The Sailor Who Fell from Grace with the Sea , is a novel written by Yukio Mishima

Yukio Mishima

was the pen name of , a Japanese author, poet, playwright, actor and film director, also remembered for his ritual suicide by seppuku after a failed coup d'état...

, published in Japanese in 1963 and translated into English by John Nathan

John Nathan

John Nathan is the translator of Japanese works written by celebrated authors such as Yukio Mishima and Kenzaburō Ōe. Nathan is also an Emmy-award winning producer, writer and director of many films about Japanese culture and society and American business.He studied at University of Tokyo...

 in 1965.

Plot summary

The novel chronicles the story of Ryuji, a sailor with vague notions of a special honor awaiting him at sea.
He meets a woman called Fusako with whom he falls deeply in love, and he ultimately decides to marry her. Fusako's 13-year-old son, Noboru, is in a band of savage boys who believe in "objectivity", rejecting the adult world as illusory, hypocritical and sentimental.

As Ryuji begins to draw close to Fusako, a woman of the shore, he is eventually torn away from the dreams he's pursued his entire life. Fusako's son, Noboru, who shares an especially close bond with his mother through a voyeuristic ritual, hates the idea of losing his mother to a man who has let his hope and freedom die. This anger and fear of loneliness translates into terrible, savage acts performed by Noboru and the gang of which he is a part.

Ryuji Tsukazaki

Ryuji is a lonely sailor who dislikes small talk, and friendship. He is straightforward, works hard, and spends very little money. He feels that there is something destined for him in the world, a glory that only he should have. He feels that he is unique and has a destiny set in course for him. He dislikes land, and finds the sea to be his home.

Fusako Kuroda

The thirty three year old mother of Noboru. After falling in love with Ryuji, she begins to spend more time with him rather than her son. In the novel, she represents Mishima's views on Westernization. Her character is very feminine and also reviles the modernization of Japan.

Noboru Kuroda

The thirteen year old son of Fusako and her first husband. He is timid and enjoys learning about sailor adventures. He is also extremely intelligent, calculating, and, when the need arises, violent.

The Chief

A character who remains nameless throughout the novel, he is the leader of the "objectivity" group that Noboru is in. He is greatly respected by all other members of the group. He goads the others to do activities to prove their willpower, but is also willing to partake in violence and cruelty himself. The Chief's personal history is very mysterious, living in a large mansion. His parents are never seen in the novel, but they are mentioned several times.

Film, TV or theatrical adaptations

The novel was adapted into a film of the same title starring Kris Kristofferson

Kris Kristofferson

Kristoffer "Kris" Kristofferson is an American musician, actor, and writer. He is known for hits such as "Me and Bobby McGee", "For the Good Times", "Sunday Mornin' Comin' Down", and "Help Me Make It Through the Night"...

 and Sarah Miles

Sarah Miles

-Early life and career:Sarah Miles was born in the small town of Ingatestone, Essex, in South East England.She first attended Roedean but at the age of 15 she enrolled at RADA, the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art...

 in 1976 by Lewis John Carlino

Lewis John Carlino

Lewis John Carlino is best known as the director of The Great Santini starring Robert Duvall, Blythe Danner and Michael O'Keefe. He has worked as a director and screenwriter on a number of movies during a career which has spanned five decades and includes such works as The Fox, The Brotherhood,I...

. The setting was changed from Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

 to England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 to accommodate the shoot location (Dartmouth

Dartmouth, Devon

Dartmouth is a town and civil parish in the English county of Devon. It is a tourist destination set on the banks of the estuary of the River Dart, which is a long narrow tidal ria that runs inland as far as Totnes...

, in the south-west county of Devon

Devon

Devon is a large county in southwestern England. The county is sometimes referred to as Devonshire, although the term is rarely used inside the county itself as the county has never been officially "shired", it often indicates a traditional or historical context.The county shares borders with...

).

An opera by Hans Werner Henze

Hans Werner Henze

Hans Werner Henze is a German composer of prodigious output best known for "his consistent cultivation of music for the theatre throughout his life"...

, Das verratene Meer

Das verratene Meer

Das verratene Meer is an opera in two parts and 14 scenes, with music by Hans Werner Henze to a German libretto by Hans-Ulrich Treichel, after Yukio Mishima's novel The Sailor Who Fell from Grace with the Sea...

, is based on the novel; it was premiered in Berlin in 1990.