Book Reviews — Yukio Mishima

10 February 2026

Ok. Starting this up as a general thoughts dump for some of the books I got from the library today. Starting with Yukio Mishima's Sound of Waves (1954).

Sound of Waves

2026-02-10 17:20

First thing I noticed was how positive the author biography on the inside back cover was written. His failed coup d'etat and resulting suicide was glossed over almost entirely, his death being qualified only as a "tragic" end to his life, sometime in 1970.

On to the novel itself, so far, just one chapter in, the setting is interesting, I like how much time is spent on the geographical features of Utajima. I like how he describes both the fisher boy, and the description of the unknown girl being done solely from that character's perspective was also interesting. I look forward to seeing how these characters develop.

Truthfully, this post is mostly done as a test for making a reviews section of the blog. It's going to be pretty manual, I fear, but that's okay. I might split this off into its own thing soon.

2026-03-06 18:17

Finished reading in the early hours of Wednesday, instead of sleeping. Thus I've been hopelessly sleepy for the past few days. Overall, I enjoyed the story, despite its simple premise, because I think it works really well as a character piece and especially as social commentary on Japan at the time (post-Korean war). In the book, Mishima points out how life on the island is tough and harsh, yet people are happy. There is no theft or crime, and even when there is competition for a limited resource (the peddler's ￥800 plastic handbag), the diving women are good sports and gracious with each other. The only aberrant person is Yasuo, who is characterized most brutally as lazy, but also as a charismatic, intelligent and well-liked leader of the Young Men's Association. It is Yasuo who fights the protagonist, Shinji, in a grim battle for Hatsue's love. In a fit of jealousy, he goes so far as to ambush the unsuspecting girl with the intent to rape her. Even so, in the end, he accepts that Shinji won Hatsue as prize fair and square (I don't want to unpack that right now).

I think the island being this sort of secluded/separated/cushioned/airgapped paradise is a bit of a convenient device for the author, but also I think Western readers have probably taken this aspect of the island and interpreted it as a sort of microcosm of how Japan exists in the world.

Patriotism

2026-07-16 13:47

I started reading this around the end of April. I ended up damaging the front cover in my backpack and out of shame I put it aside. I'll try to finish soon.