Traditionalism In The Sound Of Waves

In Yukio Mishima’s novel, The Sound of Waves, the use of nature and the evidence of traditionalism are both concepts that are instrumental in forming the plot and of themes of the story. Traditionalism, which is a belief, and nature, which is seen as divine power, coexist in The Sound of Waves, where the acts of nature in the novel often work in ways to support the traditionalistic views of pre-modern Japan.
To be able to fully analyze the effects traditionalism has on nature in the novel, one must fully understand what traditionalism actually is. Traditionalism is defined as the upholding and maintenance of a tradition, especially in the terms of religion and daily life. In Japan, traditionalistic views include the oldest son providing for the family when he father is unable to, honor through purity, and loyalty to the family. Shinji, the young male protagonist, is Mishima’s classic example of a traditionalist.
The first example of traditionalism in nature is the entire first chapter of the novel. Mishima uses the first chapter to introduce the setting of the novel, and does so using vibrant, detailed language that exemplifies the purity of the landscape. The purity and untouched aspects …show more content…
Through the use of Mishima’s traditionalistic views, he was able to connect nature into his novel and construct passages and quotes that vividly display his values. Kami is also prevalent in Shinto and in the novel, and it was important to bring that to the attention of the readers because it has such a large role in the story, even though Mishima never explicitly speaks about it. Mishima conveys his pre-modern Japanese values on almost every aspect of his novel, and that is very important because nature was a major part of everyday life in Japan. Nature and traditionalism are two dominant aspects of The Sound of Waves, and Mishima, intentionally or not, found a way to elegantly combine