is a widow. Noboru’s mother is well-off and owns a successful boutique store. As Noboru also likes ships, one day, his mother takes him to see one. There they meet a sailor named Ryuji. This meeting is the catalyst for how the story evolves. Ryuji stays the night with Noboru’s mother and Noboru watches them through the peephole having sex. When Noboru hears the distant sound of a sea horn and sees Ryuji turning to the sea, this affirms his notion that Ryuji is not like other men. He feels Ryuji’s simple act is an act of someone who will go on to bigger things, to be a hero. 

Noboru begins losing respect for Ryuji when he and his friends see Ryuji all wet from playing in a fountain at a local park. Noboru feels this is “childish act” and is embarrassed by it. Noboru becomes even more distraught when he learns that Ryuji and his mother are engaged to be married. They also find Noboru’s peephole but Ryuji doesn’t not punish Noboru as his mother asks in the hopes of becoming a good father. 

Noboru wants to retain his image of Ryuji as “savior” or “hero” and calls his gang members together with a plan that will make Ryuji become a hero in his eyes again. His plan is simple, to kill Ryuji to save him from becoming something all the gang members despise - a father. He reassures his friends that nothing bad will happen to them because of a Japanese law which states, “Acts of juveniles under the age of 14 are not punishable by law.” 

The ending can come as a bit of a shock to those not familiar with Mishima’s works. The main gist of this story is about glory and honor and what one will do to maintain that image. Not only do Noboru and his friends planned on killing Ryuji, they also plan to dissect him. Ryuji is tricked into meeting the boys who plan to drug him by putting pills into his tea. Ryuji looks to the sea and ponders his life he gave up not noticing one of the boys putting on gloves as he sips his tea. It is up to you the reader to decide if the boys go through with their plan. ~Ernie Hoyt