Essay: The Sailor Who Fell From Grace with the Sea by Yukio Mishima

In literature, a foil is a character that contrasts with another character, often to reveal particular qualities of the other character. With reference to Part One of Mishima’s The Sailor Who Fell From Grace with the Sea, compare and contrast literary characters to show how their differences reveal competing social or moral values.
‘The Sailor Who Fell From Grace with the Sea’ is a novel by Yukio Mishima written in 1963. He wrote this novel as an allegory for the aftermath of Japan’s defeat in World War 2. The book is narrated through the eyes of Noburu Kuroda, a young boy living in Yokohama, Japan. He is known as ‘Number Three’ in his gang, which rejects morality. In the book, Characterization is the most vital aspect to Mishima’s writing in order for him to tell his story. Various different characters are used to represent the various opinions and ideas that were taking over Japan at this time. Mishima uses ‘foils’ to bring out the themes of glory and honor, alienation and nihilism because he wants to express his thoughts on how the Japanese seem to be condemned to a glorified death.
The theme of honor and glory is largely brought out through the character that is Ryuji. His honor is contrasted with Noboru’s character – someone who greatly idolizes Ryuji. When the reader is first introduced to Ryuji, he is presented as a simple man with traditional ideologies. Straight away, we associate him with greatness because of the connotation to “golden pools”. Gold is a color, which is always associated with achievement or royalty and is highly valued and respected. Hence, this brings out his characterization of ultimate glory and honor. In addition, it is emphasized that this is “authentic gold”. The author suggests that Ryuji exists in reality and not in Noboru’s imagination. He is describing Ryuji’s perfection and how everything about him is ‘authentic’ or pure. Later in the novel, we learn about Ryuji reflecting on how the sailor’s life “impelled him toward the pinnacle of manliness”. Mishima himself had been obsessed with the idea of masculinity as an aspect of pride and honor. Therefore, through Ryuji, the author is presenting his own beliefs.
Now although we see how greatly influenced Noboru was by Ryuji’s pursuit of glory, he was not as glorious. Noboru idolized Ryuji despite Ryuji having westernized and un-traditional values. Why? Possibly because it was new to Noboru and he was intrigued. Mainly, however, because of how much he respected and looked up to the sailor’s glorious experiences at sea. He describes Ryuji as a “luminous evidence of the internal order of life”. This suggests how Noboru thought so highly of Ryuji. The contrast in character is made apparent through Noboru’s obsession with Ryuji itself. Eventually, we see how and the idea of glory ultimately leads to Ryuji’s murder. We know that Ryuji unconventionally linked death to both love as well as reaching glory. However, when he does die, Noboru feels as if Ryuji has failed and therefore has been a let down from the glorified character he was introduced as.
The theme of alienation is very prominent throughout the novel. Noboru and Ryuji are both presented as very isolated and withdrawn characters. Noboru is portrayed to be oblivious to an extent and is not sure about all that going around him. Although his mother is very westernized, Noboru still believes in traditional values. When the author describes his mother’s room, he mentions where different objects were imported from. This demonstrates how Noboru’s noticed these elements in particular because his beliefs were far more traditional so he found the his mother’s belongings intriguing and he felt alienated, even from his own mother. As the author writes “Noboru couldn’t believe he was looking at his mother’s bedroom; it might have belonged to a stranger.” From this quote we can see that not only is he not close to his mother but that he thinks of her as a stranger, further reinforcing the idea of alienation.
As for the character of Ryuji, we are presented with his detachment from society.
Therefore, both Ryuji and Noboru feel detached however in different ways and for different reasons; Noboru from his mother and Ryuji with society. Both characters find a way to relieve their isolation. Ryuji has a support system Fusako. Noboru uses his loneliness to hatred to seek for strength in murder. In addition, the theme of alienation and loneliness can be linked to Mishima’s own past. Mishima’s dislike towards Japan’s westernization and feeling of being alienated from the modern era japan is reflected through the Chief’s hatred of adult nature or how Fusako and Ryuji are portrayed.
Another major theme in the novel is nihilism. Although both Ryuji and Noboru believe in escaping entrapment, the author contrasts the extent to which each of the character hold this mindset. Noboru believes that life is meaningless and thinks only of the glory one must reach before death. For example, when Noboru and his gang kill the cat, he feels no sympathy or pain. In fact he feels rewarded suggesting normal it felt for him to be so dethatched and uncaring from life. On the other hand Ryuji has a different take on life. He likes to see the glory in everything. From the first chapter, we know that Ryuji becomes a hero for Noboru because Noboru becomes fascinated by the sailor’s stories from the sea. He feels connected to the sea and feels free. Hence, through the contrasting characters, Mishima brings them together to exemplify his own nihilist take on death.
In the book, Mishima highlights the gender roles in society during this time period. He does this by contrasting the purpose and prominence of Fusako with that of Ryuji. To an extent, Fusako’s role is undermined because her relationship with Ryuji is unconventional; both her and Ryuji are equal in their relationship – unlike relationships at this time. In addition, as the ‘perfect’ wife she is independent and more successful than Ryuji. Despite there only being one major female character, all the males in the novel have a sort of obsession. Ryuji with his quest for glory, Noboru’s need to follow to his gang’s beliefs, and the chief’s obsession ideas on life. This makes them seem much more vulnerable and makes Fusako a much stronger character.
In conclusion, we can see how Mishima uses contrasting characters to bring out the themes of glory and honor, alienation and nihilism. By doing so, he successfully conveys his message about the Japanese and their need to have a glorified death. The characters in the novel are used as symbols for different aspects of the author’s reflections of the wartime. Noboru and his gang represent old Japanese traditions and values. Fusako represents westernization in Japan. The sea represented glory, and Ryuji’s attraction towards this notion was in itself a metaphor for Japan’s quest in the war. Some of the gang’s inhumane actions symbolize how some of the decisions made by the Japanese in the war were also inhumane. Thirteen year old boys killing a baby cat goes against usual human nature, and in the war there were kamikaze bombings, where a person would kill themselves for a desperate offensive attack and a glorious death. At the end of the novel, Mishima explores the choices that Ryuji has made. Ryuji seems to regret his decision to give up the sea and has therefore failed in his quest for glory. Hence through these ideas, Mishima expresses his views on why the Japanese seem to be condemned to a glorified death.