The sound of waves - Yukio Mishima

Raging waves rose high above the breakwater, set up a tremendous roar, and then rushed down. Because of the previous evening's strom-warning, every last boat had been pulled up much higjer on the beach than usual. When the giant waves receded, the surface of the water tilted steepl; it almost seemed as if the bottom of the sea inside the harbor-works would be exposed to view. Spray from the waves, mixed with the driving rain, struck Shinji full in the face. The sharp, fresh saltiness ran down his flushed cheeks, down the lines of his nose, and Shinjij recalled the taste of Hatsue's lips.

This being a typical Mishima sentence, combining nature with human emotions making them a bit stingy. There are a lot of these nature descriptions in this novella. I liked how you can see the changing of the seasons by the kind of migrating birds there are on the island. The first two pages are a description of the place this novella is situated, which, for me, did not help at all in picking where in Japan this island actually was. Hooray for Googlemaps! This small island with its coastline under three miles is where all of the story is set, in this rural community of fisherman and diverwomen where Shinji is growing up and will become an adult. Customs and beliefs is what make up the island tradition, and tradition is the way one lives their life. Shinji is still growing up in this island tradition. A tradition in conjunction with nature, the sea, the fish, the passing of time, with social classes you are bound to. You can feel that his brother, who is some ten years his younger, will grow up differently. He goes out to mainland Japan on a school trip, coming back with stories not about the temples and monuments, but the cinema he went to with his class.
This book has been written shortly after World War II, and set in this time, begin '50, but it seems the war has scarcely touched the community. Sometimes it comes peeking through, Shinji's dad died during the war, there is a lookout where Japanese soldiers watched the sea and after years the generator of the island village is working again. This community, however, does not engage much with the outside world, and the outside world not that much with this community and island.
In all this is a small story, easily readable, enjoyable, and by far the easiest of Mishima's novels. It is a coming of age novel, Shinji having to cope with his own sense of being and the rural community that bounds him to the rules of tradition. It is a sweet and simple tale of two lovers on an idyllic, isolated Japanese island, far from the dark angry characters in other Mishima novels.

Some note on the translator: Oscar Meredith Weatherby was the translator of most (all?) of Mishima's novels in English. They new each other from the gay scene in Japan. He was partner of the photographer Tamotsu Yato.