The Sailor Who Fell from Grace with the Sea is a novel written by Yukio Mishima, published in Japanese in 1963.
Yukio Mishima is a representative of the Japanese literature, an absolute world classic and writer, descending into the abyss of hell and ascending to angelic heights in his works. The most famous and popular in the world of Japanese authors, he became famous equally for his works in all conceivable genres (novels, plays, short stories, essays - more than a hundred volumes), and the extravagant style of life and death (seppuku after a failed attempt of monarchist coup on the day of the publication of his last novel).
The Sailor, Who Fell from Grace with the Sea is a love story between a sailor Ryuji, feeling that he will have a special destiny and glory in the sea, and a widow Fusako, a luxury import shop owner; however, Fusako’s precocious thirteen-year-old son, Noboru, is opposed to their union for fear of losing his usual freedom.
Japan after the World War II. Shattered fates, broken families. A world in which the wives have ceased to mourn their dead husbands, and try to survive in a bloodless country.
Fusako, having lost her spouse, was bringing her son Noboru up alone for a long time. One day she meets Ryūji, harsh and seemingly unsociable sailor. Seeing his eyes reflecting the sun shining steel masts, she falls in love with him. After all, Ryuji seems so reliable, so strong, like a rope of Manila hemp. Who knows, maybe this man will be able to replace a father for Noboru.
The novel was adapted into the film The Sailor Who Fell from Grace with the Sea starring Kris Kristofferson and Sarah Miles in 1976 by Lewis John Carlino. The setting was changed from Japan to England.
